Zach Pierce was a familiar face to both the E.R and the child protection services. His mother Kathryn Pierce often brought him in with bruises and broken bones which according to her came from sports and hobbies. Kathryn's boyfriend Dave was rather meticulous despite being in a drunken stupor most of the time, or perhaps it was Kathryn herself who made sure that none of Zach’s injuries could be linked to abuse for certain.
The CPS suspected that the two of them were abusing him but unfortunately without evidence or a testimony there was no case against the mother and boyfriend duo. Zach proved to be either too resilient or scared to find any help. His attendance in school was problematic and he was often absent without prior notice, most likely to hide his injuries and proof of abuse. He hardly ever participated in P.E because of his injuries sustained from such “hobbies”. Normally with such low attendance teachers would have held him back a year, but the suspicions they held about his home life made them reluctant to prolong the status quo as long as he didn’t fail the exams, and despite the unfortunate situation Zach did not only manage to get by in his classes but he found the drive and talent to excel in his studies outside of physical education.
Zach didn’t have friends but wasn’t really bullied either though that was most likely due to his lack of reaction to anything that mere school bullies would dare to do. He seemed calm and apathetic most of the time confining in neither male nor female classmates or staff. To others he seemed very lonely and even afraid of opening up. However some teachers and classmates managed to catch glimpses of him in the school’s library wandering between the shelves in a somewhat cheerful seeming manner. For Zach books were the only thing to distract him from the insanity and turbulence of his home. Perhaps because of his interest in literature of any kind Zach became well-read and knowledgeable. Before long his teachers began to notice and pay special attention to him. Zach’s teachers tried their best to get him to come out of his shell with little success. It was only when one of them suggested for him to take the exams to skip a grade that they managed to see genuine happiness on the troubled child’s face. In such a fashion Zach managed to endure his school life by skipping two grades along the way.
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Time passed painfully slow for Zach during his last year of highschool, as he could finally seen an out for himself. A glimmer of hope that blossomed into a blinding light just barely outside of his reach, only a few days of suffering away as he survived the Hell he called home. A young man at the age of 16 already through with his entrance exams into college. Zach was ready to move away from his personal hell, away from his abusers, away from Phoenix, away from Arizona all the way to Chicago, Illinois. His exam results were mailed home and as expected from a budding genius like Zach, he managed to both pass the exams with flying colors and get a scholarship deal with his expenses covered in full.
However an unfortunate occurrence happened on the day his results arrived, as Kathryn Pierce was returning home after buying Dave and herself their daily heroine the post was delivered just as she returned and she received the mail directly. Going through the mail she noticed that faithful letter addressed to Zach and curious why her useless son would receive mail from the University of Chicago she opened and read the letter first to herself and then to Dave as well. Both of them boiled in anger and envy over the success of another especially one they considered not only beyond useless, but also the outlet of their hatred.
When Zach came home that day he was rather indifferent to the suffering he was about to go through. Only a few days more he had said to himself as a mantra to ward away the pain and despair. When he entered his own private Hell he had no idea that this would be both the worst and last time he would meet his demons.