My alarm went off with the same obnoxious buzzing. It wasn't quite as early as other days, but still, dad wouldn't let me sleep in. Rubbing my eyes I sat up still groggy. Eyes closed I sucked in a breath about to get up when rough and calloused hands clamped down on my arms. Usually I was prepared for being yanked out of bed, only I was more tired than usual. Last night my parents fought. I couldn't sleep, not when something bad could potentially happen. If my father did something crazy and mom needed help I needed to be prepared, after all, it had happened before.

Last night was the first drunken stupor my father had been in since we moved here. Probably because it took him a while to find the closest bar that would tolerated his antics. Once he got going he wouldn't stop not until the bar tender refused to give him more. Apparently the bar tender last night let dad chose his own limits.

Wincing my line of thought was broken and my eyes snapped open. With a painful jerk he shoved me down the hall.

"You know what to do. Be quick about it." He snarled. I met his eyes glaring angrily. I always had to clean up his mess, get rid of all the evidence of the endless bouts of puking in the bathroom. It was disgusting and gross. One of the things I hated doing most. Before I knew it his fist hit my cheek causing me to stumble. "Don't ever give me that look again understand?"

Scrambling to my feet I stood. My face stung though it was nothing I wasn't used to.

"Whatever." I grumbled pushing past him to get the needed supplies. As I passed him I sensed the rush of air and ducked. His fist missed my head by an inch. Balling my fists I walked hurriedly away to prevent any further attacks.

"Check your attitude boy." He spat following me. He was like an annoying dog always nipping at your heels with endless fits of barking. I almost wanted to laugh. What a hypocrite. I needed to check my attitude? opening the cabinets below the small kitchen sink I grabbed everything I needed before grudgingly heading for the bathroom. Hesitantly I opened the door.

The smell hit me first. It burned my nose and made my eyes water profusely. Blinking I took a careful step inside. Multiple puke stains littered the ground and walls. Most of them were fresh, those were the ones probably making the foul stench. Shuddering I knelt next to the first puddle. Gagging I grabbed the roll of towels and cleaning supplies. My mind refused to acknowledge the chunks.

"Can't I have any gloves." I gasped desperately trying to ignore the smell.

"Gloves?" He laughed. Kneeling down next to me. "No, you don't get gloves. You sit here and clean everything up without gloves. You might as well enjoy it, after all you are just as disgusting as this mess."

With a cackle he left slamming the door on the way out. Great no fresh air to at least dilute the smell. Turning back to the mess I internally frowned. With shaking hands I set to work, and I was thankful for the shut door. Anyone would have mistaken the tear that ran down my cheek as an effect from the horrible stench. It wasn't a sad tear. It was one of silent anger, something I kept inside. I was never to share my home life with anyone. I remembered the last time that happened.

I was little, maybe ten years old when it happened. I had found my first friend, a boy my age. We were on the same football team. His name was Tommy, a small kid but fast. We were both running backs. I usually walked home with him after school, it was great. A nice way to escape dad. He was almost like a brother to me, someone I could count on. One day though, I had a pretty bad go around with my father. I tried avoiding Tommy the entire school day, but though he was a great friend, funny, quick witted, smart, and fast, he was also extremely persistent. He caught me in one of the halls. Cornered me really, he had pleaded with me to tell him what was wrong. Why I had a black eye why I was avoiding him. Of course I told him, I told him everything. I was young and naive and I wanted someone so desperately to notice my pain. Later that night Tommy's father had a stern talking with my father. Luckily for my dad that night he hadn't drunk and put on his mask. He played it all off. As soon as that door shut all hell broke loose.

That night I didn't have the strength to even cry myself to sleep. Everywhere hurt, my sides, my head, my back, my legs, my face, everything. I didn't go to school for almost a week not until all the bruising went down. I told everyone that I had been sick, but Tommy knew. The next day I found out we were moving a little farther east. I never saw Tommy again, I never saw my school, I never saw my football coach, or my teachers. That was the first time I felt truly alone despite my brother being next to me.

It took a while but I managed to finish in just enough time to hastily get ready for school. I pulled my navy blue hoody on and silently left the house. My rickety car rolled lazily down the road and I rolled all of the Windows down. The burning smell still stung my nose but I was determined to get rid of it. I was thankful for school, I didn't have to stay home anymore, yet it made me nervous. I was leaving mom to fend for herself.

My thoughts wavered when the school came into view. It was decent in size. I watched as kids pulled into the parking lot, others goofing off with friends. Despite myself I smiled. A new school meant a fresh start. It took some time to find a spot to park but eventually I did. Reaching in the backseat I grabbed my beat up backpack, slinging it over my shoulder, before heading to the front office.

Once inside my hands warmed a bit. The temperature was slowly getting colder outside. Hesitantly I stepped up to the administration desk. A lady with olive colored skin and long black hair was busily scribbling on paper. She looked fairly young and her name tag read Emma. Clearing my throat I stuffed my hands in my pockets. She looked up at me a pleasant smile on her face.

"Um...hi. I'm new here. This is my first day." She nodded.

"Well welcome to Flagstaff high. I'm guessing you're Blake Sanders?" I nodded mirroring her warm smile. She rummaged around in her desk pulling out a manilla folder and handing it to me. "Your schedule should be in there along with a map of the campus and the location of room numbers. Also I was told by your mother that you were interested in joining cross country so the form is already in there and filled out. Just come at the time listed on the form show it to Coach Richards and he will get you started." I nodded taking a minute to study the schedule. My first period was math. Great, it shouldn't be to hard to find. With that I set off.

The rest of the day blurred together. I sat at the back of the class dutifully performing the usual school tasks. Once the bell rang I hurried out hopping into the car and heading to the bookstore. I was supposed to get my work schedule and anything else I needed.

Once there I opened the door which produced a tiny ring by the bell. A head poked around the corner and sure enough it was the man whom had interviewed me yesterday only now he had a nametag that had a simple name. Doug. He smiled waving me over. Obediently I followed him and he handed me a small piece of paper.

Monday:Off
Tuesday: 9:00-12:00
Wednesday: 7:00-10:00
Thursday: 6:00-9:00
Friday: 9:00-12:00
Saturday: Off
Sunday: 9:00 am - 2:00

There seemed to be no particular order to the Times he had listed. He must have seen my confused look because he laughed. It was warm and genuine.
"I know it is not exactly organized however I figured a boy like you would not like to work on a Monday of course if you want to you can. Usually the teachers at the highschool like to give lots of homework on Tuesday's so I figured I would give you time to get some of it done before you came to work. On Wednesday's the teachers are usually happy so they don't usually assign difficult homework, and since you worked late the previous night you would be tired so if you got home around the time your shift ends you would get extra rest. On Thursday's well I just needed someone to work those hours. Your Friday hours were also chosen for the same reasons as on Tuesday. And Saturday the sports teams don't have any games or meets so I selected a time which I thought reasonable."

I followed his words carefully realizing that I was wrong. He had infact put a lot of thought into the construction of the schedule. "You seem to know a lot about the school." I noted.

"I used to teach English/Language arts there." He smiled as if his words brought back fond memories. "You will always have someone else here working with you whether its me or one of the girls. It can can get pretty lonely and we don't want that"

I nodded glancing at the paper before folding it into neat squares and placing it in my pocket. "Thank you sir."

"No problem." He replied. Just then the bell above the door rang angrily. I turned to see a person walking hurriedly into the store. Mumbling frustratingly about something. Turning back to the man I saw that he was shaking his head seeming amused. Again I thanked him for his help before exiting the small shop and heading back into the safety of my car. I looked at the heavy clouds drifting lazily in the sky and shuddered due to the cold. It might snow for the first time since I got here.

Shaking my head I pulled out of the small parking lot. With the Windows rolled down, and the wind whipping my hair about, I relaxed. The moment was short lived, because I soon arrived home. Grabbing my bag I headed into the lobby taking the stairs instead of the elevator. The house was surprisingly quiet when I arrived. A note on the counter explained that reason. Mom had gone to the store and dad was off doing whatever it was he did at this time. The smile slowly returned to my face and I spent the next hour or so doing homework.

Later during dinner dad came home to drunk to eat leaving me and mom to freely discuss the day. That night as I lay in bed I gazed gratefully at the ceiling. Today had been great, maybe tomorrow wouldn't be so bad either. Only I knew that I was lying to myself, this was a fluke, a once in a long while deal. Closing my eyes I prayed. I was thankful for the way today had turned out.

Falling asleep pleasent dreams filled my head keeping me company and chasing off bad thoughts. The night was peaceful along with my sleep. For a moment I thought that nothing could ruin my thoughts, and I was right. For hours I ignored everything, I'd never been happier.

A/N

So my tablet is really intense when it comes to auto correct. It often changes my words to something that doesn't even fit the context clues...so my apologies. I will try and re-read my works before publishing them so that I can catch most of the mistakes. However I am human so I may miss one or two. If you catch one please inform me of its general location and I will fix it. Also, thank you for giving my story a chance.