Jacob woke up and stepped out of his room. He glanced at the clock — it was already far past the time he was supposed to wake up.
He had missed school again.
From downstairs, he heard loud shouting. His parents were arguing.
"This is all your fault!" Mother screamed.
Father scoffed. "My fault?! How the fuck is it my fault?!"
"God dammit, I can't believe I married such a stupid man! You told him to go out there and be a 'superhero', you idiot!"
"There was no choice left! He wasn't going to stop talking about wanting to go out and do more!"
"There were plenty of choices, and you picked the worst one!"
"Then tell me! Tell me what options we had!"
Mother stared at him, breathing hard, furious. "Sending him back to the fucking hospital."
Father gasped. "How could you say that?!"
"John wasn't special. He was abnormal!"
Father was stunned. Then, after a few moments, he suddenly slapped her hard across the face.
Mother clutched her cheek and slowly turned to him. "You piece of shit..."
She charged at him, pulling his hair and scratching him ruthlessly. But Father overpowered her quickly.
He pushed her away and slapped her again. Mother tried to fight back, but his strength was too much.
He slapped her again, then again, and again, until she dropped to the floor.
"Why did you make me do this?!" Father shouted, his voice breaking.
He suddenly heard crying. He turned and saw Jacob standing on the stairs, tears streaming down his face.
Father instantly regretted everything.
"Jacob—"
Jacob ran back to his room.
Father sighed heavily, then turned back to Mother and knelt beside her.
"Y-You alright...?"
Mother slapped his hand away. "Don't touch me, monster!"
Those words hit him like a knife.
Father's lips quivered. "Don't say that, please... I'm so sorry. I'm so fucking sorry."
"You can say sorry all you want... I don't give a shit anymore! Fuck you!"
Mother ran to their room and started packing her bags.
"Hey, stop that!" Father pleaded. "Please! I'll never do that again! I'm so fucking stupid, okay? Please, stop."
She stormed past him with her bag.
Father grabbed her hand. "Don't leave me! Honey—"
"You don't get to call me that again, asshole! Let go of me!"
"Please—"
Mother slapped him hard. Father didn't get angry. He just looked even more broken.
He let go of her hand and watched her walk away.
Mother stormed off, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"You're wrong."
Mother stopped and turned around. It was Jacob.
"Being abnormal is what makes you special. Which is why none of you care about me anymore. Because there's nothing special to care about in this house."
Mother slapped her forehead, unable to believe she had forgotten about him.
She walked into his room. "I'm so sorry, buddy. Come on, we need to go. Now."
"No." Jacob backed away. "Not because I choose Dad over you or anything. This is all I have left. A house. A place to live."
Jacob looked at her. "You don't. You'll come back here in a few days." He exhaled. "John is what held this family together. Not you. Not Dad. John."
"I'm sorry, Jacob." Mother walked out and closed the door behind her.
---
MIDNIGHT
Father had just come back from the store, holding a pack of six beers.
He had been sober for twenty years. The only reason he stayed sober that long was because of her.
He broke down crying, popped open a bottle, and chugged it like he hadn't drunk in years.
"Fuck..."
He opened another and downed it. In a few minutes, he had finished four entire bottles.
He burped loudly, then let out a loud, maniacal laugh.
Jacob came out of his room and saw his father dancing like a madman, laughing hysterically.
"Dad...?"
"Oh hey, Jacob! Come down here, buddy! Let's dance!"
Jacob chuckled awkwardly. "No thanks... I'm actually kinda sleepy..."
---
A FEW DAYS LATER
Someone knocked on the door. Father opened it and froze. It was Mother.
"What are you doing here...?"
Mother didn't look him in the eyes. "I need somewhere to stay."
Father let her in.
They sat far apart in the living room.
"You uh..." Mother cleared her throat. "You look rough."
"I know. It's been really fucking rough ever since you left." Father chuckled bitterly. "But you're here now."
"How's Jacob?"
"Oh, right... Jacob. Yeah, he's doing fine."
Mother narrowed her eyes. "Have you been drinking?"
Father scoffed. "Of course not!"
Mother pointed at an empty bottle. "Then explain that."
Father groaned. "Okay, I had a few bottles. That's it."
"Whatever."
Mother went to Jacob's room. "Hey, buddy. You alright?"
Jacob shook his head.
Mother closed the door and sat beside him on the bed. "What's wrong?"
"Dad barely feeds me. Every time I ask for food, he just tells me to shut up." Jacob broke down. "He drinks every night... Not just one or two bottles, Mom. He drinks a lot."
Mother hugged him tightly. "Hey, don't cry. I didn't come back because I had nowhere else to go. I came back to get you, Jacob."
Jacob looked at her. "You did?"
Mother smiled and nodded. "We'll leave when Dad's asleep, alright?"
"Why can't we just leave now?"
"Because of some stupid child custody law. But don't worry, you'll be with me."
"I don't hate him, Mom... He's just broken. Dad's not a bad person, I promise."
"I know, but if this continues... he will become one. Just trust me, okay?"
Jacob nodded.
"Bad person, huh?"
Mother snapped her head around. Father had been listening the whole time.
"What are you doing here? Get out! I'm sleeping in Jacob's room tonight. Consider us divorced!"
"I'm not a bad person. Like Jacob said, I'm just broken." Father exhaled. "You're not leaving this house with him, honey. He's mine."
"Shut your fucking mouth, asshole! You don't even feed him!"
Father scoffed. "You don't even have money to feed yourself."
Mother laughed. "I found another man who's twice the person you are."
She walked up to him, rubbing it in. "He's got more money, better looks, and is overall a better person than you ever were."
"How could you do that...?"
"Do I really need to answer that?"
Father cried softly. "After all I've done for you, this is how you repay me?"
Mother chuckled. "Oh, don't bring up that 'after all I've done for you' bullshit!"
She smirked. "A mountain is built stone by stone, yet a single mistake can bring it all crashing down..."
Father was silent for a moment, then let out a rough exhale. "You're not leaving this house."
Mother scoffed. "Fuck you."
Father chuckled darkly. "Fuck me..."
Mother looked at him and laughed. "You're drunk, aren't you?"
Suddenly, Father punched her in the face, knocking her out cold.
He turned to Jacob. "You speak a word of this to anyone, I'll snap your fucking neck! Got it?!"
Jacob could only nod.
Father carried Mother's unconscious body on his shoulder.
"I'm gonna have some fun with her, alright bud?" Father said with a smug grin. "Sometimes a man needs to relieve some stress. You'll understand one day... or you probably already do." He laughed.
Father left the room and closed the door.
Jacob curled into a ball in the corner and bawled his eyes out. If only John was here. If only John wasn't so naive.
Jacob kept thinking about when this family was still normal and happy. Every time he did, he cried even harder.
"Superpowers are nothing but a curse..."