Chapter 1 - Creak
Hi. I'm Luke. I'm 14, and I have no fucking idea what I'm doing with my life.
Today was just another upsetting day. It's the horrifying cycle of ‘school, study, sleep, repeat’ that haunts me everywhere I go. And no matter how hard I try, I can't stop it. It never stops. The only good thing about school is I get to see Nell, but we never even talk, and let's be real, it's all one-sided. The only good thing about sleep is the numbness and what some might call ‘time-travelling’. One second you're overthinking everything you ever did, and the next you're doing the exact same thing, just with the sun blinding your eyes. And the only good part about studying? Well there just isn't. It's more like just listening to Billie and Olivia on Alexa at full volume with an open book in front of me. Which somehow ends up working and I don't fail anything. But apart from that, what time do I have to myself? The time I spend locked up in the bathroom with depressing music blasting into my ears? The time I spend sitting in front of a TV getting overwhelmed by emotions of people who don't even exist, simply because it's easier to feel those ones than the ones inside me? Nothing makes sense. But then again, why should it?
So I go into my bedroom and do nothing. And when the time comes, it's time for bed. Which means it's time for not sleeping. But for filling your brain with thoughts and spirals that just make it want to explode. And that's when I heard it. A noise, coming from the living room. A creak almost. That'll be dad, I thought. But I always overthink everything and live out the worst possible scenarios. So I had to make sure it wasn't some burglar that had somehow gotten in. But sure enough, the door was locked. So I turn around and look for dad. He's laying on the sofa. Asleep. Although he could well be confused for dead. What the fuck? I must have just imagined the sound, I guess. But then, then I hear it again. On the other side of the house. So I make my way towards the master bedroom where mum is sleeping. I hear another creak, and turn my head. I could swear I fucking saw someone. A figure. Approaching the bed. But, boom, all of a sudden, it's gone. I have no clue what the actual hell is going on here. So I go back to bed. Because it must all be some stupid fucking dream.
