How Do You Sleep
Orel stared into the grey sky as the clouds closed over the sun.
"Goodbye God."
"God? What's God got to do with anything?" He turned to see his father, drunk and stumbling.
"Oh, hi dad..."
"Shut up and play in traffic."
"Fuck you." He mumbled. He had lost all respect for his father after the shooting incident.
"What was that?"
"Nothing dad."
The man smirked and grabbed Orel by the arm. He drug him down to the study and threw him on the ground. Now that Orel was 15, his beatings would be more severe. His dad took out a long, slender golf club. The silver shone bright in the glistening sunlight as it hit Orel's soft, cream-colored skin. Soon his pale back was covered with crimson and violet as the club broke some of the skin and bruised the rest.
"I let you listen to that rock and roll crap and this is how you repay me?" One more blow to Orel's back and his spine would have snapped. He squeezed his eyes shut and braced himself for two options: pain and then numbness in his legs or the sweet sensation that only death could bring. His father swung with all of his strength and the club cracked as it hit Orel's legs. Tears ran down his cheeks but he did not sob, his father walked away leaving his son bleeding on the floor.
Three days later his father was drunk again, but this time he was going after Shapey. Orel could hear his younger brother's screams echo through the house. He cried until he had what seemed like no more tears left. He was tired of listening to Shapey's pathetic screams, he was getting angry. He leaned over the side of his bed and reached under the mattress. He pulled out a rope; he tightened it around his neck as tight as he could until he felt he was going to pass out.
"Dad!" Clay ran into the room to find Orel choking himself.
"What're you doing? Stop it." Although he said these words with concern, he was still standing in the doorway grinning, daring Orel to kill himself. He dropped the rope making Clay unhappy. He walked over to his son with fire in his dark eyes and picked up the rope.
"You don't play with something as fragile as your own life, son." He began to choke the boy, making sure it was done right. Orel began to gasp and grab at his father's hands, which only made the rope tighten. Soon the darkness came.