A little longer and more background on Percy and Emmanuel. I hope you like it.
Warnings for acts of aggression but nothing too detailed.
Disclaimer: I only own my OC Emmanuel
When Percy had been a young boy, probably no older than seven, when his mother had died. She left him and his two younger sisters with their father. He hadn't been a bad man, not at first, and he mourned her death with them for a long time. But, seemingly out of nowhere, he began to change. What had once been simple affections became...stranger. Darker.
Percy knew he was a beautiful boy. Mommy used to say so herself every single day, Daddy parroted her words often enough too. When Daddy began to say he was pretty, though, Percy became upset. He wasn't sure why, but he was. Daddy never called his sisters pretty and Percy thought it was mean. Daddy assured him that they were pretty too, but Percy was prettier. Percy didn't understand why.
Percy knew that parents were supposed to be affectionate. Mommy used to hug him and his sisters and always give them kisses before bed. After she died, Daddy began to do as she did. But, Percy and his sisters didn't like his kisses. His hugs were fine, if a little too long and a little too tight. His kisses were outright unbearable sometimes. They were hard, wet kisses that made Percy and his sisters squirm.
Percy knew that something was wrong with his father. If it was how he stared at Percy or was dismissive of his sisters, Percy wasn't sure. Percy couldn't say if it was the long, lingering touches or the way Daddy stared at him when he thought Percy slept. All that Percy's knew was that the time he realized what was wrong, it was too late.
"You be a good boy for me, yeah, Percy? Be a good boy for daddy, be a good boy." Percy couldn't think of anything other than the hot, searing pain. Percy wanted to run away. Percy wanted Mommy. "Be a good boy, or daddy will do this to yer sisters. You don't want that, do you?"
When Percy thinks about, he's glad his sisters never found out. He's glad that his father hadn't touched them. If anything, it was probably the only good thing the man ever did for them. "More eggs, darling?"
Percy looks up and his Aunt Beth is scooping more eggs on to his plate. Uncle Will is reading the newspaper and his sisters, Claudia and Estelle, are chatting with his cousins. His cousins were Lucille, Myrna, and Judith. Sometimes, Percy thinks that the main reason Uncle Will insists that he live with them is so that he won't be the only man in the house. It's hard for him to know sometimes.
Uncle Will isn't a bad man, not at all. He's just cold at times, it's hard for Percy to understand how and what the older man is thinking. Percy knows he is a good man, because it had been Uncle Will who saved him. Walked in on the act and nearly beat Percy's father to death right then and there. He hadn't though and the very next day Percy and his sisters moved in with their cousins. Percy never saw or heard from his father again and he was glad for it.
"Thank you, aunt." He takes a sip of his juice and notices that Uncle Will is staring at him. Percy makes eye contact and smiles.
Uncle Will looks back down to his paper.
"Of course, sweetie. You need all the strength you can get for yer line of work." She tuts and pours Uncle Will more coffee. "Really, sweetie, you shouldn't even be working there. Working with all those bad men, it's just so awful!"
Percy shrugs, "It's fine, aunt. I like it."
Really, Percy doesn't mind working there. Sure, his coworkers leave something to be desired but he...enjoys it. Seeing those men on row, knowing they are going to get what they deserve. The others don't understand, they don't know. Those rapists and murders...those monsters who did horrid things to another person just because they could...they deserve to be there. Why, if Percy's own father were on the row…
"Eat yer breakfast, Percival." Uncle Will has set his paper aside and has began eating.
"I am." He takes another bite of his eggs.
Percy doesn't know what he'd do if his father were on the row. He likes to think he'd be able to treat him as he did the others. Mean, unrelenting, bullying really. But, he knows that he wouldn't. If anything he'd be too scared to face him. Probably run crying to Uncle Will at the first sign of trouble.
Percy frowns and pushes his plate away; best not to think like that before work. "I'm done, aunt. I gotta head out now."
She rises from her seat and clasps his head in her hands. Percy wants to groan as she peppers his face with kisses. His sisters and cousins giggle and Uncle Will is smirking behind his cup of coffee. "Okay, sweetheart. You be careful now, ya hear? You let your Uncle Will know if anything happens."
"Yes, aunt." He tries to pull away but she pulls him in for a hug.
"Well see you when you get home." One final kiss on his cheek and he is released from her grip. He manages to hold back a sigh of relief and gives her a single kiss on her cheek back.
"Yes, aunt. Love you."
He heads out and is very much relieved to be out of the house. He makes his way to his car and notices that the sky is darkening, gonna be a rainy day.
Emmanuel had been four the first time it happened. He was out in the yard, playing with his new ball, when the uppertown boys came wandering into the yard. They were older, probably fifteen at the youngest, and had made it very clear that they didn't like him or his family. He didn't understand why and he never asked why. When he thinks about it now, he knows it was because of his heritage and the color of his skin.
One boy had slapped him across the mouth and another had pushed him to the ground. Mama, Papa, and Ricardo were working. Carolina was with him but she was inside making dinner. He should have been inside too, but he really wanted to play with his ball. It wasn't until dinner was made did Carolina realize he wasn't inside and so she went outside to get him. She had been upset, because he should have been helping, until she saw him lying face down in the dirt of their yard. His shorts were pulled down and there was blood running down his legs.
Manny doesn't like to think about it. His family doesn't talk about it. Carolina blamed herself, Mama blamed Papa, Papa blamed Manny. Ricardo, seventeen at the time, had taken a bat and went to the boys' homes. The police saw Ricardo as the aggressor and he was shot trying to explain himself; they couldn't really afford a nice funeral but Manny knows that Ricardo wouldn't have minded.
When Manny was ten it happened again. Two of the boys were familiar, the other two were not. He had been walking home from school and they had cornered him in an alley. He was small compared to them, had always been, and they easily overpowered. It was almost midnight when he finally managed to make his way back home. Mama yelled at him, Papa belted him. Carolina snuck into his room and gave him some pan dulce.
It happened only once more after that. The same boys as before, except they were men now, probably twenty eight at the youngest. Manny had been sixteen and had tried to fight back. He had tried to fight, he truly had, but it was in vain. When he got home this time, only Papa and Carolina were there to greet him. Mama had left and gone back to Mexico to be with her sisters. Papa slapped him across the mouth and told him to stop causing trouble. Carolina held him as he cried and promised him that he was going to be okay.
When he was eighteen, Papa passed away. Too many years working too hard with too little down time. Papa apologized for treating him how he did and said that the only reason he did was because he blamed him for what happened to Ricardo. Manny wasn't sure if that was meant to comfort him or make him feel worse. It doesn't matter now. Carolina stayed with Manny until he turned nineteen and than she had to go back to Mexico to look after Mama.
It's not super tough, living alone. He can't afford a super nice apartment but the new job he has is going to change that. It's not an easy job, working with all those men, but it puts money in his pocket. He likes to think that maybe he's doing some good. Making sure that the men are punished for what they've done.
Maybe it's not his place to say, but Manny thinks it's deserved. When he had been violated, his innocence taken from him, the things he felt had been horrible. It was almost impossible to describe. It was as though he had been broken, shattered and forced to pick the pieces back up. For a long time his hands just kept shaking and he had nightmares every night. He was better now, not fixed, but better and that was more than he could say for other people. Was it even possible to be fixed?
Manny isn't sure if thinking that way makes him a bad person or not. Is it bad to think that way or is he justified? He knows he has no place saying whether or not someone deserves to live or die but...does anyone really? Some people regretted their actions and some did not. Even if they did regret what they did, could they be forgiven? Could Manny forgive them?
Manny shakes his head and continues to eat his breakfast. He really shouldn't think like this before work. He always had a tendency to dwell too long on things he shouldn't. When he finished eating he began to get ready for work. While getting ready he began to do the thing that he didn't really like to do, he began to think about things he shouldn't.
He isn't sure he'd be able to watch a man die, he isn't sure he'd be able to pull the switch and be the one to kill them. When he was younger, when the wounds were as raw as they had ever been, he had wanted them to die. For what they did to him and for what they had done to Ricardo. Now though, at twenty almost twenty one, he doesn't know if he has it in him. He doesn't know if he could take a life like that. He doesn't know which was worse; to suffer or to inflict suffering on others?
When he was done getting dressed and was clean and well kept he began to head out. The day looked gloomy and he hoped it wouldn't start raining too hard. Rain always made for rowdy prisoners and that was never fun.
I tried to flesh Percy out more, so he's probably acting very out of character. I like to think it's a more human take on him as a person and some insights on his own justifications for how he behaves and treats people.
I hope you liked it and let me know what you think.
