𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐁𝐘 𝐌𝐄

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐍𝐄

PRESENT DAY

I was 12 going on 13 the first time I saw a dead human being.

It happened in the summer of 1959.

I was living in a small town in Oregon called Castle Rock. A seriously small town. About just over a thousand living in it. But to me, it was everything.

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AUGUST, 1959

I huffed as I wiped the sweat from my brow. I stood up straight, tossing my rag to the side, then stretched my limbs. I put my hands on my hips and admired my work. "Finally finished" I smiled with relief.

I just finished cleaning, pretty much the entirety of the house, and I was obviously exhausted. The weather didn't help either, as summer was in its prime right now, and the sun was melting my skin.

I headed to the bathroom and washed my hands, also splashing some cold water on my face.

You see, my mom isn't exactly in the right state of mind to be doing basic necessities like cooking, or taking care of the house, or even taking after me right now, due to her heavy drinking problem. And my dad is pretty much never in the house as he's so busy working 3 jobs to try and keep up with paying the rent and for food on the table. So someone's gotta do it, right? And that someone, is me.

My mom didn't always used to be like this. You see, I had a younger brother, 3 years younger. His name was Danny, and he meant so much to me. Not as much as my mom though, he was her everything. She even valued him over me 99% of the time.

Thing is, he was killed last year in a hit-and-run with a drunken driver on his way home from school, instantly dying on impact. We were all terribly wounded, my mom the most. She didn't leave her room for weeks. The first time she did leave, was for some booze.

Then it became a habit. Only leaving her room to get more alcohol, the room slowly filling up with all types of cans, bottles and glasses. She did eventually stop hibernating in her room, but now she just sits on the sofa all day every day, watching absolutely mind-rotting shit on the TV while she mindlessly chugs her beer. She was like a zombie.

Me and my dad have tried so many different ways to try and get her back on her feet, try to cheer her up, but nothing works.

I understand what she's going through, I do, and even some part of me feels really sorry for her, but..I just can't help but hate her at the same time.

Hear me out.

Ever since Danny died, she's just been so cruel to me. She treats me like i'm a stranger invading her house, rather than her daughter. All she does is scream and shout at me, never appreciating things I do for her. I try so hard to think "she's just hurt" and yes, she is, but she takes it all out on me, and i'm sick of it. It's like I was never even her daughter in the first place as she always preferred Danny over me.

I look up to my dad so much is because he's incredibly loyal. No matter how cruel or bitter my mom can be, he still loves her, and refuses to leave her, especially in the state she's in, and I agree, nobody should be left like that on their own.

"Y/N!" my mom yells from the living room, interrupting my thoughts. I sighed, and trotted back downstairs to the living room, standing in the doorway. "Yes, mom?"

I watched as she drank the final drop of her beer, crunch up the can, and toss it on the floor. "Get me some more beer" she commanded, not even looking at me.

I took a deep breath, letting all my frustration go. I pick up the can she tossed and leave the room, throwing it in the trash. I open the fridge and go to pick up another beer, but stop, hesitant. I huffed and grabbed it anyway, closing the door.

As much as I want to, I don't go against her word when she commands for more and more alcohol. There's been a few times that when I did, she'd lash out at me, and that was not a pretty sigh. So, to avoid that, I just do what she says, although I have to physically stop myself from pouring all the beers down the drain.

I stroll back into the living room, open the can for her, and give it to her. She roughly takes it from my hand, not even thanking me or looking at me, but instead says "Did you clean?"

I cleared my throat. "Yeah. Top to bottom" She just nodded slowly in response.

I turned around and was about to head out the room, before she stopped me. "Where ya going?"

I faced her to see she was looking at me this time. "I'm just gonna meet up with my friends. We're all hanging out today"

She scoffed "You mean those boys?"

I blinked. "Well..yeah. Their my best friends"

"Didn't I tell you to stop hanging around with them?" she frowned. I opened my mouth to speak but she interjected. "Their all bad news, Y/N"

I narrowed my eyes "Ive been best friends with them for 5 years. I'm not just gonna leave them" I kept my tone calm. "Plus, why do you care anyway? You never even bothered before"

She ignored my question. "Get some friends who are girls. Hanging 'round with those boys, who all have a bad reputation, people will get the wrong idea" she took a sip of her beer as she looked back to the TV. "It makes you look like a slut"

I clenched my jaw "I don't care what you say. I don't care what other people think. Their my only friends, and I'll continue to
keep hanging around with them" I spat. "So fuck you"

I left the room, roughly fitting my feet into my converse and swiftly headed to the front door. I heard my mom screaming profanities at me from the living room, but I was too angry to care.

I left the house, slamming the door behind me, and heading to see my friends.

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A/N

first chapter, yayayaya! opinions?

me personally..it feels rushed and looks mediocre. but i'm too tired to edit it, so it'll have to do. it's only a little bit of background on Y/N's life anyway.

i'm actually SO hyped to start writing this story. writing about my hyper-fixation will feed my obsession even more and i LOVE IT

anyways. keep a heads up for the next chapter, because it'll be coming very soon 😝

that's all for now!
-ava<3