Anti-Venom
1
Glenview, one of the most affluent of Chicago's suburbs. Known for its excellent education records, and low crime rate; it's easily one of the most sought after neighbourhoods to live in.
Our story starts a few years ago now, where hidden away in this haven, concealed by an impressive main administration building; was Bella Luna Community Village. Bella Luna of course means Beautiful Moon, but to 13 year old Patrick Stump; this place was anything but beautiful. It was the trailer park he and his father called home. Yes the front of the community was impressive looking, it had an admin building, a club house, a playground and even its own little store, gym and pool house; and the so called mobile homes were nothing short of small pieces of art, looking like they truly belonged here. But the further into the community you went, the more run down it became.
The trailer Patrick and his father lived in, was located on 6th Ave of the park, just over the half way mark. The trailer was pretty small, just the one bedroom, one bathroom, and an open plan living room, kitchen and dining area. Patrick slept in the bedroom, while his father slept on the couch. Yes it was small, but it suited them just fine.
The family had been doing fine a few years before. Patrick was living with his mother while his older brother and sister were off at college in New York. Then one morning, completely out of the blue; Patrick woke to find he was alone. His mother and all of her belongings were gone and the house was pretty much packed away. It was only when he got down to the kitchen that he saw the eviction letter on the counter. Where most kids would've panicked, Patrick hadn't, he simply went next door and asked to use the phone; and called his father. Hearing of his son's abandonment, David had come home from touring the country; and bought the trailer they now lived in. With no real employment aspect due to failing health, it was the only place they could really afford knowing that medical and various other bills would need to be met.
Three years on, at age 13 Patrick lived quite a lonely life; no friends, no social life. It was just him and his dad, in one of only 4 occupied trailers of 6th Ave.
Only that wouldn't be for long, as Across the road, one of the many empty trailers of the avenue was being moved into. Much to Patrick's surprise, it was a family moving in; a Mother, a father and a little girl, maybe a couple of years younger than Patrick. He watched from the living room window with complete fascination as they unloaded the car. They didn't seem to have all that many belongings, which was just as well really considering they were moving into a small home.
"Why don't you go offer them a hand?" Patrick's father suggested as he came out of the bathroom using a crutch to aid his walking.
"But then you're here alone." Patrick responded. He'd have loved to go offer help to the family, but leaving his father was not on his mind.
"Rick I'm pretty much alone every day when you go to school. Just because it's Saturday won't make any difference. Go offer a hand if you want to, I'll be absolutely fine." His father, David told him; and with that Patrick went bounding off out of the trailer and across the street.
The new neighbours were called Dean and Clayre, and their niece - not daughter, was named Gwendoline; Gwennie for short. It was a friendship that kicked off immediately. She was 10, Patrick was 13. She liked music and performing arts, he liked music and performing arts. She liked books, he liked books. Literally with so many neutral interests it was a natural born friendship.
They spent the day unpacking and talking, getting to know each other. They even headed over to Patrick's at one point to have a play about on one of David's guitars. By the end of the day, Their friendship was about as solid as solid could get. They went back round to Gwennie's, finished unpacking and ate dinner there; before settling down to actually watch a movie together. It was something Patrick wasn't used to, and so he loved it.
The trailer itself was two bedrooms bigger than the one Patrick lived in, but there was no jealousy; Patrick was just glad to have a friend now. That night, they actually spent it together. Patrick hurried back over to his, grabbed a pillow and a quilt and went racing back round to Gwennie's. The first of many times he stayed over in their spare room.
As time went on, The friendship grew. After school they spent all their time together, helping each other with homework, and hanging out until he or she had to go home, or until they decided Patrick was staying over again. Patrick came to learn that the reason they moved here was a little like why Patrick and his father moved here. Gwennie's mother and father both died a few weeks before hand, and so when she came into the custody of her aunt and uncle, they chose to bring her to one of the safest suburbs of the city, knowing it was where her parent wanted to raise her anyway.
But then, 2 years after moving to Bella Luna, the unthinkable happened, an undiagnosed cancer took Gwennie's uncle's life. It was a huge shock to the family, and for the first time since she'd lived there; it prompted a visit from someone Patrick hadn't really known anything about; her half brother Andy.
It hadn't been an easy visit, tension was clearly evident between Patrick and Andy. 19 year old Andy seemed to take an instant dislike to the now 15 year old Patrick, and didn't really talk to him much. However what was clear, was that Gwennie was a major part of Andy's thoughts; something that became very evident when he asked Patrick to protect and watch over Gwennie, and to always do what's best for her; keep her safe. Of course it was a no brainier for Patrick, he promised Andy that he would do that, he told him how much he cared for Gwennie, and that while he was on this earth, no true harm would come to her. At that, the the elder of the two boys seemed satisfied, and when he left; he seemed to go with a smugness, one that Patrick didn't like one bit.
More years passed, 1, 2, 6 in total. At the start, Patrick and Gwennie had stayed close. They were still having sleep overs, he helped her study; and they had regular movie nights. But then through high school everything changed. Patrick grew incredibly distant. He became friends with some boy named Pete, who didn't actually go to their school, no he was older. But Patrick seemed to really like him, so much so that he became distant, and eventually he didn't really have time for Gwennie any more; and when his father finally passed away when Patrick was just about to graduate, Patrick moved out of the trailer park. Gwennie was left alone.
Alone wasn't a place Gwennie had ever thought she'd be again when she'd found Patrick, and when she spoke to her brother about it, even he didn't seem that bothered. Even her own aunt had wandered off down a distant track of alcohol and other substances and straight into jail. It led Gwennie to one conclusion really, with no real hope anymore, and knowing no one would ever really care; Gwennie dropped out of school and turned to the streets to make money. At just 16, she sold her virginity for $150, to some stranger she'd never met. That had been the hardest moment for her, that moment where she took payment, and handed a condom over to some guy, who made her bleed terribly, and left her to stumble back to the trailer that she no longer loved. Why should she? The love was gone. The love was her uncle, the love was her aunt... The love was Patrick.
With no family or friends to comfort or guide her, Gwennie continued to work the streets every single night. Some nights, she got nothing, others she got loads. Either way the money she did get went on paying the lot rent, the bills, and medical debts left over from her uncle's death.
The trailer park became a dark and foreign place. The people who moved into Patrick's old trailer were nowhere near as nice as Patrick and his father. They soon realised exactly what Gwennie did for a living, and often took advantage of it. But with no one there to really give a fuck, who was Gwennie to stop them? Night upon night she would come back, and have to give one final "service"; in the very bedroom where Patrick used to sleep when he stayed over. It was as if they knew that room had special meaning, and so they took it away from her.
Now, as she nears her eighteenth birthday, Gwennie still wonders where on earth her life went so wrong, and why not even her own brother seems to care. As she stands looking into the mirror while she gets ready to go out, she barely recognises the person looking back at her. Gone is the little red headed girl with big green eyes and freckles, in her place is this skinny pale thing that appears to have the same features; but she's a stranger, she's not the real Gwennie. She doesn't know where the real Gwennie has gone.
She sighs as she makes a start on tonight's look, reaching down for the concealer that stands on the shelf above the sink; only as she's about to start applying it, there's a knock at the door. She stops dead, and lowers the concealer. Nobody ever comes to her door, so why has somebody now? At first she ignores it, but then it comes again and again; and so she goes out to open it. Who she sees standing there on the other side is a shock, almost too much of a shock
Our story starts a few years ago now, where hidden away in this haven, concealed by an impressive main administration building; was Bella Luna Community Village. Bella Luna of course means Beautiful Moon, but to 13 year old Patrick Stump; this place was anything but beautiful. It was the trailer park he and his father called home. Yes the front of the community was impressive looking, it had an admin building, a club house, a playground and even its own little store, gym and pool house; and the so called mobile homes were nothing short of small pieces of art, looking like they truly belonged here. But the further into the community you went, the more run down it became.
The trailer Patrick and his father lived in, was located on 6th Ave of the park, just over the half way mark. The trailer was pretty small, just the one bedroom, one bathroom, and an open plan living room, kitchen and dining area. Patrick slept in the bedroom, while his father slept on the couch. Yes it was small, but it suited them just fine.
The family had been doing fine a few years before. Patrick was living with his mother while his older brother and sister were off at college in New York. Then one morning, completely out of the blue; Patrick woke to find he was alone. His mother and all of her belongings were gone and the house was pretty much packed away. It was only when he got down to the kitchen that he saw the eviction letter on the counter. Where most kids would've panicked, Patrick hadn't, he simply went next door and asked to use the phone; and called his father. Hearing of his son's abandonment, David had come home from touring the country; and bought the trailer they now lived in. With no real employment aspect due to failing health, it was the only place they could really afford knowing that medical and various other bills would need to be met.
Three years on, at age 13 Patrick lived quite a lonely life; no friends, no social life. It was just him and his dad, in one of only 4 occupied trailers of 6th Ave.
Only that wouldn't be for long, as Across the road, one of the many empty trailers of the avenue was being moved into. Much to Patrick's surprise, it was a family moving in; a Mother, a father and a little girl, maybe a couple of years younger than Patrick. He watched from the living room window with complete fascination as they unloaded the car. They didn't seem to have all that many belongings, which was just as well really considering they were moving into a small home.
"Why don't you go offer them a hand?" Patrick's father suggested as he came out of the bathroom using a crutch to aid his walking.
"But then you're here alone." Patrick responded. He'd have loved to go offer help to the family, but leaving his father was not on his mind.
"Rick I'm pretty much alone every day when you go to school. Just because it's Saturday won't make any difference. Go offer a hand if you want to, I'll be absolutely fine." His father, David told him; and with that Patrick went bounding off out of the trailer and across the street.
The new neighbours were called Dean and Clayre, and their niece - not daughter, was named Gwendoline; Gwennie for short. It was a friendship that kicked off immediately. She was 10, Patrick was 13. She liked music and performing arts, he liked music and performing arts. She liked books, he liked books. Literally with so many neutral interests it was a natural born friendship.
They spent the day unpacking and talking, getting to know each other. They even headed over to Patrick's at one point to have a play about on one of David's guitars. By the end of the day, Their friendship was about as solid as solid could get. They went back round to Gwennie's, finished unpacking and ate dinner there; before settling down to actually watch a movie together. It was something Patrick wasn't used to, and so he loved it.
The trailer itself was two bedrooms bigger than the one Patrick lived in, but there was no jealousy; Patrick was just glad to have a friend now. That night, they actually spent it together. Patrick hurried back over to his, grabbed a pillow and a quilt and went racing back round to Gwennie's. The first of many times he stayed over in their spare room.
As time went on, The friendship grew. After school they spent all their time together, helping each other with homework, and hanging out until he or she had to go home, or until they decided Patrick was staying over again. Patrick came to learn that the reason they moved here was a little like why Patrick and his father moved here. Gwennie's mother and father both died a few weeks before hand, and so when she came into the custody of her aunt and uncle, they chose to bring her to one of the safest suburbs of the city, knowing it was where her parent wanted to raise her anyway.
But then, 2 years after moving to Bella Luna, the unthinkable happened, an undiagnosed cancer took Gwennie's uncle's life. It was a huge shock to the family, and for the first time since she'd lived there; it prompted a visit from someone Patrick hadn't really known anything about; her half brother Andy.
It hadn't been an easy visit, tension was clearly evident between Patrick and Andy. 19 year old Andy seemed to take an instant dislike to the now 15 year old Patrick, and didn't really talk to him much. However what was clear, was that Gwennie was a major part of Andy's thoughts; something that became very evident when he asked Patrick to protect and watch over Gwennie, and to always do what's best for her; keep her safe. Of course it was a no brainier for Patrick, he promised Andy that he would do that, he told him how much he cared for Gwennie, and that while he was on this earth, no true harm would come to her. At that, the the elder of the two boys seemed satisfied, and when he left; he seemed to go with a smugness, one that Patrick didn't like one bit.
More years passed, 1, 2, 6 in total. At the start, Patrick and Gwennie had stayed close. They were still having sleep overs, he helped her study; and they had regular movie nights. But then through high school everything changed. Patrick grew incredibly distant. He became friends with some boy named Pete, who didn't actually go to their school, no he was older. But Patrick seemed to really like him, so much so that he became distant, and eventually he didn't really have time for Gwennie any more; and when his father finally passed away when Patrick was just about to graduate, Patrick moved out of the trailer park. Gwennie was left alone.
Alone wasn't a place Gwennie had ever thought she'd be again when she'd found Patrick, and when she spoke to her brother about it, even he didn't seem that bothered. Even her own aunt had wandered off down a distant track of alcohol and other substances and straight into jail. It led Gwennie to one conclusion really, with no real hope anymore, and knowing no one would ever really care; Gwennie dropped out of school and turned to the streets to make money. At just 16, she sold her virginity for $150, to some stranger she'd never met. That had been the hardest moment for her, that moment where she took payment, and handed a condom over to some guy, who made her bleed terribly, and left her to stumble back to the trailer that she no longer loved. Why should she? The love was gone. The love was her uncle, the love was her aunt... The love was Patrick.
With no family or friends to comfort or guide her, Gwennie continued to work the streets every single night. Some nights, she got nothing, others she got loads. Either way the money she did get went on paying the lot rent, the bills, and medical debts left over from her uncle's death.
The trailer park became a dark and foreign place. The people who moved into Patrick's old trailer were nowhere near as nice as Patrick and his father. They soon realised exactly what Gwennie did for a living, and often took advantage of it. But with no one there to really give a fuck, who was Gwennie to stop them? Night upon night she would come back, and have to give one final "service"; in the very bedroom where Patrick used to sleep when he stayed over. It was as if they knew that room had special meaning, and so they took it away from her.
Now, as she nears her eighteenth birthday, Gwennie still wonders where on earth her life went so wrong, and why not even her own brother seems to care. As she stands looking into the mirror while she gets ready to go out, she barely recognises the person looking back at her. Gone is the little red headed girl with big green eyes and freckles, in her place is this skinny pale thing that appears to have the same features; but she's a stranger, she's not the real Gwennie. She doesn't know where the real Gwennie has gone.
She sighs as she makes a start on tonight's look, reaching down for the concealer that stands on the shelf above the sink; only as she's about to start applying it, there's a knock at the door. She stops dead, and lowers the concealer. Nobody ever comes to her door, so why has somebody now? At first she ignores it, but then it comes again and again; and so she goes out to open it. Who she sees standing there on the other side is a shock, almost too much of a shock