Thief and the Hero

Chapter Four

"Goddammit, Lifty!"

Lifty flinched, just barely moving out of the way as Shifty threw a bottle at his head. He trembled in place as Shifty took off his hat to brush his hair back. Shifty had went drinking when he died and he was caught outside when he wasn't supposed to be out.

"I-I-I'm so-sorry, Sh-Shif—ty!" He yelped in pain when Shifty rushed and slapped him across the face.

"Shut up! Goddammit, I don't want to hear you speak!"

Lifty stumbled and held his cheek, tears welling up in his eyes. He clenched his jaw and tried not to anger Shifty anymore. The problem was was that he had an issue with silence and being nervous. His mind automatically wanted to defend himself, say anything to get his brother to stop yelling at him. Shifty glared at him, pacing back and forth.

"You are a fucking idiot. If he asked what you were doing today you would have spilled the beans! You know why?" Shifty paused and when Lifty didn't respond he jabbed his finger into his head roughly. "Because you're fucking stupid!"

Lifty flinched and felt a tear run down his cheek, "I-I've been-been working o-on it..."

He yelped again when Shifty smacked him once more, causing him to cover his mouth as his brother shoved him into the ground, "You haven't been working on shit! I don't need to get more "community service" hours and have those nasty little fuckers breathing down my neck because you can't keep your mouth shut!"

Lifty wanted to defend himself, but considering how drunk his brother was and how angry he was that he ran into Splendont, he knew better. By now, the tears were falling down his face because Shifty was mad at him. He really was working on his learning issues, but since they didn't have health insurance, it was hard. He tried his best not to cry, but the tears were flowing now as Shifty continued to yell at him. It wasn't until an hour later that Shifty finished and left him there on the floor. He hiccuped and wiped his face, fighting back sobs.

He doesn't mean it.

He sniffed and took a deep breath, calming himself as best he could. Shifty was a good brother, he was. Lifty sighed and squeezed the scarf around his neck, his comfort item. He sat there a little while longer, trying not to sob anymore, but a few still escaped him.

He's just stressed.

Lifty got up slowly and walked out of their living room to their room. It was a one bedroom, one bath apartment. They couldn't afford anything more. At least that's what Shifty told him, but why would he not believe what Shifty told him? He went into their room quietly, where Shifty was fast asleep. He looked calm now and Lifty sighed in relief. As quietly as he could, undressed and put on his pjs. He quietly slipped into his spot on the bed and wrapped himself up in his blanket. Staring at the form of his brother beside him, he slowly began to fall asleep.

I hate it when he drinks...

————

Bubbles: Hey, Red!

Splendont stared at the text on the communicator Clank gave him. It worked like a normal phone, but it was controlled by one satellite that couldn't be detected or registered by government satellites. He didn't really participate in the group chat that he was added to, that Splendid liked to text a lot. He really made fast friends with the people they met on their search for Flippy. One such person was Foxy, the Bubble Hero. She was a very pretty woman, definitely his type, but he wasn't a fan of her personality. Splendid wasn't aware, but she was a snake.