Lonely Eyes [Norman X Ray AU]

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TW: References to abuse and details of injury. Please do not read if the topic triggers you. Yep, you guessed it. The angst is coming your way.

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3rd Person's pov

Ray ran with every ounce of energy he had left. His muscles ached, and a numbing sensation began to settle in his legs. He shouldn't have stayed, especially not to talk to some transfer student. He should've noticed that her car wasn't there anymore. Why didn't he check sooner? It should've been the first thing he did when he reached the entrance to the school. But no, he got sidetracked chatting with that new kid, and now - he paused; just thinking about it made him feel sick to his stomach.

'Come on, run faster dumbass.' Shaking away the nauseating feeling, he continued along the path, stumbling and accidently bumping into a few locals on the way. Clumsily, he pulled out his phone, powering it on to check the time. After a few seconds of waiting, the screen brightened.

Shit.

3:45pm.

He paled, the stomach-churning feeling rising up again along with his anxiety. Ray took a sharp turn around a corner, dreading each step as his house came into view. 'Don't talk, don't make eye contact, don't talk, don't make eye contact -' He repeated to himself, playing it inside of his mind like a broken record. The raven felt the burning pain in his lungs; stopping in front of the steps up to his mother's house.

'What will it be this time? Another slap? Or...' He let out a shaky breath, one of his hands balling up into a fist beside him. With caution in each step, he forwarded himself towards the front door. Every step he took allowed him the time to calm his nerves enough to look collected on the outside. But internally, he was panicking.

'Dont let her get to you.' Ray attempted to prepare himself, but as soon as his knuckle made contact with the door, he knew from the loud footsteps that he was doomed. The mute teen gulped, all the running he had done previously, slowly taking effect on his body as he trembled. Or perhaps that was the underlying fear settling in... He had no time to think when he noticed the door swing open, loudly slamming into the painted wall. "You're late."

He gulped; as he had guessed, she was standing there, her violet eyes glaring down at him menacingly. "Where have you been?" Her cold voice made a shiver run up and down his spine.

He opened his mouth to speak, to try and clear things up and explain himself, but he couldn't. The all-too-familiar tightening of his throat prevented him from doing so; this always happened. Any time he attempted to speak, he felt his throat become strained and tight, like he was being choked to death. Ray lowered his head. He could sense the annoyance and disappointment practically emanating off of his mother. "Inside. Now." Isabella ordered in a stern tone, a strong grip placed firmly on her sons shoulder as she dragged him inside.

The large door slammed shut behind them; Ray let out a sudden yelp as the grip on his shoulder worsened. His dark green eyes shot around the room; there was no escape. The woman tossed him to the group of their living room. "You are late, why?" She wasn't shouting, but the venom in her voice was enough to frighten the raven. He stayed quiet, his lips sealed shut. A lingering silence hovered around the room momentarily before Isabella's steps began to echo. Ray's eyes widened, 'She's going for- oh god-' The mute teens breath began to quicken; he waited anxiously for what happened next.

'I didn't expect her to resort to this - my god, I'm such an idiot I should've gotten here faster!' The faint sound of her heels connecting with the floor made the boys body freeze. "You know the rules Ray, you're supposed to be home by 3:30pm sharp. god, you're useless.' She scoffed. He could hear her getting closer, fidgeting with the object she had in her hands. Ray's chest tightened; he didn't need to look up to know what she was holding or to know that she was preparing to use it. A shaky sigh escaped his lips, closing his eyes shut. Not once did he dare to look up at the lady looking down on him.

He could clearly hear the cane getting lifted into the air. Wishing for some form of escape to open up to him, he dreadfully waited for impact. Soon; with little to no warning might I add; the cane came down on him, forcing the raven to let out a strangled scream of pain.

"YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT!!!!" She went off on him, screaming and yelling insults in all directions, the cane continuously striking him without giving the poor guy a minute to rest. He was use to it, he knew he was, but he couldn't pretend that it didn't hurt; tears streamed down his face, the woman's figure blurred as she let out the final remnants of her wrath. 'Just a bit longer, it's almost over.' He had to remind himself, a little ray of hope seeping through, as he prayed for the pain and agony to come to an end soon. A few whimpers echoed from the back of his throat but soon settled when the sound of the cane hitting the ground reverberated across the place.

It was all over.

"Don't be late again." Isabella mumbled, straightening out her clothes a little in the process. The mute teen nodded, "Good. Now get out of my sight." Her glare struck through him; the raven pressed his hands against the floor, using them as support as he hoisted himself up off of the ground. Every muscle in his body screamed out in pain, pleading him to stop, but he continued to rise using a nearby table to prop himself up against. "I said leave. Now." He didn't need reminding of her orders, Ray was moving as fast as he could, limping towards the staircase, his left hand trailing the wall, ready in case he fell. By the time the raven had reached the stairs, his mother was nowhere to be seen.

A heavy sigh of relief escaped him; it was finally over. Ray tucked his jet-black fringe behind his ear, gazing up at the staircase. 'This is going to be a bitch.' As he mentally complained, he staggered up the stairs, each step more cruel than the last. His wounds stung and pounded, the cold air which drifted through the open windows making it even more unbearable. Ray hissed; his bedroom wasn't far from reach which he was glad about. Glancing behind him to make sure she wasn't following him for any bizarre reason, he used the small amount of strength and energy that he had preserved from earlier to dash up the few final steps and to his bedroom.

He ran, his footing uneasy as he tripped and bumped into things multiple times on his way there's causing sudden sharp pains to shoot through his body, especially his legs and sides. Grimacing, he clutched onto the door handle, pushing the door wide open before zooming on inside, shutting the door immediately. Ray was done for the day, his legs giving way, allowing him little time to reach his bed before collapsing. He couldn't feel them anymore, nor could he feel the emotional abuse he had just endured. The boy's reflection from the mirror propped up against the wall stared back at him; he looked terrible.

Large purple bruises were spread across the majority of his body, like pain splattered on a canvas. Scratches and cuts of all variety littered his arms, back, and legs. His uniform was drenched, covered in a mixture of sweat and blood as he lay there, on the brink of passing out. Negative thoughts corrupted his mind, his eyes drifting shut.

'Why me?'

'What did I ever do?'

'Am I as unwanted as she says I am?'

'Was I a mistake?'

Questions swirled around, his eyes closing shut with a wavering frown irking at his lips. He hated this cruel world, and he knew that would never change.