Just Don't Collapse

By the time the bell was able to echo through the school students were already rushing through the halls to find their friends. It was Friday and everyone was eager to go home and relax. Everyone that is, except for River Jacobs, who dreaded going home and facing the silence.

He lived with his mother, no siblings for they could barely afford the two, no father, for he had left before River could open his eyes. So his mother was all of his family, and that was perfectly fine with him. River’s mother was his family, she was his only friend, and she was the one he always went to, but one day…she stopped talking to him.

She stopped talking to River and she left him to go to a home of her own. Ever since then River’s house had been agonizingly silent, with the constant reminder that his mother had moved out. It killed River because he had no clue why his mother would abandon him like that; well she didn't completely leave him. He was still allowed to visit her; however she still refused to speak to him. But what made him happy was he could still visit.

River always was much more mature than his peers and had grown up very quickly once he had reached high school. He had to, he had reached high school and it was no longer time for fun and games. He had to focus on his grades and his mother, who had gone into an emotional and mental collapse. She was done with life, and she just couldn't pull through. She hated who she had become because she had a son to take care of but she couldn't seem to break through the fog that surrounded her. Now it was the other way around; now son was taking care of mother.

Yes River was forced to grow up very fast because now he had a burden on him that a fourteen year old boy-that’s how old he was when this happened-should never have to carry. He was a young adult, quite literally. He went to school missing many days to take care of his mother who fell ill on several occasions. He took care of his mother during any of his free periods, which included lunch so he was never able to eat for himself. And he kept himself from eating so that his mother would be provided for. When they ran out of money from the child support his father sent he sold nearly every piece of furniture in his room, then his mother’s room, then the living room, then the kitchen until all they had was the essentials. But once that was all gone he had nothing left, so he resorted to performing on the streets.

River was an extremely talented singer and guitar player, and what he did on the streets actually helped him financially, might I add surprisingly. After his mother left it started helping him more because now he could afford to feed himself more than just a sandwich and one piece of fruit a day.

This may have been the hardest part of his life, who knew if it would get worse. Oh yeah, I know, and I will tell you now, this has been going on for years in River’s life. He started off strong but he was truly a little boy, and though he didn't know it, all of his burdens had slowly been wearing him down. So much pain and suffering pushed away over the years was hanging over him just waiting to bury this boy. He already had cracks in his foundation and any moment now he would crack. Unfortunately he wouldn't let himself crack, nor would he let anyone help him. Though he had considered getting help he just figured he could deal with life himself. But with all this pressured on top of him he might just break and when he does it will be so bad that no amount of duck tape in the world would be able to fix him…now let’s hear a bit more about River’s life.

Right now all Rivers could think about was that he would have to face an entire weekend in a silent empty house. You may wonder, why doesn't he just go hang out with his friends? Well the reason is simple; he has no friends. He never had any friends in high school. Sad as it is as soon as he reached high school River had been considered the outcast, the misfit. He was avoided like a leper and never spoken to unless it was someone insulting him. He was constantly bullied and beaten up almost every day. He had been sent to the hospital by mean hateful bullies many times. Why? Well because he is gay and he is different, and in his neighborhood society hasn't quite warmed up to the thought of anything “different.”

Really this didn't bother River, because as I said he was very strong¬ and he was fine with whom he was. He didn't care if every person in the world turned against him, because it wasn't going to matter. Whether it was one person or a million people who hated him he couldn't change the person he had grown up to be. He didn't take to mind the opinions of anyone, ever even if it did get him into more trouble. He was a fighter but a strong and smart fighter. He never attempted to resist when his bullies attacked him because he knew they were much stronger and it would only lengthen the beatings. He never threw in any snide remarks when he was being insulted because he knew it would lead to another beating. He never spoke to anyone else because he knew it would only lead to rejection. He was fine with this. However there was one exception to this…Chason Moore.

Chason Moore had been River’s best friend for thirteen years and River had fallen in love with the boy in those thirteen years. Note though that when I say had been his friend I mean HAD BEEN. Chason didn't remember a thing about River. River was just the guy-next-door to Chason. Yes they were neighbors, they also went to the same school had many of the same classes and played together all their lives, and Chason can’t even remember River’s name. That is the only thing that affects River when it comes to his peers, and if any of his bullies were to break him, Chason is who it would be. So this is River Jacobs’’ life story so far, would you be interested to see how it continues?