𝘿𝙍𝙄𝙁𝙏𝙄𝙉𝙂 - Max Mayfield

1. Unexpected.

He groggily opened his eyes, blinking away the remnants of sleep as he dragged himself out of bed. The morning sunlight filtered through the curtains, casting a soft glow on his light-skinned face. At thirteen years old, Aiden already carried a weight on his shoulders that surpassed his age.

As he shuffled toward the mirror, he absentmindedly ran a hand through his curly black hair, trying to tame it into some semblance of order. The reflection staring back at him revealed a thoughtful gaze and a hint of exhaustion that lingered from another restless night. His eyes drifted to the small framed picture by his drawer: a woman with brown hair and blue eyes,an almost contagious smile on her face. His parents had been an interracial couple and even if he didn't have the picture of her,his dad never failed to talk about how beautiful his mom had been. Theories and ideas of her still haunted Aiden's thoughts, wondering what she was like was a void he longed to fill. He constantly wished she'd at least gotten to live long enough for him to remember her.

The strained relationship with his father made his longing even worse. The old man was distant, lost in his own world of grief, unable to offer the love and guidance Aiden wanted and needed and to an extent,took the pain out on his only child. At some point, he stopped trying to gain his father's affection and instead, the kid sought refuge in the captivating realms of fiction, immersing himself in music, anime, TV shows, movies, novels, and comics. These worlds provided him an escape, at least temporarily.

On this particular day, however, he felt worse than other times. As he stepped out of his room after showering, he looked himself in the mirror one more time; he didn't feel that great so he wasn't surprised that his current appearance matched that.. he'd barely gotten four hours of sleep the previous night. He opened the first drawer right under the mirror and looked at the bottles inside.

Pills.

He shook his head and closed the drawer. He didn't need them.

As he walked downstairs,he wasn't surprised to find the living room the way it always was.

Empty.

His dad was barely ever home and when he was,they barely acknowledged each other when they weren't arguing.

The boy had decided on a really light breakfast, specifically; just omelettes,cause why not?

The next few minutes were spent eating in silence,safe for the TV that Aiden feasted his eyes on while eating. Soon enough,the teenager was slinging a backpack over his shoulder and heading out the door, taking one last look at the empty house before locking the door behind him. It was July so he had no plans except heading to the comic book store and lounge around all day, engaging in debates,or heated arguments, depending on the customers he encountered.

He and Dalton,the 18 year old cashier at the front desk,had formed a kind of friendship to the point where Aiden was beyond a regular customer now and yet,he hadn't bought a single comic in months.

Aiden took brisk steps as he walked along the sidewalk,the peaceful sounds of his Vans hitting the pavement sounding like music to his ears.

That's why he failed to notice the crack up ahead.

Suddenly, without warning, Aiden felt his right foot get stuck,but it was already too late to save himself - he fell forward, closing his eyes and preparing for the embarrassment and sight pain.

Although the impact did come,he didn't hit the group as early as he thought he would... It took much longer than it was supposed to and it felt much higher than he thought.

When his body finally hit the ground,he didn't feel the pavement - he felt... Dirt.

'The hell...?'