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| - Daniel Brookson's heavy eyelids rose, revealing two pale green, weary eyes below them. He took a labored glance at the alarm clock, ringing its familiar tune as it did every morning. It was 9:01 am; he could hear a lawn mower whining outside his window, and the sun cast rays of golden light onto his face. Daniel was an average boy, he was tall for his age being only seventeen. He was very thin, having silky black hair with a pale complexion. Daniel rose up slowly, resisting the urge to fall back into his warm mattress. He peeled his bed sheets off his legs and swung them over the side of his bed. Daniel felt the tight muscles in his legs stretch as he stood up slowly. He put on a shirt and walked into the kitchen where his mother was making a cup of coffee. "Morning, sweetie," his mother said in a croaky, yet sweetly sincere voice. "Morning, Mom," said Daniel back apathetically. Talking to his mother really didn't happen anymore, unless it interested him. Talking with her was more of a mechanical response rather than genuine conversation. He never really thought about her when he talked to her. The only time he showed any interest in his mother was when he needed or wanted to know something. Daniel glanced at his mother quickly and walked to the kitchen counter. His mother's name was Katherine. She was short and had dull brown hair, which was glistening as it grew silver with age. Her face was obviously no longer youthful, yet she had a naturally compassionate look. "You want to play a board game, sweetie? Maybe we could watch something on television," she said to him after taking a short sip of coffee and sitting down at the kitchen table. "Maybe later. I don't know," Daniel said as he poured cereal into a small bowl without looking at her. "We should go out today, what do you think? It'd do you some good to get out of this cooped up house. What do you say?" she asked, slowly sliding her cup of coffee on the surface of the kitchen table. "I'm going out today to see my girlfriend, Mom. Maybe we can go out as a family another day," Daniel stated as he grasped the jug of milk from the refrigerator and faced away from his mother to pour it into a glass. "It's been awhile since I've seen her." "Oh come on, Danny," his mother said in an irritated voice. "You spend more time with your girlfriend than you do with your little brother. Can't you just take one day to do something with me, your dad, and your brother? As a family? Is that so much to ask, Danny?" "Come on, Mom. I don't need your whining now, it's like nine in the morning," said Daniel, looking at her with fatigued, apathetic eyes. He slowly turned back around and continued to pour himself a glass of milk. "Daniel, you can be so inconsiderate," his mother said in a quivering voice as she got up from the table. "Whatever, Mom," said Daniel as he sat down at the kitchen table with a bowl of cereal and his cup of milk. His mother shook her head and strode up the stairs to her bedroom. Daniel poured a small quantity of his milk into the bowl of cereal, pushing the floating pieces around with his spoon. Finally, he didn't have to hear his mother talk anymore. Daniel felt annoyed by her most of the time, smothered even. He just wished he could be more independent. Daniel hated being a juvenile sometimes; he hated following rules and depending on anyone for anything. Daniel stared blankly at the cereal as it swirled around gently in the milk. No particular thought or feeling crossed his mind, he just stared into the bowl of cereal. He felt so very tired but not sleepy. Daniel ate his cereal and went to the restroom; he took a swift shower, brushed his teeth very thoroughly, and rubbed deodorant under his arms. He slid on a white long sleeved shirt and a pair of worn out blue jeans and took a look at himself in the mirror. Daniel had always felt a bit self conscious about his appearance, it was very important to him. Nothing about himself really seemed perfect enough in his eyes. Daniel always wanted to be a bit more muscular. He looked closely at his chest and arms, flexing them hard in order to observe his physique. After a while of self observance, Daniel separated himself from the mirror. He walked by the staircase and yelled up at his parents, "I'll be back in a bit!" Daniel walked to the front door and shut it quietly as he stepped outside. Daniel walked across the front lawn slowly, he took in a breath of the outdoor air. It smelled fresher and more natural than it did in his home. Looking up to the sky, Daniel saw that there was no sunshine. The sun was concealed behind a screen of clouds, which looked gray and pale as if it were about to storm. He walked to the sidewalk, slipping his hands in his pockets to avoid the crisp, gentle breeze from chilling his fingers. He walked seven houses down from his own, a route he had taken many times before. His girlfriend's house was the eighth down the street from his own. It stood out because of its peculiar color of pale yellow. Most thought it was ugly but Daniel liked the house. It was eccentric, unordinary, different; which he liked because it was something new to look at rather than the common appearance of other homes. Daniel glanced at his watch: 11:46 in the morning, he supposed girlfriend should be awake by now. He walked up to her door and knocked in an odd rhythm, one that he and his girlfriend recognized and used to let each other know that the other was at the door. Daniel waited, listening closely for any sound of movement in her home. He heard her soft footsteps as she went to open the door and his lips flexed into a soft smile. The white door of the pale house opened slowly and Daniel embraced her. His lover's name was Brittany. She was short and thin, she had long blonde hair, brown eyes, and a sun kissed complexion. She smiled brightly and kissed Daniel's lips quickly. Brittany had an innocent, shy look to her. Her laughter was always beaming joy, yet it seemed like every smile had a question behind it, waiting for her to ask. "Walk with me," Daniel said to her, looking into her chocolate-colored eyes. Brittany took his hand and they walked down the street and onto a long bike trail. Daniel held Brittany's small, slender hand in his own, stroking smoothly it with his thumb. They walked together silently for a long while without speaking. Behind the street that their homes were on, there was a large forest, with the long bike trail slicing through the middle of it. Their eyes darted around the wall of trees that surrounded them, cut in half by the long trail. The leaves were still green despite the fact that it was early fall and the sky was overcast. It was cool outside; a faint breeze whipped their faces gently. Daniel loved moments like this and so did Brittany, nothing to fill their senses other than quietness and nature. Not a single bird or insect seemed to chirp, no animal cried or howled. There was just wind whistling as it twisted through the trees, making their leaves quiver together and hum their own special song. The air smelled like crisp plant life, the forest, the water that the clouds carried, and the fresh, porous soil all around them. Brittany turned to Daniel and broke the sweet silence, "You nervous about our first day back to school tomorrow, Daniel? I am a little bit, mostly because we're going to a new school." "Honestly, I couldn't care. It's just another day, you know? The first day back is always pretty simple," he replied impassively. "Why would you be nervous? You make friends easy." "I don't know, Danny, I just am," she said, giving him a coy smile. "It's not a big deal. Just another day," he said staring down the long trail with an impartial smile on his face. He almost seemed amused by her questing. Brittany squeezed his hand gently and her smile grew. "It's so nice out for a cloudy day." Daniel smiled and looked back at her. "You can say that again." "I love you," said Brittany, stopping them both and looking into Daniel's sharp, green eyes. Daniel took both her hands and leaned down to give her a kiss. Her lips were a bit dry. She smelled like sweet perfume and fruity shampoo. He loved Brittany. Her lips, the way she smiled, smelled, laughed. He loved everything about her. It was perfect, youthful love. "I love you too," he said as their lips separated. "Let's go see a movie, Danny, what do you say?" said Brittany, holding his hands and bobbing up and down playfully. "Well... sure why not. But let's spend some time together first," Daniel said. They walked the bike trail a bit more, taking in the beauty of the day. Despite the dark clouds, not a drop of rain fell, there was only a slight breeze. After their long walk they went back to the neighborhood and to Brittany's home. They did nothing extraordinary together. They played games, watched television, and shared casual conversation. Daniel noticed the time on his phone, it was 6:34 in the afternoon. Daniel knew the movies usually played at seven, they almost always did. "Let's go, we don't want to miss it," he said to Brittany. "We don't know what we're seeing yet, Danny," she laughed. "I guess we'll have to figure it out when we get there." Daniel took the family car without asking at all. He didn't want to go into his home and be rejected, he didn't want to argue. He opened the car door for his girlfriend and they drove three miles down to the mall, which the cinema was close to. The theater wasn't the largest or the nicest, but it was an enjoyable place nonetheless. Many people in the community visited it regularly because it was one of the few fun things to do in the city. All the parks and attractions were out of town. They parked, paid for their tickets, got drinks, and watched the movie. They had both decided on a horror film. Daniel couldn't really recall much of it because he wasn't paying very much attention. The movie was about a mutated swamp animal feeding on a group of children lost in the woods, it wasn't a great movie. Just cheap scares that could only startle his girlfriend and horrify only those with weak stomachs. Everyone died in the end, that's all he could honestly remember very well. "Well, that wasn't the greatest movie I've ever seen," Daniel laughed as he walked out of the theater with his girlfriend. "It was not that bad!" "Come on, that movie was so bad it was funny," he chuckled, looking at the ground. Brittany playfully punched him in the shoulder. "You shush," she giggled. They walked out to the parking lot and got in the car. "I had fun," Daniel said before he started the car. Brittany leaned over and kissed his cheek, he reacted with an amused smile and drove out of the parking lot. "What is today?" Brittany questioned Daniel as he drove. "Uh... I believe it's Sunday. Weekend got the best of you, huh?" "Don't make fun of me, I just forgot is all," she retorted, sliding her hand into his. This annoyed Daniel, having to drive with one arm, but he didn't say anything. "Our anniversary is on Thursday. We've got to do something special." "Oh yeah... September thirteenth, it'll be two years... two whole years. Can you believe that?" said Daniel. "Well, when two people really, really love each other," she said and giggled at her little joke. Daniel chuckled too. They pulled up in front of Brittany's house and they both sat together in the car, Daniel expected a kiss goodbye, but Brittany stayed in the car. She looked at her feet, and a solemn look swept across her soft complexion. Daniel eyed her intently. "Something wrong, Brittany?" "Daniel, why do you love me?" said Brittany, looking up at him. Daniel broke eye contact with her and stared at his wrist, thinking of the right thing to say. He truly wanted to please her, but he didn't know what to say. "I love you because, uh-" Brittany cut him off sharply. "Why? The reason is the most important part about love." "Why are you asking me this?" said Daniel, looking back into her eyes, which were now a bit teary. "I love you because you're... beautiful and honest. And because you're so good to me." "Thanks," she said, looking away from him. "What did I do wrong?" "Nothing, why would you presume that?" Brittany got out of the car and shut the door before Daniel could say anything else. She walked up to her front door, cupping her nose and mouth in her hands, crying. She looked back at Daniel with an irrefutable look of regret in her pink, teary eyes and went inside her home. Daniel looked blankly at the wheel and thought to himself. Daniel sat there staring at the car wheel for a while, no particular thought crossing his mind. He was weary, a part of him didn't want to move forward, just to stay in that silent moment in the car where he had no problems. He knew he had to go home though. It was about ten o' clock in the evening. His parents must have been worried sick and angry that they had no car the entire day. Daniel parked the car in the driveway and slowly walked into his house, apprehensive of the argument to come. He opened the door, the kitchen light was on, he continued inside and kicked off his shoes. He tried to sneak into his bedroom, but stopped as he made eye contact with his mother at the kitchen table. His father and little brother sat with her, in front of them were plates full of meatloaf, macaroni, and sweet peas. "You were gone all day, Daniel," said his father in a calm, yet subtly exasperated tone. "Where have you been?" his mother said loudly at him. "Relax, Kathy, no use in yelling at him," Father said calmly, holding her shoulder reassuringly. Daniel's father was 50 years old. He was tall like his son, he had silver hair and deep green eyes. His skin was tanned and wrinkled, his arms coated in silver hair that was barely visible. His face was bony, hard, and always shaven. The flesh around his eyes was dark and sunken in, he had a naturally stern look to him. Daniel's father was named Richard, but Daniel always called him Dad. "Come on, Dan, sit down and eat supper with your family," his father said calmly, reaching out and batting his hand towards himself. Daniel had no words to say, no response was truly appropriate for this situation. He was defenseless. He walked over to the table slowly, not looking anyone in the eyes and took his seat. His mother gave him a plate and put an excessive amount of each entrée onto his dish. She looked down at the table and slid the plate towards him. Daniel eyed the meatloaf and took a bite of it. It tasted dull to him, but it wasn't bad, Mother wasn't the best cook. She definitely was not the worst though. "I missed you today," his little brother said loudly, smiling at him. Daniel's brother had dark blue eyes, ruffled blonde hair, and soft pale skin. His smile was ugly, his red lips having meatloaf dashed on them and his crooked teeth that all young boys seemed to have. Although his naive grin had a sincerity to it that made it so delightful to see. The little boy's name was Caleb, he was seven years old. "Good to see you too, Caleb," said Daniel, unable to hold back a smile for the adorable child. "So, where'd you go?" Father asked, chewing on his food. "I was with Brittany." "All day? What did you two do all day?""We hung out a little, and we saw a movie." "All day?" Richard repeated, eyeing him with a look of slight surprise. "Yes, all day." "That's ridiculous," his father said, staring back down to his food. "You left us here with no car and no idea where you were. Did you enjoy yourself?" Richard looked to the table and back up at him again. "I really hope you did, we all had a grand time here worrying about you!" His father shook his head and sighed sharply. "Damn it Daniel, do you ever think of anyone other than yourself?" "Go to hell!" Daniel shouted, standing up. "I hate you and I hate how you all treat me!" "Daniel Brookson!" his mother said spitefully. His father was wide eyed and his mouth slightly hung open. The look on his face made it seem as if he would scream in rage and burst into tears at the same instant. Daniel shoved his chair aside and stormed upstairs to his room, slamming the door behind him. Daniel lay in his bed for the longest time, staring at the ceiling. In this time he wished he had a better life, a better home. He wished he had a better family; a family that was interesting and fun. Daniel wished they treated him right. He stared at the ceiling, studying the countless swirls of blue paint. He jumped when he heard the door creak open. It was Caleb. "Danny, do you hate me?" Caleb said, playing with his shirt innocently. "No, Caleb." "I'm sorry if I ever was bad to you." "Caleb, you didn't do anything wrong and I'm not mad at you," said Daniel laying back down in his bed. Caleb stood in the doorway of his room saying nothing, playing with his shirt still, then he spoke after a long silence. "Hey Danny want to play a game? We could find a fun board game or something to do." "Caleb, I'm busy." "You don't look busy.". "Well, I'm thinking, so I can't do anything right now." "What are you thinking about, Danny?" Daniel groaned, annoyed by the pestering of the child. "I'm thinking about private stuff." "You can trust me, Danny." "Caleb, I trust you." "Danny, please can you play a game?" said Caleb, clasping his hands together. "No, Caleb! Get out of my room!" Daniel screamed at him. "But-" "Get out!" Daniel said louder, cutting the boy's words off. Caleb shuffled sadly out of the room and closed Daniel's door. Daniel took a deep breath and cherished the quietness that came after Caleb's departure, the same sort of quietness he felt in the car earlier. The peaceful quietness, that one fleeting moment where he didn't have to worry about anything. Daniel closed his eyes, his body went limp and he relaxed. He drifted quickly into a deep slumber, this long day was finally over. "Daniel, wake up. Get up Dan, come on you got school today," a voice said. Daniel opened his eyes and knew it was his mother. He groaned, still tired, still wanting sleep. His mother paced silently out of his room. Daniel peeled back the sheets and swung his legs over the bed, just as he did every morning. He stood slowly, stretched, rubbed the crust from the corners of his eyes. He went to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, showered, rubbed on deodorant, and sprayed on a bit of cologne. It was his daily ritual, it was always so much more tiring to him, but when he was finished, he felt attractive and more energized. The cereal swirled around in the bowl as Daniel pushed it along with his spoon, the milk took on the color of the chocolate crisps. Daniel noticed his breathing felt heavy and unusual. I'm just tired, he thought, resting his head in his spare hand as he took a bite of the cereal. Then he noticed the time. Seven o' clock in the morning, school started at seven-thirty. Daniel got up, pulled his book bag over his shoulder and left his home without saying a word to anyone in his family. Not even Caleb. The school was two blocks down the street, in the opposite direction of Brittany's house. Daniel walked to school almost every day, he rarely drove. Daniel turned around when he got to the sidewalk to see if Brittany was outside, they both usually walked to school together and their first class this year was the same. They had eleventh grade English for their first period. He waited for Brittany, feeling exposed and awkward standing on the sidewalk all by himself. Daniel waited a long time, but Brittany never came and he wasn't planning on being late to his first class on his first day at his new school. Daniel walked on without her, thinking she was just sick or too nervous to show up for the first day of school. Daniel walked into the classroom, and took a seat at the back of the room, where he had usually preferred to be. The room was a pale green color, rows of gray desks lined the center of the room, a whiteboard at the front, the teacher's desk in the back. Daniel looked back to the teacher. The teacher was a woman, young and fit. She had long brown hair, unnaturally tanned skin, and tired brown eyes. Her face was smooth, and her nose pointed sharply; she wore small brown glasses. She looked very intelligent. The teacher watched as the students filed into the classroom sluggishly, Daniel watched as well. A short blonde haired girl walked in, he knew her from his old school but he wasn't familiar with her. Her name was Samantha. She seemed very shy, only looking at the floor. After her a heavy set boy with thick brown hair came in, two skinny blonde girls followed him. They couldn't stop talking to save their lives. Following the two girls was a tall, athletic looking young man. He had short brown hair, firm muscles and a hard face, which reminded Daniel of his father's face. Four more students filed into the room, none were very notable or outstanding, just kids. The whole class was seated, Daniel looked around and found that he knew no one in this class other than the shy girl. It was a small class, there were only nine students. "Good morning, everyone," the teacher said, standing in front of the class. "I'm Mrs. Beaver." Some of the kids in the classroom laughed and smiled, Mrs. Beaver smiled back as if taking part in the humor of her own last name. "I'm new to this school so I'm not familiar with any of you, but I hope I can get your names memorized and we can do well and learn some cool stuff this year. I'd like to get everyone introduced so I'll start with myself. I've been an English teacher for three years. I served in the military before I started teaching. Uh, I love books and movies, so we'll be watching quite a few films in here." She stopped and pointed to the shy blonde haired girl that was seated in the front row in the right corner of the room. "You start. Tell us your name, your age, and what you'd like to do when you graduate." Daniel stared at the girl, interested in what such a quiet person would say when they had to say something. She spoke quietly. "I'll pass." Mrs. Beaver glanced at the floor and licked her lips awkwardly. "Okay, we'll move around the room counter-clockwise." The rest of the students introduced themselves slowly in the order specified, the athletic boy wanted to be a professional golfer, the two talkative girls wanted to work in cosmetics. The large boy wanted to direct movies, one kid wanted to be a writer, another wanted to be a video game designer. Nothing interesting really. Daniel's mind was elsewhere, he was thinking of Brittany, and why she had acted so strangely yesterday. Maybe he had done something wrong, maybe he said something offensive. Perhaps he didn't show enough enthusiasm or something of that sort. "You in the back," the teacher said to Daniel, catching him by surprise. "Introduce yourself." Daniel realized he had zoned out and jumped when she called his name, a few of the kids smiled, but nothing was said. "I'm Daniel... I'm seventeen years old." The classroom stared expectantly at him. "I don't really know what I want to be honestly." "Well surely there's something that interests you," Mrs. Beaver said, laughing a bit. "Not really, I don't care what happens to me in the future," Daniel said. "Well that's fine, not all of us have found our passion yet." Then the door to the classroom opened, a tall boy with brown hair and dark, nervous eyes walked in. "Sorry I'm late," he said. The classroom eyed the new boy and the teacher curiously, anticipating what Mrs. Beaver would do about his conspicuous tardiness. "Sit down, I'm guessing you don't have a reason for being late," Mrs. Beaver said with her arms crossed. The boy ignored her and took a seat next to Daniel. Daniel felt uneasy about the new kid sitting next to him when there were so many other seats open, but he made no mention of it. "Now that you're here, introduce yourself to the class," said Mrs. Beaver to the boy, raising her eyebrows expectantly. The young man gave a careless, annoyed sigh. "I'm Troy." "Tell us what you'd like to do when you graduate, Troy." "Graduate? I want to sell crack!" Troy said, laughing with an amused look on his face, a few of the kids chuckled at his joke. Daniel found his sense of humor to be lacking and shallow. Mrs. Beaver didn't appreciate the joke either, gazing at him disappointedly with her arms still crossed. "I see a bright future for you. You're going places, son," she said and grinned facetiously. The class hummed with hushed laughter a bit more. She began telling the class the rules, what to do and not to do in the classroom. She rambled on about her expectations. Daniel didn't listen, he had heard it so many times before. He was never a trouble maker. The thought of yesterday's events couldn't seem to escape his consciousness. Daniel then noticed that Troy was staring at him, Daniel looked back towards the boy. "What's up, dude?" Troy said, staring at Daniel, as if sizing him up. Looking for weakness. "Nothing," Daniel said, wrinkling his eyebrows in slight confusion at the peculiar young man. After a long silence, he slowly turned his head forward. The rest of his school day was quite uneventful, it all played out just like his first class did: new students, new teachers, introductions, rules. It was all the same thing. Daniel didn't think of much school on his first day, just of Brittany. During his final class, Algebra II, he thought for once of his family. That maybe he overreacted towards his father's comment. No, Daniel thought. I was right, he thought, I deserve freedom! They have no right to tell me what I can and can't do; I'm an adult, pretty much. I should have more power. The final bell rang and Daniel managed to get through the halls without getting his shoulder bumped into very much. Two kids almost got in a fight on his way out; the school staff had to break it up. Daniel was feeling tired: tired of life at the moment, tired of people, tired of the way they are. Daniel thought about summer. It was a great summer, the best he'd had in a while. He wished it weren't over. Daniel walked slowly through the school parking lot and onto the sidewalk that would lead him to his home, it had been a long and boring day. He wanted it to be over, then Daniel saw something out of the corner of his eye. It was Brittany. She was across the street waiting outside a small diner, Daniel took a step into the street. A car whizzed past and Daniel jumped back in surprise. That car could have hit him. "Idiot!" Daniel shouted. He looked back to Brittany, she was smiling now, but not at him... she smiled at a strange boy approaching her. Daniel winced to see better. It was Troy. Daniel stopped and backed up onto the sidewalk. His mouth opened a bit and he stared, wondering what was going on. He froze. Brittany smiled at Troy, he came up to her and smiled back. They talked to each other for a few moments, Daniel could not hear their words. Then they kissed. Daniel's world froze that very instant. There was nothing but himself and the kiss. It felt as if his heart had sunken into a deep, bottomless pit. A dark painful place where he'd never get it back again. The pain he felt deep in his chest was indescribable, it was petrifying. Tears seeped from his warm eyes and run down his cheeks, the back of his throat burned because he wanted to cry out so badly. He stood there for the longest time, aware of nothing other than the pain, but then he felt something else surge upwards through his bones and veins, right into his heart. It was anger. It was hate. He walked swiftly across the street, still aware of nothing other than all the rage, sorrow, and anguish welling up inside him. It was all growing larger, begging for release. He opened the diner door very slowly and stepped inside. Daniel looked at Brittany and Troy with teary, red eyes. Troy and Brittany were seated in a booth, Brittany's back to Daniel. Troy stared at him, confused as to why the young man was glaring towards him with tears in his eyes. Brittany noticed that Troy was looking behind her, she turned around and saw him. There was absolute silence in the diner, everyone's eyes were on Daniel. No one knew what was going on except for Brittany and Daniel. "Daniel," she stuttered. "You know this guy?" Troy asked, looking at her in disbelief. "I... I don't, I mean," Brittany stuttered. "She's my girlfriend," Daniel said. Troy stood up and stared at Daniel silently, a look of shock on his own face now. Then they both stared back to Brittany. "You cheated on me?" Troy said. Brittany's own eyes began to be filled with a slight film of tears,"I'm sorry," she said in a quiet voice. Daniel walked out of the diner, dazed and confused. He didn't know what to say and it was impossible to bear her presence anymore. He heard the door open behind him as Troy left her as well and walked the opposite way. Everyone in the diner went back to their business, eyeing Brittany as she sat alone crying. Daniel stood in front of his bathroom mirror. He had locked the door and turned on the bathtub water; it slowly filled with warm fluid. Daniel stared at himself in the mirror, gazing into the eyes of the false replication of himself that the mirror created. Daniel felt hideous, stupid, betrayed, and most of all cheated. Cheated out of a life of happiness and out of love. He thought that maybe it was all his fault, that he was guilty of doing something wrong or hurting her in some irreparable way. His life felt like it was over. There was no depth or romance. Nothing to look forward to now. Daniel undressed and slid into the warm bathwater slowly, it eased his muscles and relaxed him. Although the sorrow was still inside him, renewing its strength with every beat of his heart. Daniel closed his eyes, hoping it would go away but he knew it never would. It felt like an everlasting burden. The next two weeks were hell for Daniel; his life felt shallow. As if all the color had faded away, he lost interest in everything. His family, his grades, his social life, himself. Everything was slipping between his fingers. Daniel was losing it all. He lost faith in everything. Every moment that passed by was dreadful for Daniel, he wished everything would just end. He felt like everything was falling apart in his life, that all the good things were over. Daniel was disgusted by people at his school, how they treated one another and talked to one another. There were fights and arguments on a daily basis. No one cared about anyone other than themselves. Daniel never saw the good in anything, he couldn't see it because goodness was beyond his understanding now. He felt the good was gone in his life. No one talked to him, not a single person cared about his tired eyes, his silence in every class. People didn't worry about how he was doing and Daniel knew that, he knew it very well. His few closest friends had stopped talking to him; Daniel felt cut off from everything, his only company in life was the sorrow that consumed his spirit every single day. All this pain was starting to get the best of him. The date is October third. Daniel walked slowly to school this morning as he did every morning. A walk that he wished he didn't have to make every day. Brittany still had not talked to him or even apologized, despite the fact that she lived seven houses down from his own. She never even said she was sorry for all the pain she had caused, never showed any remorse for all the time Daniel had wasted on her, all the money, all the tears, everything wasted. "Good morning," Mrs. Beaver said to the class, now assembled in front of her, everyone but Troy. "We'll be watching the movie about the short story we finished today." Daniel stared off into space, not listening to her, exactly as he had done for the past weeks. His mind was numb, no longer thinking, only staring into the empty beyond and letting his blank conscious control his vision. The classroom lights flicked off and the movie started, Daniel rested his head in his crossed arms on the table and tried to sleep. Suddenly, just as he felt sleep come to him, he felt a tap on the shoulder. He looked up to see Mrs. Beaver. "Come here," she said. He and Mrs. Beaver both walked outside the classroom door and Mrs. Beaver stood next to it. She closed the door as he stepped out behind her quietly and faced her. Mrs. Beaver took in a deep breath and exhaled sharply. "You need to start paying attention in my class, Brookson," she said. "Call me Daniel." "You need to start doing something other than sleeping and ignoring me, Daniel. Otherwise, you're going to fail." "I'm tired," said Daniel, looking at the floor. "Tired as in?" Daniel stared through her and into space once again. "I'm tired of everything." Mrs. Beaver looked at him thoughtfully, but she said nothing. She thought of what he said and truly worried about what was going on with Daniel. He stood there silently staring at the ground. Daniel thought she didn't care, and he didn't care either. No one cared. "Maybe you should talk to someone," Mrs. Beaver said. "Medicine never helped anyone," Daniel retorted. "You should talk to someone Dan." "No one cares." Mrs. Beaver didn't know what to say, she opened the classroom door again quietly and Daniel slowly walked back to his desk, where he slept the rest of the class. "Daniel, supper's ready!" Katherine yelled up the stairs to Daniel, who was napping. Sleep had become a bad habit with Daniel, it was his way to cope with life. To forget it. Daniel slowly got up and came downstairs to the kitchen to find his family all assembled around the kitchen table. He found on the table a homemade pizza, Caleb was happy to see it. Mother's homemade pizza was such a treat to the little boy. Nobody else's pizza was as good as hers in Caleb's eyes. Daniel walked over and took a piece, then he turned to leave. "Daniel," his father said. "You sit down and eat with us." "I don't feel like it, Dad." "It's been so long since you've eaten with us or have even spoken to us, it's time to stop being so ignorant, Daniel. I know she left you but you can't just give up on us! We're your family, you will always have your family, Dan." "Please just leave me alone, Dad." His father stared at him for the longest time with a look of genuine heartbreak in his eyes and then Daniel went upstairs. "Honey," said Richard. "I have to go for a little bit. Just for now." Richard got up from the table and put on his old, worn out camouflage jacket and got the car keys. "Don't worry about me, okay?" "Okay babe... just be careful," his wife said uneasily, knowing she couldn't argue with this particular decision. Daniel threw his pizza away, he had no appetite for such rich food. He only wanted a glass of water. He wrapped himself in his sheets and closed his eyes, letting the worries of the world drift away in the back of his troubled consciousness; letting fatigue take over. He was woken up as quickly as he had fallen asleep. It was his mother shaking him, tears in her eyes. He glanced at his clock, it was a few minutes after midnight. "Sweetie get up. Get up, Daniel, we have to go. We have to go now." His mom shook him harder. Daniel was so tired. "Oh what is it, Mom?" "Something's happened Danny, we have to go now!" Daniel obediently got up from his bed and got dressed. His mother ran downstairs crying. Daniel followed her, wondering what was going on. Nothing made sense at the moment and no one told him what was happening. His mother took his arm and Caleb's and led them both outside, still sobbing. Outside was Grandmother in her car with a worried expression on her face; they all got inside and took of quickly. "Mom, what's going on?" asked Daniel as the car sped down the road. His mother sobbed more intensely. "Your father's been in a car accident, Danny, the doctors said it's bad and they don't know if he'll make it." Daniel didn't know what to say. He felt numb, there was nothing. This had to be a joke. This couldn't be happening. Things like this only happened to others, not to him. It was impossible. They stopped the car in the hospital's parking lot and walked hastily inside, where a nurse led them to the emergency room which held Richard. The nurse walked quickly down the long, white hallway. Pictures hung on the pure white walls which sprouted from the long, green-tinted floors. The looming ceiling lights flashed by as Daniel and his family practically ran down the hallway towards the sign that read Emergency Room. The nurse pushed the large emergency room doors open. Daniel and his family walked in... and he saw his father. Richard was hooked up to all different kinds of medical equipment, needles, and tanks. Almost his entire body was bloody. There were nurses and doctors all around him, trying to keep his vital signs at normal levels. Daniel had no idea what the numbers on the screen meant. His world froze again. It was so different, so horrifying to see his father like that. To see someone he had known his entire life so close to death, and he knew beyond a doubt that his father was indeed very close to death. His mother's emotions exploded, she cried out in terrible anguish. In pain greater than anyone could ever inflict on another human being. Daniel felt it too. It was shock, sadness, horror, and disbelief all in one single emotion that was like no other. Worse than the most awful injury he had ever had. Worse than being cheated on. It was the fear of death, the death of one who was so dear. So close. "We're losing him!" one of the uniformed nurses cried. Daniel still stared in astonishment and shock at what took place in front of him. What the doctors were doing was all a blur, all he could see was his father's unconscious face, bloody and gasping for air. Then he heard it, that awful sound. There was a clear light at the top of the monitor, it flashed a solid red color and whined a constant alarm. The doctors put a defibrillator to Richards chest. "Clear!" His body jumped. No response. "Clear!" The whine continued. The doctors tried so hard to keep his body alive... but light still glared red. The ringing still sounded and despite all the efforts made, Richard's breathing did not continue again. His body did not move. Richard's heart stopped. Everything ground to a halt, like a machine slowly shutting down. Daniel lost his father. Daniel stared at his father's corpse. His mother ran forward, pushing the doctors aside. Caleb cried loudly and screamed for his father. His frail grandmother followed slowly behind her, crying out with his mother. Katherine sobbed and stroked Richard's hair, begging for her lover not to leave. Daniel just stood there... all the sounds in the room, all the crying, skidding of shoes on the floor, all the talk... it all faded. All he could hear was the constant whine of the machine. His father was dead, it was real. He really died and Daniel could hardly believe it. The pain was excruciating, no longer could he bear to stay still. Daniel shoved the huge doors open and ran out of the room. He sprinted down the halls of the hospital, shoving people aside, tears running down his face. He ran outside of the hospital and through the parking lot as fast as his legs would carry him. He dashed blindly through the street and into a large meadow. Running and running until his legs could no longer support his frail body. Daniel's knees gave way and he collapsed in the meadow all alone. He laid there in the grass and cried, letting his emotions pour over his reasoning. Daniel had no idea what to do, he just wanted to take it all back. All the cruel, heartless, selfish things he had ever said to his father. "God," he cried, looking up to the sky. "God! Help me! Help me please God! I need you!" Then he was silent, staring into the dark sky, the stars shining down at him. Daniel was down on his knees in the large field, surrounded by unkempt grass that flowered and grew wildly. The full moon doused his face in all it's pale light. There was no answer. No sign. "God! Why would you do this to me?" Daniel screamed to the sky as loudly as he could. "Don't you care? Don't you love me, God?" There was still no reply, the heavens never poured open, there was no answer for Daniel's torment, no love. There was just Daniel in the field all alone screaming at the sky. "Give him back you bastard!" he yelled angrily and as loudly as he could. "Give him back you life-ruining asshole! You can have anything you want! Take me, just give him back! Let me see him! You can't do this to me, not now!" Daniel screamed as loudly as he could at the sparkling stars above him until his throat felt like acid had run through it and he lost his voice. Then he stayed there quietly, laying down in the grass. His sad world was once again completely silent and devoid of feeling. Daniel closed his eyes, thinking to himself, I want to die. I truly want nothing more than death now. It was the clearest, most truthful though he'd had in a long, long time. In the silence that encircled him, Daniel suddenly heard something. It was quiet but he recognized it. It was the low hum of a moving train. He knew where he was. There were train tracks in his city, they ran through the large meadow in which he was laying. He played near them so often as a child, he knew the way to the tracks like the back of his hand. Daniel slowly rose up on his weak, exhausted legs and began to limp slowly towards the tracks. He stumbled as his right foot hit the edge of the train tracks, he stepped over the metal strip and stood on the train tracks themselves. He could see it now. It was very, very close. This is what he wanted, Daniel wanted to die. This was his answer; this was the only thing that felt he could do with his life now. It was the only thing that felt right. The dark silhouette of the train roared as it came closer to him. He lifted his arms at his sides and looked to the gleaming stars in the sky through his misty eyes and in that loud instant, Daniel died.
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