Off Campus | ✓

25: Renzo- Broken Pieces

dreams of a defeated mind

****

I WAS RUNNING for my life.

My feet was pounding against the concrete. My heart was beating uncontrollably, and my face hurt from receiving those punches earlier.

I knew I shouldn't have gotten involved in this mess. But what could I do? Mom was working her ass off with multiple jobs, while dad was out of the picture leaving mom and I to deal with his mess.

"Hey!" There were three guys running after me. "You piece of shit! You better fúcking pay off your father's fucking debts!"

"Aye, let him run. We could just go back and have some fun with the mom." One of the guys suggested, panting as he came to a stop.

"No," a burly man grunted, he was heaving as well with his hands on his thighs. "Even if it takes me forever to catch his bastard ass, I'm gonna fúcking kill him. You boys do what you want with the lady. I got him."

The two footsteps ran in the other direction, whilst the angry bull started to run in my direction. Who even cares what I call him, this guy is trying to fúcking kill me.

It pained my heart knowing I couldn't save my mom.

I had to keep running, no matter what. 

I will not stop.

Eventually, it dawned on me that I was nearing the end of the alley. The only way out was the way I stupidly came in.

I stopped in front of a huge wall knowing my end was near. My breaths were in short pants and they were labored. My knees ached from soreness from earlier, when one of those guys almost smashed it.

The guy who was chasing after me stopped. He seemed in worst shape than I was.

"Finally gave up, I wasn't sure if I could keep up anymore." He chuckled while gasping for air like a fish out of water. "So, who would've guessed you're Dalton's  boy? You sure do look like him. Too bad he left you and your hot mom for a prostitute." He licked his lips. "I'm sure gonna have some fun with your mom after my boys are done with her."

I clenched my jaw, my hands forming into fists.

He noticed this and raised his eyebrow.

"Boy, you think I'm scared of your fucking wimpy ass? Let me tell ya one thing, you and your mommy are gonna pay for what Dalton did to this gang. He should've thought before fucking a cop not to tell her about us. And now, she's dead cause' of him."

I stayed silent. Better to not say anything at all even though all I wanted was to pummel his grimy face.

"Now," he smirked. "Now I'm going to kill you and then fuck your hot mom and kill her after we're done taking turns. I probably might even fuck her unconscious body. Depends on our mood later, we'll see. I'll then later send the bodies to Dalton as a parting gift. I bet he'll most certainly enjoy it. It's sad to see your sad little pathetic life come to an end. But who the fuck cares about a fifteen-year-old like you? I'm gonna have fun watching you die."

Tears threatened to spill from my eyes. No Enzo, get your shit together and don't cry. Goddammit, do not cry.

"Aww," he laughed, spitting on the floor as he came closer and backed me up against the wall. "Is someone crying? What are your last words boy, I don't have much time to deal with your fucking nonsense."

He came over to me and threw me on the ground. He started kicking me nonstop, leaving no moment for me to collect myself.

"Did the mental hospital test too many drugs on you today? I mean we all know about your addiction problems asshole. They should really watch what they give your ugly ass." I wheezed out while coughing at the same time. 

I shouldn't have said that, now it's going to hurt.

"You bitch!" He started to punch my face as he got on top of me.

"Is that all you can do asshat?" I knew I shouldn't have provoked him, but it was obvious I was going to die soon. Might as well go all out.

"You wanna see more?" He seethed. He pulled out a pocket knife and waved it in front of my face. "I'll show you more bastard."

I couldn't help but laugh at the seemingly sexualized joke.

"You think it's funny you fucking bitch," he started to backhand me repeatedly.

I still kept laughing. "Excuse my crude humour old man."

That was when his restraint broke.

'I don't think dad ever beat me this much either.' I thought slowly falling into unconsciousness.

"Boy!" His punches never stopped once and I flinched when he nicked the side of my face. "You better be a fúcking man and watch as you slowly die in my eyes. You fúcking hear m-!"

----

My head shot up forward. I put my hand over my heart. It was beating so loud I could hear it thumping like a drum.

"It's been years I've had that dream," I whispered not believing I saw that. I looked around frantically to make sure it was my room and not some back alleyway.

My eyes started to blur and that's when I realized I was crying.

"Fuck," I put my face in my hands. I sniffed loudly and got up from my bed, having lost all willingness to sleep.

I went to the bathroom and saw my reflection in the mirror. There was dried water droplets on the side with a tiny crack near the top of the curve of the glass. My hands traced the crack before turning the sink on. I gathered my hands and collected the water and splashed my face with it. I again looked up and saw how broken I looked. My eyes were puffy and my eyes were red from the crying.

"Goddamn Enzo," I said to my reflection. "You're more broken than this cheap ass mirror."

Suddenly, my mind drifted to what mom said earlier when I was a kid. I remember shattering the mirror on accident because I opened one of the cabinets near the mirror too hard.

"Enzo," she smiled softly. "Honey, I know you've had a bad day, but if you break a mirror, you know that means your luck will be shattered just like the mirror. It will be as if though some pieces will never be pieced together again because it was so small. You may be able to put the larger ones back together, but the tiny ones will be chipped off. Therefore, your luck will be like the chipped off pieces from the mirror. Do you understand what I'm saying dear?"

To my younger self, I never bothered to ever understand what she was saying. But now, I understood. I understood so much about what she was saying, it hurt. God I need to call her after.

I found an already damp towel resting on the counter and dried my face. I went back to my room solemnly. I noticed that the time was near two o'clock in the morning and it was Thursday.

Feeling anxious, I saw my phone on my nightstand and picked it up. I changed quickly into a pair of jeans and kept the shirt I was wearing before and grabbed my keys before heading out the door.

However, there was only one person who could make me feel better.

I didn't give a damn if our original plans were initially the day after tomorrow. I needed to be with her.