Prologue

Chuckie

Chapter theme song: 'Radioactive' by: Imagine Dragons

Clinching my jacket tighter against my frame, I made my way towards the bus terminal. My suitcases were heavy and the fact that I was lugging bags that weren't even mine only burned my already sprained lower-back. I had tried to gain a little bit more muscle than I needed to get the build I had recently idolized from the many fitness magazines in the men's locker room. I did one too many pull-ups and managed to somehow lose my gripping against the metal bar and fall on a dumb bell.

April stood near the doorway, holding the bus from leaving me. I groaned in thought of sitting next to her on a crowded bus for thirteen hours. She and I were not exactly on the best of terms since our big breakup two months ago. She and I had a nasty fight to the point where, in my twenty year of living, I had never wanted to hit a woman so badly before in my life. My father raised me to respect and treat women like queens; April was another story and quite the piece of work. It was bad enough I had my girlfriend of almost eight years, the woman I wanted to marry, had cheated on me with some Jamaican guy and blew off too many men for her to count. The last thing I needed was for April, my now ex-girlfriend of almost a year, to step out on me in the same way. I found out from this Taiwanese girl in my sociology class that she was sleeping with one of her closest friends back home. She had show ed me text messages exchanged between him and April as well as undoubtedly nude pictures she sent him that he forwarded to her to give me clear-cut proof of her infidelity.

It struck a familiar chord with me.

I handed off our luggage to a short, stumpy looking man with green hair and piercings. April had disappeared onto the bus and got us two seats in the back near the window. She took the window seat and I took the aisle seat, sitting down quickly to rest my feet and doze off for a well-deserved rest. I was ready to get back home to Michigan for summer vacation after not being home in quite some time. I did not go home last summer because I was offered an internship to work with the school of medicine to shadow fellow surgeons. I decided switching to medicine was the best decision I could have made for my educational career and that becoming an anesthesiologist and possibly working for John Hopkins in the near future was a wise decision on my behalf. Because of my newfound epiphany, I missed summer vacation for a summer-long internship while taking summer courses to complete credits I lacked, went directly into the fall semester full-force, only came home for Christmas Eve through Christmas day, and found myself back in Connecticut for another long six months.

Over the course of an entire year and a half, I only went home once for three days maximum. Tommy, Lil, Phil, and Kimi all came down several times to come see me and visit the campus. I paid for their bus tickets since my internship paid handsomely and rented a few rooms at my expense. As much as I enjoyed having my family and friends by my side, there was nothing like being at home and surrounded by those who loved and cared for me. I dreamt of the morning where I would wake up to my father's Saturday 'waffle omelets' again or do yoga and meditation with Kira on Sundays in the backyard before football with Tommy and Phil. Being away in college took its toll on me emotionally and mentally that only studying and school work could temporarily fill the void. I felt so alone and isolated from my life I had left behind, I took the maximum recommended hours of credits- going over twice in two semesters- while diving straight into summer school. I had my head down in the books for so long to comfort myself on leaving my friends and family that when I had looked up, I was six credits shy of being a senior.

I decided that it was time I took a break and forgone summer school this year to spend three months doing absolutely nothing but relaxing and readjusting myself to a life of leisure. Grabbing my ear buds from my front pocket, I flipped through my music player to the song I had on my mind all day. Tommy had recently discovered this cool band, Imagine Dragons, and had turned me onto a song of theirs that I had speak to me perfectly. April tried to grab my hand, saying something, but I pushed it away. I didn't want her touching me and the only reason we were sitting next to each other was because the bus was too damn crowded to do otherwise. She was only here because she took it upon herself to transfer out of Flint last semester and attend some college here to be closer to me after she had gotten pregnant. We tried the whole cohabitation bit but the April I knew and the April that I lived with were too different people.

Once she, unfortunately, had a miscarriage, we decided it was best we take a 'break' and try and be friends. That was until she called me several weeks ago and told me the news that almost sent me to jail for domestic battery and unlawful use of a weapon.

The alarm I had set on my watch began to go off. I let out a low sigh, watching as the bus was put into reverse to head out of the parking lot of the station and in the direction of the expressway. I took out the prescription bottle I had stashed in my carry on, opening the small orange bottle to swallow two pills. I hated the aftertaste of Valtrex. Closing my eyes again, I turned up my music and drowned out the world. I felt myself slowly catalyze into someone who was unfamiliar.

I'm radioactive.

A/N: Just a little something for you kittens for being loyal supporters. I'm not going to be updating ALL summer so I am trying to get out as much as I can. I just wanted to put out the prologue to give you all a teaser of what is to come. Thanks again for all your support guys. Also, to Boris, I am working on releasing the first chapter of your story you requested. I am trying to structure a plot since I been researching a bit in the archives and the plot has been done before so I want it to be different.

Anyhoo, thank you for enjoying my twisted, dark fantasies. Until next time kittens-SP