upside down

chapter 1

I sat there at the end of the swing set, dangling my legs over the side with my ear buds in, letting the lyrics take me away. That was just the thing. Right there you may have thought my life was fine and dandy, but there's more to a person than meets the eye.

When I heard sirens blaring I got the feeling in the pit of my stomach that something was severely wrong. I went from happily waiting to see my dad's joyful smile to a tragic loss before I even knew what was going on. I remember that day like it was just yesterday. I had lost the only person who ever was able to understand me, that day and there was no way to bring him back. No matter how hard the doctors tried, there would be no tomorrow for him.

My mom, on the other hand, had taken our loss differently than I did. she thought that all my drama was just an outburst. A call for attention. When really it was none of those things. I just didn't know how to have friends, if you would rather put it that way. My mom tried her best to be there for me when she could. For some reason I just shut her out and never let her in my life, which made me feel guilty. To be honest, it was awkward around her. Neither of us knew what to say and our conversations were short with few words. It had been that was since I was seven years old... the day of the accident. It was hard on both of us. Now it was up to her to keep the house going and a roof over our heads. My parents promised each other that if anything were to happened to either of them that we would move on and make the best of our lives.

After that I just kind of shut everyone out and spent most of my time mourning over my loss. That's where Mark comes in. My best and only friend. He's...gay. To most people, girls in particular, he is treated like an item bought at the store. But I saw Mark for who he truly was and not some popular accessory, to go along with your designer dresses. He was actually understandable, believe it or not, unlike girls.

Girls were complicated, almost like a puzzle. They had dos many pieces and it was up to you to put them together and that's why I never got along with them. I would typically be the one to start fights and all of them ended up in the office. My aggressive behavior became out of control.

"You have to stop getting into these fights, Katie," mother slammed her keys on the counter. I stood in front of her sigh my hands on my hips, not knowing what to say. What was there to say anyways? I mean, like she would understand, she had plenty of girl friends when she was my age. When was she finally going to understand I'm not like her! I'm not going to be like her, ever!

"Mom!" I shouted, losing it. I see that my tone has completely taken her by surprise.

"Don't you dare use that tone, with me," she shouted after me as I run out the back door. It's common I find myself escaping off to the unfinished swing set in the backyard. It brought back so many memories, of me and my dad. I knew I would never be able to go back to that day though. He was gone.

"Hey, Kit Kat," Mark hopped over the fence to join me in my own little world. How do things come so easily for him? Life was full of unfairness.

"Hey, Mark," I returned his friendly smile. Aside from my dad, Mark was the only one ever able to crack a smile from me.

"Another fight?" Mark asked?

"How do you know?" I questioned him, all really knowing he answer.

"We'll, it seems to be, I know you so we'll that I can automatically tell what's on your mind," he smiled. Mark and I were inseparable. The longest fight we ever had only lasted a day and that was when we were five years old. We had been sitting on the porch swing, drinking juice pouches when Mark feuded he no longer wanted to drink his. He squirted some in my face and made me cry. We didn't talk to each other for a full twenty-two hours. I had been obsessed with time and loved reading the clocks around the house. In the end, Mark took a spoon and dug a flower for me out of his mothers flower garden.

"Earth to Kit Kat," Mark waved his hand in front of my face, waking me from my daze.

"Sorry... I was um...," I stuttered.

"Daydreaming?" Mark guessed

"Stop looking at me like that!" I snapped. "You know, It's good to daydream every once in a while," I suggested. Almost every night I dreamt that this had all been one big bad dream. My life was beyond perfect in those dreams. One of these days I had to wake up and smell the coffee.

"You should stay for dinner tonight. I don't think I'll be able to face my mom ever again," I pleaded.

Mark chuckled, finding my whining and pleading amusing. I playfully slapped his shoulder and scolded him like a child that needed to be taught a lesson. There was nothing different about Mark compare to other tees he boys. Well, aside from his sense in fashion and the way he talks. I found it harsh the way people treated him. He just seemed to brush it off with a single swipe of the hand and not let it bother him. We got along so well, and there was nobody else in the world I would rather replace him with. Mark was truly one of a kind.

"Katie!" my mother yelled, from the back porch.

"Let's go," Mark hope off the swing set, takin my shoes with him.

"That's it! Now you get it!" I laughed, chasing him to the back porch. I abruptly stopped, taking in the sight before me. It was breathtaking. The candles were stunning as they lit the yard up with life. Fire flys danced through the sky. It was almost as if I was living someone else's fairy tale.

"Wether you like it or not, we are going to eat outside tonight," she clearly stated, setting down more platters. Mark elbowed me in the said and ran to the table with his mouth hanging open. I had to give y mom credit, the smell probably wafted down the streets, bringing the neighbors to the smells source. making himself at home, Mark started piling mounds of food on his plate,

"For such a small boy you appetite begs to differ," my mom laughed, obviously remembering he always had a big appetite.

Every mouthful exploded with flavor. I should have known not to enjoy it as much as I had. Little did I know my life was on a downward spiral and there was no one there to save me.

"MARK, GO CALL 911!" my mom screamed. Frantic, Mark leapt for the phone and immediately started dialing. Tears were streaming down her face.

Then my world went black...