Chapter 1
It was dark out. Jack wasn't even sure what time it was. He did know that he had been up for a long time and that Kevin wasn't home yet. If Kevin, his foster father, didn't come home by night fall then that meant that he had had a bad day and went out for a drink. A drink usually meant that he was coming home drunk. Coming home drunk meant that Jack was going to get hurt, bad. Once in a great while he'd come home with a date and Jack wouldn't be touched, but that's not usually how things worked. He feared Kevin because he knew what he was capable of. He had felt his wrath before.
Jack's train of thought was broken when he heard the front door slam shut. Jack was under his bed pushed up against the wall as far as he could. He watched in horror as Kevin's feet approached his bed. He stood there for a second before he knelt down and looked under the bed.
"There you are you little shit!" He grabbed Jack by his leg and yanked him out from under the bed. "Stand up and be a man."
Jack hesitated for a moment before standing. Kevin was twice his size and very big. Not big like fat but big like muscular. Compared to eleven-year-old Jack who was ridiculously skinny from the lack of food he was given, the man towered over him. Jack was frightened and couldn't stop from trembling. He wouldn't look him in the eye; he didn't want to see the glee in his eyes. Kevin always had an amused look in his eyes when he hurt Jack. It made him angry to think that his pain was someone else's pleasure.
"Look me in the eye when I talk to you!" He grabbed Jack by the jaw line roughly and forced him to look at him. Jack was unable to hold eye contact and reverted his eyes to the wall. This made Kevin angry. Still holding on to Jack he hit him in the stomach knocking the breath out of him. Jack was still in Kevin's grasp and was gasping for air.
"I said to look me in the eye!" Jack couldn't, he wanted to but he couldn't. He hated knowing that if people looked hard enough they could see right threw him just by looking in to his eyes.
"You just don't get it do you!" Kevin shouted as he released his grip on Jack and just as soon threw a punch right in to the boy's face. "I own you! I get paid to own you! You do what I say!"
Jack hated the idea that someone owned him. He would even do stupid things just to prove that no one owned him, that no one was in charge of him. But it seemed that no matter what Jack did he always came to the cold reality that someone did own him. He was traded like an animal. If one owner didn't work out then he would go to the next. He was just a tool and Jack knew it.
Kevin started kicking Jack in the stomach as hard as he could. Jack couldn't catch a breath and he started coughing from the lack of breath. Kevin stopped kicking him long enough for Jack to notice that he was in deep shit this time.
"You're such a pain in the ass. I work hard to keep you fed and clothed and you don't seem to appreciate what you have. So maybe this will help you appreciate me more!"
Kevin tauntingly removed his belt and held it so the metal buckle was dangling and the leather part in his hand. Jack threw himself to the door trying to leave, but was tossed back by the neck of his T-shirt. He smacked hard against the wall and ricocheted off and on to the floor face down. He felt a searing pain glide across his back. Jack let out a howl and tried to stand so he could try and run again, but before he could get to his feet the belt came down against the right side of his neck. Jack kept pushing his way to his feet despite the scream that echoed from his mouth. Kevin was outraged by the boy's persistence and grabbed his arm and twisted it forcefully until he heard a snapping sound. Jack fell to the floor cradling his arm and hot tears streaming down his face.
"See, this is what you get for being so persistent." He brought the belt down on Jack several more times before leaving him in the middle of the floor bloodied and crying.
Jack curled up in a ball, ignoring the pain that his broken ribs and bruised body emitted. He slowly let himself calm down enough to stop crying. He stayed awake until the sun rose and he heard Kevin leave for work. Then he eased himself up off the floor. He buckled a few times before he was able to stand and stumble to the door. He needed to get out of here. He needed to be away from the abuse and the pain. Jack wasn't sure that he could take much more of this. Most of the homes he went to had some form of torture waiting for him. He thought about all the people who had hurt him and all the promises of safety that were broken in the process. He quickly cut himself off from the thoughts as he became disgusted by himself for not being able to stop the pain from entering his life continuously.
He worked his way into the bathroom and looked at his reflection. Blood, tears, and dirt stained his face. The taste of blood lingered heavily in his mouth. He decided that he didn't want to direct too much attention so he carefully rinsed his face. He left the bathroom, grabbed his hoodie, and headed out of the house.