This oneshot will contain themes of abuse, alcohol, arguments and lots of angst

"Shut up, will you!? Just shut up! I'm sick of hearing your voice! I'm sick of it!" The black-hair woman yelled, slamming her fists on the table. Her son nodded wordlessly, rubbing the cut just under his watery green eye and his swollen cheek. "Now git! Out!" She yelled, lazily shooing him out of the kitchen. He quickly rubbed the tears out of his eyes and walked out of the room. "Drunkard..." He mumbled under his breath.

Gary End and his mother, Evelyn End, had gotten into an argument while the woman was getting tipsy. The two were debating on if or not Sally should've been hit for trying to sneak out the night before. Gary obviously was defending his little sister, but Evelyn wanted her way.

Typical "Mother-knows-best" sh!t she liked throwing around. Gary knew better, and didn't let her tell him otherwise.

Evelyn didn't like that. And if Evelyn didn't like it, it had to be stopped. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Not even a simple compromise or explanation with words. Just a punch to the face to shut the meek teenager up. Gary never liked arguing with his mother. It always ended with tears, screams, "because I said so"s, blood, or all of the above.

But none of that matter to Gary right now. What mattered to him was checking up on Sally. He needed to make sure she was alright. He found her sniffling in her room, rubbing her bruised arm. Gary, not wanting to alarm his sibling with his injury, grabbed a mask to hide it and went over to her.

"Heya..." He said gently, sitting next to her. Sally stayed silent, nothing unusual from moments like these, but she normally grew out of the silence and into a comfortable conversation of beautiful tomorrows close by.

This time was different.

Sally never quite knew what happened with Gary and Evelyn when she wasn't there. Gary always managed to hide his injuries from her, and Evelyn never dared hit Gary in front of the younger.

Evelyn called it "sympathy," whereas Gary called it "cruelty".

Despite being very mature for her age, Sally acted like a child when upset or sad. But it was a surprise even for Gary how she acted when he ran his fingers through her black hair, as she swatted his hand away.

"Leave me alone, moron." She growled, her green eyes glaring at him in a way she'd never looked at him before. Gary, stunned by her actions and even more so by her words, recoiled his hand.

"Hey, Sal, it's alright. I just-" She cut him off. "You just want to bother me! Now leave me alone! I'm just not having it today! Not like YOU'D understand anyway."

Gary's eyebrows furrowed in shock. "Wouldn't understand? Wouldn't understand!? Are you serious!?" He suddenly yelled. Sally visibly flinched at the yell, recoiling away and pressing herself to the wall.

"The hell are you yelling for!?" She snapped, glaring at him, "Universe, you're the worst brother ever!" She finished, throwing her arms up in fury. Gary fell silent in shock, confused with what Sally had just told him. The younger shrank in shock at what she had just said.

"The worst...?" Gary whispered, seeming out of breath. "Gary, I-I didn't mean-" Sally was quickly cut off by her brother abruptly standing up and running off, hiding his tears. Sally tried reaching her hand out to him, but sighed sadly, shaking in shock.

Gary ran out of the room, past his mother, and out the door. After around an hour of running, he collapsed to his knees. Tears were pouring down his face and he could hardly breathe. He took off his mask, gasping for air and revealing his wound.

"Dear?" A gentle voice cooed. He glanced up worriedly. He was met with the concerned eyelights of Willow Wilt. She gasped softly at the sight of him. Gary lifted his hand, finding that he had crushed a flower when he knelt down. The petals were smashed into the ground, nectar spewed around in a sticky mess.

"Sorry..." He mumbled, knowing how much Willow loved flowers.

"I'm not concerned about the flower, dear. I'm concerned about you." She said calmly, helping Gary stand on shaky knees. "I'll get you to the mansion and get you fixed up." She said, stroking her boyfriend's shaggy black hair. Gary nodded, sniffling.

"Evelyn again?" Willow asked, carefully leading Gary to an ever-familiar mansion. He nodded wordlessly. "I believe there's something more you aren't telling me." She added softly. Gary turned away as Willow led him to a small medical room in the mansion. She sighed softly and started fixing up his cut.

When she was finished, she handed Gary an ice pack, giving him some relief when he put it against his swollen cheek.

"Thanks..." He mumbled softly.

"Is everything else ok?" She asked, squeezing his pale hand with her bony one. Gary nodded, glancing at the setting sun. Willow sighed a nodded, standing up and kissing Gary on the forehead. "I'll leave you alone for now." She said, then walked off.

Even after a few hours of the night, Gary still couldn't sleep. What Sally had told him lingered in her mind. Everything about it hurt him, inside and outside. The way she glared at him, the venom in her voice, the words, the hate.

Everything.

He stared down at his hands, his vision blurring with tears. Someone suddenly burst through the door, causing him to jump. He saw it was the familiar black-haired, green-eyed, pale-skinned sister of his. He looked back down as he watched his sister's heart sink when she saw his injury.

"Brother..." She whispered, looking down in shame. "I'm sorry about what I said. I never knew. I didn't mean to hurt you so much. You're the only person that's ever been there for me my entire life. And I called you the worst... I really didn't mean to... I love you... I'm really sorry..." She apologized, her voice getting choked.

She waited for a moment, but no response. "Gary?" She asked, looking up.

Gary had fallen asleep, finally finding comfort in the fact Sally told him it all. That she didn't hate him. Sally managed a weak smile and crawled into the small bed. She laid down next to her, smiling softly. "I love you, brother..." She said softly.