The Ascension of the Invisible - CHAPTER 2 -The First Decision

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Alex Carter woke up before his alarm.

For a few seconds, he didn’t know why.

Then he remembered.

The gym.

Ryan.

The punch.

The floor.

His stomach tightened.

Alex stared at the ceiling of his bedroom while the morning light slowly pushed through the curtains.

He could still feel Ryan’s fist.

Not physically.

The pain had mostly faded.

It was the memory that remained.

The way everyone had watched.

The way Ryan had laughed.

The way Alex had thrown the worst punch imaginable and realized, almost immediately, that he had no idea what he was doing.

And then the words.

You’re not a fighter, Carter.

Alex turned onto his side.

He hated that Ryan had been right.

But there was something else that bothered him even more.

Alex had spent years telling himself that things would eventually get better.

Eventually, he would become more confident.

Eventually, he would make more friends.

Eventually, Ryan would get bored.

Eventually, Alex would become someone different.

Eventually.

Alex sat up.

He looked across the room at the photograph on his desk.

The younger version of himself smiled back.

Alex stared at it for several seconds.

“Not anymore.”

He got out of bed.

“You’re up early.”

Alex nearly jumped.

His mother was standing in the kitchen, holding a cup of coffee.

“Couldn’t sleep.”

She studied him.

Her eyes immediately moved toward the faint bruise near his stomach.

Alex instinctively pulled his shirt down.

His mother noticed.

She always noticed.

“What happened?”

“Nothing.”

“Alex.”

“I’m fine.”

She didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, she placed the coffee on the counter.

“You know you can tell me things.”

Alex looked away.

“I know.”

His mother sighed softly.

She didn’t push.

“Breakfast is ready.”

Alex sat at the table.

Emily walked into the kitchen a minute later, still half asleep.

She looked at Alex.

Then at his face.

Then at his cereal.

“Why do you look like a depressed accountant?”

Alex frowned.

“I’m sixteen.”

“Exactly. Too young to be this boring.”

His mother laughed.

Alex couldn’t help smiling.

Emily dropped into the chair beside him.

“So,” she said, stealing one of his pieces of toast, “what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“That’s what people say when something is wrong.”

“You’re ten.”

“And you’re bad at lying.”

Alex stared at her.

She grinned.

For a moment, everything felt normal.

Then Alex remembered what he had decided the night before.

He wasn’t going to let his life continue exactly as it was.

He just didn’t know how to begin.

Marcus noticed the difference immediately.

They were walking toward class when he looked at Alex.

“You look weird.”

Alex frowned.

“Thanks.”

“No, I mean different.”

“I’m tired.”

Marcus studied him.

“You’re always tired.”

Alex shrugged.

Marcus lowered his voice.

“Is it Ryan?”

Alex stopped walking for half a second.

That was enough.

Marcus saw it.

“Alex.”

“I’m fine.”

“You got hit yesterday.”

“I know.”

“You don’t have to pretend with me.”

Alex looked at him.

Marcus wasn’t joking anymore.

Alex appreciated that.

“I just...” Alex hesitated. “I don’t want this anymore.”

Marcus waited.

“I don’t want to keep being scared.”

Marcus nodded slowly.

“Okay.”

Alex expected a joke.

None came.

“So what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know.”

“That’s a start.”

Alex gave him a confused look.

Marcus smiled.

“Most people don’t even admit there’s a problem.”

The bell rang.

They headed toward class.

For the first time in a long while, Alex felt like someone was standing beside him instead of watching him fall.

The school day passed slowly.

Alex tried to concentrate.

He couldn’t.

During math, he caught himself staring at his hands.

They looked exactly the same as yesterday.

Small.

Thin.

Ordinary.

He wondered how long it would take to change.

Weeks?

Months?

Years?

The thought almost discouraged him.

Then he remembered the gym.

Start.

That was all he needed.

Start.

After school, Alex didn’t go straight home.

He stopped at a small public field a few streets away.

There was an old metal pull-up bar near the edge of the playground.

Alex stood beneath it.

He looked up.

“This should be easy.”

He jumped.

His hands grabbed the bar.

He pulled.

Nothing happened.

His arms shook.

He pulled harder.

His feet kicked uselessly beneath him.

He couldn’t get his chin anywhere near the bar.

Alex dropped to the ground.

He stared at the bar.

“Okay.”

He tried again.

Same result.

Again.

Nothing.

By the fifth attempt, his arms were burning.

By the seventh, he could barely hold himself up.

Alex finally sat on the grass.

He was breathing heavily.

He felt ridiculous.

A little kid ran past him chasing a football.

Alex watched him disappear down the field.

Then he looked back at the pull-up bar.

Yesterday, he had been beaten because he wasn’t strong enough.

Today, he couldn’t even lift himself over a bar.

The realization should have embarrassed him.

Instead, Alex laughed quietly.

“Then I know where I’m starting.”

He pulled out his phone.

He opened the notes app.

For several seconds, he stared at the empty screen.

Then he typed.

Things I need to change.

He paused.

Then:

1. Get stronger.

Another pause.

2. Become more disciplined.

3. Improve my confidence.

4. Get better at school.

5. Learn how money works.

Alex stared at the list.

It looked almost stupid.

Five sentences weren’t going to change his life.

But they were something.

He saved it.

Then he stood up.

He tried another pull-up.

He failed.

But this time, he didn’t walk away.

When Alex got home, his mother was preparing dinner.

“You’re late.”

“I stopped somewhere.”

“Where?”

“Outside.”

Emily looked up from the couch.

“Very specific.”

Alex ignored her.

He went upstairs.

His body hurt.

His arms felt like they belonged to somebody else.

He took a shower, changed, and sat at his desk.

The easy thing would have been to play games.

Or watch videos.

Or pretend yesterday hadn’t happened.

Instead, Alex opened his mathematics textbook.

He stared at the page.

Ten minutes passed.

Then twenty.

He didn’t understand the problem.

He almost closed the book.

Instead, he tried again.

One question.

Then another.

It wasn’t impressive.

Nobody was watching.

Nobody would praise him.

Nobody even knew he was doing it.

But for once, Alex wasn’t trying to become different overnight.

He was trying to become slightly better than yesterday.

His phone vibrated.

Alex looked at it.

Unknown number.

You really think you can change?

His stomach tightened.

Another message appeared.

Ryan says you’ll quit by next week.

Alex stared at the screen.

His first instinct was to respond.

He typed:

Tell Ryan—

He stopped.

Deleted it.

He placed the phone face down.

For several seconds, he simply sat there.

Then he opened his notebook.

At the top of a blank page, he wrote:

Day One.

Underneath it:

Don’t quit.

Alex closed the notebook.

He looked at the clock.

It was almost midnight.

His body hurt.

His mind was tired.

Tomorrow would probably hurt too.

But tomorrow was coming anyway.

Alex turned off the light.

For the first time, he didn’t promise himself that everything would become better.

He made a smaller promise.

One he could actually keep.

He would show up tomorrow.

And the day after that.

Until the person in the mirror no longer looked like someone who needed to be saved.

But someone who had learned how to save himself.

Day One had begun.

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