Throwback Vol. #1 (Violent Faith)

Chapter One

Billy Brogan was walking along a cracked and broken sidewalk. The day was hot and the smell of freshly cut grass hung in the air. School had just let out for the summer and the sound of giddy children echoed off the houses. He walked along whistling and swinging his dirty old book bag. He couldn't wait to see what summer had in store for him. He imagined playing outside with his buddy Ryan, trading baseball cards or building a tree fort in his back yard. A burst of excitement came over him and he started running for home. When he saw his house, he noticed something that sent his excitement into overdrive. A large semi truck was parked on the street.

  "Dad's home!" he shouted and ran as fast as his little legs would take him. He darted up the porch steps and burst through the front door. He quickly kicked off his shoes and hung his book bag on the coat rack.

  "Mom? Dad? Anyone home?" Billy walked through the unusually quiet living room. When no one responded, he slowly walked upstairs. He went to his bedroom and looked around. The room was empty. He took a moment to admire his batman posters, as usual, and then went back into the hallway. He was heading toward his parents room when the door suddenly opened and his mother stood in the doorway with tears in her eyes.

  "Hey Billy, can you come in here for a second?" She said and watched as he made his way in.

  "Your father and I need to talk to you about something." He walked in and saw his father sitting on the bed with his hands folded in his lap.

  "Hey buddy, how's it going? I miss ya." He was trying to sound cheery and held his arms out to embrace his boy. Billy ran to him and gave him a good hard hug, burying his face in his chest. He could smell that familiar scent of Old Spice cologne.

  "How ya been scout?" He said and messed up Billy's blond hair with his big calloused hand while holding him tight against his chest.

  "Can you take a seat for a second so me and your mom can talk about something?"

  Billy let go of his father and crawled up on the bed next to him. He could see the unease in his parent’s eyes and could almost smell the fear and frustration they were holding back. He knew that whatever this talk was going to be about, it wasn't going to be good.

  "Well this isn't easy to tell you, but your mom and I are not doing so well. You see, when grown-ups get older they sometimes grow apart." His father paused and looked down to the floor.

  "Oh Jesus Christ Bill, he doesn't need a speech." Billy's mother said bent down to be at eye level with her son. She caressed Billy’s tiny wrists as she began to speak.

  "What your father is trying to say is that we're not going to be living together anymore. You will still be able to spend time with both of us and we love you very much, but things are going to be a little different from now on." When she finished, she had tears running down her face that caused Billy’s heart to sink and his own eyes began to water.

  Bill Brogan tried to calm his wife and son down by rubbing the middle of their backs. Susan slapped his hand away and looked at him with hateful bloodshot eyes. Bill stood up shaking his head and walked out of the bedroom. He closed the door behind him and that's when Billy fell apart. All of his excitement was completely drained. He hardly ever saw his father as it was, and now this? He pressed his face into his mother's chest and began to sob in long drags. He felt the warmth of his mother's hands as she rubbed the back of his head, then she pulled him away and held his cheeks.

  "Your father's leaving us and I can't afford this place on my own. So you’re going to have to go stay with your aunt Linda and uncle Brian for a little bit. At least until I can find a place, OK!" She let go of his face and started rubbing his arms. They looked at each other through blurry eyes.

  "It will be alright, I promise!" She hated the sullen look on her son's face.

  Billy hated the idea of leaving for the summer. He hated the way his dad walked out of the room without the slightest care. But most of all, he hated how hurt his mother was.

  "Alright." He said, sniffling and wiping his eyes. He hugged each his mother never wanting to let go.

***

  Billy had been fast asleep for two hours. Susan and Bill sat at the kitchen table. The clock on the wall read a quarter to midnight. Susan's cheeks were chapped from the constant flow of tears. She was using a soggy Kleenex to dab them. Bill was laid back in a chair looking at his wife and feeling no pity for her.

  "Look, you should of known this was coming." He took a big swig off a Budweiser bottle.

  "What did you think I was going to do? I come home and you treat me like a stranger. Come on Susan!" He set his beer down with a thud and stood up. He walked to the fridge and started packing a cooler.

  "I treat you like a stranger because you are a stranger. You asshole!" She screamed and slammed her fists on the table.

  "I can't believe your going to leave your family for some nasty truck stop hooker. What the hell is wrong with you?" She started crying into the disintegrated tissue once again.

  With no remorse, Bill walked to the table and slammed his palms down.

  "She's not a hooker and she treats me a hell of a lot better than you." He screamed in her face. This sent Susan into a heap of sorrow.

  "That's enough, I'm out of here!" He grabbed his cooler and headed for the door. He was putting his shoes on when he heard a familiar voice.

  "Daddy?" Billy was rubbing his eyes at the bottom of the stairs.

  Bill stood looking at his confused son. He walked to him, knelt down and began hugging him.

  Billy stood in his father's grasp limply and listened as his father told him that he loved him very much and they would see each other soon.

  "Love you." Billy muttered, feeling his father rub the top of his head like always, then watched as he stood up and walked out the door.

  When he heard the semi fire up, he walked to the window and stared blankly at the rigs lights. He always loved the way they looked at night. It reminded him of a Christmas tree. After ten minutes, which seemed like a second, the truck pulled away from the curb and drove off, leaving him and his mother alone like so many times before.

  When the truck was out of sight, he walked to his weeping mother who was hunched over at the kitchen table. He rubbed her back and played with her hair until she was done ridding herself of the hurt. She tried straightening herself up, smearing thick black lines of mascara across her cheeks. Her dirty blond hair was lying over her shoulders in a rat's nest. Then she got up warily and escorted Billy back to his room.

  "You have to get some sleep, honey! We have a long drive tomorrow." Susan gave him a light kiss on the cheek. She sat on the edge of the bed watching her boy slowly fall into a deep sleep. Then she left the room and went to her own. She walked around admiring the family pictures that hung on the walls. When she looked at the happy smiling faces, she could feel tears wanting to come again and shoved them back down. A small wooden jewelry box sat on the dresser. She opened the top, pulled off her wedding ring and threw it in. She then went to her bed to sleep in it for the last time, hoping tomorrow would bring a brighter day.