Song: Weight of the world By Blue October

I'm three sheets to the wind...again...I come home way past curfew and I know my parents are waiting up for me like I even give a shit. I don't know what the big fucking deal is...I'm freaking seventeen and hell it's not like any of my friends parents give a shit if they are out so why in the hell do mine give a shit.

I stumble into the entry way nearly knocking over everything off of the table. Why in the hell do you put a table in the doorway? Only my mother would do something that stupid. I fall flat on my face and then pull myself up on my hands and knees and crawl my way over to the staircase. And of course when I look up, there they both are on the second floor looking down at me. Shit...this night can't get any better.

I see the way they look at me...their fucked up little boy. My mother starts to cry one of those silent cries hoping he doesn't hear her, because then he make sure she has a real reason to cry for. I force myself up into standing and the room goes around in circles. I'm surprised that I even make it up the damn stairs. They both glare at me and I don't have a freaking clue what is coming out of their mouths at the moment as I push past them and head straight to the bathroom. I slam the door behind me to keep them out.

Seconds later he is banging on the door making my head throb. I look around, feeling that everything in me is about to come right out and it does...all over the fucking floor. I try not to step in it as I make my way to the toilet and then puke some more. I sit there and contemplate on if I should try to get up or not. Do I really want to face either one of them? My mother crying her fucking eyes out...or him beating the shit out of me, nah I think I will stay in here a little longer.

I force myself up and make it over to the sink to turn on the faucet and then splash water on my face. I have no idea what happens next as the room around me goes black.I wake up in a fog, flat on my face on the floor laying in puke. Shit this again. This is not the first time I have found myself down here on the cold tile floor laying in vomit.

I can still hear them on the other side of the door. He keeps yelling at her and she yells right back. My head throbs in pain as I force myself back up. I see the guy standing in the broken mirror before me...there are shards of glass inside of his face and dried blood from all the cuts. He is threatening me again... "Don't make me come in there dammit, dammit, dammit...I told you the last time you come home like this and you are out, out, out...fucking out, out, out. You hear me in there dammit...you wait till I get my hands on you, open this mother-fucking door, door, door." My God his voice echoes in my head, just shut the fuck up all ready.

I hear my mother...she is crying...as always. She has tried to heal me...she has tried to make everything disappear but I hate to tell her that none of it is working...it never will. No amount of therapy or meds is ever going to help. Why because I will always be fucked up. They will never understand the shit that I go through every day...no one gets it and no one ever will. I know the moment that I open that door...he will kick my ass and hell maybe I deserve it like all the other times. His not my real father, my father would have never left a hand on me but this one thinks he can tell me what to do and doesn't give a shit what my mother thinks. The day I turn eighteen I am so out of this hellhole. Or maybe it just might be sooner because as I turn the knob to the door he comes barging in.

He sees the state of the bathroom...broken glass, splattered blood...puke stained floors. His tightened up fist comes smashing into my face. I fall backwards and fall to the floor with a loud thud.Oh he doesn't stop there. He reaches down and jerks me up. "I hope you don't think your mom is going to clean up this shit...what the hell are you doing in here?" He looks over at my arm...my fake attempt to slice my wrist sometime in the night...hell I don't even remember trying to do that. I wonder if that was right before I blacked out.

"Dammit...Atticus...why the fuck do you put your mother through this shit." He pulls me up by my shirt and drags me out of the bathroom. I see my mother still curled up on the floor crying.

I see the bruise on her face where he laid another hand on her and I snap. "Why do you always have to hit her...you motherfucker...you want to be a man...fucking hit me." I push my chest up into his face...big mistake because all I am, is a scrawny little ass boy.

He pounds the shit on me over and over, knocking me down the steps. I stumble all the way down, feeling sharp pains throughout my entire body. He storms down after me and jerks me up, pulling me over to the door. With one hand he opens the front door and with the other he throws me out."Don't you ever come back here again...we are finished...do you understand me?" He doesn't wait for me to respond as he slams the door back in my face.

 Hell I don't even have time to pick myself up off of the sidewalk. My head continues to throb as the bright sun shines down on my face blinding the shit out of me.Well...that is how I ended up on the streets with no place to go before I turned of legal age to actually live on my own. I have no idea where to go. I already know the little friends that I do have their parents will not let me stay there because in reality I am just a fuck up and no one wants to let one of those live with them. Hell I don't blame any of them because when I'm drinking or getting my fix I can get a little out of hand.

I force myself to get up off of my ass and I start walking down the street. A few neighbors are out and about getting ready to leave for the day or work in the yard. I see a few stare at me as I make my way down our road. I walk out of the little gated community and into town. Here anything can happen. Hell just the other day a guy was robbed over a pack of gum...seriously...can you believe it. Well if anyone wants to rob me they are shit out of luck because I have nothing...and I mean nothing not even a freaking ball of lint in my pockets. And no one would want my shirt or pants due to the amount of blood on them and the left over vomit dried to them.

I find an empty bench and sit down and watch the people that pass by. It's amazing how people will stop and stare but no one ever says anything...no one gives a shit that I have all this blood on me. Hell I could have been stabbed or shot and even though there are shards of glass in my head...no one stops to ask if I am ok or not. I might as well be invisible to the world. I find a bench at the nearby park and sit down for a while.

I dose off, not sure how long before I feel a tap on my foot. "Son...you can't be sleeping here. Son wake up now boy....move along."

I open my eyes to see a guy standing above me, park security. I sit up and yawn. "Yeah ok...I'm getting up."

He looks down at me with a concerned look. "Son are you ok...do you need me to call the EMT out to look at you?"

"I'm fine...don't bother." I stand up and take off. I will be fine it's just a few cuts nothing I can't handle.I walk the long trail in the park and wait till he is out of site and then I head to the public bathroom to relieve myself. I look back in the mirror and see that same guy from earlier. I turn on the water and start pulling out the few shards of the mirror that I can get my hands on. Blood drops into the sink and I watch as it swirls around with the water before going down the drain. I take a few of the paper towels and dab my face, trying to dry up all the blood that I can. I then wash my face completely off and my hair getting out all the vomit.

I walk back outside and find a spot to sit and let my hair dry and my clothes before getting back up and head into town. I walk the streets during the day and once my stomach starts to hurt so bad I find a garbage bin behind one of the restaurants and dig in for scraps. I know it's gross...but I am freaking starving here and I have no money to my name.

Hey...a half eaten burger...yes...I pick it up and dust it off some before consuming it. The best freaking burger I had in a long time or it just seems that way because I am starving to death. Now that I have a little something in my stomach and got some energy it's time to find something else to wear.

I head down to the local Wal-Mart. I walk in just like everyone else does. I don't cause a scene, no need in having people watch me. I go straight to the men's clothes I add a shirt on top of another shirt on the hanger and do the same to the jeans. I go to the changing room and the lady looks me up and down."How many you got there young man?"

I look down at the clothes... "Two...one shirt...one paints...my mom says I need to try these on." I look over in the women's section and point to a lady. "She still looking...see." I lie to the lady but it's not like she knows any better.

She smiles at me and then takes down this tag with a number two on it, then shows me to the changing room. I close the door. I take off my clothes and then put on the clothes that were hidden from her. I then throw my shirt back on so that she won't be thinking I took the others. I step out of the dressing room and smile at her.

"Well...did they fit?"

"Nah..." I hand them back to her. "I think I will keep looking." I don't look back as I leave the store.

Once outside I walk around back and take off my blood, puke stained shirt and toss it. I can't believe it was that easy...makes me want to get a whole new wardrobe.Later that night...I walk the streets too scared to find a place to sleep. Knowing my luck someone will rob me in the middle of the night and once they find out I have nothing on me...they will beat the shit out of me for fun or take advantage of my scrawny little ass.

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Author's Note: For all of you that loved 'The Cleaner's Daughter'  and from the suggestion of a beloved friend, Tina....this work is for you. In this story you will get the whole backstory of Atticus...don't worry I'm sure Scarlett will be added in here as well.

I have given this some great thought and I have fallen in love with this whole series thing so I am planning on having different books that relate to the main book...so hope you all stick with it and read them all in time.

If you liked the first chapter please be ever so kind to click that little star and vote...if you happen to love it share it...the more the merrier.