Case File : M

MATEO

"Don't tell me you're leaving the twins with me ... AGAIN!" Mateo practically screamed into his phone, as he paced through the tiny sad excuse of a living room he would be living in alongside his half siblings and mum.

He was on the phone with her for the umpteenth time that day, making enquiries on how to ease the little twins who were barely two, which she had left in his care, he had missed his therapy appointment the previous day and scheduled for another, and was yet to begin in his new school, only because of the absence of his mum.

He really had to start searching for a nanny , but he had a lot on his plate right now, and his mum wasn’t helping.

“I’ll be back home honey , I promise honey, I just need to fix some thing’s okay..” she drawled, her words slurred and melting together as though she was trying to keep up with her thoughts.

“f**k YOU!!!” He yelled slamming his phone on the table.

He moved some of the boxes out of his path, as he made his way into the twins room he spotted them playing by themselves not even noticing he was there, he sighed picking up the youngest Ruby, to change her diaper, leaving onyx to follow behind.

It was a Sunday evening, and he could only wonder what his mum was out doing, maybe drinking or on some cheap high, probably trying to find her abusive lover. Lover, because he never even married her, just knocked her up , beat the s**t out of her, and him also , and abused him too, but she didn’t know that, to her he’s “misunderstood”.

There’s literally heavy signs that your baby daddy hates you, and likes d**k, children’s d***s to be precise but hey, let’s cut David some slack because he’s “misunderstood”.

Sometimes he wished he had a normal home, with normal parents , and a normal family, he wished his parents had worked on their marriage, but their pride and ego were bigger than whatever issues they had.

He missed his dad, he never said it out loud, but he did, he felt his mum needed him, so he had to stick by her. After their divorce everything went downhill, her sadness and spiraling only eased up with alcohol, or meds. She meeting David didn’t make things better.

They brought out the absolute worst in each other. The toxicity between them was unbelievable, they would yell at each other all day and make love all night just to do it all over again, an endless cycle of violence and obsession.

The toxic environment grew worse when they all moved in together to be a family, and soon enough she was pregnant, she’d ignore everyone all day, spending a lengthy amount of time on the couch, drinking wine and eating cheese.

This tiny routine act forced David to other forms of pleasures and releasing s****l tensions, and the victim was none other than Mateo himself.

David would abuse Mateo both physically and sexually, hitting him in places no one could see.

Using slurs on him like “faggot” “sissy”and“twink”

All were just internalized homophobia, he couldn’t handle his preferences so he preyed on the boy and then blamed him for it, going as far as hitting him.

Mateo often remembers how he got the scar on his elbows whenever he gets a glimpse of it, how he had thought it wise to try to fight back, calling his step dad homophobic slurs as an effort to stand up for himself.

During a struggle in the living room , David was drunk and out of his mind so there was no telling what he’d do at that moment, a glass jar had broken in the midst of the chaos,giving the man an idea out of rage, Mateo attempted to make a run for it as the older man hurled at him with the intention to hurt him, the sharp object thankfully went to his elbow and not his abdomen, the blood seeping from the boy’s injury forced David to register the situation, leaving him alone in the house, dead silent for three days.

Mateo had to take himself to a hospital to get it patched up, all while his mum was freshly postpartum at David’s mother’s house.

He spent the week hiding it in baggy clothes and jackets, no one noticed, him realizing David could actually kill him and no one would care made him fear the man more, and the older man knew it.

So whatever was going on between Mateo and him continued.

Most nights he wouldn’t go to sleep, spending hours watching the door, waiting. Waiting for that tall lean ugly frame to open his doors and violate him, some nights he came, some nights he didn’t.

He was afraid, tired and wrecked, he decided to go back to his dad.

When his plane landed and he saw him, he broke down, forcing the man into a state of confusion, at first Morgan, Mateo’s dad thought he just missed him so much, but with time he noticed the boy he once knew wasn’t there anymore.

Different scars on his lower body, obscure eating habits, and questionable behavioral patterns. He tried to investigate and get his son to open up, but it was all to no avail. Soon enough he was deployed which forced Mateo to stay alone, he thought he had finally gotten some peace and silence from both his abuser and his very inquisitive dad, until a call came in forcing him to leave his comfort and run back to his mum.

David had left, both her and the twins, running away with a lot of valuables and cash.

He couldn’t leave his mum alone and without help, so he went back to her, assisting with the twins, not before long they too moved out of David’s house because apparently they weren’t married and his parents wanted it for themselves.

That’s how Mateo and his mum ended up in the small town trying to start over, but his mum clearly wasn’t interested in moving on.

He wondered if she knew the truth about David if she’d still search for him and drown her pain in different substances just to forget him.

Rosa came home later that night to the twins, which meant he’d be going to school the following day, but not before checking with therapist beforehand, although his dad didn’t pester him for questions, he settled with getting him help . he didn’t trust her with them, and made a mental note to get a nanny, he’d pay her with the allowance his dad gave him.