Part 2

Josh's POV

I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock blaring. I rolled out of bed and walked to my huge closet which held too many clothes. Picking out my usual plain black t-shirt and a pair of pants, I walked into the bathroom. Looking into the mirror, I saw my buzz cut, dirty blonde hair, and my bluish-grey eyes staring back at me. I also saw a seventeen (almost eighteen) year old man who didn't sleep much and had bruises from his "friends" and dad. It was sad, looking into a perfect mirror but seeing myself who was far from perfect. Looking away from the mirror, I got dressed for the day. Once I was dressed, I walked into my little brother's room to wake him up.

"Are you up, Michael?" I asked, lightly shaking him.

Michael rolled over and rubbed his eyes. "Morning, Josh," he said still sounding tired.

"How'd you sleep?" I asked.

"Not very good, mom and dad were arguing all night," Michael said.

"Do you want to switch rooms?" I asked.

"No, then they'll know they're scaring me. Besides, I have my safe room," Michael said, referring to the tiny closet he had.

I have always tried to protect Michael from our argumentative parents and alcoholic dad. The main way that seems to work all the time is keeping him in his little closet. Our parents never look in the closet and I even went out of my way to buy a lock for it. The lock is just a simple one and it locks the closet from the inside.

"Are you ready for school today?" I asked, deciding to change the subject.

"Yea, I can't wait to see all my friends," Michael said, perking up at the thought of his friends.

"That's great," I said. "Now get dressed and I'll meet you in the kitchen, okay?"

"Okay," Michael said, getting out of bed and walking over to his dresser.

I walked out of his room and shut his door before I headed downstairs to the kitchen.

"Good morning, Josh," my mom smiled.

"Morning," I said.

"Did you stay up late playing an internet game with your friends again?" my mom asked.

"Yea," I lied. "I promise I'll get to sleep earlier tonight."

"Alright," my mom said. "I made breakfast if you want some."

"No, thanks, I'm not very hungry this morning," I said.

"Okay," my mom said.

A few minutes later Michael came downstairs with dad following behind.

"Good morning," my dad said.

"Morning," Michael and I said in unison before Michael helped himself to some breakfast.

There was an awkward silence until Michael finished his breakfast. Once his plate was in the sink, he and I went outside to my black Ford F150. Michael got in the passenger seat and I got in the driver's seat, tossing my bag in the back. I started the truck and backed out of the paved driveway. The drive to school was uneventful until I saw some idiot riding their bike on the road. I honked my horn at them and they casually flipped me off as I passed them.

"What a dick," I thought to myself as I passed the person on their bike.

I drove to the Elementary School first and dropped Michael off before I drove to the High School. I parked over by the bike I saw on the road.

"They don't go to my school, do they?" I thought as I parked my truck.

Man, I would feel like such an ass for flipping someone off if they went to my school.

As soon as my truck was in park and I had turned it off, my door was opened by a certain blonde.

"Hi-a, Josh," he said.

"Hi, Nathan," I said, grabbing my bag out of the backseat.

"Is our little Joshie here?" Ryan asked.

"Yea he is," Nathan said as I got out of my truck and locked the doors.

"Ahhh, Joshie!!!!" all of my friends said, tackling me as we walked up to the school.

One of the boys wrapped their arms around my neck to the point where I couldn't breathe. I tapped his arm and he loosened up just a little. We walked into the school with the boys still grabbing my arms, smacking my chest, and wrapping their arms around my neck. As we walked into the school, I noticed the guy who flipped me off this morning. He and I made eye contact for a split second before I ran to catch up with my friends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After school, I was able to get away from my "friends" and get into my truck without them noticing. I picked up Michael from school and dropped him off at the house before I headed to my special spot.

Once I arrived at my spot, I locked my truck and walked over to the big oak tree. I saw the rock on the left that usually stayed empty and the rock on the right where I usually sat. I sat on the rock and looked out at the glistening water over the cliff. However, that's when I heard a noise. And that's when I turned around and saw him.