Running Up That Hill

Munroe, Connecticut, 1962, Seven years earlier

"It's your fault!"

"It's in our family, he can't control it!"

"He's a freak because of your family!"

Asher cleaned up his cut on his face from where his dad hit him. There was already a blue bruise forming.

"It's not right for people to see the dead!."

His dad shouted once more. The neighbor to the south of their house passed away from old age and showed up in their house today as a ghost, and Asher saw her.

He didn't quite understand this gift but he didn't want it. Ever since he developed it at 13, his dad had become the worst person.

His mother has the gift but she's rather suppress it with medication from the doctor, but Asher just went with it. Sometimes the alcohol blurs it but it started turning into him using it as a crutch with his abuse from his dad.

Like now for instance, just for his dad seeing him talk to the dead he hit him.

Asher hissed as he wiped rubbing alcohol over the cut, but he cleaned it up and got it to stop bleeding.

Ever since the abuse started Asher thought his dad would understand then give up one day, but he never let up. The day it landed him in the hospital for broken ribs, the drinking started to blur him seeing the dead.

But it started turning into a bandaid for the abuse, then smoking and never coming home. He only came back to check on his sister and mom.

But today was not a good day to be back..

A sharp knock came to the bathroom door. Asher didn't answer right away. Until he heard his mother. "Honey, open up please."

Asher shrugs on his jacket opening the door. He is met with the pity look on his mother's face like always when his father got out of control.

"You okay?." It looked like she's been crying and it made Asher's stomach twist. "Why do you stay with him?."

Asher's mother looked shocked to hear that. "All he does is complain at you and you stand by letting him bully Andrea and me when ever I come home."

Her head dropped looking at her knotted hands. "You know he loves you." Her voice cracked.

Asher grabs his mother's chin to look at him. "Does this look like love?." He points to the cut on his cheek. "Because this isn't fucking love." He spits through his gritted teeth.

The tears welled up in his mother's eyes. Asher let go of his mother's chin brushing past her to go to his bedroom to grab more clothes.

"Please, just try to understand." She pleaded following her son to his bed room, she was practically begging. "Just stay one night, I never see you anymore." She pauses "Andrea misses you."

There it was using Andrea as bait to keep him there, his 7 year old little sister. Asher stopped for a moment shoving more clothes into a duffle. "I'll see Andrea before I go".

Asher zips the bag shut.

______•🌑•______

"And then she goes into a body slam." The giggle and squeal rips through Judy as I playfully act like I'm body slamming her into the couch.

"Again!." Judy scrambles up. She jumps up into my arms wrapping her arms around my neck as I picked her up.

"Judy, honey, you're gonna make your sister late for work." Lorraine says from the kitchen. She was making me leftovers for my lunch tonight.