Author's Note: Hey! Wrote this quickly at night, chapters will be much longer after this. Our protagonist will be going to another world soon :O

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If you had the ability to read people's mind, just what would you do with it?

With access to such an ability, no longer would you fall pray to deception and treachery. The inner most thoughts of the human mind would be at your fingertips.

But then again, not all human's possess such clean thoughts. With the ability to read minds, you'd be forced to listen the darkest desires of everyone you read.

As Friedrich Nietzsche once said, "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. If you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you"

Powerful words, with a simple message. Spend too long surrounded by dark thoughts and you'll begin to adopt them yourself.

Jackson Miller was such a teenager. Being born with the ability to read minds, he was always engulfed by the negative thoughts of others.

[I never wanted you]

[.....burden....]

[Life would be so much easier if.....]

As a child all he saw were smiles, however he knew. It was just a thinly veiled disguise, a facade. You can't understand the true depth of a person from just looks alone.

Such words as those came from his mother. Another face, another mask. Hiding those repulsive thoughts behind fake smiles. There was no filter for Jackson, all the hate that should never have been heard was sent directly into his brain.

Yet this was just what occurred at home, the real horror came from outside. Hundreds upon hundreds of people, their thoughts arrived in droves.

[Why do I have to sit next to this fat slob!]

[Next time that little girl's alone, I'm gonna.....]

[Stupid bitch, she has no idea I'm sleeping with her sister]

[Sometimes I think I could just end it all....]

As a young child, Jackson could not even take a few steps outside without being overwhelmed. Imagine stepping out of an air conditioned room into an extremely humid rain forest. It was overbearing, but most of all it was incredibly lonely.

Jackson always felt as if he was apart from everyone else. The thoughts only he can hear, the world only he can experience. Such a boy became an outcast, a loner.

Until the age of 17.....

=====P.O.V - Jackson Miller=====

"Jackson, how's that part-time job coming along?"

[I hope you save enough to leave soon. I can't stand you any longer. It's like I'm being tied down by a dead weight]

How disgusting.

These words coming from my own mother.

I've known for all too long what she thinks of me.

As you might have guessed, I was what people call an unwanted child.

Not even my mother knows who my father is. With such a large string of male partners, it would be almost impossible to find the one that relates to me.

Forced to raise me alone, she often refers to me as a "burden" in her mind. How ironic. To play with fire and not prepare for the consequences.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"It's fine, I've been thinking about moving out for a while now. I'm just a few thousand short for my deposit and first month of fees"

This of course being a lie, I've saved every penny of my part-time job since I started last year.

For someone who raised me for 17 years, I owe her nothing. For the abuse I've put up with for so long. This will pay, in part, my reparations.

"I see...."

[A few thousand? That's a lot of money.....but in the long run....]

"In which case. How about I transfer that money to you now? You can get a deposit put down today and move in after around two weeks. You could stay in a hotel whilst you wait, it might help you get used to living alone"

Just as predicted.

It was one of my favourite games. Make predictions on a person's actions based on their thoughts. The best thing? It's easy to get good at it.

"I see! Thank you mother! I'll start packing right away!"

I replied enthusiastically. I've wanted to live alone since before I hit double digits.

Imagine living in a house where your mother, the person who is supposed to care for you, repeatedly uses vulgar and repulsive language when thinking about you. All the while, you hear it crystal clear directly inside your head. Now imagine putting up with that every day, 365 days a year for 17 years. You'd go insane right?

I immediately headed upstairs to begin packing. I don't own any luxuries, so it only took all of ten minutes before I'd completely filled my suitcase.

"Jackson. The money has been wired to your account.....so I guess this is goodbye...."

As I descended the stairs, I was greeted by mother wearing a sad expression, as she said her goodbyes.

When I reached the bottom she leaned in for a hug.

[Finally. With the house to myself I can do what I like. That money I gave him is already paying itself off]

Disgusting.

Such a fickle mask she wears, but with me there's no point in it. I've been hearing her without her mask for so long.

I shuddered as she wrapped her arms around me, the disgust growing deeper.

After a short while, we parted and she drove me to a hotel in the centre of town, conveniently near my high school.

As we walked into the lobby and after another "tearful" goodbye. I paid for a full two weeks in the penthouse suite, watching through the windows as my mother's car sped off into the distance.

"So this is what silence is like...huh?"

It had been so long since I haven't heard the voices, I almost forgot how calming it is.

My mind reading has a max range of around 300m, however with training I can lower it to a mere 3m. Sadly, this range means that in a small house, I can hear everything my cohabitant is thinking all the time.

In a large room such as this, It's extremely quiet.

I laid on the bed, allowing the quietness to soothe me to sleep.

Like that, I lost consciousness.