Chapter 1

Ryan wasn't sure if he was awake or asleep anymore. His dreams were bombarded with images of his father beating him, swearing at him. When he awoke he was met with the real thing.

He hadn't seen his mom since that first day when things had suddenly turn even more ugly.

The things his father snarled at him made him worried for her. He'd cry out for her and he'd tell him to "Shut the hell up, she can't help you anymore," or "She can't hear you,"

He was treated like an animal and every day he could feel a piece of himself drifting away.

He knew the outside world had forgotten about him. His father forbade him from leaving the house and he always made sure to lock Ryan in when he left to go out himself.

Ryan spent the time trying to clean himself up, washing off dried blood or scrounging up stale bread to eat.

His hands shook and his back never stopped throbbing. He didn't understand this sudden increase in beatings. He felt so weak from all the blood he had lost and the pain gnawed away at his whole body.

He peered out the window, watching the cars go by. The couple in the house across the way were having an argument about something and his blue eyes watched them worriedly.

A car pulled up at the house next door and his heart gave a little flutter when he saw it was Theresa. He was about to start banging on the window, maybe she could help him?

Then he saw another person get out of the car.

Eddy? What was she doing with him? He can't have been locked in here for too long and she'd already moved on?

He felt the betrayal and hurt bubble through him and watched as Eddy leaned over to give her a peck on the cheek.

She giggled slightly before brushing him away and glancing nervously up at Ryan's house.

Ryan quickly hid away behind the curtain. She must have seen the movement though because when he glanced through the tiny hole in the curtain, she was still looking up in his direction.

He moved away and suddenly all of the hurt turned to anger, he ran down the stairs ready to kick Eddy's ass. If he wanted to steal his girl friend then he had better fight him for her first.

It wasn't until he reached the front door that he remembered it was locked.

The anger soon evaporated into a feeling of confinement. He was trapped in here, he couldn't get out. He felt like some sort of zoo animal being watched and played with by his father but never set free.

He fell to the floor, the pain and humiliation catching up with him. He ignored the sensation of tears welling up in his eyes and tried to breathe through the pain.

He couldn't show emotion, not any more.

He noticed a stain on the floor and decided to distract himself, to try and clean it. He stood up slowly, his body throbbing from his sudden brief burst of energy.

He went over to the cupboard which stored the few cleaning supplies that his mother used whenever she remembered that cleaning actually had to be done.

He gave the cupboard an aggravated punch when the door handle wouldn't turn.

He felt suffocated, shut away from everything. He couldn't do anything that he wanted to do, and there was nothing to distract him.

He couldn't stop the tears this time and he fell to the floor, the anger leaving him. He just wanted to be free, to get away from all of this. His father was killing him and he couldn't get away.

He didn't hear the door opening and he didn't hear the footsteps approaching.

He did feel the kick though and the boot smashing down on his face. He looked up at his father with terrified eyes and tried to keep back the protest as the man began moving his boot forwards and backwards over his mouth and nose.

When his dad finally let up his foot, Ryan turned over and gagged. Blood began quietly streaming from his nose and his eyes watered persistently.

"You will never learn, will you?" His dad seized him by the hair.

"I can't leave you for five fucking minutes without coming back to check on you. I'm going to have to put you somewhere, where you won't be able to get up to anything." he spat out the words and grabbed Ryan by the collar.

Ryan coughed and followed obediently, his eyes still stinging from the pain in his nose.

He didn't register where he was being dragged too, until he was thrust into a tiny closet.

He knew that his begging would do no good, so he bit his tongue against the desperate pleas which were dying to come out.

"I'll let you out when you know how to behave properly."

The door slammed shut and Ryan was left, trapped in the darkness.

He concentrated on breathing deeply. He'd never liked being locked in. He just hoped he wouldn't be left in as long as he was the last time.

He moved his aching body into a slightly more comfortable position.

There was no difference from when he had his eyes open and when he had them closed. It was just so dark.

He wondered how much his dad had seen. He was trying so hard to keep his emotions in order when his dad was around but he was in so much pain all the time. He didn't know how his brother had put up with it. He'd heard the sound of flesh meeting flesh while his brother was having his beatings but he'd never heard any sound from Trey, only his father's grunts.

He felt around his nose gently and came to the conclusion that his father had had stones on the bottom of his shoe or something. There were little cuts all around the rim of his nose and just above his lips.

His bottom lip had been spilt already but it felt even worse.

The darkness didn't help.

Trey had always told him stories when they were locked in the cupboard together. He'd tell stories of two brothers who managed to escape from their evil parents and they would always become rich kings at the end.

He'd loved to hear those stories. Thinking back on it, it must have been Trey's way to keep Ryan's tears away so that his father wouldn't come around for seconds.

Trey was always punished for Ryan's tears. He didn't know why his dad did that, and it had always made him feel terrible. Being punished was a lot better than someone else being punished for something he'd done.

He began telling himself the stories in his head, not uttering a word.

It was a childish thing to do and would have earned him another beating but his father was no mind reader and the words filled him with hope. Maybe, one day, he'd be able to wake up from this nightmare.

Just as King Ryan was riding his mighty steed, jumping over fences and racing King Trey across the fields, he heard a banging on the front door.

Ryan froze, trying to keep himself quiet. It was probably just his father playing tricks on him. He leaned his head back and began creating more imaginary tales.

He imagined that right now he'd been trapped by the evil wizard and that King Trey would come and save the day, picking Ryan up, and placing him on his horse. The two of them together, galloping off back to the castle, back to their home.

There was another knock at the front door.

He looked towards where he assumed the door of the cupboard was.

His breathing quickened when whoever it was knocked even louder.

He wondered why his dad wasn't answering the door. He was probably passed out on the couch. He really hoped that he wasn't, he didn't want to be locked in here for much longer with only his mind to distract him.

Whoever it was eventually gave up and Ryan breathed a sigh of relief.

He passed a few more minutes, wondering who it had been. Theresa briefly came to mind but he knew how much she was afraid of his father so he doubted it.

It was probably just one of his dad's friends or one of his dad's clients wanting another ounce of crack.

The throbbing in his head was beginning to claim his attention and he raised a hand to hold it. He felt exhausted and removed a stray shoe from underneath his leg to make himself more room to spread out, his legs aching.

He hated silence more than anything. Silence meant that something was going to happen, the quiet before the storm.

He couldn't hear anything and he wondered whether his dad had gone out.

He wanted to know where his mom was. She may have not been a perfect mom but sometimes she'd slip him out for an hour or so before shutting him back in the cupboard before his dad returned. Or she'd slip in some food for him.

He tried to call her name but he couldn't seem to let any sound out. He frowned slightly but thought that maybe it was for the better. If his dad was around, he wouldn't like it if he heard him shouting.

The throbbing in his head turned piercing for a couple of seconds and Ryan clamped his eyes closed. He groaned slightly and curled up in as small a ball as he could manage. When the pain subsided, he hoped that maybe if he slept for a little while that he'd feel a little better. Sleeping would also pass the time before his dad would let him out.

He shifted around and tried to get a little more comfortable.

He hoped that this time, he wouldn't be plagued with nightmares.

tbc…