It was the middle of the night. A boy around the age of 20 was taking out a bag of trash. The boy's name was Daniel. He had graduated from high school four years ago with his whole life ahead of him, but all good things come to an end eventually.
Tragically, his dad had gotten into an affair with a coworker. Daniel's mom initially heard about it from someone else and seemed calm at first—but Daniel knew it was just the calm before the storm. Over the next few weeks, their home was filled with tense arguments. Eventually, things got physical. His mom, more often than not, seemed to be the one starting the fights. Daniel had tried to reason with them through words, but they always brushed him off, treating him like a kid interfering in "adult business."
"Guys, come on. Can you both stop fighting, please? There has to be another way to handle this," Daniel said with a pleading, tired voice.
"Daniel, stay out of this. This is between me and your father. We'll settle things one way or another," his mother snapped.
At first, Daniel thought they were going to divorce. He hadn't expected his mom to be against the idea. She believed in the quote: "Every lock has its key, and every key is made for a lock." He guessed she still wanted to work things out—but her way of working things out was... questionable.
"Daniel's son, would you please stop your mother? She's being very unreasonable," his dad called out.
Daniel just stared blankly at him. His expression said, Don't look at me. You did this to yourself. I didn't tell you to cheat.
After five minutes of continuous beatings, Daniel's dad finally shouted out in frustration.
"Damn it, woman! I said I was sorry, okay? What more do you want from me? I deleted her number! I even quit my job! What more do you want? I was thinking with my lower half, okay?!"
Daniel's mom just laughed. "You were thinking with your lower half, huh? Maybe we should do something about that 'lower half.'"
She grinned with a twisted smile.
Daniel's dad froze for a moment, stunned, then raised his fists.
"Damn it, woman, you've taken this far enough. If you try anything else, I'll fight back!"
She kept laughing. "Oh? You're going to fight back now?"
"That's right. And I ain't holding anything back!"
Daniel sat in a chair, watching the two of them. "Oh, he's fighting back now? Took him long enough."
Judging by Daniel's reaction, this wasn't the first time they had fought. Every argument seemed to escalate into physical blows. Daniel stayed tonight because he thought it might get too serious. Now, watching them biting, slapping, and pinching each other, he just sighed.
"I guess some things never change," he muttered, checking his phone. It was 8:30 PM. With the two still bickering, he sighed again.
I'm probably not gonna sleep if I stay here.
He quickly called a number. Someone picked up on the other end.
"Yooo, what's up D?"
"Hey, what's up Kev? You don't mind me coming over today, right?"
"Oh yeah, my parents said they don't mind you coming. You're like family—you don't have to sneak in anymore."
"Oh yeah? Hahaha, right," Daniel said with an awkward laugh. "Were we that loud?"
"Umm, not really. My mom just saw you leaving a few times. She kinda figured it out. I, uh… kinda told her what's going on. She pressed it out of me."
"Oh, I can't believe my dear son ratted me out like this. Sad times we live in."
"Listen, I said I was sorry, okay? I'll make it up to you."
"I guess this unfilial 'dad' will have to forgive his good-for-nothing son."
"Anyway, be sure to bring an extra controller."
"?! What? I swear the last time I was there you had like four controllers! Or am I crazy?"
"Listen, Dad—within thick fog, one can lose their sense of direction," Kevin said with a serious tone.
"Uh-huh…"
"Just bring the damn controller, dude."
Click.
Daniel laughed at the abrupt ending. As quickly as the smile came, it faded.
"Guys, I'm leaving! Be back tomorrow," he called out.
As expected, no answer came—only the sounds of grunts and curses.
He headed upstairs, packed a few things in a bag, grabbed an apple, and took one last look at his parents before leaving. Kevin's house was only four blocks away, so it didn't take him long. Setting his bike down, he knocked a few times.
Kevin's mom, a sweet-looking middle-aged woman with brown hair and a few wrinkles, opened the door. She smiled softly.
"Oh, hi dear. You finally made it."
"Wait, you knew I was coming?"
"Oh yes. I told Kevin to let me know when you got here."
"Oh… yeah," Daniel said, scratching his head awkwardly. "So you don't mind me coming in, do you, Mrs. Parker?"
Mrs. Parker pulled him into a hug.
"Wait, Mrs. Par—"
"Listen, Daniel. I've been in your situation before."
"…Wait, you have?"
"Yes. My parents used to fight in front of me and my brother too. But trust me, it's just a part of life. You'll get through it. Things do get better."
She let go. Daniel looked surprised.
"You sure?"
"Maybe… like 50% sure."
"Huh? But you just said—"
"I know what I said. But things can go either way. Life has a way of just hitting you sometimes. I just want you to know, no matter what happens, never stop getting up. Because once you give up, you lose something—and trust me, you never want to lose that something. Anyway, come in. Want something to eat?"
Daniel set his bike aside and took off his shoes.
"No thank you, Mrs. Parker," he said, still a little confused.
"Really? I made my famous lasagna."
"…Uh, sure. I'll take a piece."
"Yoo, Daniel! Come on!" Kevin called from the basement.
"Kevin, hold on! Daniel's hungry. Go ahead, dear, grab a piece."
"Actually, Mrs. Parker, I'll grab a piece later. Thank you, though."
"KEVIN!" she snapped.
"What?! Mom, I didn't do anything! He just said he didn't want to eat. Okay, let's go, Daniel!"
Daniel waved politely to Mrs. Parker as he followed Kevin down to the basement.
"Feel free to grab some lasagna, dear. Kevin doesn't seem to enjoy my cooking as much," she sighed. "I wonder if I should've been stricter with that boy."
"So what's up with your mom, Kev?" Daniel asked as they reached the basement.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"She was talking about how she went through the same stuff I'm going through, how I shouldn't give up."
"Oh yeah… she did go through something like that. But hers was a bit more serious. My grandparents basically cheated on each other. One thing led to another and… my grandma tried to kill my mom and uncle. Luckily, my grandpa got there in time—just before she tried to drown them."
"Whoa… That's way more serious than what I'm dealing with."
"Yeah, it was traumatic. I'm surprised she even talked about it."
"Guess she was trying to make me feel like I wasn't alone."
"Well, did it work?"
"…Kinda. Anyway, here's that controller you asked for," Kevin said, handing him a blue one.
Daniel looked around the basement. It was Kevin's dad's gaming room, filled wall-to-wall with games—some dating back to the 1970s. Every time Daniel came over, he was amazed by the collection. There were consoles, shelves of games, a massive TV, and two PCs.
"Man, this room is still insane," Daniel said.
"Awww sweet, thanks dude. But you sure you don't wanna play this new game with me?"
"I'd rather not," Daniel replied, shaking his head.
Kevin sighed. "Why not?"
"Right now, I already feel like shit. I don't need to feel even worse getting dog-walked by some sweaty tryhards online. No thanks."
"Yeah, but that's the fun part!"
"Getting dog-walked?"
"No! The comeback! When everything's against you—bad teammates, smurfs, throwers—and you win anyway. That feeling is unbeatable."
"That sounds great and all, but no. I'd rather chill with a single-player game."
Kevin gave him a dramatic, defeated look but shrugged. "Alright, suit yourself."
Kevin turned on the console, plugged in the controller, and booted up his game.
"Oh, and D—my PC's updating. Feel free to use my dad's. He doesn't mind, just don't open any weird folders."
"Why?"
Kevin shuddered. "Trust me, you don't wanna know. I've been down that road. Save yourself the trauma."
"Noted."
Silently, they each got lost in their own games. Daniel dove into a single-player RPG, while Kevin threw himself into matches online.
Five hours passed.
After ten consecutive losses, Kevin stared at the screen, emotionally drained. His will to live, his pride, and his self-worth had all taken a beating. He turned everything off and sighed.
"Man, I don't think I can play anymore. Maybe D was right…"
He glanced at the time and realized how late it had gotten. Exhaustion hit him like a brick wall. He grabbed a blanket, walked to the couch near the stairs, and collapsed with a yawn.
"Yo, Daniel… feel free to grab some food if you're hungry. Blanket's in the usual spot. And if you need anything else, just let me know, I'm—"
He passed out mid-sentence.
Daniel glanced over and laughed softly. "Thanks, man."
Then he turned back to his game.
Six more hours passed.
Daniel couldn't sleep. No matter how tired his body felt, his mind refused to rest. Something kept scratching at the back of his thoughts like an itch he couldn't reach. I hope they at least saw the letter I left for those idiots…
Earlier at Daniel's house
James, Daniel's dad, had just taken a punch to the eye from Linda, Daniel's mom.
"Damn, Linda, wait—I gotta ask Daniel where he's going—"
He backed away, but she gave him no room. She closed the distance instantly.
"Don't worry, dear. He's off to Kevin's place. I had a chat with Kevin's mom. She said he's welcome anytime. So I wouldn't worry about him right now. Worry about yourself."
She grinned and threw another punch.
James raised his hand just in time to block the hook. He cocked his head back, bumping into her nose and making some space between them.
"Can we stop now?" he asked, catching his breath.
Linda chuckled, blood dripping from her nose as she looked down.
"You know… it's going to take more than that to stop me."
James frowned and raised his hands. "Timeout."