𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧'𝙨 𝙂𝙞𝙧𝙡

Ch.1 - The Unsavory Beginning

Life sucks.

That was my first coherent thought of the morning.

Life sucks....and then you die.

Never mind the fact that it's same thing that comes to mind anytime I have to wake up at the god awful hour of 6am in the morning. Never mind the fact that I've never been an early riser, especially not one with a chipper attitude.

I barely slept a wink last night, my arm still throbbing, and thanks to a rough night and the irritating rays of bright morning sun glaring through my blinds my head is killing me. A loud groan escapes me as I fumble my way out of bed, angrily swatting at my cellphone vibrating and blaring relentlessly atop my nightstand. My bed sheets don't make things easier either, since they seem to have me wrapped in a death grip.

Another day of lies....and school that starts too early.

I would have allowed myself to loose my battle with the sheets, and slip right back into sleep's wonderful embrace, had I not made the mistake of sparing a glance towards my phone, fully expecting to see the phrase "Wake Up Idiot!" dancing across the screen under a large 6 o'clock icon. My hairs stood on end when my second, far more cheeky alert greeted me.

7:00am. You're screwed if your still sleeping.

"Crap!" I sprung out the bed, nearly tripping over my sheets as I battled the disoriention from a horrible night of slumber.

First period starts in an hour! How did I let myself oversleep like this?

I started rushing towards the bathroom across the hall, hoping I had enough time for my usual morning routine. I had just made it through the doorway when the familiar heavy ache of pain decided to finally reintroduce itself.

How easy I forget...

I turned into the mirror to inspect the aching area. What lay there wasn't pretty.

Last night's mess of a slumber had been my attempt at sleeping off yet another thrashing I took, and I had a large angry bruise blackening a spot on my upper arm serving as a proof of the whole ordeal. Jack had gotten irritated when bill collectors sent a letter to the house telling us our payments were overdue.

If we don't fork over some money soon, the city will start to shut off our power.

In a twisted person's mind, this is my fault. I'm the one who is an unnecessary extra mouth to feed. I'm the one who is a greedy little brat. I'm the one whose school fees are too expensive. More like that ridiculous drinking habit he entertains. Whatever it is he's missing in life, he apparently still hasn't found it in the bottom of all those liquor bottles he consumes.

My uncle's anger was always redirected towards me, be it my fault or not, somehow a fist would come sailing my way. The bruise must have come from when he shoved me into the corner of a wall.