Memories

It was the average run-of-the-mill day, the type of day when you get back home from school and start doing your homework. Then you end up stalling for a while and end up doing it later, only to finish it really fast. The only sound in the room was the scratching of a pencil on paper and the sound of songs playing through earbuds. Lukas was sitting on his bed doodling randomly on his sketchbook as he had finished his homework. He looked over at his small portfolio filled with pictures of older memories on his bedside drawer. ‘Might as well look through them,’ he thought as he got up and carefully placed it onto his bed to make sure none of the sheets and pictures inside fell out. Lukas heard the sound of paper scratching against the bedside drawer and wooden floors as one of the pictures fell out. He picked it up and saw it was a picture of his birth mother with his mother who was holding his hand, while his sister, who was the same age as him, stood with a smile. Lukas could remember that day as clear as glass, the smell of freshly cut grass, the soft blow of the wind. He placed it beside him and started to go through the portfolio until he saw a sheet he had forgotten about. It was the sheet of when his birth mother got custody over him. Suddenly he was sent in a wave of memories back when his mother was with his birth father.

It was an average day of his father going off to either see other women or was busy doing criminal activity, while his mother was with her friends. Lukas, who was only 10 at the time, was cleaning off some of the cuts and gashes he endured in his father’s drunken rage. Lukas and his mother both knew of what his father would do while away from the house, but they both were unable to do anything unless they had proof of his father’s criminal activity. They were trying to come up with a way to get clear evidence of how bad his father was, but by the time they had a plan he would get back home and beat them in a drunken rage once he found out their plan. His father wasn’t always like this, he used to be very nice, a good man as most would say. Until he started going to bars, he soon later became an alcoholic and met new friends, those friends convinced him to rob places and that his wife and son only wanted him for his money, even though both of them would help with earning money. Lukas hissed in pain as he softly rubbed the cloth, soaked with rubbing alcohol, on the gash on his thigh. The aroma in the air was filled with rubbing alcohol and normal alcohol scents, the normal alcohol from his father’s collection of wines and beers. Lukas sat back up, looking at himself in the mirror, bandages covered parts of his legs, arms, and face. The sound of a door crashing open echoes through the house.

“Get over here you little brat!” the familiar gruff voice of his father boomed all throughout the house. Lukas got up and walked over to the living room, where his father stood, door looking even worse than it did before. Standing in front of him stood his father, his greasy, lavender dyed hair shining from the light reflection. He was about to reply when he saw a woman looking through the window of the house, watching as everything happened and was recording the events occurring. He saw her blonde locks, her soft oval shaped face, and instantly knew it was his mother’s best friend,  Amber, the one who would take care of him and drive him home if his mother was unable to. Suddenly he felt a strong pain on his cheek, “Answer me you bi- brat!” his father yelled. He looked at him and realized that his father had slapped him, and he hadn’t paid attention to what his father had previously said, this bringing up the possibility of getting beaten for the second time. “This is your last chance-” his father raised an empty beer bottle, “unless you want punishment.”

“Ye-n- maybe.” His father looked at him in surprise, lowering the bottle.

“I’m too tired for this,” he said, rubbing his eyes and slowly walking away like some weird zombie.

“Why did he look so surprised? What did he...” he cut himself off when he saw Amber give him a thumbs up.  She gave him a toothy grin as she got up towards the front door. Lukas opened the door as quietly as he could, trying to make sure his father was unable to hear him. The moment she entered the house the atmosphere felt more bright, the gloomy and depressing aura the house gave dissipated.

“I got some good footage, we can turn this into the police and your mother would most likely get custody over you. Then you won’t have to deal with that piece of sh- crap.” She gave him another toothy grin, her eyes shining brightly.

“Does my mom know? Of the plan?” Lukas asked timidly, tilting his head to the side like a puppy would do.

“Yep! It was partially her plan after she had told me about what went on for you guys I decided to help out with coming up with a plan, although I didn’t expect it to actually work.” Amber rambled on and on about the process of coming up with a good plan, finding a good time that the abuse would happen and all that stuff. Lukas gave her a small grin, happy that he and his mother were one step closer to leaving the place they called ‘home’. “I need you to come with me to the police station though, so you can, if they need you to, show them your injuries.”

“Well, let’s go then, I don’t want to be here any longer than I have to be.” Amber nodded in agreement, then walked outside. Lukas looked back at the house, then got into the car with her.  When they got to the police, Lukas’ ‘father’ was sent on trial. Unsurprisingly, he was sent to prison for 3 years, the lawyer themself (non-binary lawyer here because I can) barely even tried protecting him. Lukas could even remember the exact words that were said from the judge.

“Evan Jaruso, you are found guilty of domestic abuse towards your spouse and child. You are also found guilty of being the leader to all the crimes that have been committed by one of the top criminal groups,  sentenced to 3 years in prison.” The judge said in a cold, uncaring voice as Evan Jaruso yelled over and over how it wasn't fair, that he was forced to do all the crimes by the others threatening him.

Lukas jolted, letting out a small gasp of breath. He looked around at his surroundings, once he relised he was only having flashbacks to the events, did he let himself relax. “I-it felt so real, like I was… reliving all of it.” Lukas looked back at the portfolio, then quickly went through it, this time looking for a picture of the old house.He imediately got up and ran down the stairs, passing the kitchen. “Moms! I’m going out for a while!” He yelled, feeling the cold breeze of a fall day.

“Okay, just be home by 7!” One of his mothers yelled back, poking her head out from the art room. Lukas gave her a small nod then ran off, slamming the door shut. ‘I wonder if it’s even still there…’ he thought, shaking his head to rid the thoughts he skidded to a stop. There in front of him stood the tall, two story house. Having been abandoned for 5 years, it was in pretty nice shape, the gray and white painted walls slightly dull, the brown roof even more duller. The house looked more full of life than before, some plants started to grow, a couple of small trees even started growing. Though the steps themselves were ruined, completely broken.

‘I can’t beleive how much has changed,’ Lukas thought, ‘from being abused to having a sister and two moms.’ The memories, although not being very happy, gave Lukas a sense of nostalgia. The corners of Lukas’ mouth curved, forming a smile. ‘I wonder what my life would have been like if Evan wasn’t found guilty, would I have died?’ Lukas shook the bad thoughts away, instead he went to the door frame of the house. ‘Look around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now…’ the lyrics from ‘That Would Be Enough’ were sung in Lukas’ head.

Lukas went inside the house, seeing dust almost everywhere. “Would we have been enough? If we had given him time would he have gotten better, or worse?” Lukas smiled a bit, “At least life got better for us…”