VULQUINN ARCHIVES

S C E N A R I O / T E N

This one shot was in my original requests book but I've added it here too as a sneak peek to a new VulQuinn story that I've been working on based on the song that inspired this chapter.

~ SNEAK PEEK BOYS ~

Sal's POV

It was 6:48, I was walking home. Stepped to the gate and I'm all alone.
I had chicken on the plate but the food was cold.
Then I covered up my face so that no one knows.

I was returning home from the regular school day; study this, read that, getting bullied by the same boy. It was becoming routine for me to arrive back home and immediately go and hide away in my room, so that no one can see the bruises that stained my skin.

Today was no different.

Dropping my schoolbag to my bedroom floor, I sighed heavily and stepped in front of the mirror hanging on the wall. An open wound cut through my right eyebrow, as black and blue smothered my eye; my lip covered in dried blood that had only just stopped bleeding, as a scrape at my chin was beginning to scab over. My hair was a mess; dirt, pieces of leaves and grass still tangled amidst the dark curls from where I had been beaten to the ground. This was fast becoming my natural look.

I didn't want trouble, I'm the Boy in the Bubble.
But then came trouble.

I heard the closing of the front door sound out from downstairs, as I rushed over to my dresser, reaching for my Yankees cap, throwing the hat over my head and placing it to cover up my face as much as I possibly could. I threw on my hoodie, zipping it up all of the way to refrain from whoever was home from seeing the bruises that continued on down my neck and chest.

"Sal, I'm home!" My mom called up the stairs, as I braced myself, soon stepping slowly down the stairs to greet her. "I got takeout!"

"Hey, Mom." I greeted, standing in the doorway to the kitchen, as she kept her back to me, rummaging through the drawers.

"How was school today?" She asked, distracted.

"Fine." I lied.

"Good." My mom replied, waving her hand in gesture. "Go and sit in the living room, we can have our dinner on our laps and watch TV tonight."

"Thanks, Mom." I smiled weakly, following her suggestion.

I sat in my usual spot on the sofa, taking the remote in my hand and pressing the power button. Skimming through the different channels, I could see the door to the living room swing open, before my mom entered and placed down a tray of Chinese food onto the coffee table in front of me.

"Thanks..." I acknowledged, though my tone was somewhat timid.

"Come on, eat up, Son." She took her seat next to me and I could feel her eyes on me. "Sal, is that-?"

"It's nothing." I dismissed, knowing that she had noticed the markings over my face.

When my mum walked into the living room,
She said boy you gotta tell me what they did to you.
I said you don't wanna know the things that I had to do,
She said son, you gotta tell me why you're black and blue.

"It's not nothing," She stressed. "Tell me...now, Salvatore."

I knew I was in trouble when she used my full name. I swallowed hard, shutting off the television, as I shifted in my place on the sofa, turning to face her. I hesitated, unsure of the reaction that I was going to receive, before I removed the baseball cap from my head, revealing every bruise and scar across my face.