Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“Charlie, I’m tired of how you don’t do anything but drink around here! I’m leaving, and this time for good.” Mama’s angry sing-song voice rang out in the small house. I heard her pick up her bags and begin to walk towards the front door.

            “Now, Diane-” Dad’s drunken voice began, but was quickly silenced when I heard the slap.

            “Charlie, leave me alone. I don’t deserve this- I don’t deserve you.”

            Suddenly, there was silence. I could feel how tense the air was, though I was all the way out in the hallway. The tense feeling made me scared, and I started crying, hoping Mama and Dad would quit fighting all the time, hoping that Ma would come pick me up and snuggle me, singing a soft lullaby like she always did.

            But Mama never came. Instead, she angrily came out into the hallway, and grabbed the doorknob, swinging it open to let in freezing cold air. Ma looked down at me, her face red from crying, and hesitated, as if wondering if she should bring me along. I looked back at her, pleading, hoping, wishing- but she just slammed the door behind her, silence following her departure.

            Dad came running into the hallway, opening the door again. “WE DON’T NEED YOU ANYWAYS! YA, YOU RUN AWAY!” Dad slammed the door and I jumped, tears filling my eyes again.

            Dad stared down at me as if I was something the dog dragged in. He bent down to eye level with me, hatred glowing in those gray eyes.

            “This is all your fault,” He whispered, raised a hand, and slapped me across the face.

            My eyes snapped open to sunshine running across my face. I could almost feel the sting of the slap, reaching up to touch my cheek. Just a dream, I said to myself. Just a dream. Deep down though, I knew it was more than that. I knew that it was actually a memory- a memory of when I was four. Now, I’m fifteen.

            And the memory still haunts me.

            “Hey, Skyler! Are you awake yet?!” I heard Daniel yell from downstairs. I groaned and rolled over in my bed.

            “Skyler!”

            “Coming, I’m coming…” I yelled and stood up, stretching. I looked around my small room. I shared this room with Daniel, my older brother. He’s 17.  Our room was dirty and dusty, with just two beds and a lamp in it. I usually got Daniel’s hand-me-downs, so we both shared clothes, storing them underneath our beds.

            I threw on a ragged gray shirt that had a few holes in it, and pulled on a worn out pair of jeans.

            “SKY!”

            “I’m COMING!” I hollered, and rushed out into the kitchen. “What?” I looked up at Daniel. Though he was skinny like me, he had a nice complexion with dark brown hair and green eyes like Mamas’.  He was scrambling some eggs for everybody, and the sizzle of the pan and the smell of the eggs got my stomach grumbling.

            One thing that Daniel could do well was cook, and that’s the truth.

            “Could you put some bread in the toaster?” Daniel grumbled over his shoulder.

            “Yeah, sure.” I went over to the counter, grabbed two pieces of bread from the bag, and popped them in the toaster, turning the knob to six minutes.

            Silence was exchanged between us. But I was used to it. It was usually awkward between us anyways. I ran things through my mind to say to him.

            “So- have you seen Sandy lately?” Sandy was Daniel’s girlfriend. She was real sweet too; once, when I was younger, she came over and baked cookies for me. When I was sick, she came and took care of me so Daniel could go out and do whatever he wanted to do. I sure liked Sandy; she’s really pretty also. She has long, golden hair and big blue eyes.

            “Yeah, I saw her yesterday. Don’t you remember, stupid?” Daniel snarled at me, and I was quiet. I leaned back on the counter, rubbing my thumb and forefinger together, nervous.

            “Seen Dad since last night?”

            “No. He probably got drunk and made it out with some sucker lady again.” 

            “Probably.” Dad wasn’t an easy topic to discuss with Daniel, though we both hated his guts.

            Dad was one of the few topics that we agreed on.

            “Watch the eggs, alright Sky? I’m going to go to the bathroom.” Daniel pointed to the sizzling frying pan and walked off. I stood by it, slightly bored. I began whistling and glanced at the eggs.

            I leaned back against the stove, and sudden pain began shooting through my hand. “Ow!” I yelped, and pulled my hand up, stumbling back. I looked at my hurt hand and saw it was all red. “Daniel’s going to kill me.” I went over to the faucet and turned on the cold water full blast. My hand was burning and stinging, but the cold water was slightly taking away the pain.

            “What in the name of Christ is going on-” Daniel came rushing in, and took in what he saw, standing in the doorway of the kitchen. His green eyes were wide and angry. I could see his face beginning to turn red. I pursed my lips, waiting for the hollering and shouting to come.

            “Why, you no good little vermin, you burned the eggs-” he pointed to the frying pan “-and you burned your hand. You can’t do nothing right! I could ask you to throw a rock and you wouldn’t even be able to do that! You’re so stupid!” He yelled, and came rushing over to me. “Get your hand away from that water boy, and let it burn! Let it get blisters! This’ll teach you a lesson!” Daniel pulled my hand away from the cooling water and slapped it. I stifled a yelp, my muscles tensing. “I hope it hurts,” he said, and stalked back over to the eggs I accidentally burned.

            “Get out of my site, you idiot!” He yelled over his shoulder.

            “Daniel, it was an accident, I didn’t mean to-”

            “That’s what you always say, Sky! You never think! You’re smart when it comes to reading and writing, but not when it comes to common sense! Now get!” He hollered.

            I turned around, tears filling my eyes, hoping he wouldn’t see me cry as I ran to the living room to sit on the couch. I could feel my face getting hot, and quickly began to wipe away the tears.

            Suddenly, I heard the front door unlock, and saw the doorknob slowly turn. I tensed my muscles and my hand instinctively went to my pocketknife that was in my back pocket. We have been robbed before, and Daniel nearly sliced that guy in half with the blade he was carrying.

            “You are the sexiest lady I have ever seen,” I heard a deep voice say on the other side, and knew that it was Dad. I relaxed. Barely.

            “I know I am.” A woman’s voice came, and Dad and the lady came barging in, laughing and kissing. I knew Dad was still drunk because of the way he was walking. The lady he was with had curly red hair and wore a lot of piercings on her face. She also had a lot of moles. She wasn’t the prettiest sight.

            Yep, Dad was drunk.

            “Alright, little missy. I think it’s time for you to get home to your husband!” Dad slurred and kissed the woman passionately.

            “See you tomorrow night?” She begged.

            “Yeah. Now get along!” Dad said, and when she was out the door, he began laughing like crazy. “That Agatha sure was fun and pretty.” He giggled. I rolled my eyes and sunk deeper into the couch, hoping he wouldn’t notice me.

            Daniel came into the living room and stared at Dad. “Dad, I have something to show you that Skyler did.” Daniel walked over to me, pure anger and hatred in his eyes.

            “No, please, Daniel- anything but Dad! Please!” I quietly begged him, but he ignored my pleas and grabbed my bad hand, dragging me over to our drunk father.

            “What is it, Daniel?” Dad looked at him, then looked at me.

            “Sky here burned his hand, and burned our breakfast.” He shoved my blistered hand out to him. Dad looked down, then looked up at me, his gray eyes becoming stormy again. I shrunk back.

            “You blasted, no good little rat! You burned our food?! Then your hand?! Now I’m going to have to pay for the medical bills, you idiot!” Dad raised a hand and slapped me clear across the face. Daniel let go of my hand and I stumbled back, holding my cheek. “Go to Hell!” Dad yelled, and this time punched me in the gut, and punched me once more for good measure right in the nose.

            I heard a loud cracking sound, and my nose began to feel very warm. I started crying, pain shooting in my nose.

            “Stop crying, you baby!” Daniel snarled. At least Daniel didn’t hit me. He never did. I could handle being yelled at, but I hated being hit.

            Dad seemed to have lost all signs of being drunk, because he shoved me into my room and kicked me in the shin. “You ain’t coming out, you hear?! I hope you die in there!” He locked the door (the door had an outside lock instead of an inside lock) and walked away.

            I was left in silence, crying, with blood all over me from my nose. I guessed it was broken, and hopped onto my bed, groaning and sobbing.

            “I hate my life,” I murmured. “Please, God- take it all away. Please.”

Reviews

[Weaver]

no comma after "drunken voice began"
"The tense feeling" - maybe change to "That tense feeling" (referring back to "how tense that air was")
"But Mama never came. Instead, she angrily came out" - confusing - change to "Instead, she angrily walked..."
no comma after "into the hallway"
no comma after "and hesitated"
Use italics instead of all-caps for extra emphasis.
"YA, YOU RUN" - Do you mean "Yeah"?
comma after "Dad slammed the door"
"He whispered" - "he"
"My eyes snapped open..." - A line break before this would be good to show that it isn't the same scene as the part before.
"I could almost feel the sting of the slap, reaching up to touch my cheek" - awkward - change order, put "Reaching up to touch my cheek" at the beginning of the sentence instead.
comma after "Deep down"
comma after "I'm coming..." (after the ellipses)
"He’s 17" - "He was seventeen"
"worn out pair" -"worn-out" in this usage
comma after "nice complexion"
"Mamas'" - "Mama's"
"Silence was exchanged between us" - great line!
"anyways" - "anyway"
comma after "real sweet"
period, not semicolon, after "sure liked Sandy"
comma after "really pretty"
"Watch the eggs, alright Sky" - "all right" - comma after
"sudden pain began shooting" - "sudden pain shot"
"was slightly taking away the pain" - "was taking the pain away a little bit"
no comma after "came rushing in"
"I could see his face beginning to turn red" - "His face was beginning to turn red"
"He yelled, and came rushing over to me" - "he yelled and came rushing at me"
comma after "away from that water"
"out of my site" - "sight"
"He yelled over his shoulder" - "he"
"He hollered"- "he"
"heard the front door unlock, and saw the doorknob slowly turn" - "heard the front door unlock and saw the knob slowly turn"
comma after "tensed my muscles"
"We have been robbed before" - "had been"
comma, not period, after "I know I am"
"A woman's voice" - "a"
"Alright" - "All right"
"She begged" - "she"
no comma after "burned his hand"
"no good little rat" - "no-good little rat"
comma after "let go of my hand"
dashes, not parentheses, around "the door had an outside lock instead of an inside lock"
This chapter is well-written. The dialogue does a good job of showing the characters and how they interact with each other.

[Nights Tale]

Amazing! its got that southern american feel to it, and it reads really easily and well gonna add it to library and read on write more XD xNTx

[SilentSKY]

Its fiction ^_^ I just like the name...it has sentimental value to me. ^_^

[Dark Aeris]

Wow. I read that and felt empathetic to Skylar. I really hope that in the next chapters, if you continue, his life gets better.

In the first paragraph " begin to walk" should be "began to walk"

I'm curious...the protagonist's name is Skylar, Sky, your username silentSKY. Is this fiction? Or simply coincidence on the fact you like the name. Sorry if I'm going to deep into the matter. Just simple curiosity and question was in my mind.

Anyways...good first chapter! ^_^

[SilentSKY]

Lol, yes, they are rednecks. And I see what you're saying when you say that it sounds like he is less than 15... hmm...

[Marisa Madole]

That was so sad! I felt so bad for Skyler. The only thing I will mention is that the way Daniel and his father talk to Skyler and the way he talks himself it infers that he is less that 15. To me the dialogue sounds kind of redneck, if you know what I mean. I don't want to sound rude or conceited, but nonetheless nice work! Good Job.

[CompellingComposer]

Oh, my, goodness! This is amazing!