Broken

’s eye peeked through the small crack from the open wardrobe door as his father’s fist pummeled her mother’s mouth, caving in two of her teeth. remained still, unfazed, as his father’s closed fist hit her mother’s nonreactive body again and again. He wanted to scream. He wanted to stop that man from beating his mother, but he wasn’t able to, he could witness how his mother got hit by that pig even being inches away from death.

It hasn't always been that way though. Before they moved out to England, they were happy. His father, his mother and him, all living together in a small apartment in the busy city of New York. They were not wealthy, and they struggled to make ends meet, yet they still managed to hold a happy household for their child. Everything changed when his father got a job at a famous multinational as a store manager.

Money started to flow in and and his mother, , would spend their days at home, cooking for his father, reading books or drawing and writing. would encourage to do anything he thought about doing, and this made him happy. Their relationship was strong. They shared a bond that the father didn’t share, at all.

But that was a distant memory now. The reality is that he lives in a slaughterhouse, and he is waiting his turn. After his father stopped hitting the poor woman, he stood up and stumbled as he walked out the room. On the bed laid the naked body of , battered and bruised, but as beautiful as youth itself. From Garoe’s eyes a light stream of tears slid down his face as he opened the door.

She was incredibly beautiful. Her eyes were green like Garoe’s, but hers had blue highlights that made them enchanting. Her hair was long and blonde and her ears were delicate and petite, as well as the rest of her. She laid naked on the once white blankets that were now stained with her blood and sweat as looked with longing eyes at his beloved mother. He then began to weep as the night slid through the window, leaving the pair in complete solitude.

woke up the next morning remembering last night’s events, but he had a horrible feeling that something was wrong, although he ignored it for most of the day. In the afternoon, he walked to his mother’s bedroom, where he found her seated on the edge of her bed, still naked, staring blankly at a picture. The picture was a picture of when he was still an infant. made his way towards her, but as he approached her, she didn’t respond at all.

‘Hello mom’ he said, but there was no answer in return.

‘How are you feeling today?’

Their conversations were awkward, but this time there was something more to it than awkwardness. could feel a horrifying determination oozing from her mother’s empty eyes. She had made a decision, and her plan was going to be carried out no matter what. stood by her until she moved. She got up from the bed and headed towards the bathroom, closing the door behind her, leaving out.

, a deafening banging sound came from the adjacent room, which happened to be the kitchen of the house. purposelessly walked towards the door to exit her mother’s bedroom, when he saw something laying on the floor. Her mother’s favorite comb. “How weird she didn’t take it with her to the bathroom” He thought and then walked out of the room.

He entered the kitchen, which was now dimly lit night had been making its relentless advance through the house, and was covering the house with a blanket of darkness. He stumbled upon an open drawer, which made him shiver, and in an instant, he knew what was happening. the knife drawer, and the chef knife was nowhere to be .

He started to sprint outside the room when he heard his dad’s car pull up to the driveway. “Oh no, he’s here”. rushed towards her mother’s room and tried the doorknob desperately, but it didn’t give in. It had been locked from the inside. Meanwhile, the doorknob from the front door turned and, as it opened, it screeched. turned his head around and when his eyes met the front door, he knew what was going to happen.

Standing in the door frame was Garoe’s father, Waldo. He was tall, around 6’2, and had a bald head that shined with the right amount of light. His eyes were dark brown, but his skin was red, as well as his stubble beard. Waldo hung his coat on the coat rack to the right of him, and then he locked his eyes on a now terrified .

Waldo stared at 11-year-old , until he decided on what he was going to do, unbuttoning the top two buttons of his shirt. He grabbed by his neck and lifted him up ten inches from the ground, as he choked him without any speck of sympathy. struggled to breathe, but Waldo didn’t care, he was here for his dose of entertainment.

‘Listen here you little brat. he said

‘I am sick and tired of you and your useless mother doing nothing’

‘I work all day, and when I get home, all I have is a useless wimp of a son and a pathetic push-around of a wife. I am tired of you two.’

With that last phrase came a heavy slap that sent flying 3 feet. As started to gain a sense of where he was again, Waldo’s beckoning shadow grew closer and closer, making wet his pants, which infuriated Waldo more.

He buried his knees on the sides, next to the boy’s fragile body, and placed two big metallic rings in his index and middle finger as he grinned, staring directly into the kid’s eyes. The first hit was so hard that it made throw out a desperate wail of pain. Following it, came a barrage of ironed strikes that landed directly on Garoe’s face. He laid there, still, as his father’s fist dug deeper and deeper in his skin. He started to feel something he had never felt before, he was feeling hate. A hate so strong that made Waldo hesitate for an instant when he saw his son’s eyes. But he carried on anyway.

After the brutal beating, Waldo stood up and walked towards the kitchen, where he planned on washing his bloody hands. laid on the ground; bleeding intensely, but this time, he was still conscious. Waldo walked out of the kitchen and after standing in the hallway for a seconds, a dark smile grew on his evil face as he gazed at his wife's bedroom. saw this and now, he was determined to settle this once and for all.

Waldo tried the door, but it didn't open. Furious, he strode to the kitchen again and grabbed a kitchen rag. He enveloped his hand on it and began to pummel the wood until he broke it, causing the door to swing open. was still on the ground, but he was seeing it all with bloodshot eyes.

Waldo walked into the room holding a Jack Daniel's bottle in his left hand and his blood-stained rings on his right hand. He looked around the room, but his wife was nowhere to be . He glanced at her bathroom and saw that the door was closed. smiled.

Outside the room, was stumbling up to his feet, fighting with the pain and fear that flowed in him. After a balances, he managed to stay stable and decided to visit the kitchen first, he knew what he had to do. He crossed the door frame, on which he had to lean on for a bit as he was still stunned from the hits he'd taken, and then he looked blankly at the top drawer. The knife drawer.

Waldo was walking towards the closed door, with a disgusting smile on his face. Once he reached the door, he knocked on it , calling for his “beloved wife”.

‘Honey, I got back from work. I've missed you a lot all day.’ He said, smiling

‘Come out and give me a big old hug’

The door then began to open which made Waldo laugh hysterically, like a wild animal.

, the door flung open, hitting Waldo and breaking it. Then, flew out of the room with a chef’s knife clenched in her right hand. She laid on top of a weakened Waldo, like he had over . This time, was carrying a sickening smile.

From the kitchen, hears the commotion coming from her mothers bedroom. He sprinted out of the kitchen, forgetting what he had gone in there for in the first place. He pokes his head around the corner of the door frame and hesitates to glance in the room. His heart was beating , and his sweat was cold on his forehead. He turned the corner.

As Garoe was making his decision, threw her arms over her head and plunged them down on Waldo’s chest, penetrating it with the knife. Waldo gave out a wail of pain that resonated throughout the whole house. repeated the motion over and over again until Waldo laid still on the warm carpet, surrounded by a puddle of thick blood. After her frenzy was over, she tossed the knife aside and dropped her arms to her side. , she raised her head and was by the shocked eyes of .

heard a wail as he was looking into the room. His knees began to shake and his breathing intensified when he saw his father being stabbed by his mother.

He froze, bewildered, when he met his mother’s predating eyes laying their stare on him, although that lasted a second.

Upon seeing her son, shot up and ran towards him with whatever strength she had left. When she got to him, she embraced her son with all the warmth that her naked body had to give which contrasted with the ice-cold skin of the boy.

flinched when he saw his mother get up and sprint towards him, and when she hugged him, he could stare at the empty carcass of who once was his abusive father. He began to sob, which then turned into a desolating cry.

After had released all his tension, let go of him, smiling when their eyes met yet again. But, could still see that same determination he saw earlier which made him feel horrified at what may happen next. made her way to her feet and once she was standing, she spoke with a soothing voice, irradiating love

‘You are a good boy, now become a good man, learn from your father what not to be and love as if you weren’t going to get hurt.’

‘Why are you telling me this now, mom?’

‘I can’t tell you, it’s our little secret’ she said as she smiled playfully at the confused boy.

Then, she got up and went towards the bathroom again. Before she closed the door and locked it, she turned around and, with a smile, she said ‘I love you’

remained knelt on the floor for a seconds. His mind was bothered by the whole situation. It felt surreal. He wished a dream, and he pinched himself in the arm to see if he would wake up, but he didn’t. Then, it all fell into place.

The police arrived two hours after the whole incident, after being reported that screaming was coming from the house. When they arrived, they found a sleeping leaning on the bathroom door of the master bedroom. Next to him, there was the corpse of a man, and the murder weapon sitting right beside him. The officers picked up the boy and carried him to an ambulance that had also been called, in which he got taken away to a hospital nearby. Once the boy was out of the house, the squad proceeded to break through the bathroom door, where they found the body of a naked woman with her wrists sliced open, but with a smile on her face.

woke up at the hospital, where a nurse was taking his vitals and checking up on him. His eyes darted from one side of the room to the other, trying to understand where he was. He moved under the blanket that covered him and sat straight up, staring into the nurse’s eyes.

‘Hello honey’ she said, with a warm voice.

‘How are you feeling?’

didn’t answer.

‘I’m sure you must be scared and confused right now. Don’t worry honey, you are at the hospital, we are taking care of you.’

kept his gaze on the nurse’s eyes and after an intense stare down, he laid back on his bed again and went to sleep.

He spent three days at the hospital before he got to meet Miss . She was old and saggy, with long hair and shriveled lips. Her nose was long and protuberant, highlighting the wart that decorated the tip. Her dress was dark and long, and she used a wooden cane to aid her walking. She approached on his bed. She grabbed his hand and told him that his parents had died in a car accident and that he was in the car. He couldn’t remember what had happened, but for some reason he knew he wasn’t going to see and Waldo again.

‘I want you to come with me ’ she said

‘Where?’ These were the first words that spoke since he had gotten to the hospital.

‘I have a home where I take care of children like you, without parents.’

‘Will you hit me miss?’

‘Of course not darling, of course not’

‘Can you promise me?’

‘I promise’

A week after their first meeting, was being picked up by Miss in a black SUV with tinted glass. hesitated to get in the vehicle, but he did after hearing Miss Rochard’s voice. That evening, rode the vehicle as dawn reached its prime, caressing the darkness that would soon replace it.