My Youth Began With Him Novels & Stories

Indeed, I was starting life from square ZERO. Thinking of that made my eyes sting and my heart ache. The question was: where do I even start? It was early morning. Sunlight poured through my small window, casting a soft glow. My stomach rumbled. Hunger had been a constant companion these past few weeks. Those worms in my guts had no idea my pocket change would vanish in a blink. Still, through all my ups and downs, there was one person who made me feel hopeful. And you know what? It was him. The elegant, aged, handsome god I’d been with at the club.

I initiate the conversation, trying to break the uncomfortable silence between us. “I’m thinking,” he replies, his gaze fixed on the horizon. “About what?” He shifts his eyes towards me. “About how different my life could’ve been.” My brows narrow at his words. “What do you mean?” “I never really had a chance to enjoy my youth,” he admits, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. “When my parents died, I had to grow up fast and take on responsibilities I wasn’t ready for. Your father... he was there for me when I needed someone, but life still hasn’t been easy.”

I’ve known since the first time I met him that day long ago. The day when he dropped the bag of potatoes and I looked down my nose at the handsome boy who scrambled for the spuds that had fallen and rolled out. As a young girl, it didn’t matter because he was my friend, my only friend. As a young woman, his parentage didn’t mean anything because I loved him.

He watched me for a second, as if debating how much to tell me, or maybe if he should tell me at all. “I was twenty-one,” he began. “You’d have been… eight? Maybe nine.” Something about him saying my childhood age made my stomach twist. “I enlisted because I didn’t have anything else. No family. No backup plan. Just… nothing. The army was the only place where nothing meant something.” I swallowed. “You don’t have to tell me—” “I know. But you asked.” He went quiet again, staring out the window, and for a moment I wondered if he’d changed his mind. But then:

He happily led the way to the food court in the mall. We acted like teenagers just now. It's like our 'love story' is just beginning. I laugh and at the same time, it feels so light-hearted. It's like he healed my inner child. Since I met him, he's made me feel things I never experienced. I matured early because of my responsibilities, the people around me, and it became my coping mechanism. It wasn't easy, but it taught me many valuable lessons that I carry with me today.

『 AUDREY 』 "I started doing street fighting when I was 14." Cayden started. I licked my popsicle and nodded. "That was when my dad... started losing his gambling addiction and took money from me." He continues. "So... one day, don't ask me how or why, someone came up to me and asked if I wanted to start doing street fighting. He led me to an alley and I saw as everyone punched and kicked. So he taught me how to fight and... I found it interesting."

the youth gave a hollow chuckle, "For fuck's sake. I didn't know my 'trait' was so amazing until you helped me." The more the youth spoke... the more his expression brightened, the more the middle-aged man's nose soured up. What he saw wasn't a teenager that shook the federation. He only saw a boy trying to fight off a group of indignant pursuers for a stolen wristwatch. "You could have spared her..."

I met him for the first time on the day I turned sixteen. He had been holding flowers and chocolate, had on big glasses, freckles, acne, and pants that were two sizes too big. Now, I met him again at twenty-six. He had a tattoo on the side of his neck, a gold ring pierced into his lower lip, his eyes thin, his thumb hovering above the trigger of the gun he was toying around with as he held my gaze. "Remember me?"

"That sounds like a good memory." "It is one of the only uncomplicated ones I have of him," he said. "Everything after that got tangled up with duty eventually. The lessons started young. By the time I was twelve I understood that my childhood had an expiration date that most children did not have to think about." I let that settle between us, the weight of it familiar in a way that ached. "I understand that more than you might think," I said quietly. He looked at me then, properly, the last of the light catching the gold in his eyes.

I paused, trying to remember the first time I met him. I cleared my throat and started, "Well, I was in the Winter Pack at the time, and I was already a teenager. I happened to see him back then and thought to myself that he was so handsome. We briefly met eyes, but he looked away. He was so cold that I felt dejected at the time." Their eyes widened. "So, you met him when you were both teenagers? Wow. If I remember right, he became Alpha at a very young age."