TW: Slight mention of pills and drugs for those with Pharmacophobia! And the wheel on discord I used decided Casey's trauma in this story.. so his dad is still as toxic as the IDW Casey's.
It's been a few weeks. Donnie has been avoiding me, almost been a month now. I'm not sure what I did or why it's happening, but he is. If we're ever paired up on patrol duty he just.. makes excuses not to go with me or why he can't go at all. It's gotten to the point where Leo forces him to go with me, alone. But he just goes with the patrol without saying a word. Sometimes on missions, though, he will say a single word or two the entire time to me. Usually it's just in hand signs or morse, and I don't know much of either. It's frustrating.
Casey tapped a dot on the page and closed his journal, spinning around in his chair to stare at his gloomy excuse of a room. During the time Donnie ignored him, he had turned seventeen. He had rock posters splattered all around on the grayish blue walls over holes he couldn't fix, spray paint dots covering every corner in various colors, clothes all over the floor with an empty center, trash and dirt covered his dresser and desk. His table was covered in his medication pills he refused to take, and the papers for all sorts of shit he hated. Like the letters home to his dad he hid, and his report cards. Also all the letters from the school asking how his therapy sessions were doing, and they weren't going well. He refused to actually show up to any, and eventually used tutoring with April his excuse. All of his clothes and blankets were crinkled, and the lightbulb had one life left. A faint yellow glow, barely lighting up the dark room. A tall wardrobe filled up the entire thin wall beside the door, which sat in the corner next to his desk. Casey's room smelled like smoke. In fact, the whole apartment building did. Mainly because of his dad and his friends smoking habits, or drug addictions. None of this bothered Casey, though. He was used to the yelling from underneath the kitchen, and the constant banging and creaking from underneath his bedroom floor from neighbors below them. Sure, it was annoying from time to time.. but he barely stayed home anyways. He usually stayed at the Lair and slept there on the couch, or on a sleeping bag in Raph's room. He payed a babysitter to take care of his little sister, Angel, all the time. Whenever he didn't sleep in the same apartment as his dad, he'd pay the babysitter extra to let Angel sleep over. The only time Casey stayed at the apartment overnight were nights he couldn't afford paying the babysitter. He managed to convince the coach to pay him for every won Hockey match. But the season was ending soon, and he didn't know how he was going to get Angel away from their dad. The only thing that gave him strength was his sister. She was turning 6 soon. To believe she aged so fast.. it was like a dream.
Casey tapped his pen on his knee and stared at the ceiling, sighing as he looked over at the clock, it was off. By five hours. But the accurate time, was two PM. Meaning that in twenty minutes his sister would get out of school, and it's not like their dad would pick her up. So he had to.
Casey hopped off his chair and put down the blue inked pen, throwing on his fingerless gloves and brushing his hands through his hair. He figured today he'd pick up Angel and try to impress the kids at her school, make sure she wouldn't get picked on. So looking into the tall mirror next to his window, he put one hand in his ripped jean pockets and leaned his upper back back a little, with his bandana tied around his neck. He put in his angel bite studs (piercings) and adjusted the bridge piercing, smiling awkwardly into the mirror. He looked cool.. right? He looked emo more or less, if anything. He thought his short sleeved, red shirt stained with oil from fixing the truck earlier would help make him look interesting. So his smile widened and his teeth were made visible, even missing ones.
He felt stupid going around like this.
He shrugged, thinking it was enough. And it would have to be.
