Short Stories- Kai ships only!

Tyunning- Escapism

The crash of a plate colliding with a wall echoed downstairs. Kai's parents were fighting. Again. It was only a matter of time until one of them took their anger out on him. On nights he was really unlucky, both of them would.

His dad was the physically abusive type. Beatings were common. Kai has been forced to drop his pants more than the average 17 year old should. Large scars decorated the back of his thighs. It often hurt to sit after the worst of them. If he didn't take it the first time, his dad always made it more violent the second time.

His mother was the mentally abusive type. Starving him was her favorite form of punishment. She constantly reminded him of how much of a failure he was. She bragged about how popular she used to be in high school. Boys lined up to be with her. Girls envied her. Now she was a beaten housewife with a son who had no friends. She got pregnant with Kai at 15 years old. The resentment started the day he was born. She always made sure to blame him for ruining her life.

Kai had his headset on at full blast. He was playing Call of Duty on his ps5 in his room.

The ps5 replaced the ps4 his mom enjoyed breaking when he didn't come home one night. She made sure Kai knew everything in his room could be destroyed at a moments notice. Sometimes she would trash his room for 'fun' if she felt like her son needed to be reminded of his place in life.

Kai put the game modes on shuffle. He was entered into a duo in war zone. In the past, his partners were terrible. This guy was actually good. He was extremely thankful for that.

They didn't say much beyond gamer talk. He turned his headphones down when the yelling stopped. That meant it was his turn at any moment so he had to be ready. He warned "my parents are coming to kick my ass, so sorry if I go AFK."

The guy playing with him asked "oh shit. What did you do?"

Nonchalantly, Kai stated "nothing. They hate each other so naturally they hate me." This wasn't anything new to him. He talked about it casually because it was his normal. He shot a couple of people then told his partner "nice one" when he shot the guy he missed.

The guy said "thanks. I'm guessing you're a minor then if you're still living with them."

Kai's character hopped onto an ATV. He started to drive when his partner got in the back. "Yeah. Can't wait till I'm 18. Got nowhere to go but anywhere is better than here."

"I'm sorry man. I'm Taehyun by the way. I'm 17."

"Kai. 17 too. Hold on a second." Kai removed one of his headphones when he heard thumping. One of his parents were coming up the stairs while the downstairs door slammed shut. Judging by the footsteps, it was his mom. "I think my mom is about to lock me in my room for a few days. I'll bail so you can find someone to help you win. You're really good."

Taehyun sent him a friend request. He didn't want to leave but that wasn't really his choice. When he saw he was alone in the game, he decided to exit out and wait.

Kai's bedroom door slammed open. The doorknob made the hole in the wall deeper. His ps5 was already in rest mode and his headset was burried under a stuffed animal. Now it was just a waiting game to see which punishments he would get delt with today.

His mom threw a box of Lucky Charms cereal at him then waved her key in the air. Her hair was a tangled mess from being pulled on earlier. She had a fresh bruise on her left cheek too. "THREE DAYS. YOU RUINED MY LIFE! YOU'RE LUCKY I EVEN GAVE YOU FOOD THIS TIME YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" The door slammed shut. The locks clicked with each turn of the key.

Kai was now stuck in his room for 72 hours with only a box of cereal as food. He turned his ps5 back on and was surprised to see Taehyun's party request. He accepted and they went back into another game. "Hey. Did you wait for me?"