A/N: So...I wrote this a while ago, based on the song "The Approaching Curve" by Rise Against. Simply because I was in a song drabble sort of mood, and this song came on the shuffle. And this is what came out of it. Kinda depressing, I guess. Mentions of suicide, abuse, ect.

I own neither the song, or any of the characters in this story.

As we were, so perfect, so happy.
They'll remember, only our smiles 'cause that's all they've seen.
Long since dried, when we are found, are the tears in which we had drowned.
As we were, so perfect, so happy.

"The Approaching Curve" – Rise Against

Roxas' life had seemed like a happy one. He'd had two loving parents, a happy-go-lucky twin, and a nice house in a nice neighborhood. He'd had lots of friends, and everyone liked him and his brother. You'd hear things, if you asked around, such as "Yes, Roxas is such a sweet boy. A little quieter than his brother Sora, of course, but he always helped out and never said a mean word to anyone."

But things often go on behind closed doors. What you wouldn't hear was that Roxas' father was a chronic alcoholic who often took to abusing his wife and children whenever he drank. Everyone in their house lived in fear of him, and Roxas swore that when he could, he would leave and take Sora with him.

Unfortunately for Roxas, before that could happen, his mother committed suicide—too many sleeping pills mixed with about a bottle and a half of liquor. The town they were living in thought nothing of it, the townspeople were mostly concerned with the fact that the boys were left all alone with their father, and no mother to care for them. They were too stupid to realize what was going on—either that, or too blind to the "perfection" of the family.

After the funeral, Roxas got into the car that his father and mother had so lovingly purchased for him a few years before. Sora got into the passenger's seat and Roxas took off, tears almost blinding him as he got onto the highway and just drove. He drove late into the night, and a quiet cd played in the background over and over as the car's wheels kept turning and turning.

It was close to dawn, and Sora was getting worried. Roxas hadn't said a word since the funeral, and that had been countless hours ago. They were driving down a straight stretch of road, with absolutely no one else on it. He decided to break the silence with a question that had been burning in the back of his mind since they had left the funeral.

"Why are you doing this?" Sora asked, speaking as if not expecting a response from his brother, who hadn't turned the wheel more than two degrees in the last twenty minutes.

"I'm not doing anything," Roxas replied, an almost laugh in his voice, as if he didn't believe what he was saying himself. But the slight smile on his face turned into a frown. "This is what's best, for me...for you...for us."

Sora looked down as he felt tears forming in the corners of his eyes. "Why, Roxas? Why? It doesn't have to be like this... Mom wouldn't want this."

Roxas half-snorted. "That's a lie. If she didn't want this, then why did she do it? Why did she kill herself, and leave us alone? It's not fair that she gets the easy way out! She shouldn't have left us alone."

"But that doesn't mean that we have to do this! There are always other options!" Sora yelled, before putting his head in his hands and sobbing. Roxas looked over at him.

"Sora—you don't understand. Escaping? We don't have a chance. Not with mom gone. We'd be lucky to make it through the next year under the same roof as that man. I can't take it anymore! I'm tired of running, tired of...of..." he whispered the next part. "I'm tired of living, Sora. It's just so hard. So hard to take care of you, make sure that our bruises don't show... I just can't do this!"

"But! I don't...I want to be free, Roxas! I do! But not... Not like this. Never like this."

"This is the only way! Can't you see that? This is truly the only way we'll ever get out, the only way we'll ever escape. I want to be free too—want to live my own life. But we'll never get that chance. This is our door out." Roxas reached for his brother's hand, and Sora automatically grabbed it, squeezing tight. "I know you don't want to do this. But what are our other options? That man always said we follow in our mother's footsteps. Do you really want to go back to him? Go back to that...place? I sure as hell don't. I can't make myself walk back through that door. Can't let him do that to us anymore."

"Roxas...I..."

"I know. I love you too." And with that, the matter was decided. They didn't exactly know what it was, but they knew that they had agreed upon it. Roxas sped up, and the two held onto each others' hands tight as a curve approached. He showed no intentions of slowing.

A/N: I also sort of stole some of the dialogue from the song, but that's only because it was a song drabble.