Sometimes Things Fall Apart

Chapter Ten

      I sat in a chair at the kitchen table, watching Rick run around, looking for something to make. I checked the time on the microwave's clock. It was eleven in the morning. "Where is everybody else?"
       Setting a box near the stove, Rick grabbed a pan, "It's Tuesday. Morty and Summer are at school, Beth's at work, and Jerry is looking for a job." He took a swig from his flask. And so it begins.

       "Do you want any help?" I looked around the room, wondering what had happened while I was out. "Y-Yeah. Eugh Could you grab a fork or something so urp I can mix this?" He poured pancake mix into a bowl, throwing eggs, vegetable oil, and water in with it while I ran over to a drawer near the sink, grabbing a fork.
       "Here." I held the fork out to him, handle first, "Thanks."

       "What did I miss? Over the last few weeks, I mean. Anything too awfully important?" Rick shrugged, "I wouldn't know. I was in the urp garage with you the whole time."

       "Oh." I sat down again, swinging my feet around for a while before he set a plate of pancakes in front of me. "Here. You haven't had much, other than what Beth managed to feed you through her weird horse technique. Not fun to watch." He cringed. I grabbed the syrup, drowned the cakes, and dug in.

       "Where's your food? You need to eat too." I continued eating, "These are actually really good." He took another drink from his flask, belched, and set the flask on the table, "I'm not hungry." Almost as if in protest, his stomach growled.

       "Somebody begs to differ." I pointed the end of my fork in the direction of his stomach, '"You need to eat just as much as I do." He scowled, making a tsk sound. "I'm fine."

       I just gave him a disapproving look and took another bite. "What?"

       "Nothing."

       "Seriously, what, dipshit?" I didn't respond, pushing a bite of pancake around on my plate, collecting syrup. He sighed and stood up, grabbing a single pancake off of the stack, and threw it on a plate, drowning it in syrup like I did. I smirked triumphantly, taking care of my plate and setting it in the sink before I sat back down across from Rick, waiting for him to finish eating. When he did, he took care of his plate in he same manner I had.

       "What are the plans for eugh today?" I hadn't thought about that. "Shit! I bet my groceries are spoiled. They haven't been touched in two weeks!" I ran out the door, sprinting to my house.

       I pulled the fridge door open, groaning when I saw the mess. My produce had expired, along with the meats. I grabbed my garbage bin and tossed it all, staring into the fridge, empty again. I went around and began to go through the cupboards, making sure none of the boxed goods had expired, before I made my way to my garage to make sure everything was still there, double checking the locked drawer.

       I locked my garage back up and found Rick sitting outside on my porch. "I'm going shopping again, if you want to tag along. Just to re-stock." He stood up with a grunt, shoving his hand in his pocket. "I don't think I'll be able to go. Too urp much to be done at home. Here," He placed the bracelet in my hand, "it didn't break. Remember, three times when you eugh need me."

       He helped clasp the bracelet around my wrist before he walked back across the street, opening the garage door and walking in, immediately starting to work on something.

       I hopped in my car, wondering who had brought it home. I didn't think Rick would be that considerate. I'm sure somebody else did it. Heading off to town, I waved a quick goodbye to Rick.

-x-

       I had finished shopping around five in the evening. It took a while to remember what I had needed and the stores were distanced pretty far from one another. I quickly carried everything inside and put it all away before I ran to the bathroom to shower.

       "I don't think they would've actually bathed me." I laughed at the thought, pausing for a moment at the mirror. I still had Rick's pants and the lab coat he had given me. I looked absolutely tired, my hair a small mess. Sighing, I grabbed a set of pajamas and hopped into the shower.

       "Hello~?" About ten minutes into my routine, somebody had walked into my house. It didn't sound familiar. I shut the water off and grabbed my towel, wrapping it around myself and slowly walking downstairs. "H-Hello?" I looked around, not seeing anybody. "Weird..."

      I spun around, only to come face to face with one of the men from that night. "Did you miss me?" His speech was slurred and his face had faint bruises. Did Rick do that? I backed away, trying to think. I was absolutely horrified.

       "H-How did you find where I live?" Dammit I just got fixed up. I don't want to go through this again. My heart was racing. All I got in response was a quick, evil chuckle. I was still holding the towel up as he grabbed my free hand, pulling it to his face. He pulled the back of my hand down along the bruises, "You feel that? You're boyfriend's fuckin' psycho." I tried to pull my hand away, "He's not my boyfriend. What the fuck are you doing in my house?"

       He wouldn't let go of my wrist, "You're gonna pay for what that son of a bitch did."

       Before I could even react, I was pulled towards the man, the taste of alcohol filling my mouth as his lips invaded my own. I couldn't push him away. He was holding one hand above my head while my other hand held my towel.

       I didn't move. I remained frozen as he tried to elicit some sort of response. Realizing he wasn't going to get one, his hand struck my face and I fell backwards. "Dumb bitch." He reached down and grabbed my towel, yanking it away. I tried desperately to cover myself and get away, but he was already above me. I felt his hand running along my calf, all the way up to the inner thigh of my left leg, the same one that had been cut. "You got rid of that really fast. We're gonna fix that later." His hand kept going higher and higher, my arms held motionless above my head as hot tears spilled down my face. I tried to kick him, but he put his knee over both of my legs.

       "Be a good little bitch and maybe I'll let you live." I whimpered, "L-Let me go. What do you want from m-me?"
       "I already told you. You're gonna pay," his hand pressed against me, "for what that prick did." At that point, I had wished I had brought the bracelet downstairs with me. It was too far to hear my quiet voice.

        His finger rubbed against me. I kept crying, trying to move away. I managed to pull my legs from beneath his knee and cross them, only for him to hit me in the side. He hit again and again, "You little whore!"

       I kept crying and screaming, keeping my legs together as his hand snaked around my throat.

      My front door opened. "(F/N)?"