Twisted Tales Contest

I should be ecstatic at this very moment or off of the damn walls. Today is the last day of school at South Boston Public High School. Come this September I will finally be a senior and I will also be turning eighteen during my senior year. I really wish that I could be happy or joyful or just in high spirits for once in my young life. Morgan, my brother, is going to become a junior in September of this year. The two of us are so proud of ourselves to a point but we do not really show it like others our age.
Morgan and I should be making awesome and amazing plans for the summer break. We should be going to a baseball game or to a fantastic concert or to one of the various local beaches. Morgan and I could be taking a road trip of some kind or we could take a camping trip of some kind to one of the several national forests. This is a summer that should be fun and exciting for the two of us but none of this stuff will happen for either of us.
My brother, Morgan, and I will be working our asses off this summer. Morgan and I will be working as many shifts as we possibly can in order to get out of our horrid situation. Morgan and I are living in total hell, we are in a volatile situation, and it is not pleasant to say the least. My brother’s life and mine are in total chaos. It has been chaotic since I can remember and we know nothing different. So my brother and I work as much as we can to avoid being home in the spiteful apartment and we have banked the majority of our weekly wages.
About three and a half years ago Morgan and I made a verbal pact together and promised that we would finally do something about this horrible situation. Morgan and I vowed to escape this hellish situation and the torture that we endure on a daily basis. We will escape once we have reached a certain financial goal. In all honesty I am sincerely hoping to reach this goal by Thanksgiving time. Morgan and I could leave just before that holiday and finally be free of all this agony. My brother occasionally check in with one another to make sure we are still on the same page about making a great escape from the psychotic duo that are our parents.
Morgan Mason, my baby brother, is only eleven months younger than I am. As far as being brother and sister we are ultra close and he, Morgan, is my best friend. Morgan’s birthday is February thirteenth. My brother has silky jet black hair with these amazing brown eyes. Morgan also stands to be six foot two inches and he is only two hundred pounds. Morgan is blessed with a really high metabolism. Morgan has another gift and that is whatever is written down or verbally told to him will be planted on his memory forever. Morgan I swear is a damn genius. My brother is a point below a perfect grade point average or GPA. Morgan also works as a clerk over at a gas station that is called Riley’s Petrol.
Morgan is an avid runner as well. Morgan runs about six or seven miles every single day and he can run a ten minute mile when he is in his groove. I have tried to get Morgan to join the track team many times but Morgan will not do any such thing because working is very critical at the moment. When I do run with Morgan, which is not very often, I have difficulty keeping the pace that he sets. My poor brother also suffers from major anxiety issues and from serious depression. Yet my brother would never make a therapy appointment of any kind or seek help for these problems. Morgan does not believe in any type of therapy and he does not explain why he does not believe in this. But Morgan deals with anxiety by exercising and I do have to admit he will discuss things with me from time to time.
I am Maxis Mason. Even though I am a young woman, I have a very masculine name, and I really used to hate the name even though I used to be the biggest tomboy around. But as I grew older I have begun to appreciate and actually like my name. My birthday is January eleventh. I am a Capricorn and I am extremely stubborn as well. I have bluish black hair with a pair of intense gray eyes. I am five feet two inches in height and I am merely one hundred fifteen pounds. I am a hell of a lot stronger than I appear to be though. Like Morgan, I have a real fast metabolism, and I will always be snacking on something. I am an avid swimmer rather than a runner. I will go to the South Boston community pool as much as I possibly can.
Four years ago the great Boston EMS had been running a junior EMT course for those under the age of eighteen that knew that this is what they wanted to do for work. I knew I wanted to be an EMT and then on to be a paramedic from the time I was five or six years old. So I applied and I had been one of the select few for this elite program and remarkable opportunity. I was dedicated in my studies as I aced the difficult EMT course with the greatest of ease. I also had passed the National Exams back then with perfect scores so I could work as an EMT in any state that I wanted to. Now I am the top EMT in the state of Massachusetts. I work a ton of overtime, as much as I can get, and my EMT partner with Boston EMS is Hunter Dakota. Hunter is only a few years older than me and he is as driven as I am. My shift is normally three to eleven at night but we very rarely get off on time.
The school bell clangs to life and it jolts me back to the present moment. This is a moment I really do not want to be in and wish I could get lost in my head again. It is eleven fifteen, the school day is finished at the time, and I rise to my weary feet. I am leaving the classroom filled with dread and I slowly amble my way to the nearest exit from this very building. I will then make my way over to the student parking area once I emerge through the door. There are students everywhere, making great plans, and some even bump into me.
I make my way to the exit closest to the student parking area where I am supposed to meet Morgan. My brother will meet me next to my twelve year old black Ford Explorer and then we will make a stop at the EMS station that I work out of. After we leave the station Morgan and I will head back to the scary apartment that we dare to call home. As I navigate through the hallways of the school I feel slight dread rising from the pit of my stomach. I really do not want to return to that hateful place.
As I am approaching the exit Morgan is emerging from the school nurse’s office and he appears to be paler than normal. I stop a few feet away from my brother wondering if he is alright. Morgan shakes his head as he states that he has been throwing up for the last half hour and he aches all over. It sounds like Morgan may have the flu or something like that. It could be just a twenty-four hour bug too because that is going around. I wonder if my brother has a fever of any kind and he replies that he does not. Morgan takes a few steps closer to me.
Morgan weakly says, “Maxis, I am gonna take the bus to the apartment today. I am really not feeling up to going to the station with you. I hope you can understand.”
I am really not happy to hear my brother say this, “Morgan, I really don’t think that is a smart idea. Victor and Gwen will be there at the apartment and you know what they are like.”
Morgan sighs as he replies, “I really am not feeling good Maxis and want to get to the apartment as soon as I possibly can to be near a bathroom in case I have to vomit again.”
I suggest, “I could make this a quick trip into the EMS station. I don’t have to be in there for a long period of time.”
Morgan says, “I know that you mean well Maxis but the truth is you always get lost in conversation when you are at the station. I just want to go to the apartment and be near a bathroom. I also want to try to get to our bedroom to lie down. I really hurt all over.”
I wonder, “What does Mrs. Jacobs think you have?”
Morgan says, “She seems to think I got that twenty-four hour bug that everyone is getting.”
I nod my head, “I thought so. But I am not pleased with your decision of going back to the terror apartment.”
Morgan looks down into my intense gray eyes, “I am going Maxis and it does not matter what you say. I have to do this.”
I know that once Morgan makes up his mind that there is no talking him out of it. I sigh as my brother knows I am not going to put up any more of a fight on this subject. I am not happy but there is nothing that I can do about it. Morgan has made up his mind and my brother can be pretty stubborn when he wants to be. So I back off so I do not start a fight with Morgan I am really not up for a fight at the moment. I believe my brother understands that I am not going to argue with him and I sense that he is grateful for this. Morgan and I are walking to the closest exit and as we emerge from the school we find it to be a gorgeous day.
There are several bright yellow school buses parked in front of the school. Morgan suddenly stops and looks over in my direction as he takes me into a tight embrace. This is a little unnerving because Morgan is not big on hugs of any kind. Morgan and I are both shy about hugs or touch in general because of the history we have had growing up. Morgan lets go of me as he says that he will be careful and make every attempt to just go to the room that we have shared ever since he had been born. I nod my head and I know that Morgan going straight into our bedroom will not be an option. Victor will corner my brother and it will be all over from there. Morgan just is not a fighter like I am.
I have been fighting Victor for a little more than five years. I have always mouthed off to him but about five years ago I literally started to physically fight back. Victor Mason, our father, is the physical abuser of the family unit where Gwen Mason, our demented mother, is the verbal abuser. It makes life a living hell in that apartment for they are always attacking us in one way or another. Morgan and I try to deal with it the best that we can but it does get overwhelming. This is why my brother and I are desperately banking our money so we can get the hell out of here and away from the insane people that are supposed to be our mother and father.
I wonder for the last time if Morgan is totally sure that he wants to be doing this. I am worried that Victor will unleash complete hell on my brother because I am not there to protect Morgan from him. Morgan looks at me with a little sadness in his eyes and assures me that things will be alright. Morgan promises that he will not do anything stupid to set Victor off anymore than he already is. I nod my head but I know that Victor is going to be pissed off anyhow. Victor does not need a reason to attack either Morgan or myself. Victor does what he wants when he wants and this pisses me off to no end for this should not be happening.
Morgan and I have stopped calling the psychotic parents Mom and Dad a long time ago. Victor and Gwen do not deserve the titles of Mother or Father. A Mother and Father are supposed to be caring and loving people who would protect their children from anything in this terrifying world of ours. Victor and Gwen would never do something like that. In truth the both of them are constantly placing Morgan and I in danger. Victor and Gwen truly do not care about either Morgan or I and they truly should not have ever had children.
Victor Mason. Our disturbed father is forty years old. Victor has black hair that is like a damn brillo pad. He also has beady black eyes like that of a damn snake. Victor stands to only be five feet ten inches and he weighs in around three hundred pounds or more. Victor is a successful drug dealer here in South Boston and states that he has so many clients because the drugs he sells are the best. I would not know for Morgan and I do not do not do drugs of any kind and never will. Victor is also a major drug addict and his go to drug is heroin. I have tried more than once to get both him and his crazy wife help but they always go back to the drug. Our crazy father hates Morgan and me with a damn bloody passion. Victor also has stated that he owns a gun. I do not believe this for I have never seen this mysterious gun but Victor threatens to shoot Morgan and me a lot. I also believe that Victor has some type of mental illness and if I had to guess I would say it was Bipolar.
Gwen Mason. Our demented mother is thirty-nine years old. Gwen has oily black hair that always has the appearance that it is in desperate need of a good wash. Gwen also has brown eyes that are the color of mud and are constantly watery. Our crazed mother is five feet six inches and proudly says that she is two hundred fifty pounds. Personally I would not be going around telling people how much I weigh and I do not do it. Gwen is a stripper for this place called the Pink Lace. I do not know how any man or woman would actually tip Gwen for taking all of her clothes off to slutty music and dancing around naked. I shiver at the mere thought of that. The scary thing is that Gwen brings in a ton of money but I also think she sells her body for sex too. Gwen just cannot be bringing home more than five hundred dollars a night for dancing naked on some filthy stage.
Gwen Mason is also a severe drug addict like Victor is. Neither one of them can function in this life without the drug. Like Victor, Gwen’s drug of choice is heroin, and she is always high as a damn kite. I know that Gwen hates Morgan and me with a severe passion for she reminds us that we should never have been born. Gwen says that Morgan and I are her biggest regrets in life and that she had us to try to save her marriage with Victor. I sigh for this is just another form of the emotional abuse and I simply let it go in one ear and out the other one. But Morgan takes it personally and has difficulty processing all the head games that Gwen insists on playing. I know for a fact that Gwen is mentally impaired for she has been tested. Gwen has what is known as Borderline Personality Disorder.
Bipolar Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder disrupt the mood and these illnesses causes a lot of instability. Gwen and Victor both refuse to be treated by a professional so my brother and I must deal with the insecurity with the psychotic duo too. Morgan and I can never, ever let our guard down or really relax if we are at that damned apartment. Victor and Gwen are really insane and they are unpredictable. Besides being abusive Victor and Gwen go down very dark avenues and it can really be scary. The darkness overwhelms them and they are even more explosive.
At the moment I helplessly watch as my brother climbs onto the bright yellow school bus. I take a step back from the bus as the driver closes the doors to the large vehicle. I feel like I want to be dramatic and I feel the urge to stop the bus and to force Morgan off of the vehicle. My brother should not be doing this alone and Morgan knows it deep down. The school bus is now pulling away from the curb and I am extremely worried about my poor brother. I know that Victor will only terrorize Morgan and I will not be there to protect him. Victor will take complete advantage of this situation but he will also be furious. My beating will be more vicious than usual because I am late coming back to the apartment. Morgan came home to the dreadful place alone and this will not sit well with Victor. I just cannot win in any situation.
The school bus pulls out onto the main avenue and I watch it disappear through two sets of lights. I turn and I begin slowly walking to the student parking lot. I find my twelve year old black Ford Explorer and I unlock the doors. The vehicle is roasting inside so I start the vehicle and I roll down the windows. I slam my door shut as I fasten my seatbelt. I shift the SUV into reverse as I back out of the spot. Now I am shifting the SUV into drive and move towards the main street. I pull into the traffic when it is safe to do so and I drive to the Washington Street EMS station.
In ten minutes I am parking my trusty SUV in a spot in the newly paved parking lot. I roll up the windows for this is not the safest area of the city, I turn off the vehicle, and I climb out. I lock the doors, slam the door to the vehicle, and I begin trotting to the station. I must make this as quickly as possible for I really do not want Morgan alone at the apartment any longer than he has to be. I enter the white brick building, the air conditioner is going which feels great, and nobody is there in the station except for Fletch Walsh. Fletch is the station supervisor and he is letting me know that his partner has called in for the day.
Fletch Walsh is saying that he has been able to catch up on a ton of paperwork that has been mounting on his desk. Fletch is a paramedic and a fine paramedic as well. I have worked with him on more than one occasion and it has been a great learning experience for me since I eventually want to continue on to become a paramedic. Fletch hands me a half sheet of paper with my summer schedule printed on it. I am disappointed that I am not working today or tomorrow. I politely remind Fletch that I am available to work either day if someone should call in for any reason. I am now thanking Fletch for being prepared and I state that I wish I could stay and chat but I really must be getting home. Fletch wonders if everything is alright, he senses that my home life is not the most stable environment for I always want to be working, and my reply is that my brother is not feeling well.
Fletch says, “Go take care of him. There is that twenty-four hour bug that is going around.”
I reply, “That is exactly what I think he has for he has been vomiting and he has body aches.”
Fletch replies, “Make sure that he drinks plenty of water and gets lots of rest.”
I smile slightly, “Thanks Fletch. I will make sure Morgan does just that.”
Fletch is saying, “I will keep you in mind but you work too much young lady.”
I chuckle, “I know but I just adore being here and being on duty. I love helping those in need.”
Fletch says, “Get going and enjoy the time off while you have it Maxis. I will call you if you are needed.”