Better Off Without Me

Chapter One

Alex lit a cigarette as he walked along the thickly wooded path that led to the park. It was the end of the fall in Baltimore, which meant dark, cold nights. He carried with him nothing but a thin jacket, a pack of cigarettes, a lighter, and twelve dollars. 

"Get the fuck out!" his drunken father had yelled at him just twenty minutes before, "and don't come back until you've got my money!"

 Alex gently touched the newly forming bruise on the side of his head as he walked, cigarette in hand. It was nothing compared to what his father had done to him in the past. But he deserved it. He deserved every one of those bruises. After all, it was his fault that Tom was gone. Everything was his fault.

Tom was twenty one when he died. Twelve-year-old Alex always adored his older brother, the one who practically raised him. He was young, so young when he took his own life. When he was gone, his father had nobody to blame but Alex. Alex had grown to accept the blame, and to accept the blame for everything else that went wrong in his father's life. And it continued this way for four years.

~

Jack grabbed his coat and stormed out the door of his house. It was cold and dark, but he didn't care. He just wanted to get away from his parents for at least a little while.

Walking down the thickly wooded path, arms wrapped around himself in attempt to keep warm, Jack began to cry. He cried because his family didn't care about him. They only cared about money and success. If Jack wasn't the picture perfect child, he wasn't accepted. So how could he ever come out to his family?

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard something not too far ahead of him. It sounded like leaves crunching beneath somone's feet. Gulping, he remained still with wide eyes and a steady breath that created a fog in the crisp autumn air. 

When the footsteps got closer, he began to shake. Who knows what kind of people hide out in the woods at night in Baltimore? 

~

Alex was cold and tired. His feet grew heavy as he trudged through the ground that was covered in leaves, careless of making any sound. He just wanted to get to the park and hide somewhere so that he could try to sleep. 

But Alex wasn't alone. There was someone standing up ahead. He could barely see the outline of a tall, slender figure standing about twenty feet ahead. Considering Alex's severe anxiety, he stood still and began shaking. 

The person began moving closer and Alex could do nothing but stand and watch. Tears poured down his cheeks as he shook more and more, terrified of who was heading towards him. As the person got closer, he could tell that it was a boy about Alex's own age.

He sank to the ground, pulling his knees up to his chest and watching the boy approach him. He didn't know whether to feel safe or in danger. 

All of Alex's worst fears flushed into his mind at once as he sobbed into his knees, shaking uncontrollably. He didn't know who this boy was or what he was going to do to him. Everybody was always out to get Alex. There's no way this boy wants anything good to do with him.

Alex heard leaves crunching as the boy sat down in front of him. Looking up, he flinched at the boy's presence. They locked eyes for a few seconds before Alex looked down at his hands. The boy attempted to start a conversation.

"I'm Jack," he said quietly. Alex didn't move, didn't look up, and definitely didn't reply. If he just remained as he was, the boy would go away and continue walking to wherever it was that he was walking to. Right? Wrong.

"I just moved in," Jack continued. "I don't know anyone around here, really." Alex squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the boy to go away. "What's your name?"

Maybe this boy wasn't going to go away. Alex lifted his gaze to meet up with Jack's again. He focused on the boy's details. He had a dark fringe and soft brown eyes, a slender face and a smirk that curved perfectly across his glossy lips. Alex adored the boy already, he didn't feel threatened by him at all. He decided to speak the first words he had spoken to anyone besides his father since Tom died.

"I'm Alex."