Life Sucks and Then You Die (boyxboy)

The Start At The Almost End

So, I started this story quite a few years ago and went on a hiatus and basically forgot it existed. But I found it again and decided I wanted to get back into it, so I edited all of the already-written chapters and then continued and finished the story. Please give me both positive and constructive feedback. There are some triggers in this story (and this chapter, specifically), so please be cautious. You are all fantastic and beautiful people and I hope you like my first chapter.

ETHAN'S POV

Here I am, on April 10, 2015, tying one end of the rope to a high branch of a tree. This is my 4th attempt now. Hopefully, this one would work. I finish securing the rope to the strongest part of the branch and then climb up onto the branch next to it. I loop the other end of the rope over my head. Then, I just sit. I sit in the tree and look up at the branches and twigs above me. The intricate tangle of wooden life. It's quite beautiful, really. It's just something most people don't pay attention to. Well... Not unless you're where I was right then.

I decide now is a good time for reminiscing. May be the last chance I get. So, as I look up at the world above me, I think about my life. At the age of 17, you would think that there wouldn't be much to have happened throughout my time on this earth, but let me assure you, there was.

I replay the memory of running down the beach with my best friend Sammy when we first met on the Fourth of July when were only four. We wanted to race into the ocean. She won.

I replay the countless memories of finding notes around the house that said things like "Have a nice day!", "Don't forget to smile today!", and "I love you, Ethan" that my mom left me every day when she left for work.

I replay the memory of my baby sister Ellie being brought home from the hospital four months ago. The memory of her smiling at me made me want to cry.

I think about what I would be doing to them all. Was it really worth it?

Then I replay the memory of my step-father coming home from work with anger written all over his face. I re-watch the image of him in my mind as he glances out the window to see that my mom's car is not in the driveway. I remember backing away in horror as he removed his belt and smiled that awful grin of his and said "This will only hurt a bit." That was not the first time my step-father had beaten me. It was, however, the first time that he sexually assaulted me. I was 12.

The memory jolts me back into reality and gives me the push I need. I can't live like this anymore. I need to do this. I look down at my scar-covered wrist and kiss it gently. "No more scars. No more pain. Just peace. Finally," I think.
Tears stream down my face as I stand up and take a shaky breath. I let a single foot dangle off the branch. This was it. Just jump down and let the rope do its work.

I remove my hands from the branch above me. I am barely able to keep my balance now. I close my eyes and take in one last shaky breath. "This is it," I think. "It's now or never."

Just as I'm about to let myself fall, my eyes snap open at the sound of someone shouting at me, "NO!"

I nearly fall from being startled, but quickly steady myself and place both feet back onto the branch and grab hold of the one above me. I glance behind me to see a boy about my age rushing toward me.

"Don't let go," he shouts to me as he gets closer, "Please. Just don't let go." "Shit," I think to myself, '
"Seriously?"

He approaches me and I remove the necklace of rope from my body. I let the rope swing back against the tree and just sit on the branch that I was previously standing on. I wait until the boy is standing just below me.

"Hey," he shouts up to me, "What were you thinking?" he huffs, clearly out of breath from running to me. "Oh, hmm, I don't know," I think sarcastically with an eye roll. Somehow, I don't even think before replying to this stranger.