Chapter 1

A loud bell on my rowdy alarm clock defeated my ears waking me up from the perpetual depths of the sinister abyss. A wet surface lies on my bed with a pungent smell of salt. Tears. Lots of tears. I honestly couldn't be more surprised. For me, there was no other emotion than the most potent one: depression. Happiness was never a word in my dictionary and hope was lost far away never to be found again. I always remember who I am repeating this same phrase every morning and night.

"I am Charlie Homes but home isn't where I belong."

That was the phrase that woke me up in the morning every day to get rid of the emotional barrier that is trashed and smashed concealing the burdens and melancholy locked inside me. People say I am an enigma. A mystery on its own. Two sides of me and one side were fake. People always say motivational stuff like depression is what breaks you down in the end but truly to me, it is what makes me a man. It is what makes me realise what life is: an extremely unfair cycle of horrible events stuck on repeat. Crimson streaks infiltrated my dullened blue eyes which were once glowing with excitement and that is in the past which people don't hold onto. Flashbacks of my stupid human of a father pierced my head into two; the infinite amount of wine bottles polluted my brain with dejection and neglect. I just wanted it to all stop but for some reason, that wasn't my call anymore.

Footsteps audibly trailed behind my large door. Who was it? A question that had always been in my misery. I always expect it to be my benevolent mother alive and well for me to hug but just like the last numerous times, it was just Jack's mom. She was tall with tanned skin, scarlet lips, sleek brown hair and hazelnut eyes. A truly stunning woman in simpler words. She just looked at me with sympathy as she looked at the dry tears on my pale face. She ambled up to me and asked a question in a worried voice.

"Are you OK, Charlie?" a question escaped her mouth. It took a while for me to process the question but I just had to make sure to her that I had nothing on my mind. A fake smile appeared on my face and a fake mood immersed in myself and finally answered the question. "Yeah, I am fine I guess, "

A smile suddenly beamed on the mother as she was joyful that I was OK and in good shape but truly I was a moaning wreck. She stood up and then just said cheerfully these words:

"Come on Charlie, breakfast is ready and Jack is waiting for you. Don't forget that you have school today."

She ambled out of the door and closed as a quiet thud followed by the inaudible collision. My body was paralysed. All I could think of was the past and I am still trying to let go of that.

***

Another disconsolate memory slipped into my worrisome brain, my mother's death. One minute and I am in that room scared for my life. Tears dripping quicker than speed and melancholy ripped me apart. The pungent and fresh smell of blood contaminated the living room. Electrical wires slithering around the couches lingering to strike someone to death. The myriad of fragments of glass and metal from the TV splintered the floor. There was no more face on my mum. It was all wiped away from the glass. The perpetual smell of alcohol poisoned the air. Everywhere was just wrecked. All this happened from a drink. Alcohol. A substance that changes someone from a human to a monster with only anger as an emotion. I still remember the cursed phrase the bashed up phone had:

"911, what iii--s y---oo--ur emergency?"

I just had enough that I ran as fast as I can hoping that this day wouldn't haunt me but it always came back. The defeating sirens approached my house. My idiotic and cowardly father had I already run carrying all the drugs and alcohol his feeble body could carry. Glancing behind, 3 police officers stood up to the door, that is how I knew that I was screwed. A bush was in my sight. I rapidly jumped in it as adrenaline pumped through my veins like a lightning bolt. An apprehensive feeling coursed through my body as agitation accompanied it. The sound of footsteps approached me and my only hope of survival. The officer just stared before trailing off the police car and driving off. A sigh of relief escaped my mouth as I leapt out gaping for my breath. I ten knew that I was nothing but a sitting duck waiting to be pierced at this moment so I just walked into the sinister darkness of the midnight sky...