Angel (Damiano David & Victoria De Angelis)

Chapter 6

She rushed to the front door, followed by Damiano who was still clutching his stomach because obviously the cramps didn't just go away simply because someone was at the door. Thomas and Ethan were there as well, now all of them staring at the door, hesitating. The person seemed to get impatient as the doorbell began to ring more often and in a more aggressive way. Nobody said anything but it was very clear that all four of them were thinking the same: What if it was Carla? "Stay back, Damiano...", she instructed as she slowly stepped towards the door, ready to fight whoever was on the other side. She flashed one last look back at her friends before taking a deep breath and quickly opening the door. She was relieved to see it wasn't Carla. "Mom...?", Damiano asked quietly. He sounded out of breath - probably because he was still cramping - but even more so, he sounded shocked, a little anxious but overall happy. He hadn't seen or talked to her in a while, so he must have been really excited to see her. Sadly, she didn't seem to feel the same way. She looked extremely pissed. She didn't even seem to care about the others as she marched towards him: "What the fuck do you think you're doing, boy? I gave everything for you. I was always supportive of your dreams. I raised you to be a good man...I raised you right, so I could be proud of you someday. And what do I get? A liar." Damiano backed away, until his back was against a wall: "I...I'm not lying, Mom...I'm really not...I swear...", he had put his act on again, trying to come across as strong and unfaced but he was breaking. Nothing gave a person more pressure than an upset mother...that was the worst of all punishments. Especially when they played the "I'm disappointed" card. "Don't you dare lie to my face, Damiano. I don't know what happened to make you think you could get away with a lie like that but nothing justifies you trying to ruin Carla's life. She is such a sweet girl.", she wasn't yelling but her voice was stern. Victoria wanted to step in but Ethan held her back, whispering: "Let them. That's a thing between mother and son." He was right but she didn't want to accept that. He was already so broken...the fact that not even his own mother believed him would probably hit him extremely hard. But it wasn't like she could do anything...Damiano's mother was extremely dominant and while she could be the nicest person on this planet it was better to stay away from her when she was upset. He looked up at her, trembling but staying strong: "She...she raped me, Mom...she...r-raped me...", he was chocking up but still somehow managed to hold the tears back. She scoffed and slapped him across the face, before threateningly holding his face between her fingers: "Men can not be raped. And what even is - ", she was just about to get started about his scars when Victoria couldn't take it anymore. She walked towards her, having to gather all of her confidence: "With all due respect, Lucinda...if you say one more word, you will regret it. Let go of him.", she spoke in a loud and clear voice which she found quite surprising herself, considering that she was standing up to a woman that was almost like a second mom to her. His mother turned to look at her, seemingly surprised because she let go of his face which gave Victoria the opportunity to step in front of Damiano. She would have loved to just throw her out but she couldn't and she knew that. Because if she did that, she would probably terrorize them for days or even weeks. She always got what she wanted. Lucinda watched her every move, her dark brown eyes sparkling angrily: "I really thought you were better than that, Victoria. Standing up for a lie like that..." Victoria grabbed Damiano's hand behind her back, partly to show him she was there and partly for her own support. "No, I thought YOU were better than that, Lucinda. You are his mother...why don't you believe your own son? Can't you see he's suffering? Can't you see how broken he is?", she was staying strong, constantly looking into her eyes. The tall woman lashed out at her: "Who are you to tell me what to do, Victoria? You have no experience with life...I do. And I know that things like this", she was pointing to his arms: "...are done for attention. And I know, just like every other smart person, that men can't be raped. And I am really disappointed because I thought I raised him to be a strong and manly man." She felt how Damiano clenched his fist around her hand, so she soothingly caressed his skin while bravely standing up to the woman she had always looked up to: "I love you very much, Lucinda...but that is bullshit. I won't ask you to leave because I know that won't solve this situation but I would kindly ask you to go to the guest room and leave us alone for the night. We need some space. And tomorrow we can talk about this...calmly."

Thankfully everyone agreed with that but as she had already suspected, that had completely broken him again. But something had changed...he didn't cry. He didn't show any emotion at all. She just went for a quick smoke...she needed that because she was a nervous wreck as well. Why was everything so fucked up? How could his own mother not believe him? When she returned back to their room, he wasn't there, which immediately sent her into panic mode again. Luckily, she knew him well and since they had the only room with an own bathroom, she already knew where to look.

He was sitting on the floor, not crying and just blankly staring at his bleeding wrist. She felt so fucking exhausted...not physically but emotionally, but she kept her shit together, sitting down next to him and calmly taking the blade away from him. "Why are you holding back, Damiano? You know you can cry, right?", she asked and grabbed his hand, gently pressing a piece of cloth onto his wrist to stop the bleeding. If you thought about it, it was really sad that this was already such a normal thing for both of them. "You heard her...I disappointed her. Maybe I should just try to get my shit together...and be the man she wants me to be...", he sounded incredibly sad. She took some disinfectant to clean his fresh wounds. He winced but didn't make a sound. "Angel, listen to me, okay? I know you love your mom...I do too. But we can't start from square one again...it's okay to cry...I know that you know it. She doesn't understand it right now and I know that's hard but I think that she will be able to understand eventually. Don't let her destroy what we already have. Trust me, Angel...just cry it out...you'll feel better afterwards.", she knew she would be able to get through to him...she just knew him too well. And even though he was shaking his head, she could feel that he was already cracking. She pulled him into her arms, soothingly kissing his head: "Let it out, baby...just let everything out." He held onto her, hiding his face in her shoulder: "What if she hears...what if my mom hears me cry?" He sounded so scared and hurt, it made her eyes water but she just kept on cradling him in her arms: "Don't think about that now, Angel...she's your mother...she has seen you cry many many times, so nothing would happen if she heard. Just let go, baby...I'm here for you." And then, it all broke out of him.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hey ;)

So, as promised, here is a second chapter because I haven't posted yesterday.

So, what do you think about Damiano's mother? Is she going to accept it and believe him eventually or is she gonna cause trouble? Let me know in the comments :)

Thanks for reading.

- Thalia