The sound of the bell rang throughout the school, followed by loud cheers of rejoice. The class just ended and it's time to go home. "Alright class, be sure to submit your work tommorow." said the English teacher.

"Finally." I sighed. After an hour of boring lecture from the pseudo-teacher, it's finally over. I've always hated this kind of people, what was he thinking when he chose this job? With a voice devoid of emotions and a personality similar to an AI.

I put away my books and quickly walked towards the door. As I took a step on the threshold, someone suddenly grabbed the back of my shirt.

"Where are you going? We're on duty to clean the classroom today" a familiar voice called

I glared back, it was Krebs. He was a long time friend of mine, but I wouldn't really call him a childhood friend. We always hanged out with each other up until recently.

I eyed him suspiciously. Krebs never bothered to stop me from leaving before, he told me he was fine cleaning alone. I don't have time for this, I mentally told myself.

"What is it? You've got something to tell me? Spill it out!" I said not bothering to hide the irritated look on my face.

"Yeah let's talk about it after cleaning"

15 minutes have passed and after storing all the cleaning equipment, I confronted Krebs.

"So what is it?"

"Oh, I heard Bea got herself a new boyfriend. I figured I should tell you." he awkwardly laughed, scratching his head.

I clenched my jaw as I felt a slight pain in my chest. I've been texting with her for a while and I'm pretty sure she knows that I'm interested in her. That said, I felt like I was just forcing her to have a conversation but she could've atleast told me she has a boyfriend.

"Yeah, I don't really care." My words were contradicting my emotions, anger rose deep within my heart. The truth is, I haven't given up on her, atleast not yet. I still believe I have a decent chance but for some reason, I was too scared to make a move.

"Are you okay Isaac? You looked troubled this past days. We haven't been hanging out like we used to before ever since your Dad passed away." Krebs said with a hint of concern.

I smiled bitterly as I grabbed my bag. Although I was sad that Dad died, the problems that came after that was more depressing.

"Yeah, I'm okay, just gotta sort things out. Anyways, I'll go ahead, you take care of the windows and lock the door." I said with a mirthless smile, I'm not about to tell someone about my creepy problems.

I left the school and walk towards home. The sun had set, and the dusk settled on the sky as the cold wind blows facing my direction. "This is the worst day of my life." I sighed, I've been saying that almost everyday after Dad passed away just to tell myself tommorow couldn't be much worse. Dad always told me that things turn out for the best in the end , I just gotta weather the storm. He was wrong, how can he be so sure? How can he make sure that it's not just an irreversible downward spiral to oblivion? Even if I survived this hellhole, I wouldn't have anywhere to go.

I paused at the sidewalk and closed my eyes, removing distractions as I focus in my mind. Then, I took a deep breath, followed by another, and another one until my mind thought of nothing but breaths. The agitation that I felt soon cleared up. The blood that felt like boiling became much more stable.

"No, I can't afford to act on impulse now. Finding a solution is what I should be doing." I opened my eyes and said those words, barely knowing what I was talking about.

After half an hour of walking, I'm finally home. The grass on the lawn brushed against my knees, and the sight of dead leaves were everywhere, even on the windows due to the plants not being properly maintained. A bunch of cobwebs are attached at the corners of our house, with a few bugs that got caught in it.

I opened the door, it creaked as if about to collapse at any moment. The sound of clapping welcomed me as I enter, it came from a room. "Fucking hell" I groaned. I tried my best to ignore it and walked upstairs towards my room.

I entered my room and inhaled the smell of shame, regret, despair and burnt motherboard. "That's the third time this week, does she even feel shame? Well it doesn't matter anyways, I lost my respect for her a long time ago." I said with disappointment.

I removed my shoes and hummed to myself to forget what just happened. Then dropped my bag on the table beside the computer and sat on my bed near the window. I grabbed my phone and texted Bea to make sure Krebs was actually telling the truth. Thankfully, she responded back.

Me: Hey

Bea: Hey

Me: How are you doing?

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Bea: I'm okay

Me: Is it true you have a boyfriend

Bea: Yeah

I hid my phone as fast a I grabbed it , and facepalmed my self. It was so obvious, every hint leads to the same conclusion. After deluding myself for a long time, I only realized it today. I hate myself for not letting go of this lingering attachment.

As I stared outside the window, I heard a voice from downstairs. It was a moan . "This again!" I yelled, it was loud enough that they probably heard it. I clenched my teeth and fists to fight the crippling urge to grab a knife and stab the living shit out of that cum eating whore. Rage fills my already infuriating heart, but I've always been able to control myself everytime things like this happens.

I quickly changed into my jogging pants and jacket, wore my running shoes to take a walk around the neighborhood so I could clear my head.

The neighborhood isn't really that great, but I'd say it's not that bad either. It's full of middle-lower class families so the sight isn't much appealing and the streets barely has any lights, even if there is one it's probably dim. For some reason, I like it this way , it fits the mood.

I walked on a lonely street with my hands inside my pockets. The sky was clear, and the moon is at its brightest. The sound of my footsteps are the only thing that can be heard in the vicinity. Cold winds blew and gave me chills as I think about what should be done.

No matter how hard I try, I couldn't take my mind off of Mom. I once hated her with every inch of my being. I once begged her to stop what she was doing. But after trying so many times, it just feels pointless and eventually, I just stopped trying.

Everyday, I tell myself to not be like Mom, she never tried to improve her life and always blamed everyone around her for what's happening. She is also a manipulative psychopath, convincing my aunts and uncles that nothing was wrong when I pleaded for their help.

In reality, I'm not much different. I still couldn't face my problems. I coped with it by putting a certain girl on pedestal. Why was I scared to make a move anyway? That's because I was afraid she'll know what I really am. I deluded myself that Mom and I aren't the same, some might argue that it isn't true, but fundamentally I am just as worse.

"When you hit rock bottom the only way is up." I murmured to myself.

Dad used to say that, he was the best father I could ask for. Although he didn't spend as much time with me because of work, he always encouraged me when I'm down. A stoic and determined person, someone I also strive to be.

"Continue to move forward until you reach your goal." I said while laughing. It's obvious that he stole it from a show but it's inspiring to hear it from him.

My chest began to lighten as I felt ease ran through my mind. This is it, I won't let circumstances define me. I'm tired of coping. I must move forward , and be better than the cards I was dealt.

I checked my watch but it was too dark, I looked upwards and saw a sky without visible stars. The moonlight was hindered by the thick clouds. It's getting late, no lights can be seen from the houses and wandering for too long won't get me anything. I headed towards home so I could sleep and be ready for tomorrow.

As I was walking. I heard loud sounds of footsteps and frantic breathing. Then, 3 silhouette of people appeared. They ran with great haste, one was ahead and the other two was chasing after him.

"Stop running or we'll be forced to shoot!"

It took a few seconds for my brain to process what was happening. Shit, they're running towards my direction. They're clearly bad news and I don't want to risk it. I suddenly became panicky as andrenaline rushes through my body. I tried to run opposite to them but the man was clearly at full speed, at this rate, I'll get caught.

I ran, but based on the speed of that man, he'll probably close in fast. I felt my teeth chattering and as fear took over me, I glanced back.

"Stop!" the officer yelled, as he shoots his tazer while running. Damn, it was his chance. He didn't even bothered to aim properly, what the fuck was that man thinking!

At that point the man caught up to me and grabbed me by the neck. He now has a pistol on his hands that wasn't there before, and he presses it against my skull with incredible strength, I thought it would pierce through.

"Go away or I'll shoot the kid!" the man yelled

"It doesn't have to be this way, drop the gun!"

I was flooded with emotions , fear, despair, regret and shame. I started to cry loudly as the men pointed their guns at each other. I couldn't stop trembling , this is bad, even the warmth of my soaked pants is not enough to calm my nerves.

I stared at the officers and pleaded for their help. "Help me I don't want to die!"

Now that I got a closer look, the two goofy looking officers were quite young, clearly on their early twenties. One looked average and the other one is kinda fat, resembling a soft boiled egg. They were clearly too scared to make a decision, that much was apparent from their faces.

"How fucking unlucky can I be!" I cried

"Shut up!" the man said , holding me tighter than lovers ever were.

"Let go of the kid at the count of three!" the fat officer yelled.

What the fuck! This isn't primary school! What are you doing? Shouldn't they call for back up? What are those radios on your shoulders are for?! I stared at them looking quite dumb, as this thoughts came into my mind.

"One!"

I felt my neck tightening, making it difficult to breathe. The gun was shaking as it pressed harder against my skull.

"Two!"

My mind blanked from that immediate suffocation, I thrashed without thinking to grasp for air.

"Thr-!"

The shot was fired, followed by a couple more. My head became numb and my ears rung. My vision became blurry as I fell into the ground.

"Hurry up and call an am-!"

As my consciousness slowly leaves , a voice called out for me. It was a familiar voice, it was from someone I knew.

"Don't ever give up kiddo."

The consciousness disappeared. The mind thought of nothing as it does not function anymore. For as little as 16 years of life , now he ceased to exist.

Isaac has died.