youth

Chapter 1

Fall. September 18th, 1996.

I stood beside my father as tears welled up in his eyes. My hands dug into my jacket pockets, a faded grey color that matched the sky. It was the last day of our lives, and we didn't even know it.

Well, my nurse Shannon knew. She was always peaking in and out of rooms, and entering peoples private lives. But I know that Shannon wouldn't tell anyone because that's not the kind of person she is.

"Well son, this is it," my father said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I might not see you for a while," he looked down to his feet and then back at me, "but I want you to know that I like you.

"You've always been there for me, Dyl. With your mother not being around anymore, things got tough and you helped me out a lot and for that, I thank you. But today is the day we part our ways."

He said this to me as though he had written it down somewhere a few years ago just in case a situation like this happened. He patted me on the back and shoved me a bit towards the doors.

I walked up the brown stairs that creaked with each step I took. My hair was a mess and I was dressed like a homeless man. I turned around and saw that my father had already taken off. I gently knocked on one of the doors.

A lady dressed in blue came to greet me.

"You must be Dylan Woolf," she said. She smiled and opened the doors a little more.

"In the flesh," I replied. She giggled and gestured for me to come inside. The lady had short red hair and bright red lips with big white teeth and a smile that included her gums.

"Come right this way."

I followed the lady into the main room, the kitchen, and the bathroom. After a while I caught in to the fact that I was being given a tour of the house.

"Okay now if you will follow me up the stairs, I would be more than happy to show you to your room."

With that, I followed the lady up the stairs that were coated in a large maroon rug. I placed my hand along the wall that was placed next to the stairs and gently ran my hand over it as I walked up. When we got to the top, the lady walked over to the left side of the 2nd floor. I looked to the left and to the right. To the right was a young girl with messy dark brown hair, a stained beige jacket and a faded navy blue skirt that reached down to her ankles. I only saw the back of her when the lady called my name.

"Her name is Jaclyn Hoover. She's here for a school assignment," the lady said.

"How old is she?" I asked.

"Only 17... Why?"

I shrugged. The truth is, I was just interested. Down the hallway, 6th door to the right was my room. The door was very similar to door I had at home. When the lady opened the door wood with her key, I saw the inside. The walls were painted a navy blue. There was a wooden desk with nothing on it and a bed with navy blue sheets.

"Thank you..." I looked at her name tag. "Marlo?"

"No problem Hun," she said handing me the keys to my room."It's always nice helping out new patients."

I cringed at the word 'patient'. Left and right people were calling me a patient. I guess I had better get used to it unless I end up leaving and I can't leave without proving myself sane, and that's not going to happen.

My I walked around the room. Sitting down on the bed, I placed a picture of my mom on the nightstand. I smiled and felt a pounding in my chest that gave me slight pleasure. Her nails were black, her hair was dark, she said she liked that way because it fits her soul. She had no room for love, there. Nothing ever made sense to her.

I gulped and yawned. I was pretty tired. Every blink I took made my eyes burn. I heard a knock on the door and jumped up to greet a boy, about my age.

"Can I come in?" He asked, technically already in. I hesitated.

"...no?"

"Oh okay, I'll come back later."

It was strange. He had an unusual jaw, one side a little bigger than the other but a smile to make up for it. Half his hair was black, the other half was white. He had many tattoos all over his arms and upper chest. He looked very intimidating, but had a charming quality. His leather jacket was placed over a plain white t shirt and black jeans. He smiled and walked away without another word. I shut the door behind him and fished through my pockets for a Hershey kiss I had stored in there before the trip. Unfortunately, it was no where to be found, probably fell somewhere.

Everything here was strange.