Drops of Jupiter

Chapter 1

"Austin.... Austin............ AUSTIN!"

"What!" Austin screams as he jolts up in bed he turn and strains to focus on his clock. The infared numbers mockingly glare 7:06.

"You're late," Dallas yells back from the kitchen.

The comfort of the bed almost draws him to throw the covers back over his head but Austin knows his brother doesn't take kindly to being ignored. With one final huff he throws the cover off his legs and sets his feet onto the hideous green carpet that seems to come complimentary with every double wide on the market.

He looks into his mirror covered with memorabilia from various movies and artists. His dark brown hair is greasy but nothing to really shower for; a few spots of acne dot his chin and forehead but all in all he isn't hideous. He likes to think he has a certain grungy appeal. His green eyes peak out from a few stray hairs that fall across his forehead. His mom always said that was his favorite feature about him.

"Reminds me of  a prince out of a fairy tale," she would say.

He quickly dismisses the thought. It hard been a year and three months since she left. There is no point in reminiscing. She isn't coming back. She left him at the mercy of the drunken monkey he calls Dad. Since her departure his drinking went from social to stuporous and when he was conscious enough to hold a conversation he only told Austin how much of a sorry excuse he was and how he should be more like Dallas. 

His 22 year-old brother worked full time as a mechanic and had moved across town with his wife Vanessa three months ago. He only came over now to pick up Austin and take him to school since it was on his way.Vanessa and he were living happily together though his brother had tried to persuade him to move in with them, Austin politely declined knowing that the couple had enough to deal with. What with buying a new home and Vanessa becoming pregnant only a month after they married there left little room for him. Austin refused to become anyone else's burden except the one he seemingly posed on his father.

"Well don't worry Dad," Austin mumbles under his breath, "in a few months I'll be out of your hair and you won't have to be worried about this excuse."

"Austin! Truck now!" Dallas gives one final warning.

Austin rolls his eyes and quickly throws his jeans on from yesterday and a button down shirt. He grabs a hair band and pulls back his shoulder length hair into a ponytail before running out the room.

"Hey." 

Austin halts before making out the front door. Reluctantly, he releases the door knob that keeps his from freedom. He sighs and turns to face his dad, Warren, who is slumped in his recliner with a half empty case of Miller on the end table. Austin notices how much older he looks since his mother left, grey peppers his beard and frown lines cut deeply into his face. At once he was a pretty handsome guy, now he just looks empty and bitter.

"When you gonna cut that hair, pretty boy?" His dad scowls as he takes another sip of beer. Dallas makes his way out of the kitchen and watches intently between the two.

"Maybe when you stop drinking in the morning," Austin mumbles under his breath not daring to look Warren in the eye.

"What was that, pretty boy?" Warren leans up in his seat and sets his beer down.

"Dad, Austin is just-"

"Shut up, Dallas," his dad's words are barely a whisper through clenched teeth. He slowly rises from the chair and makes his way across the living room to stand in front of his youngest son. Austin looks to his left  searching for anything to concentrate on. Anything to keep his mind off of what is to come.

"What did you say..... pretty boy?" The man's face is barely an inch from Austin's. His breath reeks of alcohol. Austin swallows unable to say anything. "Look at me when I'm talking to you." Austin blinks back tears and tries to slow his breathing. Fear rises in him like a vice constricting his chest. He hates how scared he is. He hates how the tears sting his eyes. Tears did nothing but feed his father's anger. "Weak. That's what you are. Only sissy's cry and I'll beat the weakness out of you. No son of mine is gonna be a sissy." His dad had said those words so many times before, Austin refused to let the tears slip.

"I said look at me!" Austin snaps out of his thoughts as he feels his father grab his face and forces him to meet his eyes. The rage he sees is unfathomable, "What. Did. You. Say."

"Dad, please." Dallas says calmly trying to diffuse the situation, "He's late for school. We need to go."

It feels like an eternity before Warren releases his grip on Austin. His glare never leaves as he slowly backs off, "Just you wait, boy, I'll have something for you when you get home."

"Austin, go to the truck," Dallas interrupts the eerie quiet that has filled the room. Without hesitation Austin turns and heads out the front door still feeling his face throb from his father's grip. Dallas quickly follows and jumps in the driver seat as Austin climbs into the passenger seat of the '87 Dodge.

"You gotta stop picking fights with Dad," Dallas says as he keeps his eyes fixed on the road.

"Yeah, whatever."

"Austin, I mean it. You know how he gets. I don't know why you push him like you do."

"You're blaming me for this?" Austin can't prevent the rise in his voice as he exclaims. How could his brother say that to him? It wasn't his fault their father used him as a punching bag whenever the mood struck him. 

"No, that's not what I mean," Dallas sighs as he pinches the bridge of his nose. He pulls into the front of Texas City High and comes to a halt just as the bell rings, "Austin, the offer is still there. Vanessa and I have a room if you need. Plus, we are going to a new church and I'm sure you'd love it there. They have a huge youth group with plenty of teens your age who-"

"No thanks, bro," Austin opens the door and grabs his back pack. "I don't plan on staying in this town after graduation. What's the point of making new friends if I'm just gonna say good-bye in a few months? Plus, I don't think God has much time for me. He sure hasn't yet," before Dallas can say anything Austin slams the door and makes his way into the school building and into a whole new war zone.