Trigger warning: Abuse and swearing. Lots and lots of it. If you don't care, you may continue.

Nico's POV

Nathan shoved me into the passenger side of his car. He then got in on the driver's side. Then he began to drive. This made me worry about what was going to happen when he got home. Nathan was smart. He wouldn't do anything in public. And he wasn't saying anything either. Making the suspension of how much trouble I'm in worse. I curled up as best I could in my seat, gazing out the window. It was quiet. Too quiet. I hated it. It made me more nervous then I already was. What was he going to do to me at home? I don't think it was that bad, what happened tonight. I wasn't sure why he's so angry. Maybe I was right before. Did he think I was cheating on him or something? How could I even do that? It would be impossible. 

I continued to stare out the window, my mind imagining everything bad that could happen once we get home. Is this how other kids my age feel sometimes? When they get in trouble at school. From what I've seen on TV, the parents and kids don't speak while they're in the car. Then all hell breaks loose once they get home. I shiver goes up my spine. 

Please let that be an exaggeration....

Please let that be an exaggeration....

Please. Please. Please.

The car screeched to the stop. I opened my eyes, which I didn't know were closed, and my heart almost stopped when I saw the house. By the time I'd turn to Nathan, he was already out of the car and making his way towards me. I swallowed hard, staying perfectly still until he reached in and pulled me out of the car. He held my wrist so hard, I thought it would break if he held it any tighter. He dragged me into the house and locked the door behind him. I backed myself into the closest wall. 

Nathan didn't say anything for a few minutes. He was still facing the door. I didn't have the courage to say anything either. I couldn't even got myself to move anymore. Then, he let out a small and irritated breath. And he mumbled something I couldn't hear.

"W-What?" I whispered, suddenly not able to control how much my voice was shaking. 

He twirled around, eyes blazing. I let out a squeaking noice that I am not proud of when he locked eyes with me. 

"I SAID- WHO THE HELL WAS THAT BACK AT OLIVE GARDEN!" He screamed, slamming his fist into the wall just next to my head.

I yelped, jumping out of my skin. I cowered away from him, trying to get as far away as possible. He was really mad. Oh god. This is bad. 

"J-Just an o-old f-friend Nate. N-No one important. I-I haven't seen him in y-years," I stumbling over my words, shaking.

He glowered down at me, then lunged. I let out something that sounded like a cut off scream. He'd wrapped one of his hands around my neck and the other was gripping my shirt. Tears ran down my face as his eyes stared into my soul. His emerald green eyes were dark and angry. They looked nothing like how they used to be when we first met. Sobs of fear escaped me as I struggled to breath. He was choking me. 

"You lying piece of shit! You really think I'll believe that bull!" He growled.

"It.. It's.. True! I-I'm not l-lying!" I coughed out, gripping his wrists as a reaction to the force he was applying on my neck. 

He glared at me again. I couldn't breath. I couldn't think. I could barely move. I was trapped. I was weak. I was.. I'm going to die. I knew this was going to happen at some point. I just.. I never wanted to believe it. I thought Nathan loved me. You wouldn't hurt those you love. You definitely wouldn't kill them. My fingernails dug into his skin. My lungs screamed for more air then they were getting. Sobs erupted from my throat, the only thing that could escape through my throat at that point. 

"You little...bitch. I can't believe this. I've done everything for you. I saved your ass when those jerks shot your family. I took you in. I took care of you. I loved you," he whispered in a terrifyingly calm tone.

"L-Loved?" I spurted, gasping through my sobs.

"You know. I'm sorry Nico, but I don't think this is going to work. I don't think we are going to work. We should probably see other people."

Just as he said that, he dropped me. I slid down the wall, gasping and coughing. I desperately grabbed at the walls as if they were going to help me. 

"W-What?! Nathan please-"

My pleads were cut off my a foot in my gut. I let out a strangled scream and doubled over in pain. I began coughing again, wrapping my arms around my torso. He slammed his knee into my face, sending my head backwards and hitting the wall. My nose ached and I felt a warm, sticky liquid run down the side of my mouth. My vision was blinded by my own tears. I felt myself being lifted up by my shoulders and I went flying. The air was knocked out of me as I hit another wall and crumbled to the floor. I began gasping again, coughing and wrapping my arms around myself again. 

"N-Nathaniel! Wait please. W-Why.. If you want me to leave.. Why can't I just leave?" I coughed, my vision not getting any clearer. The stars and black dots dancing before my eyes didn't help either. 

I heard Nathan's awful laughing. I swore the floor began shaking violently when he laughed that way. 

"Do you truly think I'm that stupid? You're not even old enough to try and get a job without suspicious looks. And just look at you! Other then you being a skinny little rat, you're covered in scars and bruises. I'm sure there are some people who are dumb enough to care about you and ask about these things. And you being the idiotic little rat you are, you'll tell them!"

I shook, whimpering in pain and fear. I head spun and I felt like I wanted to vomit. I wouldn't tell anyone! I'm not that stupid either. But I'm so afraid to say anything. He already thinks I'm lying. I remained on the floor, still and silent until Nathan walked away. 

I sighed with relief, taking bigger breaths to try and calm my heart and stop my head from spinning. He couldn't have meant any of that. This'll all pass. Everything will go back to normal tomorrow. I heard running water from the bathroom. Was he taking a shower? Probably just to calm down. My head wouldn't stop spinning. I wanted to just.. Sleep. My head hurt so bad. I must have hit it against one of the walls, or both of them. My eyes were almost too hard to keep open. The edges of my vision were lined with black. Black dots danced everywhere I looked. They'd gotten bigger. I almost couldn't see. 

I felt myself get scooped up. I gasped as I was loosely held and carried. I squirmed, only to be held tighter. A searing hot pain went through my rib area as pressure was placed on them. I let out another strangled cry.

"Shut it!" Nathan's voice hissed.

"N-Nathaniel.. Please. I'm sorry. I wasn't cheating on you I promise. I-I love you," I croaked painfully.

There was silence, then we began moving again. I breathed in what smelled like steam. We were in the bathroom. I blinked several times, trying to get the dotsit  out of my eyes. I could see again.. But only a little. We were in the bathroom. What were we doing here? I turned my head slightly and saw I was being held over a full bathtub. I panicked, gripping onto Nathan's shirt with both hands and pulling myself closer to him. 

"Let go," Nathan growled, gripping my shoulders and ripping me away from him and returning me to my position over the tub.

"W-Why-" 

"Sorry Hun. This is the easiest way," he grumbled.

"E-Easiest.. Way? Of doing what?" I croaked again. 

He didn't answer. He just dropped me into the tub. I hit my head again, this time on the bottom of the tub. I was dazed for a moment, the water racing into my nose and mouth in an attempt to get into my lungs. I bolted upright, coughing and sputtering. Before I could do anything else, I was pushed back underwater. I looked up, seeing the foggy figure of my "boyfriend" through the water. I tried to scream, but of course the water muffled it. It kicked and thrashed, trying to get free. He only held me tighter. Then, something flashed in my mind. A memory..?

~Flashback~

I was ten years old. My mama took me and Bianca to a pool. It was strange. I couldn't understand any English back then. All the children and adults there were yelling gibberish to me. All the foreign words swarm in my head. I sat at the edge of the pool, staring nervously into the unnaturally blue water. It even smelled fake. I didn't know how to swim. And with all these crazy kids, I'd never survive a moment. 

Bianca was in the deeper end, talking in broken English to a group of girls. We've lived here for a few months and she'd already made friends. One of the girls caught me staring at them and I looked away immediately. I heard swishing and I felt a hand on my knee. I looked up and saw Bianca smiling at me, with a few of her friends doing the same a couple feet behind her.

"Non vuoi nuotare, Nico?" She asked me gently in Italian.

I shook my head, looking away. Bianca grabbed my hands, making me turn my attention back to her. 

"Perchè no?" she asked again, in more of a playful tone.

"Non so come. Io annegherò." I said quietly. I was extremely shy back then.

She smiled at me, resting her hand on her cheek in a comforting gesture.

"No, no, piccolo fratello. Non avrei mai permesso che ciò accadesse."

She grabbed my wrists gently. I bit my lip, trying to pull away.

"Ci sono troppe persone. Sono spaventato," I whimpered.

She shook her head again, wrapping her arms around me in a hug. Then, she pulled me into the water. I panicked at first, gripping her shoulders. I was really small for my age. I couldn't touch the ground. Bianca held me tightly, laughing softly. 

"Calma, fratellino! Stai bene. Il peggio che puoi fare è lottare quando pensi di essere annegato, che non lo sei," she said through her giggles "Basta calmarsi, Neeks. Ti ho preso."

I took some breaths and reached for the side of the pool. I still couldn't feel the bottom, but I didn't feel like I was sinking. I smiled softly, still clinging to the edge of the pool.

"Grazie sorella," I mumbled, having to raise my voice a bit over the other noise.

She giggled again, kissing my forehead quickly.

"Naturalmente, piccolo soldato."

~Flashback~

I blinked, coming out of my trance. How am I not dead yet? 

I thought back on the memory. Bianca said the worst you can do is fight. So, I didn't. I stayed perfectly still and held my breath. I let my body ease and closed my eyes, playing dead. Finally, Nathan's gripped loosened. He thought I was dead. I waited. Waited for him to get up. Waited for him to let his guard down. He took his hand out of the tub. I opened my eyes a bit and saw his foggy figure standing. Then, I pushed myself up. I gasped, coughing up water that must have seeped into my lungs while I was dazed. 

"What the hell?!" Nathan screamed.

I jumped up and out of the tub. Although the floor became slippery from the water, I managed to pull myself off the ground and stumble out the bathroom door. 

"Get back here you little-"

I collapsed as something struck me in the back of my head. I almost immediately pulled myself up, no matter how much every part of me screamed for me to just give up. My body ached. My ribs, my legs, my back, my arms, my neck, my head, everything. I just wanted to lay down and stop everything. But I couldn't. I didn't want to die. Although I've said and thought about it so many times. If I was going to die, it wouldn't be at the hands of this brute. It would be on my own terms. 

Something awoke inside me. Something strange. Something.. Angry. I rolled onto my back, kicking upwards. My foot landed somewhere.. I don't want to say. A stream of curses erupted from Nathan as he doubled over in pain. I then rolled back on my stomach and leaped up. I bolted towards the door and pulled desperately on the handle. The floor quaked as Nathan laughed again. 

"It's locked you moron!" He called from down the hall. 

I huffed and ran into the living room. 

"I need to get out. I need to get out. Oh Dio, mi aiuti. Per favore. Ho bisogno di uscire!" I cried desperately, tripping over my own feet, my body weighting me down with fatigue. 

I flung myself at the first window I saw. My hands flew to the handle and I yank on it with a bit of the strength I had left. It opened. Thank god. I reached and pulled up the screening as well. Just as Nathan came stumbling in. 

"NICO DI ANGELO!" He hollered.

I let out a sob and I crawled out the window as quickly as possible. I gripped the windowsill and let myself fall into the bushes. Pain shot through me once I landed. I gasped and rolled back onto my stomach, pushing myself up. I stumbled out of the bushes, thorns, sticks, and leaves sticking to my hair and clothing. I took off into another run from a power surge. We lived on a dead end street to avoid too many people showing up. I bolted to the iron fence that cut off the neighborhood from the forest. 

The forest..

I made a beeline to the fence and climbed over it. There just had to be a hill behind it. Just my luck. 

I tripped once I got to the other side of the fence and rolled down the hill. There are no words to explain how bad I hurt once I rolled to a stop. I laid there, groaning for lord knows how long. But, I still managed to pull myself up again after a minute or two of laying on the ground in pain. I sat on my knees, coughing up the bits of water that remained in my lungs. They hurt so. Bad. My everything hurt so bad. But, I still managed to stand. I limped, grabbing the nearby trees for support. Every so often, I would need to lean against one of the trees to catch my breath. 

It began to get dark. The sky turned into different colors as the sun sunk lower and lower. I sighed, pulling myself towards a tree. I cling to it, breathing heavily. My burst of energy had faded and now I was exhausted again. I gently lowered myself to the ground, curling up against the tree. My clothes and hair were still damp from almost drowning. That made it so much worse. Every bit of air that would blow past me would cling to my wet clothing and skin and make me shiver. But, I managed to drift off despite the stab of pain that would strike my chest every time I took a breath and the terrifying thought of Nathaniel following me all the way out here, just to finish me off. 

There was no one around. And I don't just mean humans. No birds in the trees. No small creatures running across the ground. The whole forest seemed.. abandoned. But at least that meant no wild animals could eat me in my sleep. 

For once in years.. I was truly alone.