please, just listen

This is, in fact, based on someone i know very well. this is pretty much the conversation i had with him yesterday. many of the things he said are actually real quotes from him, not just things i made up. all of the poem is true... as unbelievable as it sounds.
The names Jordan and Brennen are made up however for privacy's sake. there are two different endings at the bottom. no, he is not actually dead. thanks for reading, criticism is greatly appreciated.

oh, and yes, i know it is a really weird rhyming 'pattern.' there is no pattern. there is no even pattern with life.. why bother with writing?










The last three weeks have been *heck*

so of course i ask him whats wrong
don't need to pry he just wants someone to listen to his song

My mama was drunk and punched Jordan,
and so i hit her back.
The police finally showed up this time
and gave my mom the sack

oh my God are you alright?
i ask him

Yeah me, my little brother and sis
jumped out the window
and found a good place to stay the night

i hide shock and disbelief
but he can see it on my face

its alright, the police hauled her off
and took all her drugs
and now im living with my dad
from what i can tell, he's not as bad

from what you can tell?
i ask him

yeah. i just met him two months ago
for the first time
he left my mom when
i was three

oh. i tell him blankly.
i couldn't help it its just me

so how has your summer been?
any thing exciting?
he asks

and i cant think of anything that Ive done
that i can be proud of
when i think about his
and how he has a hard life and i don't help i just have fun

i look at him sadly
and say, oh, nothing important,
tell me more about yours
but he is locked now
behind closed doors

i stare at him a moment,
and he looks at me
and then he says something
that I will always remember,

The best things in life
always come with a fee
nothing in life
just comes free

his face softens
and his eyes grow sad

but that lasts a second
and everything puts on the mask
yet again
and he goes back to being Brennen

dads looking for an apartment
so he doesn't have to live with his ex anymore
so i wait out here all day
mess around, explore

oh. i say again.
thats nice i guess.
i don't know what else to say
but he just wants someone to listen
to what he goes through every day

im switching schools.
im thinking about changing my image,
starting a whole new me.

i look at him.
i look at the boy with dyed black hair
the dark clothes and gloves
the eye liner, the skinny jeans
the piercings
but i do not care

he looks at me and smiles.
i give him a smile back.
i have to go now.
it tell him.
he pauses and says
'Thanks for listening.'

i look at him like a mother would a
child.
thanks for telling me.

and then i'm gone.
he's gone.

I thought about what happened
and i regret so much
that so much wasn't said or done
a pat on the back
a friendly hug at the end,
but all in all i think he just needed a friend

i thought about what had happened,
and i regret so much
that so much wasn't said
because i look back on that day right now
and wish that boy wasn't dead