TW:-- Sensitive content ahead in italics and bold. You have been warned.
There was an immediate, expected reaction as soon as the bomb was dropped in the quiet meeting room. The stressed expression on the woman's face was distorted into that of a murderous one to which the old man's eyebrows twitched. He too exited the room at last and he could swear that he heard the throwing sound of something right after he closed the door.
He finally found the solution to their problem. The solution may not work but it's something legal and worth taking the risk. He is really not too keen in placing the shareholders' candidate on that seat of the company which Mr. Lancaster had built from square one.
"Find Lancaster's child, I'm sure they haven't sent him much far."
No matter how much Rio washed his hands until they were prune and red, it still felt dirty. When he tried to squeeze more hand wash in his hands, the bottle turned out to be empty. Did he empty the entire bottle?
The lewd voice kept on ringing inside his head like a persistent alarm, only this alarm was not of a fire or of morning but of the stark, naked reality that have appeared out of the depths of the closet and has decided to slap him when he wasn't ready at all.
He felt a lurching in his stomach coupled with nausea. He barely had the time to close the faucet before he bent forward in the toilet bowl and emptied his stomach. Not much came out but he continued to heave. After returning from school, he had just one glass of milk, nothing else. Tears brimmed in his eyes as he continued to heave before black spots started to spear in his vision.
It felt like a time travelling. The only fictional thing that he hates. He hopes with all his heart that no matter how much technology advances, time travelling shouldn't be subsisting.
Those same, rusted chains.
That same room in the basement.
That musky, rusty and moldy smell that strangled him to no end.
The atmosphere of the room where neither sunlight nor fresh oxygen has ever entered.
The relentless torture that made him pray for death every single second he was locked up at the age of five.
The unnecessary pants, the cries for help, the screams to have mercy, the screeches of pain whenever drug induced needle was pushed into the little hands, needless moans and the endless violation of his dignity over and over again remained etched in his mind after all these years.
More importantly, it's that damn voice. It still has the ability to make himself feel less of a man.
"Oh~ Rio~ you look so beautiful~"
But it is an undeniable fact, that he was treated as less of a man for a span of six months before he made his escape after hallucinating about it for several times.
Dangling a picture of him exiting his therapists' office, the arrogant voice of Daniel taunted him; "…..Look at you, you are skinny, barely have any muscles and on top of that a poor guy. You work part time at a pizzeria yeah I know I've seen you taking orders from customers and waiting for their generous tip like a pathetic dog that you are. But will your half-assed meager income ever be able to gift her a Louis Vuitton bag or Prada, Chanel products on her birthday?...
...….Oh you don't know her birthday? Man, are you sure ya'll are dating? I mean, I am a kind man I can take her back anytime she runs back to me which I know she will once she gets tired and bored of you. Her birthday is on 24th December that we've spent together all this time and I am sure we'll do so too this year as well. I know that she'll be bored of you by then and had enough of your bullshit.
Love? Hah! You didn't even know her last year!
Take an advice from this expert, break it up with her. Innocent bastards like you are not for Emilia. She always has eyes for the hot bad boys, not some stupid, lanky, broke, emotional baggage of a nerd like you. Give up while you still have time…."
Rio came to his consciousness with a jolt, his heart beating fast, threatening to fall out of his chest. But his mind was unusually fresh and lucid and he was quite focused with what exactly he wanted to do. He doesn't remember when he fell asleep on the toilet seat. His neck protested his pain for keeping it at an awkward angle for a long time. The corner of his mouth still had some remnants of last night's puke along with his drool. His dried tears stuck to his cheeks. He flushed the toilet, washed his face and himself thoroughly. For the first time, he had a proper meal of a breakfast.
Rio cooked.
Yes, he cooked. He had learned cooking from his grandmother long time back before she departed for heaven but he never cooked anything for himself ever since she passed away. He has been living on packaged, readymade food from convenience store. He cooked himself some noodles, made a poached egg with sunny side up and had them wholeheartedly.
Next, he made a phone call with the mobile that he had thrown on his bed. It was low on battery so he put it in a charger and got ready for school. After it was charged he made a phone call and locked his front door.
Emilia didn't see her boyfriend in the only class they shared, i.e. Mrs Okum's class, and honestly the class was so boring without him. She didn't even see him in the hallways. Even Luke was surprised when she asked him; "I thought you knew?"
"No I don't that's why I am asking him."
"Well, call him or message him then."
"Have been doing that since last night…"
Luke looked at her, then something dawned upon him; "Ah well, good luck then. I gotta go now." He packed his bags and hopped away from the cafeteria table.
As soon as Luke got out of Emilia's sight, a group of jocks started to follow him to his classes, washroom and even after dismissal of school out of the school gates till the orange head stopped and looked back. He wasn't surprised to see who are these jocks that keep following him.
He gripped his backpack tightly and pushed his leg muscles with all his might to run, only to bump onto what seemed like a brick wall.