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Charles was young the first time that his mother applied makeup to his cheek to hide the bruise. Charles remembered sitting on the stool in the kitchen as she gently applied foundation to his skin, blending it in with a skilled hand. His tears had barely dried but that didn't matter as they were supposed to be meeting with his teacher soon. She held his chin with a gentle hand as she carefully blended the makeup into his skin. It would do nothing to hide the swelling around his eye but hopefully, the meeting would be over before that happened.
"I don't want to go, Mum," Charles whined softly as he sniffled.
"I know, beta, but we have to," Mary answered. She set the brush down and then kissed him softly on the cheek. "All done, now go get cleaned up so that we can go." Charles nodded as he slid off the stool. He avoided his father who was now drinking a beer as he watched his football game. A shudder went through Charles as he noticed that his dad's team was loosing and he prayed silently they wouldn't make it home tonight.
As he got older, he learned to apply the makeup himself. He spent time in his room with a little mirror practicing with makeup that he stole from the local store as he didn't want his dad to know about him wearing it. His dad already hated the earring that he pierced himself using a needle and ice, he hated to imagine the beating that he would get if his dad learned that he was wearing makeup as well even if it was because of his dad that he needed it. So late at night after everyone was asleep he learned how to apply makeup to his skin using the brush to blend out the edges so that you couldn't tell he was wearing it. The eyeliner he did for himself because if he had to wear makeup he was going to wear something because he wanted to. So he learned to apply it completely on his own, wearing it only at school or when he snuck out at night to parties as that was the only bit of makeup his dad would be able to tell he was wearing. The only bit that would cause his father to become angry.
After graduating from secondary school, he was finally able to stop wearing makeup on a regular basis. He ran away the day he graduated, going to stay with various friends until he started university. It was then that he moved into the first home that he would call his own with friends who accepted him for who he was and a boyfriend who loved him despite the past that he brought with him. They all knew that he was estranged from his parents but there were no questions about why as they all had their own difficult pasts. It was only Edwin, though, who knew about the various scars that littered his back as he had felt them through the vest that Charles always wore even when they were making love. One day, Charles might be comfortable enough to show him but for now, he kept that part hidden from Edwin as long as he did he could pretend that they didn't exist.
It was on the day that they all decided to dress up for a party that the truth of the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father came out. The girls were getting ready in their room while Charles and Edwin dressed in their room. None of them were wearing their normal attire with Charles and Edwin both wearing black form-fitting clothing that made Charles want to stay in and spend the night ruining the clothing. He forced himself to tear his eyes away from the black trousers that Edwin was wearing that left nothing to the imagination and leave the room to finish getting ready. He found the girls in the bathroom finishing putting on makeup.
"Give me a minute to finish and then I will do your makeup," Crystal told Charles as they stood in the bathroom.
"I can do my own makeup," Charles reassured her.
"You have to wear more than just eyeliner," Crystal admonished him.
"I realize that," Charles snapped back without any anger in his tone. Crystal finished applying her lipstick then picked up a brush holding it out to Charles. He took it from her as she stepped back allowing him to take her place in front of the mirror.
"This I've got to see," Crystal replied crossing her arms and leaning back against the wall. The way she figured it, it would take him about ten minutes of attempting to apply makeup before he would give up and allow her to do it. Instead, she watched on in surprise as he expertly applied the makeup to his face blending it out with a skilled hand. By the time that he was applying the eyeliner, all three of them were watching him. Crystal and Niko both in surprise, while Edwin's eyes held nothing but concern.
"Charles, how did you learn how to do that?" Edwin asked as Charles sat down the eyeliner pen. Charles's face fell for a brief moment as he remembered sitting in the kitchen with his Mum holding his chin as the brush swiped across his cheek for the first time. There was a haunted look in his eyes that Edwin had only seen before when someone dared to mention his father. He started to reach out to Charles but Charles took a large step back as he plastered a smile on his face.
"I'm going to get my boots on if one of you can help Edwin," Charles told them. He moved towards the door and Edwin let him pass, reassuring him as he went with a brief touch to his hand. There would be time for questions later, for now, they had a party to get ready for.