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Victor was reading a book when his mom walked in, clearly out of it. She saw Victor’s book and took it away, throwing it on the ground.
“Disgusting pervert, how did you even get the mag?”
“What? Mom, that was a story book about a re-imagination of a Russian folklore.”
“Lies.”
“Mom I’m telling the truth-“
a hard slap struck Victor’s face.
“Listen to your mother Vitya.”
Said Victor’s dad in a cold voice.
Victor whined a little and went over to where his dog, Makkachin, was. He patted the dog on the head and looked back at where his parents were.
"behave next time creep" his father said in a stern tone
"but i wasn't bei-"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU USELESS RAT!" his father snapped at him
he went over to victor and raised his hand, as if he were going to hit him again
"YOU BETTER FUCKING LISTEN TO US OR ELSE I'LL BEAT YOU AND THROW YOU ON THE STREETS"
Victor huddled in fear as his father took off his belt, his mother began kicking him while his dad beat him and Makkachin.
“Pervert!”
“Creep!”
“We raised you better than this you fucking disgusting shit!”
Victor cried into Makka’s fur. The beating from his parents hurt more this time. … At ballet the next morning Victor couldn’t wear his costume because it was a little see-through and his bruises from last night were very visible. Victor decided to skip ballet today and ran to the bridge. }It’s better than them finding out” he thought
Victor looked out onto the sparkling water and breathed softly, trying to calm down and wipe the tears from his eyes. He watched the slightly glowing water as it slowly moved with the wind. Victor had brought makka with him, as he didn't want his parents to hurt either of them more. Makka whined and lay on the ground next to Victor and barked up at him.
"I'm sorry makka, I forgot to bring bandages."
Victor said, patting the dog gently on the head and stroking its slightly bloody fur. He gripped his side and flinched in pain. There was a bruise and a few cuts from the metal of the belt.
"how come they never listen to me..?"
Victor asked himself. Makka looked up at him with painful eyes and whined in response.
Victor got up and tried to clean Makka up in the river. An officer saw them and spoke
“Hey, you there! Kid with the dog!”
Victor’s eyes widened and he ran with Makka out of the bridge, His ponytail whipping around. Victor hopped a fence but realized Makkachin wouldn’t be able to hop it. Victor scaled the fence with his dog, but the officer caught up to them and picked the both of them off of the fence. Victor yelped and lost grip of Makka as the officer grabbed the cut up and bruised side. Victor quickly grabbed Makka and the officer let them down off the fence. The officer picked up the side of Victor’s hoodie and his shirt to reveal a large bruise with red cuts.
"what the- are you alright? what happened?"
the officer looked at the wounds and back up at victor, who was trying to avoid eye contact
"i-im alright,"
victor said in a shaky voice
"i just..uh...fell, that's all"
he lied
"Clearly you didn't just fall, what happened? Did someone hurt you.?"
the officer looked down at makka
"who hurt you and your dog"
Victor was shaking a little, both from the cold and fear. He didn't want to tell the man but he knew he couldn't lie. so he told the officer what happened and hugged makka, burying his face into the dog's fur
Victor buried his face further into Makka’s fur “My parents did this.”he said into Makkachin’s fur in a quiet voice. There were those tears again… streaming down his face and onto Makka. The officer reached towards Victor but Victor flinched. He hugged Makka tighter.
“Kid, how old are you?”
“I’m 14…”
Said Victor. The officer patted his back, Victor winced as he did so, as that was one of the places his mom kicked hardest. The officer stopped and talked into a walkie talkie
“There’s a battered up kid here with an equally battered up dog, call in reinforcements, roger?”
Victor picked up Makkachin and tried to scale the fence again but the officer stopped Victor him,
Victor backed away from the officer as far as he could, he didn't want anyone of any kind touching him in any way, even if they meant no harm, makka backed up with him and sat down at victors feet. tears were still fresh on victor's face and he felt a sharp stinging in his side, he tried to brush it off but it got worse and he dropped onto the ground, clutching his side.
"oh- shit"
The officer knelt down to try to help him but Victor pushed his hand away.
"don't touch me!"
he screamed at him. his voice was shakier than ever and was almost coughing up blood. his father had hit him multiple times in the stomach and nearly caused minor internal bleeding.
"Kid, you have to let me help you. There are others on the way and you clearly are in a lot of pain right now. please just come with us and we can help you and your dog
victor stayed quite
he was torn. He didn't want help with his bruises or anything but he wanted them to help Makka. Victor’s eyes were darting everywhere trying to think, until he said,
“Only care for my dog! I’m- I'm fine!”
The officer sighed, and spoke
“It was your parents right?”
“No! I fell!”
“On what?”
“On- on some sharp and blunt rocks… I- um was fooling around and- um- tripped and fell on the rocks below.”
“I know your story is bull shit…”
Said the officer in a calm voice.
“Is that the kid?”
A woman. Victor stooped to Makkachin and eyed the woman suspiciously.
“She’s not a threat…”
Sighed the officer. The lady picked up Makka,
“Poor baby… what happened to the kid?”
“It was hi-“
“I fell on rocks!”
Interrupted Victor.
"I've told you plenty of times, we both know that's not true. Those wounds are clearly not just from falling, your leg is quite wounded and if you had fallen on rocks then it would be near impossible to get up without either passing out or hurting yourself even more."
the officer said to him.
"alright, we have an ambulance ready to take him to the hospital, clean out the worst wounds on the way there"
the woman said to another.
Victor felt a pair of hands grab onto him and was lifted onto her back.
"put me down- *cough* Let me go! I said I'm fine!"
victor protested, he tried to squirm and run away but the pain got worse every time he moved and he gave up
At the hospital Victor tried his hardest to be as much of a pain in the ass as possible. When they threatened to call his parents Victor cowered in fear and complied. Victor coughed out some actual blood, and it got on his gown. The paramedics began to do an ultrasound on Victor, he was okay not too much damage but it was concerning.
“Hey kid chocolate or vanilla?”
“Oh um I can’t eat either I do ballet-“
Bashfully said Victor to the nurse. The nurse’s eyes widened and she talked about her daughter doing ballet as well.
“Mira! Get back to work you have other patients to tend to!”
Yelled a superior. Nurse Mira beamed and waved bye at Victor. Victor felt at home in the hospital. It was nice… Victor had to stay overnight in the hospital since he wouldn’t give the people there his address. Victor left the hospital early in the morning and was greeted by two very angry parents.
“Where. Have. You. Been. Vitya.”
Said his mom.
"uh-uh-uhm..i was- uh.."
he choked on his words and back away in fear, he pressed himself up against the door as much as possible.
"and wheres they shitty mutt of yours"
victor flinched as his mother got closer to him
"WELL? ANSWER MY QUESTION OR I'LL BEAT YOU AGAIN"
"ma-makka is still in the hospital-"
"THE WHAT? DON'T TELL ME YOU CALLED THE POLICE ON US YOU FUCKING RAT"
victor fell onto the ground and blocked his face with his arms
"i-i didn't! i went to the bridge yesterday and an officer saw me"
he prepared to be struck over the head by his mother and clenched his teeth in fear
"YOU USELESS BASTARD!"
his father screamed
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL THEM YOU FELL"
"I-I DID BUT THEY DIDN'T BELIEVE ME!"
"I DON'T FUCKING BELIEVE THAT BULLSHIT"
his father raised his hand and a yelp escaped from victor's throat
"THIS TIME I'LL MAKE SURE YOU'RE DEAD"
a hand blocked his fathers attempt to hit victor. it was an officer
Victor looked up and it was the same officer from the night before.
“I had my suspicions.”
He said in a stern tone. Victor’s mom spoke quickly.
“It’s just a joke we play with our son so we don’t hurt him.”
“How did he get the bruises then?”
asked the officer, as he glared at Victor’s parents.
“Go on and tell him Victor.”
Said his dad.
“I fell on rocks.”
Said Victor in a quiet tone.
“That’s right…”
Victor’s mom said. She ruffled up Victor’s slept-in-ponytail. Victor felt tired, tired of being beaten almost every day, tired of being accused of random things.
“Actually officer, I lied. my parents do beat me.”
Victor admitted.
“WHY YOU-“
his father slapped Victor hard. Victor’s mom hit him hard
"THAT IS ENOUGH!"
the officer shouted. more officers entered the building and quickly arrested his parents.
"Are you alright?"
Another officer picked up Victor and brought him out to the police cars.
"LET US GO! THAT LITTLE SHIT IS LYING TO YOU! WHY WOULD YOU BELIEVE SOME IGNORANT CHILD OVER HIS PARENTS!?"
His parents resisted and struggled against the police.
"c'mere, it's alright, don't worry kid, we'll make sure you're alright and take you somewhere safe"
she said to him. He whimpered softly and squeezed the officer tightly.
"HOW FUCKING DARE YOU! YOU PATHETIC USELESS RAT! YOU'RE A PATHETIC, GOOD FOR NOTHING, MISTAKE!"
The officer covered Victor's ears and put him into the police car. victor's parents kept struggling and were soon shoved into a different car
Victor flipped off his parents as they drove away, knowing they couldn’t do anything
“My uncle Yakov seems lonely with just his wife Lilia… you wanna live with them?”
Asked the officer.
“Lilia? Does she teach ballet?”
Asked Victor.
“Yeah how did you know?!”
“She’s my ballet teacher!”
Victor said excitedly.
"really? How neat!"
victor nodded and yawned
"how about you take a nap while we go alright?"
Victor mumbled a tired response and closed his eyes.
"he....and...............could maybe..."
voices of the officers faded into silence and he drifted off to sleep
Victor woke up in a bed in an unfamiliar room. He rubbed his eyes. His hair was out of a ponytail now. He stumbled out of the room and saw his ballet teacher and hugged her. She hugged back, combing her fingers through Victor’s platinum locks.
“I’m so sorry about your home situation..” Said Lilia in a saddened tone.
"i-its alright.."
Victor yawned again and hugged Lilia tighter.
"Am I in the ballet studio??"
victor asked
"for now yes, until we have a room ready for you at him you can stay here"
Victor nodded and checked his side. there were bandages and dried blood
Lilia lovingly played with his hair. Victor couldn't help himself and whispered,
"Mommy..." And immediately turned bright red at the realization of who he said this too. Lilia giggled and tousled his locks.
"I hope your side gets better." She whispered. Victor nodded his head, scared to speak. Lilia broke off the hug and told him that she will have a meal ready for him in about half an hour.
Victor nodded and walked off to find a nice place to sit down and try to relax. His wounds still hurt a little and he felt like he could sleep for a whole week at once. He yawned and stretched a little. a sharp pain hit his side and he gripped his waist, clenching his teeth at the sudden pain. He breathed in a little and tried to calm himself. About 20 minutes later he heard a knock on the door. Lilia called out "come in!" from the kitchen and the doorknob turned. The cop from earlier entered the studio and looked around.
"ah! hello there!"
he said, walking over to victor. he sat beside beside the tired boy and patted his back gently, making sure to not hurt him
"I just came by to see how you were doing and if you were alright." the cop said in a calm voice
Victor nodded slightly and yawned again.
The cop gave Victor a warm smile,
"I hope you're doing okay bud, anyway would you like to testify against your parents?" Asked the cop. The question shook Victor to the core. He wanted to, but he didn't at the same time. There were all those good times but all of those bad times too.
"I..." Victor said, Lilia sensed what Victor was thinking,
"It's too soon to ask that I apologize." Cut in Lilia. The police officer nodded solemnly.
"Well..." He stood up, "I guess I'll be off then, bye Aunty Lilia bye Kiddo!" Said the officer in a cheery tone. Lilia went to the kitchen and gave Victor some pirozhkis,
"I hope these will suffice!" Sighed Lilia.
Victor whimpered a little. He watched the officer walk over to the door. As soon as the officer was about to step out, Victor dashed over to him and gave him a warm hug. The officer paused for a short moment and gave Victor a warm smile and hugged him back.
"Let me know if you ever want to testify against them or not alright? it's up to you. stay safe bud"
Victor nodded and hugged the officer tighter. After a few more seconds of hugging, he let go and walked back over to his spot on the floor. After the cop left, he quickly scarfed down his meal and licked his lips to get the crumbs off. Lilia walked over to him and patted him on the head, sitting next to him.
"You seem to be good friends with that man. Do you want to invite him over for dinner sometime?"
she asked him. victor swallowed the last bit of his piroshki and looked over at her. he paused for a bit then nodded slightly
"So yes?" Lilia asked
"Mhm"
Victor had a large smile on his face he couldn't stop smiling, he never felt this happy or cared about in his entire life. Sure his parents provided for him, but the thing is, his mom would throw Victor's meal on the ground and tell him to eat it, and Victor snarfed down the meal because it's the only one his parents decided to give him. They laughed as they watched him eat so desperately. Victor's dad would always look through his room so he can have dirt on Victor for his wife. Whenever Victor had nothing, his dad would accuse him of having porn or mess up his room. Victor was so happy he didn't realize he was crying.
"There, there." Said Lilia lovingly hugging Victor. She gave Victor a nice little smile. "Would you like me to stay in the studio with you tonight so you have someone in case of an emergency?" Asked Lilia.
"Yes." Sniffled Victor.
"Are you happy that you're away from those monsters?" Asked Lilia as she wiped Victor's tears away with her thumbs. Victor nodded.
She smiled at him once more and walked him over to his bedroom, sitting him on his bed and handing him some pillows.
"I'll get more pillows and blankets for you, alright? feel free to arrange your bed to your liking"
she told him. He nodded and she left the room, leaving him alone. He smiled and began to fluff up his pillows and blankets. He wiped a slightly dried up tear from his eye from the crying earlier. Victor crawled under the warm, soft blanket and hugged his pillow. He snuggled it and relaxed himself, closing his eyes. A few minutes later, Lillia came back and saw victor snuggled up and holding his pillow close to him. she smiled and set down the extra pillows on the floor and turned off the light as she left
Victor woke up and he was back in his parents house. His mom was screaming at his dad. Victor was 5 again. He covered his ears and his under the blanket with his teddy Makkachin. His dad came into his room and began yelling at Victor.
“You’re such a fucking piece of shit why in the actual fuck did you have to be fucking born?!” Yelled Victor’s dad taking his anger out on Victor.
“I’m Sowwy…” Sniffled Victor, he was crying.
“UGH THERE YOU GO AGAIN ‘iM sOWwY’ SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU FAILED ABORTION!” Victor’s dad pulled off Victor’s sheets bundling them up with Victor still inside,
“DADDY I CAN'T BWEATHE! DADDY! DADDY STOP!” Victor screamed.
“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” He yelled. Victor’s dad threw the bundle of sheets with Victor inside at the wall. Victor woke up screaming. Lilia slammed the door open,
“Are you okay?!” She yelled. Victor began to sob uncontrollably. “Hey talk to me.. what happened.”
“M-my dad…” He sobbed. “Mom was fighting him and he didn’t do anything and he started yelling at me and I was 5.” He sniffled. “He bundled me up in my bed sheets and threw me against my bedroom wall.”
“It was just a dream right?” Asked Lilia her voice shaking.
“It was a memory.” Sobbed Victor.
Lilia hugged victor tightly and felt his tears stain her shoulder. she didn't know what to say, there wasn't much to be said. Was she supposed to say "I'm sorry" or "it's in the past now"? no, it would be mean. Victor wailed and buried his face deeper into her shoulder. she gently patted his back and he hugged her tighter.
"shh...it's alright...don't worry... he's not here anymore...he won't hurt you"
she whispered to him. Victor sniffled and whimpered quietly. he was scared, even though he knew that she was right, both his parents had been arrested and were going to stay in prison for a very very long time. but even then, he was still scared of them. more memories of his parents abusing him flooded his mind and he began crying again. lilia could feel his body tremble and tried her best to calm him down. After about an hour of staying with him and comforting him, he had fallen asleep again and was hugging his pillow tighter. lilia sighed and decided that she should stay with him for the rest of the night in case he had another bad dream. Thankfully, he didn't and morning came peacefully. Victor sat up in his bed and stretched his arms out. Another sharp pain hit his waist and he grabbed his side again. The pain wasn't as bad as last time but it still hurt a lot. Lilia walked over to him and hugged him once more, checking to see if he was alright
Lilia took a look at Victor’s matted and tangled hair.
“Would you like me to brush your hair? we can get breakfast after or do you think you can do it yourself?” Asked Lilia.
“Are you gonna punish me somehow?” Asked Victor in a fearful tone.
“You didn’t do anything, besides I won’t hurt you, ever.” She replied. Victor had a grin appear on his face, he nodded his head vigorously. Lilia brought out some spray and that would help remove the tangles a hair brush, “This may hurt a bit because your hair is pretty tangled.”
“Okay.” Victor said as he breathed in. Lilia sprayed the spray and began to brush Victor’s hair. After 30 minutes Victor’s hair looked good as new, they left the studio a few minutes later and headed to a nearby cafe to grab some breakfast.