Guns and Roses

Prologue

"He'll never amount to anything!"

"Why don't you just go kill yourself, do us all a favor."

"No one wants you here anyways."

These words among others rang through Michael's head like an anvil being pounded by a steel rod, each one more painful than the last. He just couldn't take it anymore and left the house, preferring the mild breeze whooshing past him over his family's continuous torment. An inky sky studded with stars looked down upon his walk of solitude, the occasional streetlamp as his only illumination and the moon as his friend. These walks always calmed him down and cleared his mind. But this time it had been over three hours since he left, yet those harsh words still refused to give him peace of mind.

Ever since he was a boy, he could never seem to escape his father's torment. Always being blamed on for anything that went wrong and practically being treated like a slave was his reality. Everyone he ever met had this same attitude towards him, like he was just a waste of space. Everyone except for her.

"No, don't think of her now."

Michael scrunched up his face and closed his eyes trying desperately to block her face from his mind. But it was no use as the face of a beautiful light brown skinned eight-year-old girl appeared behind his eyelids. A shadow of a smile danced across his lips as he envisioned the face of the girl he fell in love with at such a tender age. Instantly, it was wiped away as he miserably remembered that she was dead.

His Stardust, the only person in his life that didn't treat him like a mistake. Of course, he knew that wasn't her real name, but he got so used to calling her that it might as well be. And now neither she nor her family were alive anymore to find out her real name.

A single tear finally escaped from his eye. Michael harshly wiped it away and stuffed his hands in his pockets as his feet trudged on while mind was at war with itself. He didn't know when, but he suddenly found himself in the middle of a downpour. Without a care in the world, he continued walking as if that was the only thing he was made for. Caught up in his own mind, he didn't pay attention to where he was going until he realized he was in an unfamiliar alleyway.

"At least if I die here, I can see my Stardust again and my family would all be happy I'm gone."

With that, he trudged on through the rain.