Divided heart

13. addicted

"Don't cry for someone who hurt you, but make them cry because of you."

-Sin-

The slap landed hard on Heil's cheek. So hard that the boy's teeth scraped against the corner of his lip. Blood welled from the broken skin.

"Did you tell your mother?" Marvel stood with his hand still raised. His figure loomed over the boy.

Heil shook his head in fear, too terrified to speak. His cheek throbbed with pain now. Marvel knelt, pulling Heil's uniform collar closer. Almost choking the boy.

Heil's hands gripped Marvel's arm. Restraining the man from strangling him. Marvel snorted cynically, the stench of alcohol emanating from the bastard's mouth.

"So, why is your mother asking so often? Why does your mother come home early? Why doesn't she give me money anymore?" Marvel shook Heil's body as those questions came out.

How did he know? Heil wanted to retort, but the pain taught him to restrain himself. He had already gone through enough days that felt like Hell. He knew, but he had to pretend he didn't. Heil felt he had betrayed his mother.

Heil's tears fell along with Heil's weak headshake; his father had changed 180 degrees since Heil caught him cheating. Every time, when it was just the two of them, Marvel would threaten Heil with violence, slaps, throws, and punches.

The terrified Heil couldn't tell his mother; his mother's busy schedule also meant they rarely met. Sometimes, his mother came home late at night, when Heil was already asleep.

Marvel slammed Heil's body against the wall, causing his stepson's head to hit the glass door. He casually walked towards the kitchen set while the boy groaned in pain.

His large hairy hand reached for a kitchen knife, approaching Heil while rotating the knife's handle. Heil realized the impending danger, but his feet were rooted to the spot in fear. With wide eyes, the boy watched his stepfather grab his arm, move the knife, and carve a wound into his upper arm.

A sharp pain pierced him, making Heil scream. His skin opened, blood flowing profusely, soaking the wooden floor. Trembling violently, Heil tried to cover the wound with his left hand.

"This is a warning for you. If you tell your mother, I will kill you, then kill your mother." Marvel played the knife near Heil's pale face.

"Do you understand...?"

Heil nodded weakly. Tears streamed down his face. The stepfather went to put the knife away in the kitchen and casually walked towards the front door.

After making sure his father had left, Heil cried as loudly as he could. Confused, he wondered how to stop the bleeding. He ran to the sink to wash the blood away. The sting of the water dripping onto the open wound was intense. Sadly, Heil's blood wouldn't stop flowing.

Heil remembered when his mother was cooking and accidentally cut her finger. Then, she would suck on her finger to stop the bleeding. The boy did the same. Now, he licked the wound and began to suck on it.

A salty, metallic taste filled Heil's senses. At first, it felt strange, but gradually, a strange sweetness made him enjoy his own blood. Indeed, the bleeding gradually stopped.

From that moment on, Heil began to stop his bleeding by sucking his own blood. It continued because Marvel didn't stop torturing the boy. The taste of blood eventually made Heil addicted. When his stepfather only beat him, Heil would injure himself and suck his blood.

Not a single day passed without that thirst. His mother began to notice the wounds on her son's arms. Then she found several bruises on Heil's body. Several times the woman asked, but Heil chose to remain silent. Marvel's threats were deeply ingrained in the boy's mind, especially because he was afraid the bastard would kill his mother.

***

That night, Heil was awakened by a loud noise from the adjacent flat. Hesitantly, Heil went to the round balcony. The cold night air hit Heil's face. Out of curiosity, he peeked into flat number 19.

Suddenly, the glass door of the flat next door opened. A long-haired girl ran out. The girl crouched on the left side of the balcony, cupping her hands to her ears.

Heil raised his head. As he walked closer, the girl looked up and noticed Heil's movement. They looked at each other. Tears streamed from the little girl's large eyes.

Bruises, blue and black, adorned the little girl's cheeks and eyes. Ah... we're in the same boat, Heil thought sadly.

"Does your father hit you too?" Heil asked.

The girl bit her lip and nodded vigorously. Tears flowed even more freely, wetting her round face.

"It hurts!!" she said. The little girl's small, dirty fingers caressed the swelling on her face.

"This hurts too." Heil lifted his shirt to show the bruises on his waist and stomach.

The girl stopped crying, her eyes widening as she saw Heil's wounds. "What's your name?" The girl stepped closer, her small hands gripping the railing. Her chin rested on the balcony.

"Heil... and you?"

"Candy... Hei..."

"Not Hei..., but Heil. With an L." Heil protested.

"Hei..."

"Hei..." The girl playfully blinked her eyes.

"Whatever..." Heil sighed wearily.

"Do you want to meet?" The girl reached out her hand, trying to reach Heil's balcony.

"It's too far." Heil sighed. The boy also reached out his hand. The distance between their balconies was two meters.

Both tried to reach, illuminated by the moonlight. The air carried the scent of blood to Heil's nostrils. The boy sniffed sharply.

"Are you bleeding?" Heil checked the little girl's entire body.

"Ahhh.... this." Candy lifted her shabby dress above her knees. The child was injured; wet, clotted blood tried to cover the open wound.

"My father threw a glass at my leg." she said innocently, without a hint of anger in her voice.

Heil shivered nervously, seeing the red stain on Candy's leg, and his thirst suddenly returned. He hadn't tasted blood today because his mother had started checking his body more often.

"Why?" Candy tilted her head, her eyelids blinking in confusion.

Heil started biting his thumb, peeling off the epidermis with his teeth. Soon after, blood flowed out, and the boy sucked it hard, forgetting that Candy was watching.

"Are you drinking blood?" Candy's eyes widened.

Heil flinched. He awoke from his strange behavior. The boy lowered his finger, letting drops of blood soak the balcony floor.

"Sorry, I'm weird," Heil bowed his head in shame. He knew that blood addiction was certainly not normal.

"Hmmm... I'm weird too. Nobody at school wants to be friends with me." Candy played with her fingers between the balcony railings. A delicate tinkling sound was heard as she tapped the iron bars.

"You're not afraid of me?"

"Why should I be afraid? I'm only afraid of my father." The little girl twirled her finger. Her voice trembled when she mentioned her father.

"Me too." Heil sucked his thumb again. Feeling relieved, Candy didn't think he was strange.

Both sighed, their gazes speaking volumes, uttering unspoken words. I understand, how it felt. They understood each other.

A thread stretched to bind the intertwined destinies of these two children, uniting them despite their distance.