"He didn't survive the week. The boy who came before-the soft one, the silent one-he died somewhere between the bathroom floor and her smile. What rose after? Wasn't weakness. It was obsession wearing skin."
~Annie Flame~
(Note from aurthor: it's chapter from Eiden's pas detail you can skip to next chapter.)
CHAPTER TWO: A Week in Hell
"I-need-you-or-I'll-break"
His POV:
Eidan thought he understood pain.
He thought he knew what real loneliness felt like.
But that week?
That week redefined it.
The bullying wasn't what made him having a hard time trusting people.
It was their betrayal.
The people who smiled at him yesterday now watched him like they didn't even knew him.
It started small. But small thing's do spark up little by little
Someone knocked his books off the desk.
A chair "accidentally" pulled from under him.
Whispers with hands covering mouths. Acting like he couldn't hear them.
The kind of petty cruelty they build slowly, like rust.
By Wednesday, it escalated. It was becoming more and more unbearable for him.
Someone stole his notebook-the one with his sketches, his private thoughts, the only thing he actually cared about.
They passed it around the classroom like it was a joke.
Laughing at the little drawings of boys and girls.
At the tiny caption he'd once scribbled for himself in the corner:
"Is it so wrong to want love?"
"Aw, look, he's so lonely," someone whispered, barely hiding their smirk. "Do you need another boyfriend by a chance?" And than they started laughing.
Eidan sat there with blank eyes
He didn't move.
Didn't speak. What could he even speak about?
It wasn't the first time he'd been humiliated.
But this was different. They had crossed every line they could.
This was supposed to be his fresh start. But why do faith don't let him live peacefully? Was it too much for him to ask? Just how low should someone have to be to treat someone so inhuman? Was it the cost of his past sins.
---
"It's not like I have a problem with gay people, bro, but..."
That's what people always said before the same think and than
adding "no offense" like it will softened the betrayal.
He could handle hate.
He'd been hated before.
But being abandoned?
That was new.
He stopped eating lunch in the cafeteria.
Stopped looking anyone in the eye.
He spent his breaks in empty classrooms, pretending he was fine,
while his thoughts spiraled like knives in a blender.
"They think I'm disgusting."
"Maybe I am."
"Maybe it's better if I just disappear." "Am I not just another disappointment in everyone's life."
He thought about skipping school.
But no matter how bad it got, he kept coming back.
Day after day.
Because he didn't want his parents to know.
He didn't want them to ask questions.
Didn't want to open that door.
Thought about texting Reen for help.
But she was on holiday, probably living her best life.
He didn't want to ruin that.
Didn't want to drop his trauma in her lap.
So he kept coming back.
Kept walking through the doors, head down, heart heavy.
It wasn't courage.
It was habit.
At night, he barely slept.
He'd lie in bed staring at the cracks in his ceiling,
wondering if they'd eventually cave in and bury him.
Sometimes he hoped they would.
The only thing that kept him from breaking completely?
Were Reen's text messages.
Even though she was away, she kept texting him like nothing was wrong.
His phone buzzed in the dark.
It was Reen.
Reen:
"Still alive, Eidan? Or did you starve without me?"
Eidan:
"Alive. Barely."
Reen:
"Lol same. My aunt keeps feeding me like she's trying to turn me into a dumpling."
Eidan:
"Sounds nice."
Reen:
"Don't die while I'm gone, pretty boy. I'll be back soon."
The call ended
__________________________________
"She doesn't even hesitate!" Eiden's face was as red as a tomato.
Pretty boy.
The way she said it made his stomach twist.
Not out of embarrassment.
In something darker.
Sparking something dangerous inside him. Something he couldn't name yet.
He missed her more than he'd ever missed anyone.
Her jokes. Her smirks. Her warmth.
She made him feel seen without making him feel small.
That was rare.
Rare things always came with a price.
---
That night, he lay in bed gripping his phone so hard his knuckles ached.
---
He thought about texting back.
Telling her everything.
But what would he say?
"Hey, while you were gone, the world turned into a nightmare again."
"Hey, I'm breaking."
No.
He swallowed it down.
The Bathroom Incident
And then came the worst day of all-the day before Reen's return.
That was when Shazil escalated things.
He cornered Eidan in the bathroom.
He locked the door. So there's no chance of Eiden escaping
Shazil's smile was all venom and victory.
"What's up, Eidan? Been a while since we talked."
His voice was sweet. Too sweet.
Eidan's back pressed against the cold wall.
His hoodie felt like it weighed fifty pounds.
"You think you're better than me, huh? With your perfect little face and your soft eyes? You think you're so cool 'cause people like you."
Shazil grabbed his wrist. Too tight. Fingers digging into bone.
Shazil's voice dripped with fake sweetness.
"Bet that girl Reen doesn't even know what kind of freak you are."
Eidan clenched his jaw.
Shazil's eyes narrowed.
"You don't get to be the victim, Eidan. Not when you're like that."
His hand reached for Eidan's hoodie, grabbing the fabric.
"You're just a little toy someone forgot to throw away.Maybe I should teach you your place."
For a second, Eidan felt real rage bubble under his skin.
His brain screamed "Fight back!"
But trauma is a cruel thing.
It holds you back when you should fight and chains around your throat.
It whispers, "Stay still. If you fight back, it'll get worse." And Eidan wore it like jewelry.
So he stayed still.
Let Shazil hit him so hard,leaving numerous bruises on his wrist, his arms and his chest, almost all over his body.
And then left the bathroom laughing, victorious.
That night, Eidan sat on his bed staring at the ceiling.
He thought about dropping out.
He thought about running away.
He thought about death.
But then he thought about Reen.
Her smirk.
Her voice.
The way she overcomes every challenge without a hint of fear of being the outcast.
And for the first time in a long time, Eidan made a promise to himself.
"I'll get stronger."
"I'll never be this weak again."
The next day, when Reen finally came back, he couldn't even look at her properly.
His heart was a mess of fear and longing.
What if she found out?
What if she laughed too?
What if she left like the rest?
But when she greeted him,
when she smiled like nothing had changed,
when she beat the living hell out of Shazil right there in front of everyone-
Eidan broke.
Not in a sad and emotional way.
In the obsessive way. He never thought someone could care for him and fight for him like
Something inside him snapped, quietly.
"She's mine now. Even if she doesn't know it yet."
A New Obsession is Born
That night, Eidan started his new life.
He joined the gym.
And started learning martial arts.
Took late-night runs until his lungs burned.
Not for revenge.
Not for the bullies.
For her.
To protect her.
To deserve her.
To become the kind of person who'd never be weak again.
But love is a funny thing when you mix it with trauma.
It stops looking like love.
And starts looking like possession.
She saved him once.
Now he'd make sure she never had to save him again.
And God help anyone who tries to come between them.
______________________________________
End of Chapter Two
To be continued....