V & V - Rageous Rageon Rise

The Creative Tony Gardensa

Dom POV:

Mateo sighs as he looks away from me.

Mateo: "In high school, I was bullied a lot at the old school I goed to."

I nod, feeling worried.

Mateo: "There was one boy... who didn't bully me. He was nice, he made me happy. We... started hanging out. He'd sit with me at lunch, buy me snacks, and bringed me drawings in class. He was so creative. He was artist."

Mateo looks at me, his eyes wide.

Mateo: "One day, when the bullying was so bad, I hided in the room for art. He was in there. The teacher was there, then went away for a few minutes. I was upset; I talked to the boy... and he kissed me to make me feel better. I liked it. After that, we started dating. The bullying mattered less... because he was there to help me. Eventually I came out to my parents; I came to school after they kicked me out the next day..."

Mateo stops, his eyes glowing from how upset he is. I've never felt such a tense energy from him before.

Mateo: "I told the boy... my parents did not want me no more. He asked me what I did to... to make them so upset. I told him I came out... and he seemed surprised that I did. I went to his house and stayed the night. While I was there, I cried and was upset. He did a lot to make me feel better. He... started to kiss me, then stopped to show me something he made me. It was this."

Mateo gets up and goes to one of the drawers in his room. He rummages through, then walks over with something in his hand.

He holds out his hand, showing me an old metal ring. There's what appear to be hand welded roses all over it... and what looks like really sharp, thin thorns poking from under the rose petals.

Mateo: "He made me this. He gave it to me... and pretend proposed. I went along with it because it was fun. Then... it turned not fun. He was serious to marry me. He would boss me around, make me come home with him, and not go anywhere without him, not talk to anyone else. He... tried making me his."

My heart pounds as my mind flashes to Veneer.

Mateo: "I eventually had to move schools after talking to Carlos and needing to permanently stay with him and his dad for the rest of the senior year. The boy was calm when I told the boy what had happened and that I needed to leave. I thought he'd be mad. He wasn't. He said he'd support me. He said he'd still love me. He started kissing me; I thought nothing of it. He went... went to my neck... and."

Mateo stops, his eyes glowing incredibly bright.

He holds the ring in the air, his purple glow bouncing off the shiny, black metal.

Mateo: "He bited me... and... gave me his creativity as... a reminder I was his."

Mateo speaks so quietly, with such a calm... yet sinister energy..., that it sends shivers down my spine.

He... was bitten by someone who was supposed to love him. He was bitten by someone who controlled him yet tried to make him feel safe. He was bitten by someone he trusted... yet also had to leave.

He was bitten... by a boy who was supposed to take Mateo's pain from the bullies, his parents... away.

Mateo was betrayed.

He was treated so similarly to how I treated Veneer. Is... that a part of why he felt like he could be with me? Why can he accept... all that I've done?

Because... he's been through it himself?

I feel incredibly sick as I look at the ring. Why does he even still have it?