Before The Mask

Chapter Two

The hours that ensued after the two entered the house were just like those of any other evening. Every day was relatively the same as the last besides a few new surprises that would occasionally arise. Yes, this evening in this house was just like the day before and the day before that.

Despite this all too familiar routine, Wolf would feel the same emotions every day; worry, fear, dread. The same thoughts would run fresh through his mind every day. What will she do next? When will she do it? What if she gets angry? He was trapped in a constant loop of which one could only describe as survival; and survive he would. No matter how badly it hurt. No matter how afraid he was. No matter how dangerous his situation. He told himself he would fight to survive and never stop fighting; and so he did.

The dim bathroom lights flickered as Wolf stood in front of the mirror, leaning over the sink. He examined his exposed torso in his reflection with shame as his mother spoke.

"Look at yourself. Disgusting." She remarked in a low tone.

His eyes drifted to several scars across his chest that seemed to dance with the bruises of his abdomen. "What have I said about lying to me?" She continued.

Wolf hesitated for only a moment before replying with a voice just above a whisper. "Not to..."

"That's right and what did you do?" She went on, putting her hands on her hips and leaning closer to him. He bit his lip and felt his heart skip. He was just about to reply before he felt a harsh hand strike the back of his head. Too slow... "Answer me when I'm talking to you." She barked.

He winced slightly and spat out an answer. "I-I lied." His hands gripped the edge of the counter tightly until his knuckles turned white. She placed a bottle of blue liquid in front of him.

"Mhm. That's what I thought. Liars get their mouthes washed out with soap." She sneered. Wolf swallowed hard and slowly reached for the bottle of soap. He hesitated for a moment and popped open the cap of the bottle. His mother watched with cold eyes as he lifted the rim of the bottle to his mouth, tilting his head back slightly. As if he were moving too slowly for her liking, she suddenly gripped a handful of his hair and yanked his head back harshly. Wolf's eyes went wide, a gasp nearly escaping his lips as she held his head back at an awkward angle. She used her free hand to grab the bottle, forcing the liquid soap into his mouth. He struggled briefly, earning him a sudden knee to his lower abdomen. "Drink it." She seethed, grinding her teeth.

The young boy did as he was told, swallowing mouthfuls of the soap, cringing at it's taste. After several minutes of this, the half empty bottle of dish soap was discarded and his mother released her grip on his hair. His stomach heaved and he found himself bent over the sink once more, spitting the remnants of soap into the sink.

"You better not throw it up." Wolf's mother warned. He hardly registered her comment as he shuddered over the sink. Nausea hit him in waves as the faucet of the tub was turned on. His stomach churned as he struggled to keep from throwing up the substance. He could still taste the sudsy, chemical flavor in his moth. He was vaguely aware of his mother standing from her kneeling position beside the bathtub before she spoke. "Come here."

Wolf shuddered once more yet he shuffled closer to the woman, standing in front of her. She rested two fingers on his chin and lifted his head up slowly to make eye contact with him. She smiled at him warmly, the way a mother should. "My sweet boy..." she murmured softly. A small sense of relief washed over him as she put her hand on his shoulder and ran her thumb along his bare skin comfortingly. Her green eyes showed nothing but loving care for her son. He felt ease wash over him, relaxing his tension just enough for her to notice. The gentle smile on her face remained as she swept his feet from under him, shoving him down by the shoulder.

Wolf's head smacked against the tile wall of the bathroom as he fell. The impact was enough to knock the breath out of him and the pain on the back of his head was instant. The water was ice cold as he fell into the tub, putting his muscles into a form of shock. His body instantly reacted and he jolted, trying to right himself into an upright position. He felt a pair of strong hands gripping his throat and his left shoulder, forcing his head beneath the waterline.

His mother's fingers dug into his skin, holding him firmly beneath the water. He thrashed violently, clawing at her arms with desperation. Her grip on his throat tightened in response and he spasmed, uncontrollably letting out a burst of whatever air he had in his lungs. His legs dangled over the edge of the tub, kicking out at whatever they could reach. His chest began to burn and tighten as his lungs starved for oxygen.

He continued to thrash violently, clawing at her arms and sending water splashing over the edge of the tub. He kicked out again and felt his foot collide with his mother's stomach. Her grip loosened and she pulled his head above the water violently. His eyes were still tightly shut as he sputtered and coughed. He sucked in a deep breath, wheezing through his mother's death grip on his throat. His hands tightly gripped her wrists as he choked.

"You fucking kicked me!" You hurt me, piece of shit!" She screamed, slamming his head back against the tile wall again and again. He let out a strangled Yelp and his mother took that moment to force him back under the water before he had a chance to hold his breath. Once again he fought violently, sending large splashes of water onto the bathroom floor. He clenched his jaws in agony as his lungs were once more deprived of air. He silently begged for the treatment to be over. He hoped she would soon either feel satisfied or run out of strength as she held him beneath the water.

She repeated this multiple times. She would rip his upper body out of the water only to slam his head against the wall or deliver a harsh hit to his face, cutting off his ability to catch his breath. Then she would shove him under the water again to continue the torture. After what seemed like hours, the pain and tightness in Wolf's chest increased unbearably. He felt as if his lungs were going to explode. His head began to feel foggy and his struggling, clawing and kicking slowly descreased. 'Today is the day she finally kills me.' He vaguely realized, though his thoughts began to grow dull and sluggish.

He felt his head and shoulders being pulled from the water just as the world around him began to drift away. His mothers hands left his throat suddenly, moving to his shoulders to hold him up. It took him only a few seconds to realize his head was no longer beneath the freezing water. Wolf's body jolted and he gasped for air, coughing heavily. His chest heaved as he instinctively scrambled for the edge of the tub, bracing himself against the edge. He gripped onto it tightly as if some unseen force would have dragged him back underneath the water if he didn't. The bathroom swayed and spun around him, his vision black at the corners of his sight.

His mother stood, leaving him gasping below her. "Clean all this water up and get ahold of yourself. No wonder why you have no friends. You're pathetic." His mother scoffed and left the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

Wolf pulled himself out of the bathtub and crawled as far away from it as he could, curling up in a tight ball on the floor. He felt himself shivering from the cold of the water and he hugged his knees closer to his chest for warmth. He didn't know how long he laid there, silently sobbing to himself. He mentally screamed, begged and bargained with no one in particular. He wanted to die. He wished to have never been born. He could always take the pain. Pain is something he was raised to endure silently. It was something he had always known; something familiar. Yet the dark, aching feeling in his mind was a kind of pain with a weight he crumbled under.

Wolf's shivering seemed never ending, his body unable to tolerate the freezing water he had just endured. Droplets of water hung from his dark hair like crude ornaments; his jaws clenched tight as he trembled. Eventually, Wolf shakily rose to his feet to start cleaning up the puddles of water all over the floor as his mother ordered him to.