Boyless Wonder

There was a boy. His name was Ricardo Fuantaliziiona. He wasn't rich but he wasn't poor. One day his mother left him all alone in the small trailer. He thought it was great to finally be trusted. To finally have some freedom. After all, he was 11 years old and by no means was he a child anymore. Not in his mind anyway.

It all sounded like a great plan, but since his mother just disappeared on a moments notice, he didn't plan for this kind of thing. And this kind of thing never happened to Ricardo.

So as he contemplated what he'd do with a few free hours, no great plans stumbled upon his mind. And since he didn't have many friends and those friends he did have hated coming to the trailer park, he sat and played his Xbox 360 all day and all night.

Then Around 10 pm, a time when he usually would be yelled at to finish his homework and go to bed, his father spilled into the trailer. Ricardo loved his father, but the guy was a raging drunk. Not like he beat on anybody or was angry at the world, it was just as if the guy came home, passed out, then awoke the next morning and did whatever he did all over again. He wasn't much of a factor in Ricardo's life. For whatever reason, the man was more like a drunk zombie than a raging lunatic.

Ricardo approached his father and asked politely, "Do you know when mom will be back?"

But like usual, his father brushed him off, took another swig of his drink, and fell back asleep. Ricardo started to wonder if his mother were ok? It was over 6 hours since his mother left for whatever reason. He shook it off as another night out for mom and went to bed. It wasn't like she partied every night, but at the same time she was known to sleep around once in awhile. So maybe she found some other poor smuck to buy her a few drinks and then repaid the man a favor. Who knows, whatever the reason, Ricardo really never wanted to know more than that. He had a test to take in the morning and he never even studied for it. And besides, he hated brushing his teeth, so if his mother wasn't around to yell at him like she always did, he'd get away with going to be without brushing. It wouldn't be the first time he got away with it he giggled to himself.

BAM!

BOOM!

Ricardo jumped to his feet. Not again he thought to himself. His father probably stumbled off the couch again. He always did that.

"Idiot," Ricardo got up out of bed and peeked out his small bedroom door.

He didn't notice anything unusual so he snuck into the kitchen/living area. Maybe some cat or dog knocked something over outside, or maybe even they snuck through a broken window into the trailer.

"Nothing," he said as he stared out the small window. As he turned around, he jumped back for a second and then shook his head. His father was passed out on the couch. He grabbed some old blanket and placed it over his father.

"Idiot."

Suddenly the door swung open and his mother stormed into the trailer. He took off back toward his room and jumped into bed. He didn't want to get into any more trouble, especially if she struck out or some loser picked her up again. But suddenly instead of her usually rants and raves late at night, he heard something different. Something a lot different.

BAM!BAM!BAM!

Ricardo snuck out of his bed and peeked out his room. He suddenly jumped back onto his bed, hoping his mother never came in to check on him.

As he pretended to sleep the front door slammed shut and there was nothing but silence. He crept back out of bed, sneaking toward the hallway. He walked toward the kitchen/living area and noticed glass shattered on the floor. He also smelled something funny. And then he noticed the blanket he put on top of his father was lying on the ground.

"Dad?"

There was no answer as some random car must've sped away from the trailer. He looked out the window, but it was too dark to notice anything.

"Dad?"

He walked over to his dad and fell to the ground. His father was covered in blood and wasn't moving.

"DAD! DAD! WHAT THE .....HELP!" He couldn't hold back the tears.

But in this trailer park, it seemed, most people banged on their walls and told the kid to shut up. Nobody came to help as he tried frantically to save his father's life. He called 911 and waited... And waited... and the minutes seemed more like hours and it was too late. The ambulance could not save his father. His father was dead from gunshot wounds to his head, chest, and stomach. Ricardo no longer held back the tears. He was confused. He was lost. What had just happened?

Nick, a young ambulance driver, approached with caution.

"Do you know what happened kid?"

Ricardo shrugged his shoulders and stood up straight. He wiped the tears from his face and looked Nick straight in the eyes.

"I think my Mom shot him."

Stories by PJAM3

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