A Way Out

High pitched screams climbed the stairs, followed by more yelling and the slamming of several doors. A femail's cries muffled by her husband's swearing. Unfortunatly, this sudden out burst of anger and chaos was nothing new to a particular teenager's ears. This daily toutine occureed everyday after his father came home drunk from the bar on the corner. The house smelled like beer, and drugs were all over the place. Just the sight, along with the screaming, the yelling, the hitting, and the fighting was enough to bring tears to the eyes of any teenager, no matter how strong they were.

Eith no expression upon his face, Jessie silently walked down the street. Tired from lack of sleep, his parents constant yelling kept him up all night. Falling asleep as he was walking, he walked up the steps to Hell. This Hell above all other hells was high school. Just as Jessie reached the front door to the building, the late bell rang for second period. With a care in the world, he slowly walked to Mr. Doyle's Spanish class.

He tried not to bring attention to himself by quietly opening the door. His intentions were shattered when Mr. Doyle, standing by the front door, caught him in the act.

"Por que es tarde? (Why are you late?) Jessie only shrugged.

"Tienes usted un paso?" (Do you have a pass?) Jessie looked at him, he didn't really care that he was late or that he didn't have a pass.

"No, Senor Doyle," he responed in a quiet voice.

In his loud Spanish accent, Mr. Doyle, looking quite stern, told him to take a seat in the back of the room and to sit quietly.

Jessie took a seat in the very back of the room and lost himself in a daze. He took out his notebook to jot down his thoughts. By the time 4th period came around, he had written two full pages of reasons why life was so complicated. Some of the reason were his mom, a drug addict; his dad, a drunk and a complete asshole; school, which was one fucked up hell; and his Spanish teacher, a crazy lunatic who doesn't know anything.

Jessie glazed over in sadness, continued to just sit there until the dismissal bell rang for the end of the day.

When the bell fianlly rang, everyone raced out of the door like there was no tomorrow. Jessie on the other hand, didn't want to leave. Leaving meanthaving to go home, going home meant listening to his parents argue, and so on. All the other kids that he knew went home to warm and loving families. There was everything but warmth and love in his family. There wasn't enough room for love; it was too filled with drugs and alcohol.

As he walked down his street thinking about this, another voice filled his head. Although it wasn't him thinking, it was a female's voice-so sweet and innocent, like music to his ears.

He turned at once and came face to face with a tall, slender young woman. She had long blond hair and blue eyes. She glowed with beauty from all angles like a rainbow after a summer's rain. This amazing beauty, Jessie's girlfriend Sarah, leaned over and kissed him.

"Hey, sweetheart," he said, as he kissed her back.

"How are you?" She asked.

"I'm okay, I guess," he responed with no emotion.

"What's wrong?" She asked. She was just full of questions today, isn't she, he wondered to himself.

After a short pause, he answered her question.

"I'm okay, I just don't want to go home, that's all. I hate my family and I wish that they would burn in Hell and leave out of their problems. Life is so complicated, I want to dig a hole and just bury myself in it."

Stunned by the words that had just come out of his mouth, Sarah tried to find the right words to say.

"Please say that you don't mean that! You know that I love you and I don't know what I would do if I ever lost you. I know your family isn't family of the year type, but they shouldn't be the only thing that you look at. Look around you; you have me, you have Andrew, he's your best friend; everything to look forward to in the future"

By the time she finished, tears were ready to fall down her cheeks. Her face showed confusion and fear for his life. Jessie leaned over and kissed her and told her not to worry.

"Everything wil be okay," he reassured her.

He kissed her good-bye and continued his walk down the street. When he was about five feet away from the door to his house, a horrible bang came from within the house. The bang, followed by a scream, then followed by another bang, and then came silence. Without even the smallest bit of curiosity, he ran to the neighbor's house like a bold of lightning and dialed 911. By the time help arrived to the scene, his mother was dead; and his father was no where to be found.

Jessie ran out of the house and down the street to Andrew's house. Banging on the door, with tears in his eyes and fear in his face, he waited inpatiently. When Andrew finally answered the door, he looked stunned to see Jessie crying the way he was.

"What's wrong?" He asked. Jessie, mixed with anger and sadness, answered him.

"My mother is dead; my father is a wanted murderer and missing;and I don't care anymore about me, about the world, about life itself. I hate life. I hate me. I justwanted to say good-bye."

With that, Jessie ran off the porce step and down the street. Confused, Andrew attempted ro run after him, but stopped a minute to think abnout what had just happened. Jessie's words rang in his mind, like the noon church bells on a Sunday afternoon. "I don't care anymore, anymore about me, about life. Hate life, hate me. Goodbye.... say good-bye.

These thoughts wouldn't leave his mind, he ran down the same street that he saw Jessie run, hoping to catch up to him before anything happened. He reached Sarah's house just in time to see him kiss her only to run off again. With tear-stained eyes, she tried ro run afer him. She tried calling out to him.

"Jessie, come back! Please come back!"

Jessie continued to run never looking back. Both Sarah and Andrew ran after him. By the time that they caught up to him, Jessie was standing on the edge of the stone quarry. Sarah screamed at the thought of losing himl, and Andrew yelled. Jessie looked back and saw the two standing there.

"Go away! I have to do this!"

"No!" They cried back in unison. As Jessie prepared to jump off the edge, he heard Andrew's voice.

"Suicide is for cowards! You're too aftaid to live a little! You don't think that you can do it, so you just give up and say whats the use! You think running away from your problems is the answer? Well I hate to tell you the truth, but it isn't. Since when has running away been an answer to anything!" These words rang in Jessie's head.

The it was interuppted by that same, sweet and innocent voice as earlier. Through her tears, she stumbled on her words, getting one or two out every couple of sobs.

"Jessie, please...if you...you don't do it...for him... at least... do it... for me... please... don't... do it...," her voiced trailed off, her was crying so hard that you could bearly understand her.

Jessie stopped where he was, he just couldn't do it. He turned around and ran to Sarah and embraced her in his arms and spun her around, holding her tighter than ever.

"I love you," she reminded him.

"I love you too," he responded back.

Jessie looked at Andrew and then back at Sarah. Andrew joined the group and the three of them stood there crying.

Time came to pass and the sun started to set, causing a bright array of colors in the sky. The light was so beautiful, as it lit the quarry. Bright rays of red, orange, and tellow made the quarry seem like it was on fire. And for the first time in his life, Jessie was glad to be alive.