Chapter 28: Battered

Jovanni was beaten to a pulp, yet his will was still intact. His body was weary, but his eyes were resolute. He strongly refused his father's decision. His father can beat him to death, but he cannot order him to stop studying.

"No!" Rolito was mad and kicked Jovanni again. "How dare you oppose me when you are just doing nasty things here!" Another kick landed. "Whether you want it or not, you are not going to school again!"

"No! I will continue my study unless you kill me!" Jovanni was very stubborn.

Rolito's rage intensified.

"Fine! I will kill you if that is what you want! I don't have a bastard son like you! From now on you are not my son anymore! I don't have a stupid, nasty, and shameless son like you!"

Jovanni had lost count of how many kicks had landed on his body. He was thrown to the side near his grandmother's feet, but she just kicked him instead of helping. None of the people present were willing to help him. His siblings were used to this scene before, so even if he might be beaten to death, no one will stop his father, not his wicked grandmother and stepmother nor his aunt's family. Everyone was looking calmly as if they were just watching a television show! It was awful. These people are terrible. They were all unpleasant ever since, but Jovanni found them unbearable at the moment. He thought that being disowned by these heartless people is not bad at all, so after regaining a little strength, he crawled to the door.

"You dare to go against me!" Rolito yelled. "Jovanni, once you step out of that damn door don't ever think of coming back!"

Jovanni heard it loud and clear, but he was determined. All his life, he wasn't considered a family by these people. He's just a servant, a slave at worst. He endured those suffering all these years because he was still young, but now he had supported himself for few months. And he is confident that he can do it. He can stand on his own, so it's about time to liberate himself from these miseries.

With full determination, Jovanni crawled and stepped out of the door. His furious father kicked him few times before slamming the door. A smashing sound was heard inside, followed by his father's enraged roar.

Jovanni took his bag which he left outside and dragged his injured body away. He was afraid that his father might change his mind and grabbed him back, so he immediately held a tricycle and heeded to Kirt's apartment.

The driver saw Jovanni's pale face but didn't probe any further. His body was beaten, but his face and limbs were fine. The hit was on his body, only those two slaps landed on his face. His father beat him this way since he was a child so that no one can see his bruises. He's a barangay official, a politician who's mindful of his every move, so it's important to avoid any negative character to maintain his good image.

As he sat down on the tricycle, his body started aching. He fished his phone in his pocket, thankfully it wasn't broken. He called Kirt, but he was still unattended. The message he was typing wasn't sent out. Jovanni deleted it. He was going home, so it's not necessary to send him a message. He was just worried about how to explain his bruises to Kirt.

Reaching the apartment, he decided to take some time on the side to regain his composure. When he felt a bit better, he went up. Jovanni took his key and opened the door. His body started aching badly. It took him a lot of effort to come up, even just fishing his key and opening the door took him a while since he was trembling.

Jovanni finally inserted the key and pushed the door opened. He was about to turn on the light, but his trembling body suddenly froze. The light was on. A man was sitting on the couch. A beautiful figure was sitting on his lap. They were too immersed in making out that it took a moment before they sensed Jovanni's presence.

When the people inside turned their heads at the door, Jovanni couldn't describe his feelings.