"What are you huddling in that corner for? Come here!"
The naked boy in the corner doesn't dare move, he covers his peins with both hands in shame, fresh tears falling on the dry blood on his face.
"Honey, Mylo is being stubborn again. Where on earth did you get this spawn of satan from?"
"Catherine, I'm so sorry that you have to deal with this thing called my son," The owner of this voice gets up drunkenly, kicking empty beer bottles out of the way as he stalks to the living room, "You good for nothing low life demon, do you thinking crying like a bitch will stop us from cutting your dick off?"
"Father…" Mylo tries to speak but he spits out clots of blood instead, a few drops rolling out of his nose. He wipes them off with the back of his hand, the sole movement making his ribs and muscle ache. He doesn't have time to recover from the pain when a hard slap lands on his face and a kick in the back of his leg, which sends him falling on his ribs, his left shoulder dislocating with a loud crack sound.
"How dare you call me your father after you've brought so much shame to me? Everyone in the church was talking about you, Mylo! How could you?"
"My life is over, who will listen to me preach anymore, Baldwin? Your son kissed a boy in our very own church? Why are you still asking him questions? Let's castrate him this minute. He is possessed and he has cost us our pride!" Deaconess Catherine, Mylo's stepmother cries out, gripping her blouse tightly, "We can't stay in Pentoville anymore, this godforsaken homo pictures are spreading."
"I didn't kiss him," Mylo yells, choking on his own words as his father kicks him in the stomach.
"You dumb stupid fuck!" He stumps on Mylo's head as he tries to block the attack with his elbow. Catherine uses this opportunity to tie his both ankles to a long chain. She joins in stepping on him, particularly aiming at crushing his dick and balls.
Mylo helplessly bites his lips until his bottom lips are bleeding, already used to his father and stepmother beating him to pulp for absolutely everything he does, even defying the Holy Spirit. But that is not the case today, the situation today might actually cost him his life and he can't do anything because nobody will believe him, nobody will understand him that the picture was taken at the wrong angle, he has never kissed any one and this boy only walked up to him in the church bathroom and offered to fix his croaky choir robes.
The boy didn't kiss him at all but it seems it was all planned as the boy did agree earlier to his parents that Mylo asked him for a kiss.
Now, he is going to lose everything, even the things he never had.
"I'm going to kill you with my bare hands," Catherine wrapped her hands around Mylo's neck, ceasing his breath, "All I have ever asked of you is to live in a way that pleases God. Is that too much to do, Mylo?"
"No…no… Mother… please," Mylo struggles to breathe, tapping on her hands beggingly, "I didn't do… I didn't…"
"Stop lying, God hates liars. You know the weight of each sin and you still dare lie?"
"I will make some calls, there should be a city we can run away to and start afresh. We can start our lives in a new land, build our own church again."
Catherine runs her creepy red nails through her hair, giving up on killing Mylo, "I love your idea, honey. God knows I do but I'm not going to commit sin by killing this slut. Let's sell him off and go start life just the both of us."
Baldwin thinks quietly, walking away from Mylo as he empties the bottle in his hand. He belched loudly, throwing the bottle to the side.
Mylo curls into half, wishing, praying to God, his father, the one who loves his children unconditionally to save him for the hundredth time. To touch his father's heart to agree to his step mother to sell him, it is better than living with the both of them. What difference will it make? He is starved each day, he only manages to sneakily eat at school when he is alone. When he is back home he is at the church or studying.
Selling him will mean freedom. Mylo doesn't mind dying in the hands of a total stranger rather than die in his father's hands. He has never met his real mother and his father doesn't mention her.
No one would care if he could just die peacefully.
"How much do you think that faggot is going to cost? A few thousands and it won't benefit me. I know a campus in Northern Lantern City and a place that can accommodate us. It's a free and diverse city, we can make money off holy ministration and we will gather a large number of members in due time."
"Don't coax me into having to deal with your mutt of a son anymore, why can't you just discard him? He is a stain in our vineyard and that of God, Baldwin. He is infected."
"My decision is final, he comes with us!"