Wrote a little something for Rey that's been on my mind.
"Violet"
TW: Animal death, child abuse (mental with allusions to CSA), violence
“No….no, daddy, please don't make me… she'll heal! She's just a lil’ hurt!”
“Rey, you know better. We don't keep nothin’ around that's no good…It's as good as dead already!”
The man pushes his son towards the young injured horse, ignoring the young boy's sobs of anguish.
A gray fillie lays curled up in the field, her coat covered in lighter gray speckles and her nose black. Neighs of distress leave her as she moves her legs slightly, one of which is bent at a strange angle.
Rey shakes his head and looks back at his father. “Please, Violet'll heal!! I'll take care of her, I promise!! You don't gotta worry about her!”
His father shakes his head, forcing a rifle into the young boy's hands. “She's too young. She won't heal right. She's sufferin’. Now, she's your horse, ain't she? So you gotta do it.”
Rey looks at the gun in his hands and frantically shakes his head, tears streaming down his freckled face. “No no no….I can't do it, she's my horse… I can't kill her, daddy, please… Let me take care of her…”
“Man up, boy!! Life means you gotta do stuff that ain't pretty, and this is one of them. So if you've got any balls, you'll do it!”
The boy simply sobs, cradling the gun in his arms and shaking his head. His golden hair hangs down in front of his face and he tries to step away, but his father holds his shoulders firmly, making Rey tense and whimper.
“Do it, or I'm gonna make you do it.”
“Please….” Rey whispers, trying to pull away from the man's strong grasp. “She's just a baby…”
His father moves his hands to Rey's arms, forcing the boy to hold the gun properly, trapping him in place with his larger form. Rey yells out in distress, continuing to try and pull away, as his finger is forced over the trigger.
“NO!! Daddy, please!!”
Despite Rey's struggling, though, the gun is aimed at the young animal, and before the boy can stop it, he's forced to pull the trigger.
◇ ◇ ◇
“Boy…. Help your old man up, I….mmm…I fell off th’ couch….”
Rey stands in the doorway to the living room, watching as his drunken father tries in vain to push himself back onto the couch, arms folded over his chest and blue eyes fixed on the form of his father.
“Rey!! Where the fuck are ya?! Useless boy….”
Rey clenches his jaw and makes his way over to the older man, looming over him and watching him continue to struggle.
“There you are! Help your old man up!”
Rey bends down, his hands looping up underneath his father's armpits, but rather than pulling him up, Rey begins to drag him across the floor, and his father begins to weakly kick his legs out.
“Hey!! The fuck do you think you're doin'?!”
“You're stinkin’ up the house….” Rey mutters as he finally drags the drunk male out the front door and uses his foot to nudge him down the few steps, watching him roll and grunt as he hits the dirt. “You reek of beer and piss…”
His father sputters and spits out dirt, lifting his head to glare at his teenage son. “You're gonna regret this, Rey… I'll make sure of that…”
Rey inhales softly, shutting his eyes at the threat and the shiver that instinctively runs through his body at it before looking down at his father again. “I don't think you will.”
He walks over to where his father lay on the ground and brings one of his feet up before slamming his heel down on his father's ankle. His father yells out in pain and tries to scramble away, but Rey continues to do it until he finally hears a loud snap that has his father's shriek echoing across the farm.
“Oh shit! Your ankle’s broke! Well, you know what we do with things that ain't no good, right?!” Rey yells down at his father, watching the old man writhe in pain. Huffing, the teenager grabs one of the man's flailing arms and begins to drag him again, this time towards the barn.
His father sobs and tries to pull away, but Rey keeps a strong grip on him.
“What's it that you always say, huh, dad? Just man up, right?!”
Rey finally drags him into the barn, shoving him to the ground.
Then he grabs an axe.