The Day Of The Meltdown...
"Where's that good-for-nothing brat!?", Darren explodes the second he gets home and MaryAnne jolts in panic, she's beyond startled by the bellowing yell from Darren which had no doubt woken Richard and Danielle who were hunkered down in Danielle's room, curled up around each other, more like Rix was curled up around Danielle and cocooning her in his larger frame till he'd cried himself to sleep, actual sleep, not that half asleep, dazed state he'd been in before MaryAnne had told him to take Danielle upstairs.
"I think you should calm down, dear. You just got back and you need to rest and we can just discuss this in the morning", MaryAnne went for passive persuasion but Darren looked at her like she'd just uttered blasphemy and he was the priest of the god she'd blasphemed against.
"Are you supporting him, Anne? Are you supporting someone who just tried to kill another human being?", Darren's tone was accusing, he looked at her with disappointment and Anne winced.
"I'm not supporting anyone, Darren", MaryAnne sighed, rubbing her temples before continuing, "I'm only saying that we should handle this calmly, like parents and not flare up or attract unnecessary attention with all the yelling", MaryAnne gave a deadpan look as she uttered the last statement then raised a brow like she was daring him to continue with his yelling.
"Just get him down here, Anne", Darren sighed and Anne rolled her eyes at him.
"You better not yell at him or raise your voice too high. I don't want any nosy neighbours opening their windows", Anne warned and turned towards the stairs, letting her husband mill over her words while she fetched her baby boy.
"You don't have to threaten me, Anne", she heard Darren grumble as she made her way up the stairs, shaking her head at his words.
Rix is asleep when she opens the door, still curled around an equally curled up Danielle on his bed. Such a sight made it too painful for MaryAnne to walk into the room, and even worse to try waking Rix. MaryAnne was torn between waking Rix like his father wanted, on one hand, and just letting the children sleep, on the other hand. She could always calm the angry man down but she couldn't stand for hurting her child more than he already was and risk the youngest getting hurt too.
"What are you waiting for, MaryAnne?", Darren's voice was just a little bit below a shout as he spoke from behind her. Anne hadn't heard him approach her, far too engrossed in watching the children sleep.
"I don't think it's a good idea, dear. We should let them sleep. They've been through so much in just a few hours", Anne had a wistful look on her face as she spoke, turning back from Darren to face the sleeping children and she didn't see Darren make a face of disgust before he shouldered past her and stomped into the room, headed towards the bed.
"Don't do this, Darren", Anne whispered, rushing to catch her husband by the hand before he tried to wake up the children.
"Get your hands off of me, MaryAnne. You'll just treat the boy softly until the family of the attacked boy come here with the police", Darren jerks his hand away from her's so he can do as he wanted, but it wasn't to wake Richard. It was more painful.
"Get your ass up, you little shit!", Darren growled and pulled Richard up by the hair, jolting him awake and scaring him enough to make him scream out and kick against the bedsheets as he was dragged into a standing position by the harsh grip on his hair, breaking some strands in the process.
"Stop it, Darren! You're hurting him?", Anne shrieks as she struggles to calm Danielle who had been woken harshly and had burst into tears at the sounds of the commotion.
Richard is choking on a cough as his father tosses him out of the room and into the hall in a surprising show of strength, for someone picking up an almost seventeen year old boy and MaryAnne has to grab Danielle quickly before the girl runs over to where her father and brother stood and ends up getting caught in between.
"I can't believe that you went from a faggot, then, to a rapist and now a near murderer or rather full blown criminal in barely one school year", Darren's voice was eerily calm as he approached the whimpering boy that was struggling to put more distance between him and his father but the impact with the wall and everything that had happened in general left him shaking and weak in the knees so he settled for shuffling and crawling away backwards, not looking behind him at where he was headed, senses clouded by pain, fear and a brewing anger that simmered down in his belly.
"Darren stop! Richard!", MaryAnne shrieked and dashed forward, nearly tripping with Danielle still cradled safely in her arms, going towards father and son.
What followed next was nothing short of a catastrophe.
Richard barely had time to scream before he's tumbling down the stairs backwards, rolling and slamming on the wooded staircase till he lands flat on his back in the living room, choking on saliva and blood, if the pink looking fluid he had coughed out was anything to go by.
He had forgotten that his room was the very second door once you made it upstairs, right after Danielle's room, but Rix had completely forgotten that fact and it had resulted in a concussion, a few cuts and probably internal bleeding. He'd coughed up blood after all.
Darren stood stock still, frozen in shock. The menacing look he had on his face earlier morphing into pain, fear and regret all in quick succession at the sight of the accident. MaryAnne shoves past him, running down the stairs, her dainty figure shaking the second she reached Rix, probably from the weight of the big girl in her arms.
She's kneeling in front on the boy sprawled out at the bottom of the stairs and Danielle is full on wailing and screaming at this time, damn near hyperventilating at the sight of her brother looking dead with blood staining his shirt.
"Rix, are you awake, honey? Open your eyes for mommy!", MaryAnne wails and cradles the boy on her arms, his head on her breast and his upper body on her knees, Danielle shook where she sat on the floor.
"I told you to leave him be for the night, Darren!", MaryAnne screamed, looking up at the shaken man that had come down the stairs as well. Darren's mouth opens and closes
He can't say a word.
Guilt eating him up where he stood.