Rick shoved the door open. He switched the light on and staggered into the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Morty jolted awake at the sound. "R-Rick? Wh-what the hell?" he said, groaning as he sat up.
His grandfather near enough collapsed on the bed. He grabbed Morty's arm, pulling him toward him. "M-Morty… I need… I need to t-tell yoOUGHH s-something, Morty," Rick said. Morty winced - Rick's breath reeked of liquor.
"Rick, i-it's 3am. I ha-have school tomorrow!"
"F-forgot about school, M-morty." Rick released Morty and instead gripped his head in his hands, digging his nails into his scalp.
"Rick, a-are you drunk?" Morty grabbed Rick's wrists and pulled his hands away. "Y-you're making yourself bleed, R-Rick," Morty said, gawking at the blood running down his grandfather's head.
"I f-fucking hate m-myself, Morty." Tears spilled down his cheeks. "I f-fucking… hate myself," he repeated.
Morty had frequently taken care of his grandfather while blackout drunk, but this was new. Rick had never broken down crying like this before. "Um… Th-there, there," Morty murmured, awkwardly rubbing Rick's bony back. Morty sighed as his grandfather took a swig from his flask.
"M-my past M-Morty… My Morty… B-before you..." Rick's body shook as he sobbed. "H-he died…" Morty wrapped a comforting arm around his grandfather, gently prying the flask out of his hand. "It was in m-my arms, Morty. The f-fucker got sh-shot. Bled out." He stared at his hands as if they were still covered in blood.
"Shhhh. It's okay, Rick. Let's get you into bed…" Morty said, giving Rick a quick hug, but Rick shoved him away. "What the hell, Rick?!" He rubbed his arm, his eyebrows furrowed.
"D-don't touch me!" he yelled, jolting upright, his fists clenched. There was a silence. Rick took a deep breath and returned to his slouched posture. "M-Morty, I h-hope I'm not like m-my dad was… I-I'm not, a-am I?" Rick mumbled. Morty raised his eyebrows. Rick had never mentioned his dad before…
"You're not, Rick," Morty said. He had no idea who Rick's dad was or what he'd done, but it was the only way for Rick to calm down.
"H-He beat me a lot… I e-ended up in hospital, M-Morty…" Rick trailed off and stood up, wobbling. "'M gonna go," he slurred before collapsing on the floor. Morty rushed over to his side.
"Rick, come on, wake up…" he said, shaking Rick, but to no avail. Sighing, he dragged Rick over to his bed and hauled him onto it. He pulled the blankets up to his armpits and gazed down at him, shaking his head. "Y-You can be a real pain sometimes, you know." He dabbed the blood and tears away from Rick's face with a tissue and refilled his flask and set it on the bedside table next to him.
Yawning, he walked over to his desk, dragging his feet, and slumped into the chair. He made himself comfortable and closed his eyes. Man, was he gonna be tired at school tomorrow...
