Aiden's life had always been a cycle of quiet misery. His earliest memories were of his mother's warmth, her gentle voice singing lullabies to him as he drifted to sleep. But that warmth always felt at odds with the cold, heavy presence of his father—a man who had once been full of promise but had long since succumbed to bitterness and failure.
Aiden didn't know why his mother had married his father. Whenever he asked, she would only smile faintly and say, "He wasn't always like this, Aiden. He was kind once, and he loved us. Life… it just broke him."
But Aiden couldn't see the man his mother described. All he knew was the man his father had become—a drunkard who spent what little money they had gambling and wallowing in his own self-pity.
The debt collectors came frequently, their voices loud and demanding at the front door.
"Mrs. Shaw, this has gone on long enough! Pay up, or we'll have to take more drastic measures!"
His mother would stand firm, her voice shaking as she argued with them. "I told you! I'm working on it! Just give us more time!"
But their voices carried through the neighborhood, and Aiden could feel the stares of their neighbors from behind their curtains. His face burned with shame every time he heard the whispers.
One evening, the shouting reached a new level. His mother, exhausted from work, had come home to find Aiden facing the debt collectors alone.
"You sent our son to deal with them?!" she screamed at his father, who lay sprawled on the couch, an empty bottle in his hand.
His father barely opened his eyes. "What's the big deal? He's old enough to handle it."
"Old enough? He's a child!" she snapped, her voice trembling with fury. "You don't do anything but sleep and drink while we struggle to survive!"
"I don't need this right now," his father muttered, sitting up unsteadily.
"Well, you're going to hear it!" She stepped closer, her fists clenched. "You've ruined this family, and you don't even care! Look at what you've done to Aiden!"
"Don't blame me for your failures!" His father staggered to his feet, his face twisted in anger. "I'm not the only one who's messed up!"
The argument escalated quickly. His father, in his drunken state, shoved her hard enough to make her stumble. Aiden's vision blurred with rage.
"Don't touch her!" he yelled, stepping between them. Without thinking, he swung his fist, catching his father across the jaw.
The older man stared at him in shock before grabbing his coat and storming out of the house. "You'll regret this," he muttered before slamming the door.
But he never came back.