Chapter 1: Chapter 1

I hit the ground with a thud and managed to catch myself before my head collided with the floor.

"Back up kid." The guy's gruff voice growled as I stood up and rubbed my jaw. His punch hurt, but I'd endured worse. The woman's cries still echoed around the small bedroom and my heart twisted as I regained my footing and whirled on the man securing his trousers with his belt. My top lip curled in disgust and it was taking everything in me not to yell.

"Get the hell out of here Trace." I managed to say and the pig laughed and ran a hand across his dirty beard.

"Don't be a hero kid." The guy said with an ignorant smirk and my blood started to boil.

"You're gonna regret this." I spat and stepped between him and the bed where the woman lay. He wouldn't touch her ever again.

"Oh really? She wasn't a very good fuck anyway." The man said and my jaw clenched.

"Get out." I said and with a chuckle the man walked out and I listened to him get in his car and leave. Once he was gone I turned to the bed and looked at the woman frantically.

"Are you hurt?" I asked and she whimpered and gave a soft smile.

"Just my pride." She said hoarsely and I frowned. I bit down on my bottom lip before releasing it with a sigh.

"Why was he in here?" I asked and she looked away. My frown deepened and I clutched her shoulder. She yelped and I let her go instantly.

"Why was he here?" I asked slowly and she bit the side of her cheek before sobbing softly. At that moment I knew it was going to be over something stupid. I tried to prepare myself. Tried to calm myself down, but I knew it wouldn't help.

"H-he said he could get me a fix... I didn't-I didn't think he'd-" she broke off as I punched the wall. Drugs. Of course.

"Dammit! I swear if you weren't my-How fucking stupid are you?! You just got raped over some goddam drugs. You just got-" I choked on my words and pulled at my hair. My heart hammered and I could feel myself about to have a meltdown. I didn't look at her as I threw out my arms and walked to the dresser beside her wall.

I huffed and begun digging through the drawers of the dresser. My hands tossed aside clothes and junk.

"What are you doing?" The woman cried as I fished out the car keys and stomped toward the bedroom door.

"I'm going to kill that son of a bitch." I shot back and slammed the door shut, leaving her alone. She said something as I left, but I didn't catch it nor did I care.

The front door swung open as I left and I heard it crash shut behind me. I was out for blood.

I hopped into the car and turned the key in the ignition. With a huff I pulled out of the driveway and sped after the man. The scenery blurred by as I stepped on the gas.

It'd started to rain and I turned on my windshield wipers. The sky began to grow darker by the minute.

My jaw ticked as I saw his truck up ahead and a wicked sneer came to my lips. His stupid political sticker was stuck to his bumper right above the metal testicles that hung from his god awful truck. The sight made me grimace a bit. What ran through his mind that made him want to buy a ball sack for his truck?

He was driving fast, well above the speed limit and dangerous for such wet roads. Which was fine by me.

As the rain pelted down I caught up to his truck. I glanced over to clarify that it was actually him, though I don't know anyone else who had a truck like his. After seeing that it was him I positioned my car diagonally in front of his.

I yanked the steering wheel to the side and trying to avoid a hit the truck went careening off the road and right toward the line of trees. I watched as the truck smashed into a tree and slowed my drive to a stop. I used my rear view mirror to look at the mangled car before turning off the engine.

I looked at myself in the mirror and got lost in my own eyes. Maybe a more rational me would leave and let fate have the bastard... but fate worked too slow for my liking. I needed justice now. I saw my eye twitch and a smirk tried to form on my lips. Maybe they were right, maybe I was crazy. After all, what I was about to do was insane. Or was it? Honestly I didn't find it insane at all, what I would do would be justified.

The sound of grinding metal brought my attention back to the task at hand and a sigh blew past my lips. My eyes snapped away from the mirror. I hopped out of my car and made my way toward the wreckage that huddled by the trees. Rain drenched my clothes and I blinked droplets from my eyes. The car had crashed head-on with a large oak. Just looking at the car made a new wave of rage swallow me up.

I stomped toward the wreck my hands twitching slightly with pure enragement. Soaked leaves squished and crunched under my shoes as I made it to the side of the car.

The window was burst to shards and the car door was crumpled so it was difficult to open. I managed to pull it open though and glare at the man in the driver's seat.

"H-help." The man groaned and I looked at his bloody face and my eyes trained on the sharp metal inched into his chest from the wreckage. Perfect. He was dying already.

Without hesitation I punched him in his face again and again. One hit landed on some shards of glass as I reared back and I didn't feel the pain as I punched him again. I stole myself and stepped back glaring at the battered man.

I raised an eyebrow and tilted my head as I looked at the tattered metal. I locked eyes with the man. I watched as recognition lit in his cold eyes.

"Now why would I help you?" I hissed and he tried to move, but only groaned and stilled. I glanced more into the car. One of his legs was pinned by the rubble whereas the other was severely broken. He wasn't going anywhere.

"Daimen... I need to see a doctor." He said hoarsely and I frowned.

"The only place you're going is the morgue." I said back and the man frowned in confusion.

"I know you're angry, but--" he began. I wasn't hearing it.

I grabbed the rugged metal and pushed with all my might until it rammed forward and finished it's intended job. The man yowled and jerked before stilling and I pulled my hands away with a hiss of pain. I turned my palms to me and saw the deep cuts left in my skin and with a soft scowl I closed my hands into fists to stop the blood flow from dripping onto anything. I glanced back to the metal. It was too full of the other guy's blood to notice mine.

I jammed my hands into my pockets before making my way back to my car. I slid into the driver's seat with a sigh and looked over at the wreckage and dead man laying in the seat. I started the car and ignoring the protest of my hurting hands, drove toward my home.

Once I made it home I found the woman huddled in the corner of the room. My teeth ground together at the sight.

I walked over and stood in front of her. I tried my best to refrain from snapping at her. I was angry, so angry, that she kept putting herself in these situations. I wasn't her keeper...

"Are you okay?" My own voice sounded foreign to me.

The woman stared at me. Her eyes giving away just how strung out she was. Tears brimmed the windows on her face.

"Where is he?" She asked me and I looked away from her hazy blue eyes.

"He's gone. You're safe now." I said and she gave me a long look and what her eyes saw seemed to register to her brain.

"You're bleeding." She said and I shook my head.

"I'm fine." I grabbed her hand and helped her to her feet. My knuckles and palms screamed in pain from the movement.

"I'll get you some water, okay? Then you need to sleep." I said and tugged her toward the kitchen.

My whole body felt numb yet so alive. My heart still pounded.

I watched as she took a slow seat in the chair by the table and I had to look away from her. My hands shook slightly as I opened a cabinet. I grabbed a cup and filled it with water from the fridge. I set the cup in front of her and she stared at her hand. My brows frowned as I noticed the blood my hand had left smeared against the her hand as well as the glass and I let out a soft curse. I grabbed a wet hand towel and looking around I saw that I'd left my bloody prints on everything I'd touched. With a sigh I wiped off her cup then grabbed her hand and wiped it clean as well. I then got some bleach and started cleaning up the mess I'd made.

"Daimen... what did you do?" Her hoarse voice said as I scrubbed at the tainted counter. The muscles in my shoulders tensed and I felt my heart rate pick up a minute amount.

"I told you what I was going to do when I left." I said after I managed to get ahold of my tongue again.

For some moments there was silence. I continued to scrub at the counter, though now it was clean, I was trying to avoid her eyes. If I turned around I'd look into those eyes of hers and that wasn't something I wanted.

"Dai, you didn't..." She said sounding almost distraught and I whirled around my newfound anger getting the better of me.

"I did Mom! What was I supposed to do?! Let him get away with it?!" I locked eyes with her and a chill went down my spine. Her blue eyes looked so different, I remember a time when they were bright instead of dull. When their gaze made me feel safe instead of sick as they did now.

"It's over with. Leave it alone. Go to sleep." I said sharply and watched as her gaze looked away. I knew that she'd listen to me, knew that the tone of my voice would compel her to obey. I knew she saw my father in me and whether that was a good thing, I don't know, but I had to use it to my advantage at certain times. My father was a good man, the best, yet he fell for my mother-the drug addict. I guess he thought he could fix her. And for a while he did... but once he was gone, it all went downhill.

"You're just like your father." She said as she finished her drink and stood. I nodded curtly. He'd died of an early heart attack when I was a kid. I didn't really remember much about him except his love for her and their fights about her habits.

"Goodnight." I said to her and she nodded and trudged to her room.

"Mom." I said before she left. She paused and turned slightly to me.

"Yes?" She asked.

"You've got to stop using." I said and she nodded before walking away. I waited until her door shut before I went to mine.

Once in my room I shut and locked the door before going to my bathroom.

I went over to the white tiled sink and opened the drawer where I kept my clippers and razors and such. I pulled out some tweezers and laid my hand against the counter. I looked at the pieces of glass embedded into my bloody knuckles and grimaced. I looked from the tweezers to my hand and sighed. I pulled the first shard out and frowned at its size. It looked small but it was actually long and had been buried deep. I set the glass aside before sticking my hand under the warm water.

I watched the reddening water rush down the sink. My hand was clenched against the sink counter as I pulled more shards from my knuckles.

I got the pieces out and grabbed some hydrogen peroxide before pouring it on my wounds and biting my cheek at the burning sensation. There was really nothing I could do for the gashes on my palms except clean them and douse them with the concoction as well. I watched the white bubbles fizzle on the bloody gashes before it stopped and I grabbed some gauzes and wrapped them around my hands.

I turned off the water with a jerk and sighed as I glanced at my reflection. My dark amber eyes stared back at me and I frowned softly.

I stared at the words written in black across the mirror. My face blurred and went out of focus as I took in those scribbled words. Those words that meant so much. They'd been there since I was fifteen. Since I'd wrote them to remind myself. I walked into my room and grabbed a sharpie from atop my desk before going back and underlining it. The black line was shaky and I tried to calm the anger that was still pulsing inside of me. I shoved the marker in my pocket.

Take your medicine. A sweet voice rang in my ears and I opened the cabinet to see numerous pill bottles. I grabbed one but as I went to open it I caught sight of my reflection and shuddered.

There was a huge difference between me and my father. He wasn't messed up. The doctors said it was probably from the exposer to all the drugs as a fetus or something like that.

With a huff I twisted the cap off and downed my recommended dosage before putting the bottle back amongst the others. There were many bottles unused.

I shut the door back and huffed as I pulled out my toothbrush. With a jerk I twisted off the cap and dabbed some toothpaste on the brush before wetting it with the water from the sink. The minty scent floated up to my nostrils before I brought the brush to my mouth and began scrubbing.

After I was done I tossed the toothbrush back in its holder and left the bathroom. I shut the door a little more roughly than I should.

I threw off my soaked shirt and pants and sighed. My hand ran through my wet hair and I stretched softly.

My eyes landed on my bed and I grudgingly walked over and collapsed against the mattress.