"Emilia!" "Emilia!," She heard her name being called down the stairs. She hurried up from the bed immediately and looked at her five year old son who was beside the bed doing his homework silently.
"Your father is back," she said, turning to look at him.
The boy looked at her in a perplexed manner before turning to his books again.
The door flung open instantly, showing a young man in his late twenties, he was tall and able bodied, fair in complexion with blonde hair. His face depicts anger and his eyes were bloodshot as he walked in dressed in a black fitted suit and tie.
"You shameless bitch!!," He slammed at her. "You thought I wouldn't be able to find out about your affairs uh!!," he yelled as he walked closer to her.
She shifted backwards gently, she knew what he was talking about and so she summoned courage and fixed her gaze on him.
"Oh.. It's a good thing you finally found out about the scandal," she smirked
"How could you!!!" He yelled and grabbed her throat. While the little boy remained in his spot watching helplessly.
"Let me go!!!" She screamed and she tried to wriggle free from him.
"You daughter of a bitch!! I'll kill you!!," He thundered as he tightened his grip on her throat.
She began to choke and battle for air with her legs kicking the wall behind her. She tried to gasp for air but it seemed life was being snuffed out of her.
"Emilio... Please..let.. Me go.!!!" She pleaded with hot tears flowing down her cheek.
"You'll know what it means to cheat on Emilio!!," He snapped and continued to strangle her. She struggled to get free but her strength was no match for him. She gathered all the strength she had left and kicked him on his thigh violently.
He staggered backwards releasing his grips from her as he felt the pain underneath his thigh. It was so excruciating that he lost balance and placed both hands on his thighs. He tried to get hold of her again but she bit his hands and pushed him to the bed before running out of the room while he chased after her.
The little boy continued to watch in silence. He was used to it. The tussles, the screams, the Acrimonies and all that he could remember. He opened the door and walked down the stairs slowly. He could hear their voices down the living room as they both engaged in a word battle.
"My best friend, Emilia!! You are nothing but a slut for sleeping with my best friend!!," Emilio yelled.
"You're a disgrace Emilio, for all your affairs with my own best friend!! It's pay back time,I've been lienet enough!!," She retorted and he rushed towards her instantly and ducked her head on the sofa beside her. He pounced on her and continued punching her while she cried bitterly trying to fight back.
The little boy continued to watch helplessly from the stairs as his father continued throwing punches at his mother. When he was through with her,he walked out of the house angrily while she laid on the floor sobbing with bruises on her face.
The little boy walked down the stairs towards his mother. He tried to touch her but she screamed
"Get out!!!" Go upstairs and get your things, we are leaving!!! She yelled.
The boy knew what she meant, he rushed upstairs immediately to get his luggage ready. At the age of five, he can pack his own luggage because ever since he was born, he had witnessed a lot of fights between his parents resulting in his moving out of the house with his mother all the time. So it was normal for him to learn how to pack his own luggage because moving out of the house was their daily routine. But this time, he doesn't know if they would ever come back to this place called home.
***
The ride to Mrs Rodrigo's home was quite a long one. She was happy to receive her daughter and grandson back home. The little boy was happy to have come to his grandma's house. The house was small compared to his father's mansion, but this was the only place he could find peace with no fighting, no screaming and Acrimonies.
After having dinner, he was sent to bed by his mother.
"Why did you sleep with his best friend?" Mrs Rodrigo asked her daughter as they both settled on the couch.
"Mom, I'm tired. I need to rest please," Emilia replied, trying to rest on the couch.
"Emilia, that was clumsy of you.. You shouldn't have done that".. Mrs Rodrigo snapped
"He slept with other women but no one called him to order, he slept and impregnated my best friend countless of times and I slept with his best friend too so what was wrong In what i did?" She asked
"It wasn't right, he is still your husband, you could have…
"Hey mother, please stop it!" She interrupted. "I don't wanna talk about him anymore, I'm done with Emilio and I want to move on, this time I'm seeking a divorce and it's final!" She snapped and walked out.
"Granny, is everything alright?" The little boy asked coming out of his room
"Hey Eden I thought you were asleep," grandma Rodrigo said smiling
"I heard my mom's voice.. And it jolted me out of sleep,".. He said while rubbing his palm against his eyes. He was wearing a black pyjama and a white tank top. He looked so tired and sleepy as he walked to sit close to his grandma.
Her heart became heavy as she saw the boy. She knew he must have been through a lot in his own home. She smiled and patted his rough blonde hair.
"Do mom and dad always have to fight?" He asked while leaning on his grandma.
"You're still a boy Eden, But you see, your mom and dad were very much young when they got married. They met at high school and they thought they were in love and the whole world was evolving around them. But then, she got pregnant and then they realized that what they shared wasn't love but just infatuation and lust.
They were forced to get married at such a young age and your mom had to stop schooling to care for you while your dad was forced to become a father. They both abhor hatred for each other till date because they blamed each other for their predicaments" Grandma related.
"Is that why they hate me so much?" Eden asked with sadness in his voice.
"They don't hate you son,"Grandma assured while patting him on his shoulder.
The next morning, Eden woke up and found his mother speaking to the grandmother in the sitting room.
"I'll leave him with you for sometime mom,I'm going to Lopez Mateo, I'll be back for him when I finish with the divorce process, '' she said and left.
Eden felt a kind of joy knowing he wasn't going back to his Father. He loved grandma's home even though it wasn't as luxurious as his Father's. He won't miss his father and neither his mother because they don't even care about him, they don't even care if he exists or not.
A month later, Emilia showed up.
"Pack your bags son, we're leaving for Mexico City, '' she ordered as she walked into the house.
Eden felt bad at once, he doesn't want to be with her again. He wished he could stay forever with his grandma.
"Take care of yourself son," grandma said as she waved them goodbye. "Buen viaje"
have a nice trip
she added while Emilia rode away.
He kept silent as he watched his mother drive through the dusty streets of Catana. He didn't know what they were going to do in Mexico city, nor what kind of life awaits him there, but he knew he had to be strong anyways and always be ready to adapt to life changes.