Love on the Isle of the Lost

Chapter 3

"Ow! Ow! Ow!"

"Oh, hold still, you big baby," said Evie.

Evie was trying to apply cold water to Carlos' burn scar using a piece of cloth, but every time she touched the scar, Carlos cries in pain.

"You're not exactly being gentle," said Carlos.

"I wasn't trying to be," said Evie.

Evie rubs Carlos' scar with the wet cloth again, making Carlos whine and grunt in pain.

"Stop being such a wimp," said Evie.

"Can you stop with the insults for one second?" replied Carlos.

"Uh, hello, villain kid," said Evie, gesturing to herself.

"Mal would love to hang out with you," said Carlos sarcastically.

"Mal? She's the daughter of Maleficent, right?" asked Evie.

"If Maleficent wasn't the worst of the worst, it would be her daughter," said Carlos.

"Sounds like you really don't like her," said Evie.

"The scar your rubbing right now. It came from her," said Carlos.

"She did this to you?" asked Evie.

"She set a barrel on fire and pushed me to said barrel," said Carlos. "That was before one Gaston's sons punched in the stomach, which was before Captain Hook's eldest daughter punched me in the face, twice, which was before Jafar's son punched me in the eye."

"I'm guessing you're not a popular guy in town," assumed Evie.

"Oh, I am popular alright. The most popular human punching bag on the Isle," said Carlos with sarcasm.

Evie giggled a little.

"Of course you'd find amusement in my pain," said Carlos.

"Uh, yeah, who wouldn't?" replied Evie.

Carlos didn't say a word and looks away from the daughter of Evil Queen. Evie drops her smile when she saw how he felt about what she said. As a child, she was taught that being bad was important on the Isle. Mocking other people's pain was one way of being bad, but for some reason, seeing Carlos hurt affected Evie strangely.

"So, um, why did you come here?" asked Evie. "Wouldn't you rather go home to your mother and have her patch you up?"

"You don't know my mother," said Carlos.

"Well, then enlighten me," said Evie.

Evie started wrapping a cast around Carlos' scar. This time, she was being gentle. Carlos felt it and looked at Evie. She simply smiled at him and he couldn't help but smile at her.

"If you think my mom is the loving, nurturing type, you're wrong," said Carlos. "She treats me like a servant. I have to do everything she tells me to do. Wash her car. Fluff her furs. Sweep the floor. If I don't, I get either spanked or slapped."

Evie didn't know why but Carlos' story struck her. Once again, she can feel herself sympathizing with the white-haired boy.

"The first time the other villain kids beat me up, she didn't care," continued Carlos. "I had to learn to patch myself up. Not once did she ever care if I was hurt."

Evie felt her sympathy grow stronger as she listened. She may not have pictured Cruella De Vil as a loving mother, but what Carlos is saying about her is way worse than she thought. What kind of mother treats her son like that? Her mother may not be mother-of-the-year material either, but at least she treated Evie like a princess.

"That's... that's terrible," said Evie.

"Bet you find that funny," said Carlos.

"Actually, no, I don't," said Evie honestly. "I never imagined a mother who would do that to her own son."

"And if being pushed around by her isn't enough, all the villain kids like to pick on me because I'm weak, a nerd, especially Mal," said Carlos. "That's why I came out here. I didn't exactly expect you or your mom to see me. I just wanted to get as far away from everyone."

Evie finished wrapping the cast around Carlos' arm. Her eyes started to feel watery. She felt something wet on come out of her eye and fall down her cheek.

"Hey, are you... crying?" asked Carlos, noticing the tear.

Evie wipes her eyes and says, "No. It's just... a little warm in here."

Carlos wanted to call her a liar, but he chose not to, fearing it would make her hurt him or something.

"Okay, that takes care of your arm. Now, let's take care of your face," said Evie. "Good thing I keep a bag of ice in the freezer just in case I hurt myself walking down the stairs in heels."

Evie leaves to get the ice. Carlos watches her leave as he thinks about her.

Why is she doing this, he wondered.

He remembered that he told her that she didn't want him staining the castle with blood, but something inside him told her that she was lying. If her castle's well-being wasn't why she brought him in, then why did she? Is it his well-being she was concerned about?

Given how she reacted to his story about his mother, the possibility was there. He observed her closely when she cried and she was definitely not sweating at the time.

Why would she care, though, he asked himself.