Lost Josh

So one girl, smiling away and surrounded by buddies of both sexes, stares at Josh. "Wouldn't the world be a better place without you? So like... Just kill yourself! Why are you still alive?" Why was he still alive? Josh didn't have an easy answer to that question. His father died when he was young, and his mother was killing herself with alcohol. Life at school was no better. He was endlessly bullied. Teachers were endlessly disappointed with his performance. He sometimes thought about...
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So one girl, smiling away and surrounded by buddies of both sexes, stares at Josh. "Wouldn't the world be a better place without you? So like... Just kill yourself! Why are you still alive?" Why was he still alive? Josh didn't have an easy answer to that question. His father died when he was young, and his mother was killing herself with alcohol. Life at school was no better. He was endlessly bullied. Teachers were endlessly disappointed with his performance. He sometimes thought about ending it all. But he didn't. He instead just chose to survive, day by day. Hiding in his room after school, playing video games, only leaving to grab food--or buy it himself. Josh was on his own in a world that did not care. Then Aia came along. A recent immigrant from Switzerland, everyone at school fell in love with her. Athletic, smart, impossibly pretty with long platinum-blonde hair, Aia Andersdotter was just too amazing to be real. More unbelievable still, Aia sat next to Josh in homeroom. His life was never the same again. Yet, just as he was beginning to get his life together, someone wanted to take Aia away. Forever.

Note: To the ADMINISTRATORS of ROYAL ROAD, the author has attempted to post Chapter 1 at your site for the sake of preview.