Demoralize

Homecoming

Morty was released from the hospital with little fanfare. After it was determined Morty was no longer a threat to himself, Beth shuffled him into the car.

"You need to get some rest, Morty. We have a busy week ahead." Beth said with the least amount of emotion she could handle. It sounded more like she was talking about a vacation, and not a barrage of psychiatrist and doctor visits. She couldn't look at him. 

They shuffled back into the house like zombies. Morty went up to his room. The door was gone. Morty gasped and felt his face twist in frustration. "What the hell is this?" he muttered. So what if all this shit happened? He still wanted to be alone. He wanted to be alone forever. He suddenly kicked the wall with vicious ferocity he didn't know he had. He crashed into his bed, cradling his now throbbing foot. He questioned his own black squirming gut. What would he do if it was his kid? He didn't have a clue. He laid prostrate on his mattress, guilt pounding in his head. 

Morty took his time going back downstairs. He certainly didn't want to face anyone. But, eventually, hunger won out. He sidled down the stairs, praying he wouldn't see anybody. He ducked his head into the kitchen. 

Beth was leaning into a tall cabinet, fiddling with bottles. Morty turned into the kitchen. Beth whipped her head around and shut the cabinet swiftly. She forced a smile onto her face.

"Hi, Morty." she crooned with a saccharine voice Morty hadn't heard since he was a baby.

"Hey, Mom. W-What are you doing?"

"Just organizing." Beth lied through her teeth.

"Okay." Morty let it go.

He turned to the fridge. There wasn't much of anything. His mind twisted in guilt as he realized no one had bought any groceries. What had they been eating for the past week? Were they eating at all? Morty forced himself to scrounge up enough to make a sandwich. 

"How are you feeling, Morty?" Beth asked, panic sneaking into her voice. 

Morty sighed. "Who took my door?"

"Oh. That was Jerry." Beth said. "He was a little upset about what happened." Her voice strained. Morty couldn't bring himself to say anything.

"So," Beth continued. "We have an appointment with the doctor at two tomorrow. He's probably going to refer you to a specialist." 

"What kind of specialist?" Morty asked.

"I don't know, probably a psychologist or something. We'll find out." 

"Okay." he said. He grabbed his sandwich and made to leave.

"Morty," started Beth, instinctively trying to follow. She stopped herself. "Are you going to be okay tonight?"

Morty sighed. He hadn't felt okay in forever. Did he even know what that meant? What that felt like? He bit his lip. He knew what she was really trying to ask."I'm fine. I'm not going to do anything."

---

The month fell away. Despite everything, life resumed as normal after a while. It was amazing how tedious things had became in only a short time. 

Morty and Summer were back in school, Beth was at work, and Rick was back in the garage. Inspiration eventually took over depression, and Rick was busy creating inventions and traveling to new dimensions. Rick never asked Morty to come along. Regardless of the thin sheen of security, Rick wouldn't put Morty back in harm's way. It would be too much for him.

Morty came back home from a regular Tuesday at school. He swung into the garage to say hello. 

"H-Hey, Rick!" piped Morty cheerily.

Rick cocked an eyebrow, not looking up from his work. "Wha-What do you want, M-Morty?"

Rick could hear the smile in Morty's voice. "I-I got my math test back, Rick! I got a B+!" Morty swelled up his chest with pride.

Rick snorted. Usually, now would be the time where he would teach him a real lesson. That school was for chumps, and their arbitrary grading system was designed to make smart people feel dumb and dumb people feel smart. Rick still lived off of schadenfreude, after all. Right as he was about to speak, something weighed on his chest like an elephant. Or, maybe like a bathtub.

"Well, that's great, Morty." he said.

"Aww jeez, thanks Rick!" Morty chirped, pleasantly surprised with Rick's kindness.

He ran from the doorway to go tell the rest of the family the good news. Rick sighed and looked up from his latest invention and allowed himself a smile.

Life was okay again.