A/N: this is ma first ever piece of work =\.  I hope it ain't too boring… Oh, and if you could plz review I would be ever so grateful, constructive criticism is always good =P. Thanks =).

~

Chapter 1 – Dimitri

Music blasted through his earphones as he sat strumming his guitar, falling into the safe abyss it always created when he needed to get away. 

Coz now again,

I've found myself so far down,

Away from the sun that shines into the darkest place,

I'm so far down,

Away from the sun,

That shines to light the way for me,

To find ma way back into the arms again about the ones like me,

I'm so far down,

Away from the sun again…

(A/N: Taken from 3 Doors Down – Away From the Sun, great song =P)

He was sitting on his beanbag, in a room that was entirely black with fluro paint dashed here and there viciously, as if expressing hidden emotions.  This was his sanctuary, his escape from everything, everything that harmed him inside and out.  His sanctuary was located in the basement, far away from the lair of the beast, and the beast himself.  It was his only refuge from the constant abuse of the beast, also known as his father. 

A piercing shout of annoyance shattered one of the few moments of peace he ever had in this hell hole.  Dimitri closed his eyes and let out a sigh.  The door of his room burst open.  He opened his eyes to see a slightly overweight, but muscular pale man with blood shot eyes glaring down menacingly at him.  His once penetrating grey eyes were now dull, cold concrete colour.  The man's black but greying hair lay in untidy clumps on his head.  All he wore was his yellowing singlet and his boxers that were who knows how many days old.  This mess of a man was once one of the nation's leading rugby players.  

'We're out of beer, boy.' The man growled, stale breath meeting his nostrils.

Dimitri lowered his head and scuffed his foot in the ground. 

'Go down to the store and get me a twelve pack. Here's a 20, I expect you to be back in twenty-five minutes.  Don't be late.' The gruff voice commanded.  Dimitri didn't bother to argue, he'd get another bruise if he did.  He rose to his feet, hands in his jacket pockets and squeezed past the pale man, closing the door behind him.   

As he opened the garage door, he was met with the late afternoon's musky air; a mixture of autumn's decaying leaves and the sharp coldness of the evening.  A cold draft whistled past, ruffling his messy hair in the process.  He tugged his jacket closer to his body for warmth and stepped out onto the cracked pavement. 

This is the second time he's asked me to get him his bloody alcohol.  It's only Wednesday for crying out loud!  When is it going to stop…?

He took a few breaths of the air and dragged himself towards the direction of the shops. 

~

The early sunlight crept through his curtains casting unwanted light in his room, causing him to groan and turn over, his back to the source of disturbance.  He felt awful, the left side of his face hurt.  He moaned and touched his left cheekbone tenderly.  He could feel a massive bruise building up.

Damn that hurt.

He had come home from the liquor store a couple blocks away, a few minutes too late.  His father was pissed off because he had been five minutes too slow in reaching the house!

'I said you had to be back here in twenty-five minutes, not thirty!'

'I tried to get back as soon as I could but the guy had to step out of the store for a minute or two.  I had to wait till he came back.' He had protested.

'That is no excuse for you to be FIVE minutes LATE!' his father yelled.

I tried to come back with your ruddy beer as fast as I could!

Dimitri could feel his impatience wearing thin, and his temper rising, but he kept these feelings at bay.  Dimitri clenched his fists, trying to restrain his annoyance.   

Don't lose it, don't fight back.  Control yourself Dimitri.

None of these conflicting emotions showed themselves on his face, he didn't dare anger his father even more.  His father hated it when people defied him, he would often resort to violence.

The guy had gone out of the store for a couple of bloody minutes.   Why was his father so angry about him being five minutes late!  It's not as if he'd die if he didn't have any alcohol soon.  Dimitri couldn't answer to his father's last retort, so he just stood there, staring at his father's chin.  He didn't dare look into his eyes, knowing that cold fury was building up inside of them.

Suddenly, his father struck him hard across the left side of his face.  He hadn't been one of the nation's leading rugby stars for nothing.

'That's for disobeying my orders!  It'll teach you not to be late next time.'

It had hurt quite badly; he could feel his face throbbing from the sudden outburst.  However, this wasn't as bad as the other occasions where his father had struck him.  Those other times had been harder and there had been more than just one blow.  This constant abuse hurt him both inside and on the outside.

And that was how he received his latest hurt, a purplish tender mound slowly building up on his cheekbone.  It made him look like a panda, the dark bruise matching the colour of his hair.

He had learnt to put up with the physical abuse, but inside he was bleeding, he had been bleeding for the last 10 years.  His insides ached, knowing that his father cared for him very little and wouldn't plan to, anytime soon in the future.  All the love that he ever received was from his mother during his childhood, his father paid little attention to him back then.  His mother was now far away in a place unknown to him or his father.  For all they knew, she could be in another city.  She could even be overseas, in a foreign country.

~

Dimitri walked through the shady lane of the towering evergreens that led to the entrance of his school, succumbing to the peacefulness of the cool air.  The calm atmosphere however, was broken by a rustle ten feet away.  He stopped and shifted the sports bag on his shoulder into a more comfortable position.  Someone was there, watching and waiting. 

'Ryan, quit fooling' Dimitri rolled his eyes.

A brown-haired male of 17 stepped out of the shadows of the evergreen and made a face.  He was wearing a white shirt, school tie, grey pants and a blue blazer with their school emblem on it.  

'Awwhh how did you know it was me?  I thought no one could see me behind this one!  Damn you, you sneaky bugger.' Was the reply he got. 

The grin abruptly disappeared, replaced with a snarl and a hissing noise when Ryan saw the purplish bump slowly revealing itself on his friend's face. 

'What happened!?  Damn that's bloody ugly, how in hell's bells did you…what happened!'

Dimitri mumbled something under his breath.

'What?'

'I said I walked into a door' Dimitri answered reluctantly. 

'You walked into a door!?' Ryan exasperated.

'Yeah, I walked into a door, that's all.'

'You walked into a door, and you got a bruise THAT big and ugly?  Man you're weird…  You'd think that you could be a bit more careful.  Couldn't you like dodge it and flip out of the way or something?'

'I dunno, I guess I wasn't quick enough.  Get over it, I just walked into a door.'

'Ok ok.  I just thought that you would've been able to dodge it, knowing that you go to those karate classes of yours.'

Dimitri shrugged and continued down the shady lane towards the school gates.  Ryan thought it weird; Dimitri often seemed to get bruises and his excuses were most bizarre.

The hell…?

Ryan dismissed the nagging though and ran to catch up to his friend.