Damien Thompson

We all have our dreams. We all have our secrets. We all have our own lives. But most of all, we have the power to choose what we want to do with it. This is the story of a man that chose the way to his doom.

Damien Thompson was a nobody. Ever since he was born, he was rejected, laughed at and left alone. He never could figure out why. Maybe it was because he was different from the others. He wasn’t the prettiest child on earth. His skin was so pale that you could see most of his veins. His nose and his pale blue eyes were too big for his small round face. His dark brown hair was always messy and in his face. If you would cut it, it would grow back. He was too skinny for his height, which was pretty normal. Since he had no friends he created some and for that, the other children always made fun of him.

When he grew up, nothing had really changed except for the fact that he had found his new passion, his real passion. He found the only thing that kept him going and it was his guitar. He found it on the side of a street once and picked it up. Since then, he tried to learn how to play all alone. He was not good, but he kept trying. In elementary school, he was called the “weirdo” and the “loser”. He soon got used to it and just tried to go unnoticed for the rest of his studies. Though he begged many times for his parents to move so he could start over again, they never listened to him. When he started high school, he tried to change appearance. He let his hair grow longer and tried working out the summer before that. Unfortunately, as hard as he tried, nobody accepted him. The first year was a living hell. He had lost his mother in a car accident and his father spent all of his days drinking and working. He’d go to school, he’d be laughed at. He’d come home, he’d be screamed at. He spent the rest of his high school years trying to study, eating in the bathroom and trying to hide from the bullies.

When he finally graduated, as if everything wasn’t already bad enough, his father died. Unlike his expectations, his father left him with a great deal of money. He didn’t really know what to do with it. He was eighteen, alone and sick of this world he was living in. He lived in a small town in Alberta called Youngstown, but there was nothing left here for him. He wanted to go far away. He wanted to leave this place called “home”.

With all the money his dad left him with, he decided to go to New York. Maybe there his dreams could come true and he would make a fresh start. And so he did. He left with nothing but a small bag and his guitar.

When he first arrived in the Big Apple, he was so amazed by the people, the lights, everything. He used to live in a small town, where everything was calm, except for the fact that he was bullied. Now he was in New York, the city that never sleeps, and no one stopped to laugh at him. They just walked right past him, not knowing he existed. He couldn’t be happier at the moment. During the first month, he found an apartment and a job. He played in a small pub so he could win some money, even though he had his dad’s. He wanted to go to college, but he didn’t feel like it just now. He just wanted to live his life and enjoy it for once.

Everything was going great. He made a few friends where he worked, the first friends he ever had. Everything was going great, until one night everything changed. He was talking to Sam, one of his friends. They got a little drunk that night and they started talking about their past and how they got to where they were at that moment.

“You know something, Damien, all of those people that were picking on you, they’re not worth it” Sam was saying. “Look, you’re here now! Nothing could be better than that, right? One on your dreams came true. Here you are in the city that never sleeps!”

“You’re right! But, there is still one more thing that I want to do.”

“Oh yeah, what is it?”

“I’m going to become a star! I’m going to be the best guitarist and singer ever known in the whole wide world!” They both started laughing at what Damien had just said.

“You know what; I promise you that in twenty four years, you are going to be the most wanted star, but then I’d have to kill you!"

"Twenty four years ?" he laughed "Okay then, twenty four years it is" For them, it was just a joke. What Damien didn’t know was that, this “joke” would be the one thing that would change his life for good.

**

When he woke up the next morning, he had a huge headache. He liked alcohol, but the way his head felt the day after that was horrible. He got up and went to the kitchen to get something to stop the pain. But this pain made him feel so alive at the same time. He got used to being pushed, kicked, insulted where he came from and it hurt. But this pain was not the same. It was something that he decided to feel and so he kind of liked it. It made him feel alive. He could chose what he wanted to do with himself and make his own decisions, something that he couldn’t do back “home”.

He waited a few minutes for the medicines to kick in. Then he noticed something rather unusual. He looked at his answering machine with a look of surprise. He had five messages. He barely got two phone calls a day and these were usually from Sam, but he never left messages. This was the first day that he actually had messages. It may sound crazy, but he was really nervous and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to listen to them or not.

He took his courage in his hands and pressed on the play button. He listened to every single one of them at least twice. He couldn’t believe it. They were all messages from companies that wanted to meet him so he could make an album. He stayed in his kitchen, next to his answering machine, not moving for at least ten minutes. What was he supposed to say? He couldn’t believe it. After all these years of bullying and “no”, he had five “yes”. He could live his dream. But for the moment, he wasn’t sure if he was dreaming or not. He slapped himself in the face. No, he was definitely awake.

He took his phone and called Sam. He told him all about the messages and asked him what he was supposed to do with them. Not really believing him, Sam came over and listened to them. Like Damien did a while ago, Sam stayed there, gaping, not believing what he had just heard.

"That's great man! " he said. "So what are you going to do now?"

"I don't know" They both stood there, looking at the answering machine.

"Well, you should call them back!"

That's what he did. After one month he already had a single. It was still hard to believe. Every time he went out, people were asking him for his autograph. He had to admit that he liked it. After those eighteen years of being the loser, now he was actually wanted by people. He was now famous and he loved it.

The night after his first show, there was a party. He barely knew anyone, but that didn't stop him from having fun. it was one of the best nights of his life and that night, he met her, the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Her name was Pamela. She had the most beautiful long brown hair that went down to the middle of her back and the most beautiful blue eyes. That night, when he saw her he knew that they connected. He wanted to get to know her better. He asked her for her phone number and she gave it to him. She was the first girl to ever accept to give him her number. And eventually, she became his first girlfriend. You could call it love at first sight, but he actually had never felt this way before. He felt so happy when he was with her. The fact that he could hold her hand, that he could kiss her, that he could hold her in his arms made him happy.

He was living the perfect life. He had the money, the fame, the talent, the girl. What more could anyone possibly want?

But, unfortunately, nothing lasts forever. He had everything anyone anyone could ever ask for, but he wanted more. It had been two years since he became famous. He was starting to get a little bored and wanted something exciting to happen. Sam, who was always there by his side, gave him exactly what he needed. He started doing drugs occasionally. He promised to himself that he wouldn't get addicted to them nor to alcohol like his father did. He just used them for fun. That's what he did at first, but then again, it was never enough.

Pamela kept telling him that he should slow down and just stop messing with these things, but he didn't listen to her at first. But when she told him that it was either her or the drugs, he tried to stop. He did for a while, but then started again behind her back. She eventually found out and gave him a second chance to chose between her or the things that would mess up his life. It was too late for him to stop now, so she left. The only girl that he ever loved left him, so he just fell deeper in his despair and continued taking drugs even more than before. Fifteen years had passed since he first became famous when he couldn't stop using drugs. After ten years with Pamela, they broke up. Instead of just stopping and trying to win her back, he just stayed the way he was and continued messing with his health.

Sam tried to help him stop, but when he saw that it was useless, he tried sending his friend to a detoxification center. After a few months, he was back on stage and he finally made up with Pamela. This time, they got engaged and eventually, they got married. They were really happy, but you know what the say, once you've tried drugs, you just can't stop. Yes, he stopped for a few years, but he still wanted them. He fought this desire the best that he could, especially when Pamela told him that she was pregnant. He was going to have a real family and he didn't want to mess that up. They were so excited about this. They had been together for so long and now they were building a family together. He couldn't ask for more.

Nine months later, a beautiful baby girl came and they named her Rosie. He stopped going on tour for a year, but then he had to go back. He couldn't live without it. He started singing again and he felt alive. But when he wasn't on stage, that's when things were hard. Pamela stayed at her mom's house taking care of Rosie while he was on tour with Sam and even though his best friend was there with him, he felt alone and that's when things started to get out of hand. He went to a party, right after the show and there they were. The substance that gave him excitement were here, right in front of him. He knew that he wasn't supposed to take them, but he couldn't fight it. He told himself that it would only be this time anyway. Well, that's what he thought. He had forgotten how it made him feel unstoppable and invincible. He just couldn't stop now.

When he came back home, his wife knew that something was wrong. She looked at him and she knew that he had started again. That same week, she packed her stuff and her daughter's and they left. Damien was left alone. He was doing drugs and started drinking too. He wasn't himself anymore. He didn't listen to anyone anymore. When he was on stage he sang and played, but eventually his fans began to find him weirder. He was drunk and high when he went on stage. He was eventually forced to stop performing. Twenty two years had passed since he first started his career. When he started, he did world tours and everyone loved him. Now, he was old, drunk and alone. Even Sam became desperate and gave up on his friend.
The only people that talked to him then were hookers because he paid them. No one really cared for him anymore. Sometimes he tried calling Pamela so he could talk with his daughter, but she didn't let him. Sam stopped by sometimes to try cheering him up, but it was no use.
One night, while he was watching a television show, the phone rang. It had been two years since the phone stopped ringing. He answered to find that it was Pamela. She was getting married to another man and she wanted to invite him to this event. He did not answer, just hung up. He didn't feel anything anymore. Even the drugs didn't make him feel alive or invincible. He was just feeling numb. That night, he decided to take a bigger dose so that he could finally feel something.

**

Sam wanted to talk to Damien. Pamela had called him to tell him that her ex did not answer and that he just hung up on her. He knew nothing was going right in his life right now and he was worried. When he arrived at Damien's house, he knocked on the door and rang the doorbell, but no one answered. He had the keys to his place, so he unlocked the door and went inside. He walked in the living room where he found empty bottles of alcohol on the ground, marijuana on the table, the television playing and just a hand hanging from the couch that he was seeing from behind. At that moment, he was scared. He was screaming Damien's name, but no reaction. The hand did not move. So he slowly approached the chair, scared of what he would find, and the worst happened. His best friend was sitting on the chair, still, not moving, not breathing. He was dead.

Twenty four years had passed since he first became famous. Twenty four years have passed and there he was, sitting on a chair. He died alone, just the way he started when he left his hometown to come to New York.