Ben was an ordinary farm boy; he was hardworking and honest. He worked hard in school and on the farm. Ben had was 17 and had no idea where he really wanted to go in life. He was interested in sports, and he was actually good at them, the problem was that nobody knew how good he actually was, not even Ben.

Ben's problem was this, he had an abusive father and no mother, his mother was beaten to death by his father who had gotten extremely drunk one night. He could still remember the night it happened, it had been late and his father had been upset for who knows what reason, but when he saw him he lost it completely he started chasing Ben and when he got away, he took it out on his mother, she had tried to leave his father several times, but each time his father had made her stay, but this time he was drunk and didn't care. He beat her with a plank from the barn, he had only meant to hurt not to kill.

"It should have been me" thought Ben. No kid should have to go through what Ben did. He had to bury his own mother, her head gushing with blood, he had lied to the police scared of what his father might do if he didn't. He cried into his pillow silently at least once every weak, quietly whispering,"It should have been me."