The IV League [EDITING]

Chapter 4

"You're a worthless pile of crap!" The lady slammed her fist onto the table. "You can't do a single thing right!"

"Mom! I'm sorry!" The boy whimpered. "I didn't mean to!"

"One race, Carter, one race. And you came second? You know that isn't tolerated in the family!"

"What family, huh?" The boy was annoyed at her. "You and I are not a family."

The lady raised her hand and struck him across the face. "I have wasted my whole life on you and this is how you treat me? You're a fat, worthless piece of crap, just like your useless old man!"

"Don't talk about my father like that!"

"Your father and you are the worst things to happen to me! It's a good thing he's rotting in his grave."

The boy pushed her away. "You're a bitch, and you deserve to die."

She grabbed him by his collar. "Say that again, pipsqueak, I dare you." She spat on his face. She took the plate of food off the table and threw it in the bin. "Go to hell. Maybe you'll be happy with your father."

She walked out of the room. The boy was furious now. He grabbed a knife from the kitchen sink and followed the woman. He stood behind her and aimed for her throat. "If anyone deserves to go to hell, it's you."

Carter woke up with a start. Sweat was running down his face and neck. He was clutching his blanket. He turned and looked at the time on his alarm clock. 2:30. He sighed and rolled back onto bed. This was the third time this month. He'd wake up in the middle of the night because of a nightmare. Most of the time, it was the same dream with his mother. It always ended with him killing her.

Carter hated his mother with every cell in his body. She was the reason he was like this. She was the reason he was in the hospital. Carter wanted her dead, and he would kill her if given the chance. But his mother was in prison. There was no way he could even touch her.

Carter threw off his blanket and stepped out of bed. There was no way he could sleep. He decided to go find company. This was a hospital after all. Someone or the other would definitely be awake.

He quietly opened his door. A dim light was flickering in the corridor. Carter hated this part of the rehab centre. It looked like it was straight out of a horror movie.

He softly shut his door behind him. He tiptoed into the corridor. He saw light coming out from under the door of the room opposite to his. He was right. Someone was awake.

He knocked on the door. There was a shuffle of feet and then the lock clicked. Morgan opened the door just a crack. When she saw him, she opened the door a little wider.

"Couldn't sleep?" She asked. He nodded.

"Yeah, me neither. Do you want to come in?" She opened her door fully. He entered her room. A small desk lamp was on. She shut the door and went and sat down by a couch near the window. He sat down next to her.

"So," she said, curling up her feet and pulling her blanket tightly around herself, "do you want to talk about it?"

He shook his head. "I just- I want the nightmares to stop."

She gave him a sad smile. "I'm just as broken as you. I'm not going to be of any help."

"Do you have nightmares?"