Ring of Fire (Completed) Book 1 Vanelzing Series

Chapter 3

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There have been several instances where Shawn has had to deal with his family. Most nights he is able to push through, but there are some nights where he cannot deal with it anymore. Some nights the woods are more welcoming than a roof over your head and if you have been there I am truly sorry.

A home should not be a battleground. It is meant to be a beacon. A light when you feel darkness closing in around you, but for Shawn home was that darkness. Anyone with eyes could see it. They just didn't want to believe it. If Shawn had any other place to go, he would have left with Angel.

When we were in middle school, Shawn had one of those nights. He told me that morning what had happened. It was a Friday night. Shawn and Angel didn't come over that afternoon. Shawn's father was home and he had chores to do, by the time he had finished it was too late for him to come visit.

Mr. Watts had gone into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and took a beer from the inside of the door. He placed the tip on the counter and popped the cap then took a gulp. Mrs. Watts's lay on the couch flipping through channels.

Shawn was in the safety of his room. He always kept his shoes and backpack by his bed in case he had to leave. The house had no heat at the time so the cool air was seeping into the house. The cold was keeping him awake. He had given his comforter to Angel so she could stay warm, but it left him with nothing.

"Why don't you leave it on one freakin' channel!" Mr. Watts yelled from the kitchen.

Shawn took his pillow and placed it on top of his head in a feeble attempt to block out his father's yelling. Shawn could still hear his father's words clear as day.

"Why don't you stop drinkin' all my beer!" she yelled back.

Shawn forced the pillow on his head even more. Anymore and he might have suffocated himself.

"Your beer! When was the last time you got a paycheck!" Mr. Watt yelled.

Shawn grabbed his pillow on his bed in anger and yelled into it.

"Just one night Lexi," Shawn told me. "I just want them to stop for one night."

Shawn tossed his covers off of him and swung his legs over the side of his bed. There was no helping it. His parents were going to go at it again at yet another ridiculous hour. He reached down and grabbed his shirt. He slowly pulled his shirt over his head.

Once his shirt was on, he reached down and pulled his shoes closer to him. He started with his left shoe. It was something that he has done all his life. It was a little habit of his. Next he put on his right shoe and tapped the tip on the hardwood floor.

Shawn casually walked over to his window and opened it as quietly as he could, not that it really mattered. His parents wouldn't have heard it over their obnoxious yelling anyway.

"I thought about Angel," he told me.

Shawn opened his door and looked across the hall into her room. She was fast asleep in her crib.

"She could sleep through an earthquake," he laughed.

Shawn left through his bedroom window. He was okay until the cool November air hit him, shattering his hopes of sleeping outside. Normally he would walk off and sleep somewhere under the trees but he couldn't that night. It was way too cold. He would lightly catch pneumonia or the flu.

I was sitting on the porch that night. I was reading one of the books Shawn told me to read. It was a book about a kid who discovered he was a demigod. I know it doesn't really matter but I was wearing my floral pajamas. My floral pajamas are my favorite.