My Story

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Treatment

Milo Rush is a simple man. Working middle class, he lives his life much like the rest of the world, dealing but never really doing.  Living in his one bedroom apartment he is reminded of his single status everyday but as time goes on so must he.  Every morning, like many, Milo would go for a jog and the past few days, as he would pass the park, he noticed a girl sitting, head down and alone on a swing. Most days he would see her and continue running but on this particularly cold morning he felt compelled to talk with her as she sat there shivering in the bitter breeze.

After a few moments of awkward conversation he noticed she used a powdered concealer to try and hid a bruise she had over her right eye.  Milo, as a child, was physically abused by his father and was instantly reminded of this when he saw the smudged makeup on her face.

“You know liquid concealers work better”

This was all Milo had to say to grab her attention.  Finding this one connection not only got his foot in the door with her but interested him greatly as well.  Knowing what is was like to grow up, beaten by a family member, bully or anyone, for that matter, was not easy and he did not want to see that happen to anyone.   After speaking of this idea that liquid concealers don’t clump up and then attract more attention to the bruised area, this girl or Tig as she introduced herself, finally agreed to have coffee with him being that she really had nothing to lose anyway.  Together they talked for a while and it wasn’t long before she accepted his offer to stay on his couch for the night, being that the nights where even colder and the benches had no cushion.

Stepping out of the shower after Milo had offered and practically forced her to take one, Tig stops and takes a moment to look at herself in the mirror.  She is a beautiful 19-year-old girl with curves and a petite waist coveted by most women.  As she stands there she moves her hand up to her arm and a larger bruise and rubs it gently, then to her chest and another scratch.  A tear falls down her cheek as she says

“I’m sorry”

Tig, a few days before Milo had found her, had run away from home.  At a young age her father had taking a liking to her in a way that broke the boundaries of the father daughter relationship; and to keep her quiet her father would beat her and threaten to do much worse if she told.  This blurred relation with her father caused skewed relationships with all men in her life causing her to believe that all men wanted was her body. Standing there still rubbing her scars more tears began to fall until the silence was interrupted by Milo pounding on the door.  That night was more then just a dinner between two strangers but it was a night on the town.  Milo had been invited, previously, to a birthday party of a friend of his and having already RSVP’d he felt he had to go.  However, he felt it would be a good chance for Tig to blow off some steam and let loose.  He knows first hand what bottling up all those emotions does to a person and having some kind of outlet is very important.

At the Bar Tig meets Milo’s few friends and without any ID checks or even any question of her age they all began taking shots in celebration.  Milo had assumed she was too young to drink but being that it both wasn’t his place to tell her what to do and he had just barley met her, he felt he would let her have her fun for the one night. Finally after a few hours of drinking and dancing had passed Milo found Tig stumbling across the dance floor.  Feeling she had probably had enough he went in after her.  However, Tig was not ready to be done just yet and after she disagrees with Milo and makes a comment about how easy his life is compared to hers, he begins to lose his cool and eventually blurts out to the entire crowd that he too was abused by his father as a child. After realizing what he had said he left, running from the issue, forcing Tig to follow, as he was her ride.

When they arrived back at Milo’s apartment silence surrounded them.  Finally an apology was uttered by Tig but not before Milo could down two shots of straight Vodka. Tig continues until she finally admits to having been beaten too even though Milo had already come to that conclusion.  Milo then pours the two of them another shot and together they toast to childhoods.  As they continue to open up to each other it is revealed that Milo is afraid of being alone, so much so that he stayed with his abusive father rather then running away as a child.  This vulnerability between the two of them was liberating for both and Tig took this opportunity to give Milo what she had thought he wanted all along and leaned in and kissed him.  Milo, in his inebriated state, kissed her back for a moment until he realized what he was doing.  He then pushed her away and again, just as he had done at the bar, he ran away. Going to bed without so much as a good night, leaving Tig alone feeling she had royally screwed up.

The next morning Milo woke to find she had left. Thinking sex is what men wanted from women, she felt she wasn’t good enough for Milo and that his leaving after the kiss was her queue to get the hell out. However, Milo felt that he had failed not only her but also himself.  Afraid of being alone he couldn’t even keep a houseguest over for a night, let alone someone who he really could have helped out.

That morning when he went for his jog he looked for her.  Hoping he would be able to talk her into coffee again so he could explain himself. But when he got to the park she was nowhere to be found.  From there he walked the rest of the way back to his apartment and began to fall into a downward spiral.  Letting his life fall around him, he stopped caring about himself, letting the few friends he had fade away and even by letting his hygiene go and not shaving.

It was all going down hill until Tig happened to catch him hitting on another man outside of a bar downtown.  She watched as he ignored the other mans denies and he continued to pursue him. Finally the man and two others with him attacked Milo, calling him a faggot. She ran over to help but the men overpowered her as well and it wasn’t long before both Milo and Tig were on the ground barley conscious with police and ambulance sirens in the distance.

A few days have past, scars are there but healing has begun. Tig is sitting on her swing at the park, she has been waiting for Milo to go past like he used to but for the past few days he hadn’t and she was beginning to give up hope until finally she saw him come around the corner.  He spots her at her usual spot and walks over. He asks about her father and for a moment she doesn’t want to answer.

“I had to give the police some kind of explanation for the extra scars on my stomach and back and….. well anyway”

Milo then sits on the swing next to Tig and they joke about the scars and makeup until finally Milo thanks Tig for trying to help him. She immediately brushes it off wanting to get a question, she is pretty sure of, answered.  In her own backwards way without ever actually sayings the words: gay, homosexual or the like she gets a confession out of him that he is gay and after that for a moment they are silent.

A male jogger goes past and Tig jokingly says

“Beautiful”

She looks over at Milo and he, not knowing what to say, just smiles and nods in agreement.   Teasing him a little she asks about another jogger

“What about that one?”

Milo looks up at the Man

“umm maybe with a hair cut”

They both laugh and decide to go for coffee again. However, as they are getting to the sidewalk after leaving the swings, Milo, not paying attention runs into another jogger, knocking him to the ground. Apologizing he helps the other guy up.  The other jogger shacks it off giving Milo “the look” that Tig catches onto before Milo does. Stepping in Tig invites the jogger to coffee with them and he accepts introducing himself as Sam. Milo, finally getting the hint, foolishly stumbles around introducing himself and together the three of them head toward the coffee shop and to the rest of their lives.