Everchanging

Drip, Drip, Drip

!!TW!! Suicide in dream, blood, blame, self-hatred

A dripping sound called out to Genya. He was home again, the floors and walls just how he remembered. The sounds of children playing in the room behind him nearly drowned out the dripping as he held Shuuya on his hip. Father wasn't home, he had left for a bar yesterday and he hadn't been back since. A treacherous part of Genya wished that he'd never come back.

His body ached from when he tried to defend his mother from Kyogo's fiery rage. It wasn't enough, his mom was still beaten to the point she had to lock herself in the bathroom to protect herself. That had left Genya to try to pull his father away from breaking the door down, hoping that the children stayed in the room so Kyogo wouldn't turn on them.

But Genya's thirteen-year-old body wasn't strong enough to get away unscathed. In his rage, Kyogo had slammed the boy into the dining table, his head hitting the corner of it with a crack. Only after that, Kyogo had grabbed his keys and left, slamming the front door hard enough to shake the floors.

That had been a day ago so now all of Genya's wounds had bruised and aches but he was still needed. Just because his head felt like it was wobbly, both too light and heavy on his neck, that didn't mean that he could just not take care of his siblings. Not when his mother still hadn't unlocked the bathroom door. She had refused to come out no matter how much Genya begged her. Even when the younger ones had called for her, all Shizu did was cry.

Shuuya's chubby fingers played with Genya's ear as the older boy limped around the kitchen to make food for the kids. There wasn't much, most of it was spoiled, but he would have to figure out how to make it work. He could cut off the rotten parts to eat for himself and give his mom and siblings the better pieces. Yeah, that would work.

Wrapping a cloth around himself and Shuuya, he tied the boy to his chest so he wouldn't fuss. Rolling up his torn sleeves to reveal smooth arms, Genya got to work. Cutting fruits and vegetables, Genya played surgeon on the spoiling food. He went to give himself one piece of ripe honeydew but he caught Shuuya looking up at him with big eyes. A chubby hand swatted at the fruit and the older boy sighed, relenting and giving his baby brother the piece of fruit to suck on.

It didn't take long to finish lunch, setting the plates and bowls on the table since they didn't have to worry about Kyogo being home anytime soon. The man would probably stay out all night again getting wasted. Genya called his siblings to come eat, setting the youngest in his chair as the children dug into their food. Humming, Genya grabbed the last bowl of food and went towards where Shizu was still hiding.

Genya hoped that maybe the food would cheer her up. He had tried his hardest to make it tasty despite the lack of fresh food in the house. He had to swallow his own drool when the smell hit his nose, knocking on the bathroom door again. His mother had grown quiet for hours, having probably finally fallen asleep after her adrenaline faded. Genya knew what that felt like, your body feeling so painfully lethargic and tired after the shivering of anxiety fizzed out.

"Mom? I made lunch." Genya tried the doorknob and was unsurprised when it was still locked. A soft sigh left his lips, speaking again just a little louder. "Father's not here so it's okay to come out now. Can you at least eat? Then you can go back to hiding."

To be honest, Genya hated it when his mother locked herself away. It made him worried and scared to be by himself in charge of so many children in the face of a big huge monster. But if that was what made Shizu feel safe, he didn't want to take that away from her. If he wasn't able to be like Sanemi and effectively protect his own mother, the least he could do was let her protect herself. And if that meant leaving him to deal with his violent father so she could hide, then Genya would gladly do it.