Author's Note: Pirate Hatter made me do it!
"She had to deal with the worst kind of shite imaginable." Gareth said softly, his elbow resting on the table as he leaned his cheek against the palm of his hand.
"What kind of shite, Gareth?" Tim asked, trying to make sure that he was talking the whole time, to try and help the lanky man get sobered up. He was still surprised that his thin frame had been able to handle twelve mugs of beer without passing out at this point.
"Me da'…He was such a fecking bastard." Gareth said, looking away as he thought about the big brooding monster of his childhood.
"When you were little, did you ever have a fear of a monster? Like in the closet or under the bed?" he asked suddenly.
"My monster lived in the loo." Tim admitted with a soft laugh.
"My monster was me da'." Gareth said softly, staring down at the ground. "He used to beat me with a belt all the time. 'You need to be strong like I am! Join the army and become strong, you fecking little bitch!'" he quoted suddenly, his face becoming one filled with hate.
Tim saw this change and he vaguely noted that this was probably the reason why Gareth had joined the Territorial Army in the first place and bragged about it every chance that he got.
"But me mum…She was an angel she was." Gareth said as his face softened down once more, looking more tired than anything else. "She took care of me more than me da' and sometimes she would sneak in and sleep with me at night after one of his drunken rages.
"She was a strong woman. My father always tried to break her by beating her harder than I think he beat me, but she always refused to cry out like I did."
"Did you two ever leave him?"
"Hmm?" Gareth cocked an eyebrow and looked up at Tim.
"You and your mum…Did you ever leave your da'?" Gareth laughed softly and shook his head.
"Of course not!" he said. "If we had done that then he would have found us and killed us. No, we dealt with him until I was old enough to leave and join the army. I sent me mum my paychecks and it was then that she finally left him to go and live with me aunty."
Tim hesitated for a moment but he soon decided to ask, clearing his throat as he straightened up a little.
"Gareth, at work today…You were on the phone and…" Gareth frowned slightly at this revelation.
"You were listening in on me?" he asked sharply.
"Gareth…" He let out a sigh and lost his anger at once, scratching the back of his head.
"Suppose I was a little loud." Gareth mumbled.
"Your da' forced his way to her?" Tim asked. Gareth nodded sadly, clicking his teeth together for a moment.
"Me mum got the woman's disease. It was eating away at her in the hospital. Me aunty was the one who called and she said that me da' barged in like a monster, demanding to see her.
"He wasn't supposed to be allowed near her, but he forced his way in, and as soon as me mum heard him…her vitals started to go crazy and…she died."
Gareth's shoulders slumped then as he shook his head and slowly his face started to crinkle once more as he tried to fight back tears.
"It's all right." Tim said gently, rubbing his arm. "Cry it out, lad."
With his elbows on his knees, Gareth leaned forward and he wept into his hands, his thin shoulders trembling.
Tim reached over and rubbed his back, giving it a good pat before he then merely kept his hand there for comfort as Gareth had a second good cry about the whole thing.
Slowly his crying subsided and he sniffed as he slowly sat up, wiping at his eyes.
"Can you drive me home now?" he asked, his voice starting to crack from all of the crying he had been doing.
With a smile Tim nodded and he got up, helping Gareth to his feet.
"If I drive you home, I'll probably have to crash there." He admitted with a shrug as they headed outside.
"You can use me couch if you want." Gareth offered to him. Tim nodded to this and he opened the passenger side door for him, helping him get inside before he then shut it and got inside himself.
A turn of the key turned the car on and soon the two of them were heading to Gareth's home for the night.