✗ Nineteen ✗ DOB: January 25 ✗ DOD: N/A ✗ Patient at Institution ✗
[ abuse tw, alcohol tw, death tw, sexual assault tw ]
Tommy Verona used to be a loving son. His parents were high school sweethearts who married soon after graduating. Before either his mum or dad could get invested into college, he was on the way into the world. His mum was always the one to tell him about the past and he loved listening to her stories. They shared a tight bond. When it came to his father, Tom adhered to the rules of the house and tried to make the man proud, though it was a challenge. His father was the type of man who never allowed anyone into his office—a secretive and scary inducing thought. It was tough to have a relationship with him when he was so distant.
When he was seven, they moved from England to the states. Adapting to the new school was intimidating. People liked to stare and comment on his accent, yet he was surrounded by their accents as well. Tom became a certain level of shy, though not to the point where it was crippling. How reserved he was usually increased when it came to talking to girls. Talking to the opposite sex was not his forte, but besides that his social skills weren’t lacking. At age eight his sister Ali was born. He took on the responsibility of being a big brother all on his own and that made them close as she got older. Not to long after her birth is when his mother got sick. His parents had been arguing more and more and when another scene began, he always retreated to make sure Ali was out of the way. He stood with the three year old, coming up with stories to tell her so that she would calm and be distracted from the yelling. At some point the yelling stopped and Ali fell asleep. All Tom heard was his heavy footed dad returning from outside and slamming his room door. Assuming his mother was sleeping on the couch again, he fell asleep after staring through the window and watching the snow falling heavily outside.
In the morning he took care of his sis, but soon noticed his mother wasn’t on the couch like he expected. He looked all around the house for her, though too afraid to try the bedroom where his bitter father was sleeping. He finally found her left outside, practically covered in snow and bruises. She was lucky to still be alive, but became a victim of hypothermia. Furious, Tom stormed to his parent’s room after helping his mum back inside. It was the first time he screamed at his father and the first time the man struck him. His father wasn’t guilty of his actions. The smell of alcohol reeked from his clothes and Tom saw nothing in those dark eyes. No affection. No trace of the father he grew up with in England. It was a rude awakening for him because he realized his family wasn’t happy.
The hypothermia is what did it, but Tom still blames his father for his mum’s death. Now that she is gone, the man truly indulged in liquor and the house became a pigsty. He concluded that the reason his mother never let on that dad was beating her was because he was too young. Maybe she was strong for not showing it or maybe she just took the beating so that her kids didn’t have to. There didn’t seem to be a motive for why his dad turned into a monster, but then again he found that he couldn’t reason with the alcoholic. He did try to be good by getting good grades and taking care of Ali and the house, but nothing was significant. Soon it became a job to protect his little sister, trying to shield her from the violence in their home, though he could never cover up the cuts and bruises he received from their old man.
His father made it clear that he didn’t give a shit, but was extremely controlling. Tom was like a dog. With a snap of Norman Verona’s fingers, he would do whatever the man commanded out of fear. Being hit caused him to socially retreat from others. The lifestyle he was living wasn’t healthy, but there didn’t seem to be a way out of it. The kids around school assumed he was a trouble maker that got into fights, but that was because he was good at making it look like home was safe. His father wasn’t friendly and though he didn’t always portray himself as a drunk in public, people judged that Tom was growing up to be just like the man. Being like his dad is one of his fears. It’s also why he won’t touch alcohol, afraid that it’ll transform him into a monster, too.
There aren’t any moments that Tom stands up to his dad since it’ll only make it worse for himself in the end. The only exception is when Ali is threatened. The young girl knows to stay clear of her dad by keeping her head down and doing her chores, but with the way his father’s greasy friends stare at her like a piece of meat, it was only a matter of time before Tom snapped. At eighteen he lost his temper when his father’s gambling buddies started messing with Ali. Sometimes they would trip her or flick their cigarettes in her direction, but when they tried to touch the little girl, he lost himself. He truly fought back for the first time in his life, first going after the sick men, but then zeroing in on his father. Tommy never knew what he was capable of until he stabbed his dad. The blood on his hands made him feel sick, made him ashamed no matter how much he hated Norman. His father’s friends called the police and he ultimately looked like the bad guy. His father didn’t die and Tom couldn’t make up his mind if that was a bad thing or not. After being evaluated, doctors believed he wasn’t quite stable. Tom certainly didn’t look it with how much sleep he doesn’t get. Even though he was of age, Harold had the upper hand by having him sent to Michaelson’s (diagnosed with Dysthymic Disorder and Insomnia), convincing others that Tom was a danger to him, Ali, and possibly himself.
+Chivalrous, Loyal, && Independent -Serious, Cynical, && Stubborn