A friend of mine wrote this and asked me to post it online to see what people think.
Standing outside Alex's house I watched as a crowd began to gather behind the yellow "do not cross" tape that the police were rolling out. The smoke diminished as the firefighters began to wrap up the hoses. The paramedics carried out a stretcher with a black body bag that had smoke pouring out from its side. I could hear the whispers that were streaming through the mob of neighbors who had gathered to get a glimpse of what had happened.
"That poor kid is dead" I heard the one lady say to the older man who was standing beside her.
"That boy never stood a fighting chance" he replied with a dismal tone. Everyone assumed that Dan had killed Alex, but they were wrong. Alex had finally taken his revenge.
Alex was a good kid. Although he wasn't the most popular kid in school he made good grades and had a few close friends. He was tall and slender like his father was at his age .His hair was a thick golden brown just like his mothers and it came down to his chin. His eyes were also his mothers and they were a deep blue like the sky on a clear day. He loved his mother, Carol, very much. She was short and fairly skeletal in her appearance. Her hair was the same as Alex's only it wavy and it wavy and it was so long it appeared to weave her back. Her eyes were the same as Alex's also only they were filled with sorrow and trouble, but she seemed to cover that up with her soft-hearted smile. Her skin was very light and had an angelic quality to it. She would always pack Hershey kisses in Alex's lunchbox along with a little note from her. His father however was not so sweet.
His father, Dan, was tall and stocky from eating donuts covered in chocolate icing with colorful sprinkles on the top and drinking beer. His hair was black as the night and greasier than an engine. His eyes were dark brown and filled with so much hatred and coldness that when he looked at someone it would send an icy sting right through that person's spine. His face always appeared to have a five o'clock shadow and His skin was tan and grubby as though he hadn't taken a shower in weeks.
He was a dirty cop who worked down at the local sheriff's station. More often then not lost paper work and missing evidence was caused by him and his buddies. The same buddies that he would go out drinking with every night and every night he would come back to the trailer with a stagger in his walk and a glass bottle wrapped in a brown paper bag. As soon as he would get inside he would start yelling and screaming. I lived next door, and around here next door is only ten feet away.
After taking a swig from his bottle he would ask her "where's my dinner?". He stared at her with his bloodshot eyes and asked her again "Where the hell is my dinner, woman?" his face beat red with frustration. Then Dan would scream in her face at the top of his lungs"I said WHERE IS MY DINNER?".He threw the bottle against the wall and it shattered. When she bent over to pick up the broken glass pieces he jerked her up and smacked her in the face and she fell to the floor. Alex hurried to his mom's side. He took a punch to the face from Dan but still helped his mom get to her room none the less. Once inside Alex held his mom as she cried and they waited for Dan to pass out like he always did. This was the "norm" at Alex's house. Everyone in the trailer park and in town knew what was going on at that house. They knew about the beatings, the bruises, and the broken bones, but they did nothing in fact they acted like there was nothing wrong.
I knew what Dan was doing to Carol and Alex was wrong and I tried to report it to the police. I told them about the drinking, the screaming and the beatings, but they didn't listen. I should have known that dirty cops watch each others backs. I remember sitting in the old brown chair next to the officer's desk. He looked at me and with half of a chewed donut hanging from his mouth began to speak to me like a five year old "We will be sure to go and take care of it right away. Now you head your pretty little self on home and let us do our job." I wanted him to choke on that donut because I knew he was lying. The only thing that cop did was tip off Dan about my trip to the station and Dan took it out on Alex that very same night. I remember him bolting through the door with his fist clenched. He slammed the door so hard that it shook the foundation. He grabbed his thick black belt off the counter and began swinging at Alex. He hit him over and over. The next day at school the imprints from the belt were still imbedded in his skin and purple bruising had begun to form on the side of Alex's swollen face. No one said anything about it though not even his teachers
That was a year ago. Yesterday after school we went to visit Carol's grave just like we did everyday afterschool since her death. Alex brought fresh lilies for her because they were her favorites. We both knew that Dan had got drunk just like he always did, but this time instead of just beating on Carol until she could hardly walk, he killed her. I remember the day she died perfectly, Alex and I had just got back from the movies and before he stepped foot in the door he collapsed at the sight of his mom's body, on the kitchen floor, cloaked in blood, and Dan's gun on the floor next to her. The police went ahead and ruled it a suicide, but Alex and I both knew the truth. The police claimed that she was very depressed and that she put the gun to her head and pulled the trigger. When Alex heard these words his eyes creamed over with anger as he clinched his fist and I overheard him muttering to himself "More lies" He took his gun and pressed it against her temple and pulled the trigger. Alex blamed himself for his mom's death because he wasn't there to save her. I remember watching him hold her body and rocking it back and forth. Sobbing he whispered in her ear "Don't you worry mom. I'll show him. I'll take care of him mom, I swear it." He continued to sob and wiping the tears from his eyes he whispered, "I love you mom. I love you". I knew that he had it set in his mind that he was going to take care of Dan once and for all.
That night I was sitting on the front porch staring out at the other trailers when I heard a door slam. I could see in the window that Dan was passed out on the bed and had left a cigar burning in the ashtray again. Alex picked up the Cigar as he walked in the room and stood over Dan's bed, his face red with anger and large glass liquor in his bottle in his hand. He took the bottle uncorked it and started pouring it on the walls, the nightstand, the dresser, and on the bed. Then he emptied out the rest of it on Dan's face. Waking up immediately Dan jumped up and yelled "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOUR'RE DOING BOY?"
Alex's eyes were dark and cold as his fathers had always been. When he gave a faint smile and threw the bottle at Dan's head .It shattered and pieces of glass fell on to the bed. Falling back Dan landed back onto his bed. Alex still holding the Cigar flicked it onto the soaked bed. "I'm taking care of you just like you took care of Mom." His voice had a certain calmness and icy chill to it that it would make Satan himself shiver. "This is for you mom." He said as a silent tear slide down his cheek. He watched the fire consume his father's body as Dan screamed from the horrendous pain. The smell of burning flesh and air flooded through the window as the trailer became engulfed in black smoke and flames.
Alex just stood there for a moment gazing at the blazing corps that was drawn out across the bed. Then he walked out the door stopping only to stare at me for a brief second before walking down the road. I never saw him again. The Police went ahead and ruled the fire as an accident and said it was due to faulty wiring. The Police chief was Dan's best friend and favorite drinking buddy and he knew that it was no accident. But he couldn't gather enough evidence to press charges because the fire destroyed all the evidence. Alex had done it. He had avenged his mother's death.
Standing outside Alex's house I watched as a crowd began to gather behind the yellow "do not cross" tape that the police were rolling out. The smoke diminished as the firefighters began to wrap up the hoses. The paramedics carried out a stretcher with a black body bag that had smoke pouring out from its side. I could hear the whispers that were streaming through the mob of neighbors who had gathered to get a glimpse of what had happened.
"That poor kid is dead" I heard the one lady say to the older man who was standing beside her.
"That boy never stood a fighting chance" he replied with a dismal tone. Everyone assumed that Dan had killed Alex, but they were wrong. Alex had finally taken his revenge.
Alex was a good kid. Although he wasn't the most popular kid in school he made good grades and had a few close friends. He was tall and slender like his father was at his age .His hair was a thick golden brown just like his mothers and it came down to his chin. His eyes were also his mothers and they were a deep blue like the sky on a clear day. He loved his mother, Carol, very much. She was short and fairly skeletal in her appearance. Her hair was the same as Alex's only it wavy and it wavy and it was so long it appeared to weave her back. Her eyes were the same as Alex's also only they were filled with sorrow and trouble, but she seemed to cover that up with her soft-hearted smile. Her skin was very light and had an angelic quality to it. She would always pack Hershey kisses in Alex's lunchbox along with a little note from her. His father however was not so sweet.
His father, Dan, was tall and stocky from eating donuts covered in chocolate icing with colorful sprinkles on the top and drinking beer. His hair was black as the night and greasier than an engine. His eyes were dark brown and filled with so much hatred and coldness that when he looked at someone it would send an icy sting right through that person's spine. His face always appeared to have a five o'clock shadow and His skin was tan and grubby as though he hadn't taken a shower in weeks.
He was a dirty cop who worked down at the local sheriff's station. More often then not lost paper work and missing evidence was caused by him and his buddies. The same buddies that he would go out drinking with every night and every night he would come back to the trailer with a stagger in his walk and a glass bottle wrapped in a brown paper bag. As soon as he would get inside he would start yelling and screaming. I lived next door, and around here next door is only ten feet away.
After taking a swig from his bottle he would ask her "where's my dinner?". He stared at her with his bloodshot eyes and asked her again "Where the hell is my dinner, woman?" his face beat red with frustration. Then Dan would scream in her face at the top of his lungs"I said WHERE IS MY DINNER?".He threw the bottle against the wall and it shattered. When she bent over to pick up the broken glass pieces he jerked her up and smacked her in the face and she fell to the floor. Alex hurried to his mom's side. He took a punch to the face from Dan but still helped his mom get to her room none the less. Once inside Alex held his mom as she cried and they waited for Dan to pass out like he always did. This was the "norm" at Alex's house. Everyone in the trailer park and in town knew what was going on at that house. They knew about the beatings, the bruises, and the broken bones, but they did nothing in fact they acted like there was nothing wrong.
I knew what Dan was doing to Carol and Alex was wrong and I tried to report it to the police. I told them about the drinking, the screaming and the beatings, but they didn't listen. I should have known that dirty cops watch each others backs. I remember sitting in the old brown chair next to the officer's desk. He looked at me and with half of a chewed donut hanging from his mouth began to speak to me like a five year old "We will be sure to go and take care of it right away. Now you head your pretty little self on home and let us do our job." I wanted him to choke on that donut because I knew he was lying. The only thing that cop did was tip off Dan about my trip to the station and Dan took it out on Alex that very same night. I remember him bolting through the door with his fist clenched. He slammed the door so hard that it shook the foundation. He grabbed his thick black belt off the counter and began swinging at Alex. He hit him over and over. The next day at school the imprints from the belt were still imbedded in his skin and purple bruising had begun to form on the side of Alex's swollen face. No one said anything about it though not even his teachers
That was a year ago. Yesterday after school we went to visit Carol's grave just like we did everyday afterschool since her death. Alex brought fresh lilies for her because they were her favorites. We both knew that Dan had got drunk just like he always did, but this time instead of just beating on Carol until she could hardly walk, he killed her. I remember the day she died perfectly, Alex and I had just got back from the movies and before he stepped foot in the door he collapsed at the sight of his mom's body, on the kitchen floor, cloaked in blood, and Dan's gun on the floor next to her. The police went ahead and ruled it a suicide, but Alex and I both knew the truth. The police claimed that she was very depressed and that she put the gun to her head and pulled the trigger. When Alex heard these words his eyes creamed over with anger as he clinched his fist and I overheard him muttering to himself "More lies" He took his gun and pressed it against her temple and pulled the trigger. Alex blamed himself for his mom's death because he wasn't there to save her. I remember watching him hold her body and rocking it back and forth. Sobbing he whispered in her ear "Don't you worry mom. I'll show him. I'll take care of him mom, I swear it." He continued to sob and wiping the tears from his eyes he whispered, "I love you mom. I love you". I knew that he had it set in his mind that he was going to take care of Dan once and for all.
That night I was sitting on the front porch staring out at the other trailers when I heard a door slam. I could see in the window that Dan was passed out on the bed and had left a cigar burning in the ashtray again. Alex picked up the Cigar as he walked in the room and stood over Dan's bed, his face red with anger and large glass liquor in his bottle in his hand. He took the bottle uncorked it and started pouring it on the walls, the nightstand, the dresser, and on the bed. Then he emptied out the rest of it on Dan's face. Waking up immediately Dan jumped up and yelled "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOUR'RE DOING BOY?"
Alex's eyes were dark and cold as his fathers had always been. When he gave a faint smile and threw the bottle at Dan's head .It shattered and pieces of glass fell on to the bed. Falling back Dan landed back onto his bed. Alex still holding the Cigar flicked it onto the soaked bed. "I'm taking care of you just like you took care of Mom." His voice had a certain calmness and icy chill to it that it would make Satan himself shiver. "This is for you mom." He said as a silent tear slide down his cheek. He watched the fire consume his father's body as Dan screamed from the horrendous pain. The smell of burning flesh and air flooded through the window as the trailer became engulfed in black smoke and flames.
Alex just stood there for a moment gazing at the blazing corps that was drawn out across the bed. Then he walked out the door stopping only to stare at me for a brief second before walking down the road. I never saw him again. The Police went ahead and ruled the fire as an accident and said it was due to faulty wiring. The Police chief was Dan's best friend and favorite drinking buddy and he knew that it was no accident. But he couldn't gather enough evidence to press charges because the fire destroyed all the evidence. Alex had done it. He had avenged his mother's death.
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