I Won't Give Up On You

But they asked for him back.
They told him they loved him.
He could never escape, not when his heart had more power than his head.
It had only been a week before Tom’s parents told him to come home, it had only taken a day for Tom to make up his mind and give them another chance.
_____________________

That's how he ended up in his current situation. Washing the floor that his mother had decided to vomit all over as his father watched on in amusement. The house now smelled of bleach and marijuana.

Tom stood slowly, bucket and sponge in hand as he made his way over to the sink, he was glad he’d used bleach because it overpowered the potent smell of his mother’s sick. The last thing he needed was to throw up all over the floor as well.

After washing the sponge and bucket in the sink, he made his way to his bedroom, the tiniest room in the house but it was his, it was something he could lay claim to and he’d made sure he was proud of it. Pictures he’d taken with the cheap Polaroid camera his parents had given him as a one off Christmas present three years ago were pinned to a board he’d managed to salvage from a curb side cleanup a few months ago. Everything in his room was recycled but he wasn’t any less proud of owning it.

The dresser on the far left wall was from a rubbish tip he’d went to with his father one day when they were looking for furniture for the house, his bed was a hand me down from one of his cousins and his desk was another curb side cleanup ‘treasure’ he’d found.

He looked around his room with a small smile; this was the only thing he missed when he was kicked out so frequently.

After changing into his bed clothes, Tom collapsed into his bed and fell asleep soundly.
Tom woke the next day and got himself ready for another shitty day at the high school no one cared about. He got his things together before making his way out of the house and down the street towards the bus stop.

Looking at the small amount of money in his wallet, he’d decided he needed to call his work and ask for extra hours this week.

Tom worked in a small store that sold just about anything when it came to clothing. One second he could be selling a preppy little blonde girl a pair of pink shoes and in the next he could be selling what they call in his town an ‘emo’ a pair of black chunky boots. it didn't matter, the shop was versatile.

He made it to ‘prison’ as he preferred to call it, and made his way to his locker to collect his things and be on his way to class. He had his schedule planned perfectly so that he spent as little time as possible on the school grounds.

Meeting up with the only loose friend he had at lunchtimes was what made school life easier for Tom. Lee was a sweet kid who had trouble making friends because he was a little too kind which in turn made his very shy and quiet. Tom liked him though and that's why they became friends.

“How did your Monday morning go?” Lee asked him with a small smile
“Alright... a little boring, Mrs Gurner needs to lighten up, she makes history boring” Tom sighed and Lee made a confused face
“Tom, I don't know if you know it yet but history is boring... you can't make it fun” he said as if he was the smartest person in the world.

Tom simply grinned and shook his head before replying.

“It's interesting to me... if I don't become a photographer when I'm older, I’d like to be a history teacher” Tom admitted and Lee snorted playfully.

“I’m gonna be in a rock band” Lee said trying to sound confident
“I’m sure you will be, I can come on tour with you and take photos of the band yeah?” Tom said making Lee feel much more upbeat.

“I’ll make sure you're with me for every show, even Warped Tour” Lee told him knowing that Tom had dreamed of warped tour ever since the day he found out about it in seventh grade.

After lunch the two headed their separate ways, they only had two classes together but they weren’t until the end of the day.