The Darker Universes

Abandoned

((kinda 2 bad memories in 1. 1 of the worst memories i have of my stepfather, as a punishment for trying to speak out against his abuse, he handcuffed me to a radiator in his fishing cabin and told me he wasn't coming back for me. left me there from sunrise to sunset. i genuinely thought i was going to die or have to chew my other hand off

did writing this help?...

tw's for child physical/sxl abuse, neglect, blood, gore))

Manny was rudely awoken by the sound of feet pounding up and down the hall. It was a great cacophony of noise; lots of talking and moving. It had to have been the middle of the night. The little one rolled over on the cot and reached out for his brother, but the boy wasn't there. That was strange. He called out into the dark room, but there was no response. Where had Virgil gone? Was he the one making all the noise?

Despite still being half-asleep and frightened by the loud banging sounds, the child left the comforts of his cot to venture out into the hallway, favorite bunny in hand. It was empty now. The banging was coming from the kitchen.

He peered around the corner, eyes narrowing. Oh.

"Mister?"

The man paused. He was in the middle of throwing whatever looked valuable into bags. He grinned when he noticed the kid. They knew each other well enough. Manny knew him as anne's latest "special friend" who came around pretty often. He always insisted on being called papa. Manny and Virg called him mister to his face, and worse things behind his back. Virgil's personal favorite was jackass. Neither of them liked him.

"You should be in bed."

"Where Virgy? Anne?"

The man stood fully. There was a glint in his eyes. Manny held his head higher; he wasn't going to let this bully get to him.

"Oh, miles away by now. They left to get away from you."

That scared the kid. He clutched his bunny close to his chest and tried to hold the tears back. "Nuh uh, meanie! You liar!"

The jackass just smirked. "Go ahead and look, then. See if you can find them."

Manny did just that. He sped around the tiny, rundown apartment, calling for his mother and brother. There was never a response. Every room he peeked into was empty and trashed. It was like his family had left in a hurry: there was simply no trace of them.

He laid down on anne's bed, buried his face in one of her pillows, and began to sob. On numerous occasions, when he was being particularly bratty, Virgil had threatened to leave and not come back. Of course, his big brother would never actually do that, but the child didn't know that. His entire life revolved around Virgil and anne, when she wasn't working. And now he had no one.

Mister entered the room, but Manny

refused to look at him. Instead, he inhaled the scent of his mother's perfume, thinking it would be the last time he would ever smell her. He should've asked for more hugs when he had the chance.

There was a hand stroking his back. It almost felt comforting. "I know it's hard, but

this is what happens when you're bad. Bad little girls have to be punished."

"...N-not girl. Not bad."

"Then why did your family leave you?"

The man knew the truth, of course, and it was certainly foul play. Not that he'd

ever admit that. It was more fun to tease the child, as always. He loved messing with Manny whenever the two had the chance to be alone. That wasn't very often; Virgil was a protective big brother. But the crew had no use for a child so small and chatty. What to do with him instead...