Hanahaki || DNF Fanfiction/AU

Dream's Backstory // SHORT

[haha gotta set the mood for this angst ride :)]

TW: Abuse, Rape, Alcohol

//This takes place when Clay is 11 years old\\

Clay woke up to the sound of glass shattering. He sat up immediately, his mind racing. It wasn't the glass that made him worried; it was his older sister and father yelling at each other.

Leah was 16. She had always hated their father, as he'd always been an abusive drunk. Their mother told them that he had been a different man when she married him, and she was too scared of what he'd do if she tried to leave him.

"You only care about yourself!! When was the last time you got off of your fat ass and did something for any of us?!"

"You have no idea how hard it is to have four god damn kids, Leah!"

"Whose fault is that?! Mom didn't want four kids! You're the one who'd force her to get drunk and rape her! The only reason we still love her is because she loves and cares for us!"

"You're fucking lucky I'm still around. If I left, your mother wouldn't be able to keep you in check, you little whore! Do you think I don't know about your little slut boyfriend?!"

"He's not a slut! He cares about me, and he's more of a man than you ever will be!"

After listening to them for a few minutes, Clay suddenly remembered his younger siblings. Drista was 8, and Drother was 6. If they were awake, they'd be bawling.

Clay got out of his bed quietly, then peeked out the door of his room. He looked to the left; he could see Leah crying in the kitchen. Their father was on the opposite side of the table, hidden by the cabinets and wall.

He hurried down the right side of the hall to his siblings' room. He opened the door slightly and looked in. "Drista? Drother?"

Clay saw them hugging each other while crying on Drista's bed. They looked up at Clay and Drother beckoned him over. Clay shut the door behind him and sat down on the bed, pulling the two close. Tears pricked his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. He needed to be strong for his siblings.

Clay knew that Leah meant well; she really did. But it was scary to know that she could get hurt doing this.

After what seemed like hours of them fighting, things quieted. Clay's siblings had fallen asleep in his arms, and the house was silent. Clay could hear the wind whipping around outside.

Carefully, Clay set Drista down onto her bed comfortably, then moved Drother over to his own bed. He covered them with their blankets and turned the lamp off, checking the time on their alarm clock. It was 3:44 am.

Clay shut the door quietly behind him, then went out to the living room. His father was passed out on the couch, beer bottles littering the floor. One still clung to his hand, still somewhat full. Clay glanced into the kitchen and saw Leah.

Leah had cuts on her arms, and was picking glass pieces out of them, wincing whenever she did. There were dark bruises forming on her forearms as well.

"Leah?" Clay spoke in a low voice as not to wake their father. Leah whipped around and stared at Clay with wide, wet eyes.

"Clay...? Why are you..." her eyes fell to the floor.

"What happened-? Are you okay?"

"He was... trying to get on Mom. I tried to stop him, but he ended up hitting me with the bottle and it... shattered on my arms."

"Oh my god... Lee..." Clay went over and helped Leah pick the glass out of her arms.

"Ow..." Leah muttered.

"You shouldn't have done that..." Clay added.

"I know," Leah admitted. "But I couldn't let him do that to her again."

"She can handle herself. Plus she's told us that she'd rather her get hurt than us."

"I just want to repay her for keeping us safe for so long..."

Clay was silent after that. They both were, aside from the occasional grunt of pain from Leah.

After the glass had all been picked out, Clay went to get bandages from th bathroom. He noticed that his mother's door was open and peeked in on her. She was sleeping. Clay smiled and got the bandages, heading back to the kitchen.

"Here," he told Leah, handing her the bandages. She smiled in thanks, then started wrapping them around her arms.

They were like Band-Aids, but one big roll. So they were really good for large areas.

"You should go to bed," Leah told Clay.

"I want to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine, sleep."

Clay glanced at her to make sure she wasn't lying, but she didn't look up from her task.

"Okay. Good night, I love you."

"Love you too."

//823 words\\

Okayyy so....

I wanted to do something like a backstory for Dream-

sorry :)

but if you are having an abusive relationship with anyone, you can talk to people about it. friends, family... if you dont have either of those, there are hotlines you can use.

stay safe guys <3