Chapter 1
I lay at night on the rooftop, fireflies all around me, the noise of a garbage truck driving by the neighborhood. Blood drips from my nose as I wipe it off, the wind flowing through the sweat of my messy hair. “The stars are bright out, aren’t they?” he says to a firefly that landed on his shoulder. It glows as he stares at it. “I wonder why it glows,” he ponders. “Maybe because you’re special.” Jake was so special he wouldn’t harm a fly. As tears ran down his face and loud fireworks lit up the sky, he hums, enjoying the night. He slowly drifts off to sleep on his rooftop, the window from his bedroom half open, playing his radio loudly. Suddenly, he wakes up to a little sound he hears across his ears. He sees a nice-looking house with a girl dancing in the glowing window. He finds it quite amusing and hears her humming with a smile on her face. Although blurry, he can clearly see her smile from far away. “Hmmm, I wonder why she is dancing like that?” he questions. The dancing doesn’t stop; she sways with a book in her hand, giggles, and lands on her bed. He blushes and feels quite warm in his chest. For a moment, he feels a sense of purpose; he finds it very heartwarming and amusing. Then suddenly, the girl stops. She opens the window to look out. He blushes and hides, even though it’s dark, fearing she might notice a body-shaped figure on the roof. Suddenly, a car drives up the driveway, loud with the radio blasting, a hand sticking out the rear window with a cigarette in it. “Oh, damn, Uncle’s home!” He runs to his window, and the girl turns her head and sees it. With curiosity, she makes a strange face. Jake runs to turn off his light and radio, hides under his covers, and pretends he’s asleep. Footsteps grow louder and louder. The doorknob turns. Sweat beads come out of his clothes, his heart beating heavily, blood drying from his cut lip and nose. “Sonny?” “Stay quiet,” he says. “Stay quiet, he won’t hurt you,” he says to himself. “He beat me one night; he won’t do it twice.”
