Misfits - Prologue (Patreon)

I’ve always had it hard. Rarely has life been easy. I’ve always been strong, and independent. Setting up barriers so that no one could knock them down. And most of my life, I’ve been on my own.

When I was 10, my mother died. Leaving me and my father alone. But mostly me. My father took her death pretty hard. He began drinking and getting into drugs, and when he was home, he took his anger out on me.

I’ve been in and out of the hospital since I was 11. The state never bothered to take me away because I always came up with a really good cover story as to why I was so battered. And living in the neighborhood that I did, the cops never suspected my dad. Only the violence that surrounded me. I know you’re thinking, what an idiot. But I just couldn’t bring myself to turn in my dad. He wasn’t a bad man, he was just having a bad time. That’s what I always told myself.

But as I got older and less naïve, I just figured that I was the only one that would be able to take care of him. We used to live in a modest home, in a modest neighborhood before my mother's medical bills and death. Then we ended up moving into low-income housing. It was dirty, terrifying, and dangerous. But it was home. And it was all I had until I could get myself out of this godforsaken place.

I graduated my high school with honors, earning myself an academic scholarship to the local college. I still had to stay at home though since I couldn’t afford an apartment, and a job would take away from my study time. I couldn’t afford any distractions. One slip in my grades and I could kiss my scholarship, and chances at a better life, goodbye. I had it all planned out. Go to school, get my degree, and have a better life. No distractions.

I wasn’t expecting anyone new in my life. Especially him. Being who he was, and what he represented, I should have just turned away and never looked back. But I couldn’t do it. Even though I should have, I just couldn’t. And I wasn’t prepared at all.

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I wrote "Misfits" when I was nineteen/twenty years old. It's definitely my earlier stages of writing and one of the first books I had completed. I say this to say, please be gentle. If you have read any of my recent works, you know this isn't the best that I can do, but everyone started somewhere, and this was one of mine. I hope you enjoy.