Connor woke up to the sound of Cynthia scuttling around in the kitchen. He stirred, pulling himself out of the ball he had curled himself into. He forced his eyelids open, breaking through the crusty layer of dried tears that had made their home on his eyelids. He shook his left arm, attempting to shake off the pins and needles that gripped him so tightly.
He opened his mouth with a wide yawn, which instantly made him realize that he had neglected to brush his teeth last night. He ran a hand through the tangled forest that was his hair. He smiled, thinking about how silly his hair must look right now. He didn't even care that it was probably sticking up in a million different places. His stomach interrupted these thoughts with a ferocious roar. He had also forgotten to eat last night. He sighed. The only way to get food was to go downstairs, which didn't sound pleasing in the least since it meant facing his family.
He cocked his ear to the floor, trying to tell if his mother had left the kitchen. He heard her still, but he didn't hear the rest of his family. He glanced at the alarm clock he kept by his bed. He cursed, then took the washcloth off of it that he had placed there a while back because he couldn't sleep with the red light illuminating his room. There was a time he could sleep with stars glowing all around him, but now he needed complete darkness. After all, what you couldn't see couldn't attack you in the night, right?
He rubbed his eyes, thinking the clock had played a trick on his eyes. It was 5:30 in the morning! What in the world was Cynthia doing up this early? He figured it was too late to go back to sleep and since it was only Cynthia in the kitchen, Connor decided to go downstairs and feed the emptiness in the stomach.
"Connor?! What're you doing up this early?" Cynthia said with a bewildered expression on her face. Connor raised a finger to his lips, urging her to be quiet.
"Look, I'm not going to school today and there's nothing you can do to convince me otherwise. Can I please raid the fridge now?" Connor whispered. Cynthia bit her lip and glanced up the stairs as if she could look through the floor and see if Larry was starting to get up yet. Slowly, she nodded.
Connor breathed a sigh of relief before opening the massive silver refrigerator in front of him. He opened the milk carton and drank the rest of its contents while his mother's back was turned. He put the empty carton back in the fridge. He smirked, thinking of how peeved his sister would be when she was trying to eat her cereal this morning.
He pulled an apple out of the fruit drawer and bit into it, closing the refrigerator door behind him. He savored the crispness of the apple, letting the juices wash over his tongue.
He heard Larry start to move around upstairs. Connor took that as his cue to leave. He absently kissed the top of his mother's head. Cynthia turned and wrapped her arms around Connor. He stood stiffly for a moment, but eventually sunk into the embrace. This might be the last time he ever saw his mother, and he didn't want to leave her by shoving her away.
He pulled away and slipped out the door before Larry came downstairs. Connor felt the cool August morning air against his face. He was glad he hadn't changed clothes and was still wearing his denim jacket or else the cool breeze might have become a nuisance.
Connor didn't know what to do. He couldn't get back in the house until everybody else left. He knew Larry and Zoe were going to work and school, and he was pretty sure Cynthia had a pilates class today. In that case, he only had a few hours to wait. He groped at his pockets. Connor groaned. He left his phone in his bedroom. He sighed and looked over the horizon. The first hints of sunlight were visible over the dark skyline, turning the sky above the horizon lavender. He figured he would go to the park to watch the sunrise.
Connor reached the park as the first rays of the sun rose above the dark horizon, illuminating the world in a tangerine light. Connor turned to face the sun as its light warmed his face, wincing as the bright light seared his eyes. Step out of the sun if you keep getting burned, he thought with a grimace.
Still, of all the sunrises Connor had ever seen, this one was the most beautiful. This sunrise was so different from all the others he had seen. Sunrises in Connor's past meant another day he was forced to go through the motions of the miserable life he lead. This sunrise was his very last. It marked the beginning of a last day on Earth.
Connor spotted a tree in the park that looked like it would be a good place to watch the sunrise. He climbed the tree and settled himself on a branch in the middle of the tree. He watched the sun make its way above the horizon, lighting everything below it. The clouds were bright pink and purple and looked like the bright balls of candy floss kids bought at a carnival. Connor closed his eyes, feeling the sun's warmth on his face.
When he opened his eyes, the sun had fully risen. The clouds returned to their white color and the sky was a beautiful robin's egg blue. Connor was no expert at telling time by the sun, but he figured it was around 7:30. He figured if he walked slowly back to his house, everyone would be gone.
He was practically skipping all the way back to his house. Today was the happiest he had felt in years. He was happy because it would all be over soon. He didn't have to worry about his family or the kids at school anymore. He didn't have to worry about anything anymore.
He walked up the driveway and checked the garage. It was void of cars. He grinned. No one could stop him now. He unlocked the front door using a hidden key Cynthia hid at the bottom of a bird feeder on the porch. He was sure to put it back exactly the way he found it. Cynthia would notice and blame herself for not hiding the key better. Honestly, she was kind of a lunatic.
He stepped into the silent house, closing the door behind him. He walked to the master bathroom, hoping to find prescription medicine that his parents wouldn't miss. He opened the medicine cabinet, searching for orange pill bottles.
As he searched, he thought about where he wanted to die. He didn't want to die at home. Then his family might have to move because finding a corpse in the house might be fairly traumatizing. He didn't want to do that to his parents.
The park seemed like a good option. He tried to commit suicide once there already, but he did it right out in the open. He wanted his corpse to be found, but not before he was good and dead. He knew there was a thicket of bushes and trees by the river where he wouldn't be found too easily. It seemed as good a place as any.
He was in luck. His mother had recently filled her prescription for thyroid medicine. She didn't take it that often and probably wouldn't notice for a few days that it was gone. He didn't know how much he would have to take in order to overdose and die, so he decided to take the whole bottle.
Orange pill bottle in his jacket pocket, Connor walked to the kitchen to find a water bottle. He didn't want to dry swallow an entire bottle of pills. That sounded more painful than the overdose itself. He found a water bottle, filled it, and set off for his destination.
