Snapshots of Stories

Prologue - Leave Me Alone

3rd person pov.

Miles hasn't always been the shy and reserved kid. When he was little he used to be a ball of sunshine that constantly had a smile on his face and wanted to play with the other children. But that all changed when he turned ten and his older brother, Andy, graduated highschool and moved away. He hasn't seen or heard from his brother in 7 years. Hell, he doesn't even know where his brother moved to. Since then his life has been slowly falling apart. First, his mum got sick. Miles was only ten at the time, he was still a kid who didn't recognise how serious it was. Overtime he stopped hanging out with his friends, preferring to keep his mum company in hospital. His mum's illness worsened with time and it was only as he grew older that he finally realised the fact that he could potentially lose her for good at any moment. 

This happened right around the time Miles was starting highschool. As everyone else was making new friends and having fun Miles was busy taking care of his mother and trying to keep his family from falling apart. His dad had started working overtime to pay the bills, but that overtime at work started turning into overtime at the bar. Now more often then not he came home drunk and complaining to Miles about his 'shitty life' and 'what the hell did he do to deserve it'. Miles didn't know how to answer, feeling as though it was somehow his fault. He was the reason his brother moved away, he knew that much, and when he reflected on all the problems that ensued afterwards he couldn't help but blame himself too. If only Andy hadn't moved away because of me. This is why when on the odd occasion his dad decided to vent his anger by hitting him, Miles accepted it, after all he deserved it. 

He hasn't told his mum about it yet and he didn't exactly have any friends he could talk to either. I guess it was just one more secret to add to the collection. Miles had so many now it was hard to keep track, but he'd gotten rather good at hiding things. At hiding himself behind the walls he'd built. Let's see, the biggest ones were probably: no one at school knows his mum is dying, no one knows his dad hits him sometimes, and no one at school knows he has to work two jobs to help out with all the bills. No one knows he comes home to an empty house everyday where he has to cook and clean and look after not only himself but his parents and their house. No one knows that sometimes he gets bullied at school and his dad doesn't even notice if he comes home with bruises because he assumes he was the one to make them. And probably the biggest secret, the one absolutely no one else knows, Miles... is gay. 

Miles is exhausted. His daily routine and responsibilities leave him with barely any free time. The only thing keeping him together is the thought that this is his second last year of highschool. He just needs to study hard to get a good job to payoff their debt and then hopefully he can relax a bit. Unfortunately, the universe seems to have other plans for him.