Chapter Text
Wally hated driving.
There really was no point to it, really. Running is soooo much faster and honestly it's basically a cage, a moving, slow drama filled cage.
As soon as he entered the cage- I mean car his Mom started crying.. She squeezed his shoulders tightly and ' Thanked God' that her son was okay.
Yeah, he knows, pure bullshit. He can't even remember the last time he saw his mother enter a church.
Wally could have rolled his eyes right there but the look Uncle Barry was sending through the rearview mirror made him reconsider.
Shit! both Barry and Iris are mad at him.
This has never happened.
What the fuck should he do?
What the fuck can he do?
For a while the car was quiet, the only sounds were Mary's small sniffles. The silence was suppose to be comforting, it was suppose to allow him to gather his thoughts and feelings.
Truth, it only made him more nervous.
So after seeing his fifth tree in a row and whipping his brow, Wally squeaked out "It's not a big deal I know I should've called but-
"Not a big deal" his Aunt Iris exclaimed.
Maybe he should've kept quiet.
She whipped her entire body around to face him, so Wally could see the blistering red hue that colored her skin, the white knuckles of her balled up fist and the bulging green vein on the side of her neck.
"Not a big deal" Iris yelled.
Yeah, he definitely should of kept quiet.
Despite this he couldn't help but scoff. It wasn't a big deal, really. And he really doesn't understand why she's suddenly back to caring so much.
Because if he's telling the truth as much as he loves Aunt Iris and Uncle Barry they haven't been the closest to him recently. He can't even remember the last time the three of them just enjoyed each other company.
Part of him blames Rudy, keeping Wally locked up, beaten and isolated was his favorite pastime. But another part of him, a bitter part of him, blames Barry and Iris, they had both been so busy. Iris with her new job as head reporter and Bary with his hero work.
Sure he'd spend time with them as Kid Flash, but that wasn't the same.
Wally understood.. he knew things had changed but… How could they go from seeing him everyday, to seeing him on the occasional missions and press conferences? How could they go from giving him his own room in their house, to not even inviting him over for dinner.
How could they not notice how much he needed them.
Instead of voicing this, Wally simply rolled his eyes and exclaimed. "Yes it's not a big deal. I stayed with a friend, ooh lock me up I've diverged to the dark side"
"Wallace" his Uncle Barry started only to be cut off by a livid Iris.
She was angry alright. Practically steaming from the tip of her head as she went on and on, repeating herself constantly. Even though Wally knew that her questions were rhetorical, his mind still answered a couple.
"Where the hell have you been!"
Living Aunt I, for once is his pathetic life he was living and feeling great about it.
"Do you have the slightest idea how irresponsible it is to just take off in the middle of the night! To not tell us anything, Wally seriously "
Yeah, he knows its stupid. But it was one of the best stupid decision he ever made, second only to creating Uncle Barry's experiment, and if he could, he'd do it again. Besides it's not like he took off, he just never came home.
It was at this moment Barry stopped the car, and tapped his wife on the back.
In a soothing voice he mumbled her name along with soft "Honey". Iris, unfortunately, didn't seem to notice it, and if she did she definitely didn't acknowledge it. Instead she continued her rant to a less than amused Wally.
"Honestly this is most irresponsible,out of character-
"Iris" Barry tried again.
"unfathomably selfish, careless-
"Iris" Barry tired once more.
"Completely irrational"
"Iris" Barry exclaimed.
"What" Iris yelled back.
Not the least bit surprised, Barry simply let out a small ,"We're here".
It was then that both red heads looked out the car window. There in plain sight stood a beaten down blue house, with a white dented mailbox that had West painted on the side.
The house was obviously old, the floorboards creaked as a hunched Mary West shuffled herself inside.
Just when had she left the car, Wally's not sure. He could find out if wanted to. Wally could rack his brain until he found the exact moment he heard that click of a car door opening. He could run inside before Mary fully enters the house and ask her. Hell, he could ask Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris.
But he won't, partially because he honestly doesn't really care for his mother's actions. And also because there was much bigger question here.
Home? They brought him home?
Wally quickly searched both Barry and Iris faces for clarification. Usually, if there was a problem, Iris and Barry would take him to their house and ground him after a lecture. Usually, one would even convince the other to let him off easy. They never brought him home if he messed up. Never.
What did this mean?
We're they giving up on him?
Had they already?
"Well, I guess I should say hello to Rudy" Iris quickly quipped. She then turned to Wally and softly said, "All I'm saying Wally, is yesterday, what you did shouldn't happen again...it was really….. really..selfish".
And with that Iris West Allen had exited the vehicle.
Wally tried not to notice how when she exited she walked with her shoulders hunched and the speed of a slug. He tried, like he tried not to notice the bags under her eyes or the fact that she still wore the same outfit from Monday.
Again, he felt a battle within himself. Should he be happy that Iris is torn down, that means she cares right? Or should he be sad, because he knows he's not worth caring for. Because he knows Iris deserves better.
When would she notice it too?
What did this mean?
"Wally" Barry's voice cut through his thoughts like a steel kitchen knife. The anger he had at the school had faded, his tone calm, his face impassive.
"Yeah" Wally sadly answer back, the bite from his tone had long dispersed as well. He was beginning to be enveloped with his sadness, every nightmare thought grew by the second.
Barry paused, as if not sure what to do with the sad tone Wally had. In that second he made two mistakes.
The first he ended up ignoring Wally's sadness, to save the boy some pride.
The second he didn't tell Wally how scared he was, how much he loved him and needed him, to save himself some pride.
Instead he blew out a long sigh and said , "This can't happen again Kid, a hero goes missing and we assume the worse"
"Yeah" Wally replied.
It wasn't what he wanted to say, but it was all he could say.
A hero?
Was that all he was to them?
Barry shuffled in his seat, clearly uncomfortable with the disciplinary position, "I'm gonna extend your suspension from the team for another week and also I'm gonna cut your sidekick patrols this week".
Wally bit his lip and let out a shaky, "Y-yeah..I understand". He then paused, as if a bit unsure of himself, "H-hey, what will you say to the press, ya know a hero goes missing and people expect the worse". He ended the sentence with a big laugh that normally would have been convincing, if not for the tears in his eyes.
"Wally I-
Wally suddenly opened the car door and sprinted into his house. iris, who was exiting the house the exact moment Wally was sprinting inside nearly fell down from his pace. Wally should've ushered an apology, he shouldn't be running in this old, worn house but...he just couldn't.
He couldn't stop himself from slamming the door shut. He couldn't help but listen to the hum of Barry's engine as they pulled away.
He couldn't give Barry the opportunity, he wouldn't give Barry the opportunity to answer the mulling question that flooded his head.
What was he to them?
A hero?
A comrade?
A so-
BAM
The frying pan that hit Wally's head rang like a thousand gongs perched in the most hollow arena. Honestly, he should've seen this coming. What else would Rudy do?
"So, the stupid worthless runaway runt has decided to grace us with his presence aye" Rudy hissed as he aimed another large swing at Wally.
Shit! Ow, that one hurt more.
Still Wally didn't bother dodging, he didn't fight back, instead he continued to ask himself the same question over and over again as Rudy beat him.
What was he?
"Ya worthless"!
SMACK! There goes a collarbone
"Stupid"!
BAM! And there goes his top three ribs
"Ungrateful"
SMACK! Was that his blood, his visions getting blurry
"Raaaat"! Rudy bellowed as he threw the pan away and began pounding at Wally with his fist. It hurt, god it hurt like hell, but Wally's been through worse.
Yet he couldn't stop himself from tearing up. Maybe it was the physical pain, maybe it was the emotional pain.
Either way he managed to break one of his fathers biggest rules never cry in front of him.
Furious Rudy ceased his constant punching to peer down at the small boys face. "Are you crying ya pussy" he bellowed. He didn't give Wally a chance to reply before he frantically pulled the young teen up by his hair and dragged him into the kitchen
Once inside Rudy, took a look around until he his eyes finally landed on the knife box. He frowned cleary not seeing his desired knife.
He then turned to his wife. Mary West was currently cooking dinner when he walked in. She was cutting some beef, when she noticed Rudy's stare. She paused, tears already threatening to fall,"No Rudy please, don't. He has school tomorrow"
"Shut up bitch" Rudy bellowed after yanking the knife out of her hand and slapping her to the ground."Think I care about that, runts a retard anyway. He needs to learn one way. Say the fucker's sick, make another doctor's note if ya have to" Rudy replied now holding the sharp beef covered blade.
The tears Wally had let slide so gracefully down his cheeks, now wildly streaked in a crazed dance of true fear. "No, Dad..no please" Wally cried, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.
"One way or another" Rudy mumbled as he slid the knife across Wally's face. Immediately a large cry was heard, blood splashed through Wally's vision and flooded into his mouth.
Despite the scream, Rudy did not stop he kept slashing at the poor boy. Cutting through his torso, wrist and legs. Naturally each cut would heal in a few minutes, Wally did have lunch that day after all.
Growing frustrated Rudy cut a bit deeper than usual, this time the knife was embedded into Wally's torso.
Immediately his skin began to stitch over the knife, the pain of the healing while still having the object inside of him, obvious from Wally's screams. "P-please, p-p-please" Wally choked as he felt the skin stitch together more and more.
His father ignored him grabbed a bear out of the fridge, chugged it down and stalked over to a sniffling Mary West.
"Whateer you crying fors bitch. Its yer fault the boys such a weakling" Rudy slurred.
His mother quickly nodded agreeing with any and every one of Rudy's statements. "I know Rudy, honey dear. Its my fault, I'm a pathetic. I-i'm lucky someone as magnificent as you loves someone as ordinary as me... P-please let me make it up to you".
Rudy smirked muttered a soft "glad you know" before shucking off his jeans and ripping through her scrubs. The next few minutes were filled with his grunts and Mary's choked hisses.
"Please Dad, I'm sorry", Wally screamed from his position. He was leaning on the fridge desperate for a breath that didn't feel like a hundred needles. No he couldn't see them, he refuse to slip over and see..that. Besides the sounds were enough, Mary was doing everything to help Rudy.
She mutter sweet praises while trying to mask her hisses of pain as hisses of pleasure. She always did that, always faked her joy. Why? because she loved Rudy. He was the only person to ever... want her. The only one, in his own way he loved her. He had to, right?
Even if he hurt Wally, even if he hurt her. Rudy still..loved them right? He had to! They just weren't giving in enough, Rudy needed more. They just had to give him more.
That was Mary's mind set as Rudy pounded into her, more and more. As Wally's skin tried to stitch itself over the knife, more and more.
She grunted.
More and more
"J-just pull it out yo dumb fuck" Wally yelled. To any ordinary person it would seem like he wanted Rudy to pull out the knife. The one object that was causing him so much physical pain. But to Mary it was so much clearer.
Wally was yelling, commanding to Rudy. He had to know that Rudy wouldn't do what he asked. He had to know that Rudy would stop his ministrations with her, to begin beating on him.
Despite his attitude, despite his claims that he didn't like his mother. Wally was trying, he was trying to help her.
BAM
Rudy threw a plate at him. Who was Wally to tell him what to do. Instead he continued to pound into Mary until he felt his own release. He then pulled out of her and shucked his jeans back on.
Rudy didn't even bother helping Mary up, as he stepped his way over to their hyperventilating boy. He smirked,the runt was scared. Good. He then pulled the knife out of Wally's torso and watched his sons blood gush on the floor.
Immediately Wally fell on the ground, he didn't even wince as his head bopped the tile floor. His father smirked once more, and laughed at his sons heavy breaths. He started to walk out of the small kitchen but paused at the door before saying in the most gleeful voice "If your gonna leave, do it the right way boy. It's not like anyone will miss you".
And with that Rudy West had left the kitchen.
For a while it was damn near silent the only sounds were Rudy's loud snores and the humm of the TV. Both Mary and Wally layed on the floor breathing heavily. One with healing gashes all over his face and body. Another with a forming bruise on her cheek.
In the next few moments Mary picked herself up off of the floor, went to retrieve some new scrubs and peered down at her son.
"You didn't have to do that" she mumbled.
Wally sighed, "I know".
"I- I'm the one who told Barry and Iris"
Waly sighed again, "I know", He then closed his eyes, a sign Mary knew meant the conversation was over.
He couldn't talk to her anymore. He didn't want to.
The remains of his energy were to be spent on the next ten minutes he focused on not hissing in pain as the slashes around his face and wrist slowly began to etch together.
He opened his eyes when he realises the deep gash on his torso was healing so much slower. Damn he wish he would've ate more with Chad, or atleast ate in the car. Cuts this deep, won't heal in a hour let alone ten minutes.
Well he might as well clean all this blood up, he thought as he tried to pick himself off f the floor. Ow, bad idea. Just because he healed the slashes, doesn't mean all the pain is gone.
Mary watched with a sad resolve as he winced through the pain and stretched out his now healed limbs. "Its okay Walla-Wally. I'll clean it up".
Wally nodded, he didn't have the energy to argue. He didn't even have the energy to sprint to his room. Instead he gruffly walked, wincing at every creak .
Once inside his room, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and winced at the cracked screen.
Fan-fucking tastic
Yeah, he knows a broken phone isn't a big deal. He can just do it himself, it wasn't the most complicated area of robotics. But it also wasn't the most updated phone, it would take weeks to get the appropriete parts.
Damn, just his luck the day he makes friends is the day he loses his phone.
He winced yet again as he rolled his sore muscles. Great how was he gonna explain the sore muscles to Coach Peterson.
Maybe his mother would fake a doctor's note, but that excuse only works if he hadn't seen anybody the day before. He practically spent the entire day with Chad.. But hey, maybe Chad won't notice…. Yeah he knows fat chance.
He'll just have to smile through it, no biggie. It's not like he hasn't before, besides how bad can tomorrow be. And with that thought the lean teen closed his sore eyes.
How bad could tomorrow be?
If he had thought it through just a little more, if he hadn't had a healing concussion, if his phone worked, he would know. Tomorrow would be a horrible, terrible day. It would rival the day they lost Jason. It would hurt Wally worse than any beating ever had.
Tomorrow would be a very bad day.