Worthless Joy

Chapter 1

Akrios was walking in the crowded street of Miami, Florida. It was a hot, sluggish day, and everyone was bustling around quickly to get their things done, and sit in their air-conditioned houses. He didn't have that luxury, though. He was a worthless, stupid ass beggar who'd better off in the streets- according to his uncle. Uncle Garret was his Great-Aunt Jess' fifth husband- and Akrios' only living relatives. His parents had been killed by a mad serial killer, but Akrios didn't let that bother him too much. He had much bigger things to worry about. Like his cuts, bruises, and welts.

Akrios was heading 'home', or the 'Inevitable Hell' as he liked to call it, when he heard the shrill voice of his aunt.

"Get in, maggot! You're filthy, and your uncle isn't paying the bills for your food and water for nothing!" She screamed, as he entered the house quickly.

"Yes, Aunt Jess." He mumbled, hurrying past her, and up the stairs. His house was just like normal. It had stairs,  a kitchen, and four rooms. Only, his room was nowhere. He slept in a storage room in the basement. Akrios headed into the bathroom, looking at himself in the mirror.

Akrios had long, thick black hair. It was very unruly, and kind of curly at the ends. He had a narrow face, and starvation didn't make him look good either. He had high cheekbones, and bags under his eyes. His mouth was almost always into a blank frown, and the only thing Akrios remotely liked of his appearance was his eyes, which were a very light, and bright blue.

Akrios shook his head, and combed his hair quickly with a comb that was missing half its teeth. He sighs when he was done trying to comb it in place, and quickly walked downstairs to fix dinner for his relatives. He decided to make them spaghetti, and a couple of times, tried sneaking in noodles for himself, but stopped immediately when his uncle came into the room and gave him a nasty glare.

"What are you doin', boy?" Garret spat in his face, and Akrios could smell the beer on his breath, and tried not to make a face.

"Making spaghetti, Uncle." He spoke softly, pretending to be the beaten down worthless boy.

"Well, hurry up, maggot!" He shouted, his face turning purple.

As Garret left the room, Akrios continued to make the spaghetti, sneering inwardly at his uncle. Uncle Garret was a very large man, and worked at a business company that sold shoes. He was a manager, and made very good income. Aunt Jess was a skinny elderly woman, who had a pinched face, looking like she ate lemon all the time. Both had sandy-white hair, and Aunt Jess had green eyes, while Uncle Garret had blue eyes, though not as nice as Akrios'.

When Akrios finished the supper- which was probably big enough for 5 people- he set  the table and served the spaghetti. He looked at his handiwork proudly, and walked into the TV room to tell his Aunt and Uncle supper was ready.

"Supper's read-" Akrios started, before being cut off by his Uncle, who shoved him into the wall to get through. Akrios sighed as he walked in after them, standing against the wall and looking at his feet, as the delicious smell of spaghetti wafted around him. He wouldn't get any food tonight, he knew, and would probably get 'punished'- if the beer on his Uncle's breath was anything to live for.

After cleaning up the supper's mess, Akrios cleaned up himself, and walked downstairs to his 'room.' He turned left, and behind numerous boxes, was a small, worn cot. There were spiders and bugs crawling around, but he didn't mind. Akrios settled into his bed, wrapped his blanket around him, his knees against his chest, and his arms hugging them. He softly hummed to himself, eyes shut tightly, as he hoped to God his uncle wouldn't come down tonight with his belt.

He heard footsteps thumping down the wooden steps, and hope fled from him, and was replaced with incredible fear. He hugged his knees tighter, hoping his uncle only came down to fix a fuse. No, he wouldn't, he'd have made Akrios do it. You can hope, right? Akrios thought.

"Boy!" Uncle Garret shouted, waddling over to the boy's 'bed', spittle flying from his face as he spoke. "Look what you did, you worthless scum!"

"What did I do, Uncle?" He muttered, keeping his eyes away, and his back rigid.

"Don't call me uncle, boy! I'm in no relation to you!" Garret screamed, poking a meaty finger into Akrios' chest. "You made me lose a profit today at work! You and your worthless parents made the customer go away!"

Akrios knew Uncle Garret was drunk, because that sentence made no sense, but he couldn't help feel a pang in his chest. "They weren't worthless, shitbag!" He yelled. Akrios' eyes widened as he realized what he did, and tried to apologize. "I'm sorry!"

Akrios only hoped the night would be quick, as he saw his uncle's face turn purple, and he reached for belt.