Chapter Text
“D’abin? D’abin! D’abin wake up!”
D’avin Jaqobis groaned as he slowly opened his eyes and saw his almost-four-years-old brother standing next to his bed anxiously. “It’s too early, Johnny. What do you want?” the eight-years-old boy asked groggily.
“D’abin, you’re hurt?”
“What, no I was sleeping, Johnny. Why would I be hurt?”
“Your face hurt D’abin!” the younger boy protested. With a sigh, D’avin rolled out of bed and went to the bathroom. But when he switched on the light, he woke up, fast. There was a dark, fist-sized bruise around his right eye, and a small cut on his lower lip. “See? D’abin hurt!” announced the toddler who had followed him.
“Yeah, but Johhny, I haven’t done anything to give myself a black eye. It’s been almost two weeks since I’ve been in a fight!”
D’avin’s younger brother just looked at him silently in response.
“Man, what is mom going to say?” D’avin asked his reflection as he turned back to the mirror to look at the marks again.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Hey Jaqobis! What happened this time? You fall against another doorknob? Or was it your future girlfriend who did it this time?” Karlos taunted from across the street. At age twelve, D’avin had gotten used to the perpetual bruises by that point… Unfortunately, no one else seemed to have done so. Even though most people realized by that point that the injuries (for the most part) weren’t actually D’avin’s, that didn’t stop people like Karlos from teasing him about it.
D’avin’s parents had had to give him the talk way earlier than most parents did. By the time he was ten he was finding a new bruise or scrape almost every other day. One day he had woken up with such a sore arm that he couldn’t even move it; that was when his parents finally explained to him that he had a soulmate somewhere, and that her injuries were being echoed onto him. They told him that the bond that he shared with this ‘soulmate’ of his was so strong, so deep, that even though he didn’t necessarily know her yet, her pain became his (and vice versa). Everyone said that he should consider himself lucky. After all, not everyone gets such a profound bond. He should be grateful to know that someone out there is perfect for him.
D’avin didn’t see it that way.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The night after Johnny’s 13th birthday was one of the scariest nights in the Jaqobis family’s history. A few hours after dinner, D’avin and Johnny were in their room getting ready for bed when all of a sudden D’avin stopped being able to breathe.
“MOM!!! DAD!!! HELP!!” Johnny cried. Quickly the parents ran into the room, but there was nothing that they could do but hold D’avinin their arms as he gasped for air. After nearly a minute his lungs started working again and everyone relaxed as he gasped in one breath, and then another, but only seconds later it began again, and for even longer.
For over half an hour the cycle of choking and gulps of air continued until it finally ended when D’avin’s soulmate (and therefore D’avin himself) passed out. When he woke up later his parents were there, holding him and comforting him, but he just stood up and went out to the garage where his punching bag was hanging. Carefully he taped up his hands so as not to hurt her, and then he let everything out as he swung at the bag.
He’d known for quite some time, but this was the last straw. Someone was hurting this girl, his girl, on purpose. He didn’t know why, and he didn’t know who, but he knew it had to stop.
If only he knew how.
“Finding your soulmate isn’t something you can force” his mom sighed when he approached her about it a few days later. “I mean, where would you even start to look? Honey, I get that you want to help this girl, but actively looking for her isn’t going to get it done. The best you can do is live your life as normally as you can, and hope that one day you meet her.”
It wasn’t good enough. For two more years he did what his mom suggested, but finally he’d had enough. The day after a dozen whip marks appeared on his back he packed his bags and took off. Maybe he didn’t know where to find her, but he had to at least try.