Lost

Chapter 6 - Sane

Caleb Warner left his best friend's house and headed for his own. He hadn't been home to check on his mother in a couple of days just due to what had happened the last time Caleb decided to be a good person and a good son and protect his mom.

It wasn't that Caleb hated going home, he loved his mom. Truly loved her. But most of the time she let her addictions and want for sex cloud her judgment and pushed her son to the back burner. They didn't have the worst relationship. Maybe even better than Ace and his mother, Caleb thought, but their relationship was still bad.

Cal spends a lot of time at friends houses or partying through the night so he doesn't go home all that often. He does make a point to always at least stop by his house once a week just so he doesn't let himself get too caught up in teenage life and issues that he loses sight of things that are truly important in life.

Since what happened a little while ago Caleb has kinda gone over that rule of a week. It had almost been three weeks.

A little under three weeks ago the 16-year-old had gone home to find a guy in his living room absolutely drunk and screaming at his mother. The sight almost immediately enraged him when he saw the blood on his mothers face and the look that reminded him so much of when his parents were still together. It was like a switch had flipped in the goofy teens mind and suddenly he was out for blood. There was no fun loving guy left after he saw what was going on. Caleb had of course attempted to kick the man out of his house which spurred a physical altercation and ended with his mom screaming at him and even going as far as to slap him. Blaming Caleb for what had happened.

Caleb was extremely hurt by this and left soon after, only staying around to make sure his mom was okay and that her new 'boyfriend' — it would seem — was not going to come back. At least for a little while.

But once those two things were done Caleb left immediately in search for some drugs to take the edge off of things, even if it was just for a little while. Caleb had very thick skin, but for some reason when he got around his mom it was like he was all bones. Every little thing she said hurt him to his core. He sets his entire worth on what she thinks of him and how she is doing. So when Caleb knows that she doesn't put him first and that she never even really wanted a kid that hurts him more than people will ever know.

"Mom?" Caleb's voice boomed, softly, through the house as he unlocked the apartment door and shut it again, clicking all three locks to a close.

The boy surveyed the apartment to find it in shambles as it always is, but luckily for him it didn't seem to be totally awful — for example, there are no drugs laying on the floor — something that happens actually a decent amount and there wasn't a passed out women on the couch or any sort of blood or new things that are broken within the house.

"Mom?" He tried once again, walking down the short hallway to see if his mother was maybe in her room. Caleb really hated going into her room but he did want to make sure he at least saw her today so it was something he must do.

Before Caleb could make it to his moms room Julia Austin came stumbling out of her room. She looked remarkably like her son with her rather bright blonde hair and dull blue eyes. His face shape was a little more defined as hers was less put together as it was clear she had been crying recently and had a couple drinks to help that.

There was a cheap beer bottle clutched in her hand and her lipstick was running down her chin, accompanied with her mascara which was clearly not put on all that well. She wore some old and ragged clothes which made Caleb relieved when he saw as that meant she hadn't been out and no one was at the house.

Good, one less thing to deal with.

"My Cal-ly." Julia stumbled a little closer to her son, standing up on her toes so Caleb could lean down and kiss her cheek — practically a tradition at this point.