Who really killed Wanda Day! - Wedding Bells (DAY! Series Book 2)

Chapter 7 - A Shithead, Another Sermon, And Some Stains

Little Damian Cooper entered the world on April 7, 1991, in the charming city of Boston, much to the delight (and future dismay) of his parents, Amy and Stephen. They had no idea their newborn bundle of joy would one day live up to his name - and then some. As Damian grew from a sweet, cooing infant into a rambunctious toddler, he traded in his sleepiness for a new favorite pastime: unleashing a symphony of eardrum-shattering shrieks, turning himself an impressive shade of blue with each spirited tantrum.

By the time little Damian reached the age of five years, four months, two weeks, and three days, his father had reached the end of his rope. The constant tantrums were simply too much to bear, and Stephen decided to make a strategic retreat - right out the front door. A bitter custody battle ensued in court, but in a shocking twist, neither parent actually wanted full custody of the pint-sized terror. The judge, likely suffering from a throbbing headache, decreed a 50/50 split custody arrangement, with Damian ping-ponging between mom's and dad's houses every Sunday at 3 pm sharp.

This arrangement seemed to be going swimmingly for a solid three whole weeks. But then, disaster struck - Stephen was nowhere to be found at the agreed-upon handoff point. In a fit of rage, Amy scooped up the shrieking Damian and whisked him back home with her. Convinced her ex-husband had simply abandoned the child, Amy unleashed her most fearsome legal attack dogs. But Stephen had vanished without a trace, never to be seen again. Little did anyone know, poor Stephen had met an unfortunate end on his way to that fateful custody exchange. His car had careened off the road, rolled down a slope, and plunged into a nearby lake, where both the vehicle and its owner remain to this day.

Amy simply threw in the towel when it came to Damian's nonstop tantrums. With her bank account drained from legal fees, she couldn't afford to take him to any specialists, so she resorted to the next best thing - locking herself in her room with a pair of noise-canceling headphones whenever Damian's screaming fits commenced.

Mercifully, Damian's rampages soon began to subside. Around age eight, he started to realize his home life was a far cry from the loving, functional households of his peers - particularly after visiting his friend Jacob's place, where he witnessed the shocking phenomenon known as 'parental affection.' A lightbulb went off in young Damian's head - so that's what 'love' is! And he wanted in on that action.

Seemingly overnight, the once-unruly Damian underwent a remarkable transformation. He started behaving himself, much to Amy's relief. Of course, there were still the occasional backslides into full-blown tantrum mode, but overall, Damian and his long-suffering mother managed to forge a tentative, if not exactly affectionate, relationship. They settled into a halfway normal routine, coexisting in relative peace until Damian turned twelve.

As Damian blossomed into a pre-teen, he found himself smitten with a classmate. Alas, the object of his affection was decidedly less enamored. When his romantic overtures were rebuffed, Damian's temper flared, and in a moment of sheer panic, a tragic accident occurred - the girl met her end due to gravity as Damian pushed her down the stairs. Stunned and unsure of how to proceed, he hurried home, where his mother Amy greeted him with an uncharacteristically warm smile. In that instant, Damian realized that if he confessed the truth, everything would unravel once more. So, for the first time in his life, he chose to remain silent.

Despite being haunted by bone-chilling nightmares through the night, Damian soldiered on, putting on a brave face and carrying on with his daily routine as if all was well. In a valiant effort to keep his dear mother happy, he even took it upon himself to tackle more household chores. But once the sun dipped below the horizon and darkness enveloped his room, the demons of his conscience came out to play. Not because he had committed the unspeakable act of murder, but rather due to the unsettling realization that the whole ordeal had, in fact, piqued his sexual awakening.