So "breakfast" the next morning was fun. As usual. And I mean that sarcastically. My dad refused to look me in the eye after what happened last night. I ate my cereal without looking at him. "So…" I started, "What did you see this time?" I asked. At this point he was sober. Fortunately, the hallucinations sobered him up just about instantly. Every time, my dad sees something different.

"Th-there was blood everywhere…" he started, "Your throat- someone slit your throat and…" he shook his head and took a deep breath, "Your eyes were gone." He said.

"So someone slit my throat and gouged out my eyes." I concluded, "Fantastic."

"You've got to stop doing that." He said, "It's giving me nightmares."

"And you've got to stop drinking." I dropped my spoon and glared at him, "I've lost count a long time ago how many times we've done this. You'd go out and get an actual job, but instead you go out drinking and come home to strangle me. I'm sick of it." I snapped, "You said you were gonna change. You promised."

He looked at me submissively, his eyes kept glancing up and down slightly. I know he was looking at the bruise on the side of my face from when he hit me with the book. He sighed, "I'm sorry, Hazel…"

"Enough with the 'sorry'. Anyone can say 'sorry' then turn around and do the same old stupid shit they were doing before." My dad never minded my cursing. Mom, however, would've killed me for it. She was the 'good girl' type of woman. But one night, my dad took her to hang out with his friends, got her strung out on God knows what, and she put a bullet in her head because she was convinced she was playing Russian roulette. I never saw her again. On occasion with Dad's hallucinations, he wouldn't even see me, but he'll see Mom and the way she died. "When are you going to keep up on your promise?" I asked. "I already lost Mom…"

He flinched.

"I don't want to lose you too…" I said and walked off. Was that a low blow? Yes. Was it effective? Not really. This is also not the first time we've had a conversation like this. I walked down to the bus stop and waited for the bus. I did however, find a pack of cigarettes on him that morning while he was still passed-out on the living room floor. He owes me at least that. I took one out and pulled out my lighter. I lit the cigarette and took a deep breath. Just so you know- I was seventeen when I was doing this. I quit smoking when I was twenty because I got a girlfriend who slapped me for it. Remember this- I look exactly like a girl without boobs.

Besides the point, my point was, everyone gave me a strange look when they saw a seventeen-ear-old 'girl' smoking at 'her' school bus stop. I sat at that bus stop for about forty-five minutes, waiting for the bus to come. Other students had already gathered around and started chatting amongst each other. I was left alone. Nobody saw me smoking, but everybody saw the bruise on the side of my face. Girls kept coming up and asking if I was okay and if my 'boyfriend' hit me. I ignored them. I was sick of this kind of attention.

"Oh my god, he choked you too?" they started gasping and asking.

Oh great, now they knew that I was choked last night too. I was in for an awesome day…

I rode the bus and kept my hair brushed around the sides of my neck and kept my head down. I sat in my first class next to Danny, Sam and Tucker and kept to myself.

"Good morning, everyone, how are we doing?" the teacher greeted, then I heard him pause, "Mr. Richards, what happened to your face?"

"I don't want to talk about it." I said firmly.

"Well- if you do, come see me. Okay?"

I kept my eyes forward, but I was able to see Sam looking at me in concern through my peripheral. I also saw Danny, who now had a cut on his arm and on the side of his face that he didn't have yesterday. I nodded and hid a smirk. Now I knew his secret. I went through class like normal and even passed in my completed homework.

Again, nothing excited happened. At lunchtime, Sam insisted that Danny and Tucker sat by me again, this time, they had a redheaded girl with them. I acted as though they weren't there. Not until Sam spoke at least.

"So… Hazel, what happened?" she asked.

"I had a bad day yesterday." I said, "And that's it." I growled. "I don't want to talk about it, I don't want you to know about it."

"Did your parents beat you?" the redhead asked. This was Jazz. I don't know where she came from.

I glared at her, "I said I don't want to talk about it." I said flatly.

"Well- maybe talking about it would make you feel better." Jazz said optimistically, "Was it your mom? Or your dad?"

I stood straight up and even shifted the table, "I said I don't want to talk about it." I repeated, "But if you must know, my dad came home drunk. I don't have a mom because she put a bullet in her head playing Russian roulette when I was twelve. Happy now?" I asked and stormed out, hearing other students murmuring about my outburst.

"Way to go, Jazz…" I heard Danny say before I left.

I walked off to the back of the school and plopped down, lighting another cigarette and taking deep breath. I was alone for a while, but… then the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. "Oh great, company…" I sighed, sending out another puff of smoke.

Danny came around the corner, "You left your food in there." He said with the tray I left on the table.

"I lost my appetite." I said.

He shrugged and sat it by me anyways, "You should eat." He sat down beside me.

"Where's Sam and the other guy?" I asked. I knew it was Tucker, but at the time, I didn't know. Or I kept forgetting…

"They're talking to my sister."

"Is that who the redhead is?" I asked, taking another puff.

"Yeah- sorry about her." He apologized, "She thinks she's a therapist."

"Well, I don't need therapy." I grumbled and exhaled the smoke.

"You smoke?" he gave me a strange look.

"Yeah. What of it? Are you surprised?"

He paused, "Fair point."

"Better this than pot." I said, "Right?"

Danny nodded and shrugged.

"You look like you got the shit kicked out of you, too." I said, putting out the cigarette, "What's the story on that? And I know it's not your parents." I said, "What happened?"

"How do you know it wasn't my parents?" he asked, "You're the first person to not assume that."

"With the way your sister is- she wouldn't let them hurt you." I said. "Unexpected fight?"

"Yeah." Danny nodded and carefully felt the cut on his face, "I don't know where the guy came from."

I nodded, "Do you want to know what happened?" I asked. I figured if I knew his secret, I might as well tell him.

Danny shrugged, "I won't make you. I'm not like my sister."

"It's the least I can do for you apologizing on her behalf." I took a deep breath, "My dad was supposed to be job hunting yesterday, but I guess he got sidetracked and went to a bar. So he came stumbling home, drunker than an Irishman, and hit me with a math textbook." I explained, "After I called him out on his lie." I added, "While I was down, he pinned me down with his hands around my neck." I shrugged, "That's what happened."

"Geez…" Danny breathed, seeming to inch away. "Is he normally like that?" he asked.

I shrugged, "One time it was a lamp- another was the bottle he was drinking from. Sometimes he pins me to the wall and picks me up." I shook my head, "It's only when he drinks though." I sighed, "Fortunately, that's rare. When he finally realizes what he's done, he freaks out and doesn't make eye contact with me. He hates it every time."

"It's happened more than once?" Danny asked in shock.

I leaned away from him. "Yeah…"

"And you're acting like it's okay?"

"It's not." I told him, "And we've talked about it." I sighed, "You know- you're the only person I've been this honest to." I said.

"Really?"

I nodded, "I've always… kind of avoided everybody."

Danny shrugged, "Anytime." He said.

I chucked, "Wait a minute- why are you even here? I thought you didn't like me."

"Sam told me to come talk to you." He confessed, "Nobody really likes me too much either, so… might as well stick together, right?"

I held up my fist, "Thanks."

He bumped his fist against mine, "No problem." He said. I can't believe it took me this long to notice- but he kept exhaling a puff of mist. I'm guessing that was his ghost sense. Mine was just the weird feeling on the back of my neck.

"Just- do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"Don't tell anyone about my dad." I said, "I hate that kind of attention and it makes me feel like I can't handle it on my own."

"But what if you really need help?"

"Then I'll get you and the others." I said, "But… usually I can handle things on my own."

The bell finally rang. Danny and I stood up, dusted ourselves off and went back to our next classes. I felt lighter, it was weird. I guess talking about it does help.

"See you later." Danny waved.

"Later." I waved and turned in a different direction.

Apparently not everyone got the memo that I'm not a girl. I sat next to this idiot chick named Paulina. She looked at me in disgust, "Who did your hair?" she asked. "It's so gross."

There was nothing wrong with my hair, by the way. I woke up, brushed it, and went to school. I looked at her and studied her hair, "Apparently the same hair dresser that did yours." I replied.

"Nuh-uh." She argued, "I did my hair myself." She replied.

"You're missing the point." I said, "Your hair looks like shit."

I heard almost the entire class either gasp, of laugh at my comment.

"You have no boobs." She argued, "What kind of girl are you? An ugly one?"

"Not supposed to have boobs, dumbass." I said, "I'm not a girl."

She froze, "Well, you're very pretty." She taunted.

"And you're stupid." I turned to the front of the class.

Paulina growled, "Dash! Do something!"

"Hell no." Dash sat back in his seat, "Kwan?" he looked over.

A larger Asian kid stood up and turned to me, then he looked over at Paulina, "What do you want me to do exactly?" he asked.

"Sit your ass back down." I said, "Before I kick it."

Kwan frowned and picked me up out of my seat by my collar, "Who are you to threaten me?" he growled.

"Hazel Richards." I answered simply.

He rose a fist to punch me, just as the teacher walked in "Kwan!" she snapped.

I smirked, seeing the sudden horror in his face.

He was sent to immediate detention for almost punching me in the face.

The rest of school- boring, so there's nothing really to report besides that. I went home without too much happening. I walked into the apartment and found that my dad wasn't home. "Wonderful…" I sighed and dropped my stuff. There was a knock on the door, "Amity Park police."

"Fantasic." I rolled my eyes and opened the door after brushing my hair over my bruise and around the sides of my neck.

"Hello, miss, are your parents home?" one of the officers asked.

I shook my head.

"No… Kurt Richards?" they asked.

"N-no sir…" I shook my head, raising the pitch in my voice, the more they didn't think I was Hazel Richards, the better. They must've been notified of the fact that my dad's wanted for drugs from all over the country. I started out living in Mesa, Arizona. But my dad and I have jumped from Arizona, to New Mexico, Oklahoma, then to Montana, and finally to here in Michigan. They've been tracking my dad the whole time.

They gave me a strange look, "Are you Hazel Richards?" they asked.

I shook my head rapidly.

One sighed, "Miss, mind if we came inside and took a look around?"

I took a moment before bursting into the yellow and green flames, sending a few of the flames into their faces. I grabbed one by the face and threw him out to the pathetic excuse for a street and shoved the other away. I stood up as tall as I could and stood over them. They both looked at me in horror and ran off. I threw a fireball at their car before they could reach it, exploding the gas tank and disabling the vehicle.

Was it effective? Yes.

Wasn't that illegal? You bet your ass it was. But after that- the cops never showed up at my door again. And now those two were gonna return to the station and get in trouble for their hallucinations. Hallucinogenic flames sure came in handy, I'll tell you what.

After the scene though, I went intangible and went back inside, closing the door behind me. I didn't give a shit if anyone know of my ghost half. What were they gonna do? Exorcise me? They've tried that. The priest refused to touch me after he hallucinated his crucifix screaming. But fortunately, nobody saw. They heard, but it was all over by the time they came to check out the racket.

My dad walked in "What's with the burnt up car out front?" he asked.

"The cops came looking for you." I answered simply, "So I scared them and blew up their car." I continued on the homework I had started on.

"You know that makes you a felon, right?" he asked.

"Yep." I said.

My dad saw that I didn't seem to care. "Okay."

"How'd job hunting go?" I asked.

He shrugged, "Didn't really get anywhere…" he confessed.

"Hard to find a job nowadays, isn't it?"

"It is. Unless you're willing to jump into fast food."

I turned around to look at him, "Dad, anything will do. We need some sort of income. I don't think he have any right to be picky at this moment."

"Son, I-"

"No." I cut him off, "Apply anywhere." I said, "Minimum wage is better than no wages at all. We need to make rent somehow and not by selling our stuff." Honestly, I always felt like the smarter one of the family of two. All the drugs that had gone to my dad's brain dumbed him down and lowered his IQ to lower than mine. All I do is smoke. It's not that much better- I know. But it's not meth… like I said, I eventually stopped smoking…

I'm not helping my point. My dad's an idiot.

My dad sighed, "You're right…" he brushed his hair back, "You're right…" he sat down beside me and watched me do my homework… considering we didn't have the money to buy a TV, it was something to watch. "The history of Michigan?"

"I don't know a thing about it. The teacher told me to Google it- but we don't have a computer, let alone internet, and I'm not going to the library." I explained.

"Why won't you go the library?" he asked. "What was that whole thing about not getting picky about anything?" he asked.

I got quiet. He was right, there was usually too many people at the library. I didn't want to be around them. I sighed, "Dad… if you don't care whether or not I graduate… just as long as I'm in school. Why do you care that I'm in school anyway?" I looked at him.

"I don't want you to grow up as stupid as I am." He answered. "I want you to make friends. Good friends. People you can trust." He looked me in the eye. "I've introduced you to some bad people, Haze… it's not fair to you and frankly… it's made me a terrible parent. I… even took your mom away from you because of some idiots I met on the street." He confessed, "My biggest regret is leaving you without a mother. Hazel… please don't make the same mistakes I made. Don't…" his eyes watered up, "Don't be like me."

"Dad- I'm seventeen and already smoking."

"And so far, I'm already fucking it up for you." He cut me off, "I've been screwing up this whole parenting thing since you were born. I always owed people money, I've always had people looking for me. Your mom was pissed." He sighed, "I can't even count how many times I've almost lost you…" he wiped his eyes.

This was one of his bad days… my dad would have great days, drug-booze days, or bad days where he's sober and slips into depression because he realizes that he's a shitty parent. I knew why he paused… thinking of the several times I've been held at gun point, held with a knife to my throat, kept hostage in someone's car and was even threatened to be left alone in the middle of the desert.

I lied to Dash before. About Mesa? I didn't miss it one bit. Mesa can continue to burn in hell for all I cared. Phoenix, any of Arizona…

I've slipped into comas before because of my dad… almost died of blood loss, or even… God… I can't even think of them all. Concussions, asphyxiated… yeah. There wasn't much that hadn't been done to me because of my dad's drug problem.

Child Protective Services knows about my situation. They've tried taking me from him. But they never caught up to us. As far as they're concerned, we either still live in Mesa, just- I dunno, under a bridge or something, or my dad and I are both dead.

Why do I stay with my dad? Because I still love him. Even if he's a stupid son of a bitch that needs to take better care of his 'son-and-a-half'. He's all I've got left and no way in hell am I gonna let any damned drug dealer or cop take him from me.

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