Possessive crush

I spent practically all of Saturday in the company of my boyfriend. We walk around the city snuggled up, visit various stores, and in the evening relax in a restaurant, filling our bellies with delicious food.

In this way, I try to lift Felix's spirits and let him forget about the annoyances that have befallen him at school recently. I succeeded because he finally started to smile.

On one of the streets, the band was giving a concert, so we stopped by the audience to watch and listen.

The singer's voice is so pleasant that at one point I close my eyelids and rest my head on Felix's shoulder.

- They are perfect, aren't they? - he turns to me, and I nod. - Maybe one day someone will spot them.

- Should we go back now? - I ask him, lifting my face. - I can't hide the fact that I already feel tired of walking for half a day. That night, I'm going to sleep like a slayer.

The boy smiles at my words.

- Thanks to you, I will also fall asleep.

Holding hands, we walk along the sidewalk, happy in each other's company. It's already getting gray, but I feel safe in his company. I know he would never allow me to come to harm.

At one point, Felix stops mid-step and with a panicked look aims his eyes at the car, which is stopped by the sidewalk. He lets go of my hand, and I look at him with puzzled eyes.

I don't understand what's going on. Until... Until a woman with a grim face gets out of a black Mercedes.

His mother.

- Are you kidding me! - yells out at him in the middle of the street. It's a good thing there are no people in this place, so we don't draw attention to ourselves.

The woman approaches us, and aims her dangerous gaze at me. She looks as if she wants to kill me with just a glance.

- I beg you, not here.... - begins in a calm voice, Felix, but she does not let him finish his sentence.

- So she's the one you spend your days with? She seduced you and your grades got worse because of her? You don't study.... You're starting to give a damn about your career. Why did you stop attending basketball training? You are the captain of the team, you have a bright future ahead of you! You are about to graduate from high school! Think about your studies and career, not about this hopeless girl, because your paths will diverge any minute anyway! I knew that going on business trips with your father was a bad idea. We should not leave you alone.

This woman is so scary that I blanch with fear. I can feel the strong hatred she directs toward me. She exudes hostility.

- It's not because of her, but because of you, that my life is falling apart! - At one point, Felix couldn't stand it. He shouts at his mother, looking like a madman. - You're the one who ruined my life! It's because of you that I had health problems and attended a psychiatrist! It's your fault that now everyone at school knows I have an uneven ceiling, and they don't want me on the team! - He breathes heavily, piercing the woman with furious eyes. - It's your fault that I went crazy, because since I was a child you controlled me twenty-four hours a day and planned every hour for me.... In elementary school, I was locked up and fearful because of you! No one can stand it for long," she adds in a whisper.

His mother slaps him in the face, and I look at it with terrified eyes.

- It is solely your fault that you are mentally weak. In our family, this will not pass. I will not allow it," she declares, grabbing his hand. - You come home with me, and there we will finish our conversation.

- I'm not going anywhere with you! - he shouts at her, pulling his hand from her grasp. - I'm not leaving Selena here alone.

- Please, Felix, come back with your mother. Don't make the situation worse. Do it for me, please," I address him in a calm voice, hoping he will listen to me. I am already on the target of this woman, feeling how strong hatred she directs in my direction.

- Selena...

- Please, Felix. Don't make the situation worse. I'll be fine. I'll be fine.

The boy looks at me with a gentle gaze, and when he moves it to his mother, his eyes change.

He really hates her.

The woman throws me a hostile look, then heads with Felix to the car. When my boyfriend is inside and looks at me, I notice tears in his eyes. The sadness on his face is indescribable.

He is suffering internally.

They drive off, and I comb my hand through my hair and look around me. Eventually, I stop the cab that is coming, not intending to look for a stop.

I don't have the head to go around all over the place right now.

*

I worry about Felix when I look at my phone in the morning after waking up, but I have no message from him. I've been texting him in the evening, asking if he's okay and if he can talk to me, but so far, I haven't gotten a response.

I thought about it for a long time, but when the clock strikes ten o'clock, I dialed Felix's number, hoping that he was already awake and will answer.

I breathe a sigh of relief when, after a few beeps, I hear his voice.

- I apologize for not writing back, but I needed a mute," he says in his introduction.

- Are you all right? Are you feeling well? I'm distressed about you, Felix.

The boy sighs, and tears come to my eyes as I recall how he was treated by his mother yesterday.

- Sorry, I didn't want you to witness it. The last thing I expected was to meet this witch just when we were spending time together. She ruined everything. - His voice sounds sad.I apologize for the way she treated you.

- Don't apologize. You have no reason to. It can't be helped that he doesn't like me.

- She is a type of possessive mother. She's a horrible woman who has poisoned my life since childhood. In fact, I largely judge her for the fact that in elementary school I was locked up in myself. I couldn't get along with kids, I had something about me that made others put me off, and it's no longer that I was fat and wore glasses. - He pauses for a moment, and I remain silent, letting him talk. I want to hear everything that is on his heart. - The kids didn't like me, they ignored me, and I lived on the sidelines. The other day, when I met you, I saw a small light of hope. You stood up for me, you were the first kind person, and for that reason, I wanted to befriend you. Unfortunately... I lacked courage. At home, my mother told me every day that I didn't need friends, that all that mattered was studying and that I would climb the career ladder like the rest of our family. She tried to hammer it into my head that it was enough that I had her. She claimed that no one would love me as much as my mother and that she had to be my priority. Furthermore, she told me that I had to listen to her and follow her example, that I had to be like her.... - He takes a deep breath, then continues. - The period of elementary and middle school is a nightmare past for me. After you disappeared, I lost that light of hope, and only darkness appeared. In fact. I didn't lose weight or gain courage because I wanted to, but something bad started happening in my psyche. This problem began in my first junior year of high school. I lost my appetite, I didn't feel hungry, and for that reason, I started losing weight. I was losing weight dramatically. My mother thought I had taken charge of myself and was proud of me. She didn't see that I had an issue, she didn't see the dark feelings in me. My shy nature began to disappear. I was becoming nervous. It's strange, but I began to gain confidence in myself. I was not assertive, but had fits of aggression. I couldn't trust anyone, people continued to keep me on the sidelines, and it seemed to me that everyone around me had bad intentions towards me. My mother kept telling me that if I didn't study well, I would be a nobody. I began to fear failure and became overly sensitive to criticism. I couldn't take it. It was a nightmare.... - He pauses, and I choke back tears, being able to imagine what my boyfriend was going through at such a young age. - In my third junior year of high school, I became unbearable. Not my mother, but my father, noticed that something strange was happening to me. He decided to take me to a psychiatrist, but at the time I thought he was the one with the problem and wanted to transfer it to me. When I went into a rage one day and smashed the mirror in my room, they forcibly took me to the doctor. There they discovered that I had a paranoid personality. At first, I didn't trust my therapist, she took a very long time to convince me because I thought she was conspiring with my mother. The treatment took two years. My last appointment was last year. I am grateful to this woman, because she helped me a lot after just a few months. - I wipe tears from my cheeks, unable to believe that Felix went through so much at a very young age. - In high school, I was already a different person. I changed a hundred and eighty degrees. I made friends, got on the basketball team, and even became captain. However, the greatest happiness in my life was meeting you again.

I can no longer suppress the crying inside me. He can hear it.

- I am sorry that you had to go through so much at such a young age. I feel guilty, because maybe if I had befriended you and not transferred to another school, perhaps then all this wouldn't have happened.

- No, Selena. This would have come because the doctor made it clear to me that in addition to the fact that the development of this disorder can be genetic, it is also the result of neglect and educational errors in childhood. I'm glad you didn't see me at the worst time. I'm happy that we were able to meet this year, now that I'm healthy and not a threat to you. In middle school I couldn't control myself. I was a terrible person.

- You weren't terrible, you just needed the right help.

- I'm glad you understand me. People at school point fingers at me because they don't know my story and think I'm a psycho. It really hurts. It's hard for me to accept criticism.

Some red light goes on in my head when he says these words.

- You can't think about it, Felix.

- I know, because this could be the beginning of a relapse of my disease," he says in a whisper. - As long as I have you, everything will be fine. You are my medicine, Selena. I love you very much.

- I love you too, Felix. I love you very much.

- Sorry, but I have to hang up because the witch is calling me from downstairs. It's going to be a nightmare Sunday. I'll get back to you in the afternoon, okay?

- I look forward to your call. To hear from you.

As I move the cell phone away from my ear, I stare at one point, thinking about what Felix confessed to me. Disgusting images from the past, when I was touched by an art teacher, immediately pop into my head.

Should I also share my painful past with him?

Secrets in a relationship are not good. He should also know what was the reason I disappeared from school so suddenly one day.