TEARS OF RAGE

Chapter 2

Awakened by the abrupt ring of the alarm clock, Lemario glanced about his room with a frantic expression.

He was breathing hard. Sweating. His body was shaking with the restless touch of anger, grief, and fear.

No one knew about the demons that emerged in his sleep, reminding him about the day in which his life had changed.

No one knew the battles waged just to maintain his sanity.

Tears had moistened his cheek as he slept.

A brief survey of his surroundings helped him distill his confusion.

The clothes cast haphazardly about the bedroom brought him out from the realm of dreamland.

He was in a familiar place.

His grandmother's apartment had always been a place of peace.

Its stillness reminded him that he was supposed to have his baby brother Dorian at the bus stop by seven-thirty.

The alarm clock was set to awaken them at seven.

With a groggy swipe of his hand, Lemario knocked the alarm clock to the floor.

There was a brief clatter that soon became silence.

Slivers of sunlight could be seen extending into the darkness, through the blinds and sheer texture of the curtains.

Particles of dust appeared to dance in its illumination.

With a lethargic stretch of limbs, Lemario called out to his brother.

"Dorian, wake up..."

From beneath the jumble of bedsheets, Dorian issued a groan of protest.

"Come on bruh, it's Friday." Dorian stated." Let's hang out around the house today..."

"Boy if you don't get your narrow ass up, I'm going to send you to school with a knuckle-sandwich."

Accustomed to the morning ritual that had to be waged with Dorian, his brother lead by example.

His journey to the bathroom would allow his body time to get in sync with his mind.

As he stumbled out of the bedroom he snatched the covers from atop of Dorian.

The apartment was quiet.

There was a muffled sound of distant traffic resonating about the stillness.

Lemario made his way to the bathroom with a restless sense of anger weighing heavy upon his consciousness.

The nightmares were a source of weakness that he did not bother to share with anyone.

The dream had served as a constant reminder that people were mortal creatures, destined to perish at some point.

And his heart was hardened against random relationships that were destined to perish like an ice cube on hot concrete.

At the age of eighteen, he knew that he had to set a positive example for Dorian.

His baby brother regarded him as a role model whose influence played a pivotal part in the way that he approached adolescence.

After the death of their parents, they had come to live with their grandmother.

Big Nannah had given them a place to call home.

Within his mind, Lemario wanted to be the type of person that he knew that his dad would be proud of.

But that person was presenting a lot of problems...