Chapter 3 Stifling Pain

Erza was surprised to find out who was calling him. With a pounding heart and without another thought, the boy immediately picked up the incoming call. It was rare for this person to contact him via cell phone like that. Apart from being curious, Erza knew that there must be something important currently happening.

"Erza, what are you doing standing there?" From the front, Marcell shouted loudly to Erza. When Erza looked up from his cell phone, he shouted again, "Are you still at home and don't want to go home?"

"You go ahead with Novan, someone is calling me." Erza replied no less loudly, which was understandable because the distance created between the two was quite wide and far.

And fortunately, both Marcell and Novan heard the words shouted by Erza. Both of them immediately stepped away. Erza now had space again, and the boy hurriedly shifted the green icon on his cell phone screen. The phone line finally connected at the same time as Marcell and Novan, who had sped away from the beach area, heading for their respective homes.

"Hello, Jaka?" Novan smiled as he moved to a rather fragile wooden chair not far from where he was standing.

"Erza, where have you been? It took you so long to answer my call."

Erza immediately received a sarcastic scolding from the other side when he had just landed on the chair. The boy frowned, confused by the tone of Jaka's voice and that of his friend and neighbor.

Erza replied after wetting his dry lips. "Sorry, I had a little business with my friend. By the way, why did you call me? It's very unusual, you rarely do this."

A cold tone crept into Jaka's voice. "There's no need to ask a lot of questions, now you hurry back home."

"What's wrong?" The boy's back had straightened, no longer leaning on the chair, he was alert and ready to receive an explanation.

"Your mom, Za."

Just a brief explanation like that made Erza rise to his feet, his grip on the cell phone hardening, his teeth suddenly gnashing loudly. Without Jaka explaining further, Erza knew where the conversation would lead. The destination was clear, right in front of his eyes.

Anger suddenly welled up in his chest, and Erza's jaw hardened. The boy felt unstable, his emotions were about to boil over if he couldn't control himself.

Erza tried to keep his composure, but it didn't last very long at all. When his mother was mentioned in Jaka's words, Erza already had a bad feeling. Not a premonition anymore, but a bad reality.

"Erza, hello? Can you hear me talking? Hello? The signal is bad there, isn't it?" Jaka spoke at length, speaking quickly in one breath.

"I heard you," Erza replied shortly, the way his words came out was hoarse and filled with anguish. Erza was already taking long strides towards his parked car.

"I can't explain at length here, you should just go home."

"I'm on the road, I'm going home now. And you don't need to explain anything to me, I already understand."

"Good, don't be long. I'm worried about your mother, I can't do anything here, I can only tell you the news, I don't want to interfere, it's just ...."

It's just that Jaka is an outsider who doesn't know anything, Jaka is just a neighbor, and Erza and his family's personal matters are not in Jaka's realm at all.

"I understand. Thank you for contacting me, I'll hang up first, okay?"

"Yes, you be careful on the road, don't speed," Jaka ordered, to which Erza replied with a nod of his head even though he knew that Jaka wouldn't be able to see him.

The phone call was finally cut off. Erza sprinted towards his parked vehicle. Erza ran haphazardly and too hastily, his chest rose and fell, his breathing was irregular, his face was already red.

Erza then fell down when he took a wrong step, a wooden beam was just sticking out and blocking the boy's steps, making Erza fall down and squeal loudly.

"Shit, damn wood!" Erza cursed as he picked up the wood and then threw it away from him. His leg still hurt, he was limping slightly.

Fortunately, his parked car was not far from his position. It was only a few steps before Erza could reach it.

Erza threw himself behind the wheel. It was obvious that the boy was anxious, his feelings were anxious, his mind was already thinking about the unknown, something bad was waiting for his head. Erza just knew it. He could do no wrong. As for his mother... Erza choked, his mother would have been a-No, Novan wouldn't let his brain spin to come up with bad speculations.

"Fuck, where are the car keys?" Erza slammed the steering wheel after not finding his car keys. It took some time to find them.

Erza breathed a sigh of relief, quickly running his car at brutal, full speed. Erza thought of nothing but his mother, who must be going through something bad right now.

The car Erza was driving overtook quickly, he was very good at controlling the four-wheeled vehicle. Erza swallowed a few times, his eyes becoming more alert and careful.

Even though he knew that driving recklessly was bad for him and other road users, Erza didn't care. At least for now. He wanted to be selfish for once. Erza had to get home quickly and hug his mother, even if he could reach his mother.

"Mom, be patient..." Erza muttered softly to himself. His focus was completely split this time, between the road ahead and the thoughts of his mother.

He would have almost hit another car if he hadn't quickly swerved to the left. Erza cursed, feeling relieved that he was still safe. It felt like the road was getting further away from Erza's destination. The minutes lasted a very long time, and that's how the boy felt.

If he knew it would end like this, Erza would certainly not have left home. But, he didn't know anything, Erza didn't know about his future.

Erza arrived home in the next 25 minutes. A long time, at least for that boy. Parking the car in the spacious courtyard of the house, Erza slammed the car door, rushing into his wide, spacious, luxurious, and magnificent house.

"Mom!" Erza shouted loudly and loudly. His feet now on the marble floor, the boy rushed up the steps to reach the second floor.

Erza broke down the door to his mother's room, which fortunately was not locked. The sound of the door slamming was strong and deafening.

Erza's steps froze for a moment, the direction of his gaze now directed to one point. The boy let out his breath, then stormed towards his mother, who was currently cowering in the corner of the room.

"Mom!" Erza shouted loudly.

His mother's appearance looked so bad and so messed up. Her hair was a mess, and her cheeks were red, which Erza was sure was the result of someone slapping her. Then, her eyes were swollen from crying too much. Not stopping there, the rest of his mother's body was covered in red and blue bruises. Seeing it all, Erza winced.

"Mom, are you okay?" Erza checked all parts of his mother's body. The woman before him said nothing, her expression blank.

"That stupid man torturing mom again?" asked Erza, but there was no answer. His mother still kept her lips tightly shut. Nonetheless, Erza knew the answer. The boy clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles looked pale.

The expression on Erza's face hardened. "That man of an asshole and that bastard. Why does he always torture mom like this?!" Erza's emotions had overflowed like lava coming out of a volcano.

"That old man can't be left alone, he must be taught a lesson once in a while to deter him and let him know what he's doing is wrong. He can't just do whatever he wants because he's rich and powerful. Fuck!" Erza could not contain the emotional turmoil he was currently feeling.

"Why are you silent? Please say something, mom!" Erza pleaded, squatting right in front of his mother. However, his mother was still unwilling to open her mouth and make a sound.

"I know that this is all the work of that damn man, why do you always keep quiet when he tortures you like this?" Erza's eyes were already red, and emotions were already licking his face.

His mother merely stared at Erza's face, her eyes wide. Erza himself was already better able to control his emotions at this point. "Come on, mom, get up, you'll get sick if you keep sitting on the floor like this."

The frail old woman did not resist when Erza led her up to the bed and laid her down. Erza realized that his mother was very shaken at the moment, as she often was. Therefore, Erza chose to ignore all the answers from his mother. He didn't need it right now, let her mother rest first, and next time Erza would ask her.

Erza's lips spread a thin smile. "Mom, sleep and rest, calm down, mom, there's no need to think about something that only makes you feel sad and hurt. I don't want to see you like this, mom. I love you." The boy hugged his mother for a while, then he stood up while covering his mother's whole body.

Erza said again, "I want to take a shower and rest too, you just call me if you need anything; I will always be beside you. You understand, right?"

This time, his mother replied with a nod of her head. It felt better than being silent without responding. After a few seconds, Erza finally walked out of his mother's room.

After the door closed, Erza shook his head with his eyes closed. How long was this going to take? That was the question that kept going through his head.

"Until when will that jerk and vile man stop torturing Mom?" He muttered. He was feeling very hurt right now. Erza didn't know, perhaps it would never stop, unless his mother left, left this house, or went upstairs forever.

Erza felt a great dizziness that attacked his head, he needed cold water to refresh his body. He also needed enough rest, not to mention if he had to go to school tomorrow. The emotions that had been churning had begun to subside.

Half an hour later, after Erza had showered and eaten, the boy checked back into his mother's room. His mother looked asleep, her eyes perfectly closed, and her small chest seemed to rise and fall, in rhythm with her breathing.

Erza went outside. He sat there alone, thinking about his mother's suffering. Erza had suffered too, but not as deeply and painfully as his mother had.

It was all because of that insufferable man, who came only to torment his mother, berate her, and swear at her. Ersa's disgust for him swelled even further.

As time went on, the man became more and more of a jerk and ignorant. That's what made Erza even more upset with him.

His family was a mess, Erza knew that. His mother suffered, but did not want to do much about it. She just accepted it willingly when she was beaten and abused by her second husband, whom she married seven years ago.

And Erza hated his stepfather with a passion. At first, he was very kind to his family and his mother. But things didn't work out. The harmony that had been maintained cracked.

Erza was too sick to think of all the reasons why his stepfather was being so mean. There were too many reasons, and Erza didn't want to think about them.

"Who does he think he is to do whatever he wants in this house? He's not my father, my father is dead. He's just an idiot and a jerk. You'll see, I won't just stay silent. He's too much of a jerk."

Erza's anger soared into the air again.

"And where is he right now?" Erza then smiled stupidly at being able to ask a question that already had an answer. "Ha, at his mistress' house, of course. He came back just to torment Mom and make me furious. This time, if I see him come back, I'll beat him up."

Erza had been the silent party for too long, his stepfather had to fight back. Erza was not willing to be silent anymore. His mother had endured too much pain.

"I don't care anymore, even though he has power, lots of money, or acquaintances with tough people. He's just a stupid man, a stupid bastard who deserves to not exist on this earth."

There was a sense of satisfaction in cursing like this. Erza sighed deeply.

"The only problem is that mom." Erza squeaked, his voice breaking into a body-wrenching pain.

"I won't give up, I'll persuade mom to understand that there is other happiness to be had. This house is hell, I can't stand living in this place anymore. I and my mom have to leave immediately." Erza was determined. Then he stood up from his seat, choosing to enter the house because the cold pierced his skin.

Erza only hoped that the pain he and his mother were experiencing would soon disappear.

Not a difficult request, right? Erza didn't ask too much, did he? If so, God will surely hear his plea.