Since you were 18

-Chapter 1-

Mark's p.o.v

I lifted my head off my pillow and though about things. As I cleared my mind I flung my feet over the edge of my bed and got ready for the long trip ahead of me.
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I got my suitcase out of my closet and tossed it on my bed.  "Where is my bag?" I looked under my bed and all over my room to try and find the bag that my parents had given me for my birthday 2 years ago. I wasn't frantically searching for if because they had given it to me, but because it was my favorite bag.

I never had a good relationship with my parents. Even when I graduated high school early, they never even congratulated me. I've been living with my older brother for a while now. He was always supportive of my aspirations, and always encouraged me to follow my dreams. I ran away from home when I was still a kid. I couldn't handle being in the same house as them anymore, especially being around my dad.

My dad had beat me since I was a little kid. I guess he thought thought that it was better to take out his anger on me than on my mom. Maybe he thought she would tell, and that I wouldn't. My whole life I've lived in fear of him, and I always thought about what life would be like if I had stayed with him: hell; Absolute hell.

My mom wasn't as bad as he was, but she was equally as pitiful. She fell into a pit of despair once my dad became agressive, and she started doing drugs and taking pills. She even drank at times. Whenever she caught my dad doing anything to me she just turned her back on me; every time. She just stood there, no tears in her eyes, no words escaping her lips to stop him, just silence.
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I quickly found my bag and started packing. I decided that I wasn't going to be leaving anything behind. I grabbed everything I owned, (which wasn't much,) and threw it all in my bags. I didn't have the time to clean or organize, I was already late.

I grabbed my bag and my suitcase and hurried out of my room: the place I called home. As I walked through the long halway of my brother's house I looked at the pictures on the walls, wondering how life ended up like this for us, how screwed over it had gotten. Looking at my family pictures I realized that family isn't just a group of people who love each other, it's a hell of a lot more simpler than that.

I set my eyes at my brothers' and walked out of the door. My head turned towards Joey after I heard him say something. "Mark, it's going to be a long ride ahead."