"Austin, hand me that wrench on the table."

Picking up the wrench, I bend down and hand it to my dad, whose underneath a beat-up car that was in a crash.

"Can you fix it?" I ask curiously as I watch his hand moving the wrench. "It looks ready for the scrapyard."

My dad hums as the sound of metal clangs. "Of course, I can fix anything. Who do you think you're talking to kid." He says with smugness in his voice.

I roll my eyes and then check the time on the wall in the shop. "Shit!"

"Watch your tongue boy." My dad warns.

"What will your mother say if she heard you say such foul language, you little shit." He mumbles out.

Snorting, I shake my head knowing he's the reason I do it, after being in the garage my whole life, I picked up all of the words from my dad and the workers.

I pick up my bag knowing I'll be late if I don't go now, the school bus leaves in 5 minutes, and it's going to take me 5 minutes to run there.

"I'm gonna be late, see you later pops!" I rush out, running out of the shop.

"Don't forget to pick up milk after school!" He yells out.

Milk... like I would forget!

I manage to make it to the bus just as it was closing the doors when I get on my best friend instantly give me shit for it.

"Late again? This has to be a new record." Ryan says laughing as I sit down next to him.

"Fuck off, I made it didn't I."

"What's the reason now then?" He asks.

Shrugging, I grab a drink from my bag. "Old man needed some help."

Sighing, Ryan shook his head. "Why doesn't he just let you work? You fix cars better than he does." He says nudging me.

"My mom wanted me to graduate." I shrug. "Dad won't let me do shit until I have 'proved myself to him."

"It's total bullshit."

Ryan laughs. "Hey man, did you hear about Jessica?" He asks and I shake my head. "She's into you, my friend Randall overheard her 'lusting' after you."

I roll my eyes and snort. "In her dreams."

Jessica is the school's most 'beautiful girl' but in reality, she's nothing more than a cling, always following the next best thing.

She's been clinging to me since I came here, and how long has that been? Four? Five years?

"All I'm saying man, is some guys would kill to get with her."

"So kill me, I'd rather die than be stuck with a chick like that." I say, looking outside as the school bus stops outside the school.

Following me, Ryan laughs. "Careful what you wish for, some guys are crazy."

Ignoring him, I get off the bus and walk towards the school with Ryan.

Everyone here wants to be here but me, I'd rather be in the shop fixing cars, but if I could just hold on another two years I can prove to the old man I got what it takes.

I just need that piece of fucking paper to prove I'm worthy in his eyes to help run the garage.

I see Jessica with her friends before due see me, so I take a turn in the opposite direction and the long way to my classroom.

Ryan sighs. "You've got it bad." He laughs. "Keep treating girls like that and you'll end up alone."

I don't need a girl to feel happy, I have my dad and cars, why would I need some girl to decide my mood?

Ryan... he also lost his mom like me, but unlike me, he craves the attention of girls, more so than I ever would.

I bring him in. "I have everything I need already, why would I ruin that with some girl." I wrap my arm around his neck and use my other hand to mess up his hair.

Groaning he pushes himself off me. "I can't wait for the day a girl comes along and you fall on your ass, just so I can see your face."

"Never gonna happen." I say entering through the classroom door.

"Bet money bitch." Ryan says.

"Mr. Smith!" Our teacher yells out abruptly. "None of that language, don't make me send you to the principal this early." She threatens as Ryan shakes his head sheepishly.

"Sorry miss."

She grumbles and stands up from her seat. "All right sit down, let's begin shall we."

Putting my bag behind my chair I rest my head on the desk and close my eyes as the teacher begins the lesson.

The smell of the garage hits me and it makes me want nothing more than to be there right now, working on that piece of shit of a car.

I want to be there, just so I can see the process of fixing it, ever since I was a kid I watched my dad build rusty cars into something brand new again.

I was addicted.

My mom was the same, she worked on cars but not like my dad, who did it for a living, she only build cars with her dad, before he passed away.

She never touched a car again after that, she liked drugs too much, but she still came into the garage to watch, right up until she died from an overdose.

*****

The day passed faster than I hoped for, and Ryan was driving me crazy about coming over to his for dinner so that we could watch the game together.

"I have to ask, you know what my old man's like." I tell him.

"So ask him, I'm sure he won't mind, beats him making food right." Ryan says with a shrug.

I sigh. "I'll ask, only if you shut up about it." I say before getting up from my seat on the bus and making my way to the exit.

I give Ryan a nod bye then begin to walk to the garage as the bus drives past me, with Ryan giving me a thumbs up.

I already knew what my old man was going to day, all I had to do was phone him and let him know I was having dinner with either Ryan or his dad.

Yet, I couldn't shake the feeling I had to go home, ever since I stepped foot in school all I wanted to do was to go to the garage.

I stop walking and start jogging back to the garage as I hum a tune in my head, the same one my mom used to hum before she passed

When I'm next to the garage I realize that I forgot the damn milk he asked for, so I make a beeline to the corner shop next to the garage.

When I get to the store I quickly buy the milk and head off back to the shop, it's 4pm and by now my dad should be waiting for me before he locks up the shop.

Walking into the garage, something feels wrong, the garage door is still open and there's no light on in the shop.

That old man always waited for me, did he forget?

No, this isn't like him.

I run into the garage and that's when I almost throw up with what I see.

Blood, all over the floor... and a body is hidden behind the front of the car... but I see a boot.. and a leg.

A dead body?

My head is empty as I step forward enough to see in front of the car to see who it is, praying to anything and everyone that it's not him.

My chest beats uncomfortably and my hands begin shaking as I see the neck of the body, recognizing the tattoo instantly.

It's him, dad... he's laying on the floor... he's- fuck he's-

He's dead.

Someone came into the shop and killed my old man and left him in a pile of his blood, mixed with oil and grease, they just left... left him alone, why... why would anyone do this?

Why him?!

I didn't realize I was screaming and crying until a police officer appeared in front of me asking if I saw who did this and if I knew the man on the floor.

I don't even remember being moved outside the shop, but when I come to... I see inside the shop and something catches my eye, instantly making me feel sick as I focus and see the floor.

"The milk." I mutter out quietly catching the attention of an officer.

"What did you say, kid?" She bends down and looks at me with a pitiful face as she looks at me with pity.

The milk, mixed with the blood on the floor as it travels to mix with my old man's blood... and that's when I knew what I had to do.

I'm going to find who did this, and blow their fucking brains out, I'm going to leave them exactly how they left my old man.

I hope it hurts, I hope it'll fucking hurt ten times over for whoever who did this, for I want to make them pay, for taking away the last living family I had left.

"Hey? Are you okay?" The officer asks. "Here, take this." She hands me a tissue.

I slap her hand away and stand up. "Stay the fuck away from me!" I yell out, catching the attention of others.

"If it wasn't for you, he wouldn't be dead! It's your fault he's dead in there!" I yell at the top of my lungs as my chest pangs with pain.

The officer's fave twists in pain as a man comes up behind her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"I have him from here officer Hernandez." The man says, dismissing the officer.

I look at his name tag and it reads; FBI in big letters, and underneath... Sam Crawford.

"Did you know the victim?" He asks and I hesitate but eventually, I nod my head.

"He's... my dad."

Unlike the women officer, who shows pity, Sams's face turns hard, and angry, much like how I feel right now, pissed off that this has happened.

"I'm going to get who did this, mark my words, I will get those who did this to David."

I look at him. "You knew him?"

Nodding his head, he takes out of a cigarette from his pocket, puts it between his lips, and lights it.

"I knew him well." He says, staring inside the garage as people dressed in a white zip up my dad's body in a bag. "He didn't deserve this, but the people in this world don't care about such things."

I watch as they bring his body out, in a body bag and wheel him to an ambulance, and all I can think of is if I didn't go get that carton of milk, would he be alive? Could I have done something to save him from... this?

Sam drops his cigarette on the floor and steps on it with his shoe. "Don't blame yourself kid, this isn't your fault but the men who did this."

I stand up and grab hold of his arm. "Who?" I ask, tightening my grip. "You know don't know?"

"I-"

"Tell me who killed him, tell me why he died, you know don't you, you're FBI!" I shout angrily. "What is the FBI even doing here? You should be out there looking for the bastard who killed him!" I snap out, pushing him away angrily from me.

He falls over and lands on his ass as he looks up at me in surprise, but I don't care and stand over him, clenching my jaw.

"If you won't do your fucking job, I will!" I spat out in anger, as Sam collects himself.

I walk away from him, with so much anger in my blood that the only thing that keeps me calm is finding whoever did this and putting them on the ground, to make them pay for what they did to him, to me.

"Wait." Sam calls out.

I stop and turn and glare at him. "What?"

"What's your name kid?"

My name? "Austin," I say. "Austin Silver."

Sam stands forward and goes into his pocket and holds out a card in front of me with the FBI on it and his name and number.

"If you want to avenge your father, do it the right way, don't be stupid and get yourself killed, David raised you better than that kid." He says, before walking away and ducking underneath the police line to head back into the garage.

An officer leads me to a car and I sit in the backseat as I stare at the card in my hand.

Join the FBI? What kind of crazy shit is he talking about, I wouldn't be able to avenge my dad just by putting the scrum that did this to him in prison, they deserve something pertinent, painful, everything I'm feeling I want them to feel it.

An officer gets into the car and turns around to smile at me sadly before starting the car.

I take one last look at the garage and picture my dad standing there waving at me with that greasy suit he wore every day.

My dad was rude, stubborn, and annoying, we fought almost every day, but he was my dad, and I loved him, that's why I can't let this go, someone came into our shop and killed him without any disregard for what they just did.

I barely saw my parents growing up, the old man worked while my mom fucked around and took anything she could get her hands on, it was always me alone, hoping one day I could just escape like my dad did when he worked on cars.

The tears fall down my face as I grab my face in my hands, gripping the card in my hand, wishing this was only a dream, a horrible nightmare and that any moment I was going to wake up, and my dad would be standing there, telling me I'm late for school.

I'm going to kill them... I promise I'm going to kill them all...!

I'll do whatever it takes to make sure they get what's coming to them, even if I have to become a bad person doing it, I'll go to the depths of hell itself just to get my revenge, anything at all... I'll do it.