We All Fall Down

All My Worries, They Don't Bother You

Chapter 4

The rain pounded at the window with terrifying ferocity as Alex stared out from the fast moving car, his head bobbing along to the music that filled his ears. 

His mother and father sat in the front of the car, they both kept their eyes on the road, never talking, never looking back at him. It was like they were ashamed of him. 

Alex sighed and scratched at his arm beneath his hoodie; new cuts were always very irritable, it was like they didn't want him to forget about them, didn't want him to forget that they had ruined his life. He had cut a lot more since his mother found out. Every time she would take his razor blade from him, Alex would simply go and get a new one. She would see the fresh cuts and freak out again, send him to another therapist and it would just go around in a vicious circle.

But not this time. 

No, this time his mother had walked in demanding to see his wrists. Alex had shown her the cuts with an arrogant smile on his face; he wanted to rebel from being the quiet goody-two-shoes kid that everyone could count on. But most of all, he just wanted to be noticed. 

His mom had always paid more attention to his brother, Alex always had to sit on the sidelines and watch him take all the affection while his parents assumed that everything was fine. He wanted his mom to pay for the way she neglected him when she was around his brother.

This time, she grabbed her son by the wrist, dragged him downstairs to his father, thrusting his wrist into the older mans face. Alex could see the disappointment splayed out across his father's face but he didn't care anymore.

He just didn't give a fuck.

His mother had started screaming at him about how much of a screw up he was but Alex had become immune to most things, he had learned to channel the bad things out. 

He had learned to be numb.

She had run upstairs into his room, thrown his clothes into a small rucksack and then proceeded to physically shove both Alex and his dad into the car.

Alex knew where they were going and it made him sick to his stomach. 

"Get that out of your ears!" His mom snapped from the front seat, she twisted around and jerked at the wires, pulling his earphones out.

Alex simply grunted and attempted to put them back in again. This time, his mother snatched the iPod out of his hands and threw it to the floor by his feet.

"Hey, I need that!" He yelled, music was his last defense from all the other bullshit in the world.

"No, you need help," his mother stated, turning back to face the road. Alex's dad drove in silence, not speaking to either of them. 

"Bullshit," Alex muttered under his breath,

"What was that?" his mother questioned, turning back to face her son.

"Mom, I'm fine! I swear I'll stop just don't make me go to-"

"Alex, you need help. I've given you plenty of chances to redeem yourself and every time you thrown it back in my face. Well not this time." Her tone was fierce and relentless and Alex knew there was no way out of this. 

The broken family drove for another half an hour in silence before coming to an abrupt stop at the end of a gravel road. 

Alex's mom turned to face him, her expression as blank as a stone,

"We're here."