A/N: So, I wrote this a while ago and posted it on the Dog Man Wiki on Fandom. It was originally in 15 chapters but they were short because I was writing these chapters one chapter a day. I figured I could make a one-shot out of it, so here it is. I edited it a bit but not much. Honestly I don't like this story much because the end is sort of cringy and I wrote this with, like, no plan whatsoever. So don't expect this to be an absolute work of art or whatever, but I hope you don't think it's terrible. With that said, enjoy!
I stood by the grave. Normally just being near it made me sad, but today I had a mission.
I put the can on the floor and started digging. What if it didn't work? What if Living Spray only worked on things that had never been alive; inanimate objects? What if the corpse was too degraded?
I shook off the doubt. This would work, it had to.
My nails scraped something in the hole I dug. Pushing away more of the dirt, I saw it was a coffin.
Yes! I pried open the coffin and looked at what was inside. It wasn't pretty. The body was mostly disintegrated, but some parts were still barely recognizable. I took a deep breath. It's time.
I picked up the can…
And sprayed.
Petey's pov
One day earlier
"Wake up Papa!"
I groaned. Why do I have to wake up like this every day? "Uuuuhg, kid it's 6 am. Let me sleeeeeep!" I knew it would have no effect. Besides, getting to sleep is hard for me. Once I'm up, I'm up. It doesn't stop me from complaining, though.
"C'mon c'mon c'mon! Get up Papa it's morning!" said Lil' Petey, jumping up and down on my bed. Why does he always do this…
"Uuhg, fine. I'll go make breakfast."
"Yaaaay!" he squealed. Lil' Petey followed me down the stairs, way too bouncy for 6 am. "What are you gonna make Papa?"
"I don't know… same as always, I guess. Egg and toast," I replied.
"Yaaaaay!"
"Stop yay-ing! I'm too tired for this…" I pinched the space between my eyes. "How do you want your egg?"
"Omelet, please, Papa! Put cheese in it too!" he said happily. How is he so happy and energetic this early in the morning, anyway? It's insane.
"Okay," I said. Every morning he changes how he wants his egg. His favorite is the omelet with cheese, though.
Lil' Petey sat at the table while I made his egg. "Where did you learn to cook anyway, Papa?" he asked.
"My mom taught me. She was an amazing cook. Probably second only to Gordon Ramsey himself." I chuckled. Mom was amazing.
"Oh, cool! It's too bad she's gone now." I grimaced. Why did he have to bring that up…
"-Yeah. Anyway, your food's done," I said, ignoring the knot in my chest. I flipped the egg onto the plate with my skillet and popped the toast up too.
"Yay, egg!" Lil' Petey said happily. It seems like everything he says is 'happily.' How is one person so happy!?
I popped my toast too, and sat at the table. "Hey papa, where's your egg?" asked the kid.
"I'm not that hungry. I'll eat a snack later or something. For now I'm good with toast," I said.
"Did gramma like omelets too?" he asked. I stiffened. Why, why does he always have to bring up the uncomfortable things…
"Uh- yes, she did. They were her favorite. She would make them for me, and she would put all these vegetables in it, and I would be all picky and not want to eat it…" Tears sprang to my eyes. I blinked to get rid of them. I hated crying, and I hated that thinking of Mom always made me want to cry.
"Sorry Papa…," said Lil' Petey sadly.
"No.. no, it's fine."
We ate our breakfast in silence.
LP's pov
I noticed that every time I mentioned Gramma, Papa looked sad. He literally wilted. It made me sad to see him sad. I wish there was a way to bring back Gramma so he wouldn't be so sad.
Wait, maybe there was…
Back to present day
LP's pov
I watched as the figure rose from the coffin. The degraded corpse regenerated in real time, rising from the ashes. Or corpse dirt, whatever you prefer.
"Uhhh… sorry I don't watch zombie movies… 'It's alive'...?" I tried and failed to make a zombie reference. This would've worked better if I was old enough to watch horror movies…
The figure stepped out of the coffin. She was a beautiful calico cat. She looked just like the photos of Gramma that Papa showed me! "...where am I?" she asked.
"You're in a graveyard," I answered.
She looked down at me. "Petey?"
I chucked. "Grampa had the same reaction. I'm Lil' Petey, your grandson. Petey made me with a cloning machine."
"Oh! Very nice to meet you." Gramma smiled as she said this, but there was something… wrong about it. About her.
I shook off the feelings of doubt. "C'mon gramma, let's go to the house!"
Gramma's pov
The boy in front of me looked exactly like my son when he was young. I remember dying, and leaving him like this. How am I alive now? And why do I feel so… evil?
The anger was coursing through me, even as I tried to hold it back. I wanted to rip this boy -Lil' Petey- apart, bit by bit. I didn't want to succumb to the evil, but it was hard to keep myself from it.
We made it to the house… really it was a building. I wondered how my son got such a wonderful home.
Lil' Petey pulled me up the stairs. And there, pacing in circles worriedly, was my husband. Fear filled me. "Why are you here, you scumbag!"
Petey's pov
I paced anxiously in my room. Lil' Petey left 15 minutes ago and he still isn't back. He said he had a surprise for me. But 15 minutes is a long time to get a surprise.
Suddenly the door opened, and in came Lil' Petey. And behind him…
Mom?
Fear filled her face. "Why are you here, you scumbag!" she yelled at me.
"Mom-? Wha- why-" I couldn't get the words out of my mouth. Was this really my mom? Why was she saying these things to me?
"I hate you! You are the worst thing that ever happened to me! I HATE YOU!" It hurt to hear her say these things to me, right to my face. So this was how she really felt…
"STOP!" It was Lil' Petey. "Gramma, this is a misunderstanding! That's Petey, not your husband!"
Oh… she thought I was Dad. That made sense. Still, it hurt to have heard her say that. My worst fear was that she really hated me, and just pretended to love me. The fear had extended to everyone I loved, including and especially Lil' Petey. I didn't want to be abandoned again.
She had thought I was Dad... I know that I am the striking image of my father. I looked exactly like him. It used to pain me just to look in the mirror. All I saw was the despicable scumbag (because I can't swear) that my father was, and I hated my appearance for the longest time. But after I forgave him, I accepted that I was who I was, and this is what I look like. But seeing my mother react to seeing me like that brought back a lot of the old feelings.
"Oh…," said Mom. Her familiar voice broke me out of my thoughts. "I'm so sorry, Petey…" She came over to me and hugged me. And in that moment, every negative emotion and thought was stripped away. All I felt was my Mom, gone for so long, back and hugging me once more.
It felt so good.
"Don't cry, son."
"Oh… I was crying?" I felt my face. Sure enough, it was wet. "Oops."
"No, no, don't be ashamed," said Mom, rocking us back and forth like she did when I was small. "Cry, all you need to."
Gramma's pov
Suddenly, the evil felt ten times stronger. It took every ounce of my will not to give in. Petey was still hugging me. He is all grown up… how long have I been gone? My poor Petey… I hope he did okay after I left. He never dealt well with stress.
I knew that I couldn't hold off the evil for much longer. "Petey…"
"Yes, Mom?" he answered. He sounded so different.
"Whatever happens next, know that I love you, okay?" I held him tight for a second before letting go.
"Wha- Mom?" He looked so confused. I felt so sorry…
I could feel the evil taking over. "Promise me you won't forget who you are. Promise!" I yelled desperately.
"What do you mean-"
It was too late. The evil consumed me. "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" I yelled.
(A/N: That ^ scene is so dramatic and not very well written lol just go with it)
What was I doing with such pathetic scum?! How could I call this disgusting thing my son!
I snarled. "You are a disgrace to cat-kind!" I yelled.
I booked it out of there, running out of the house. I needed to find him.
Petey's pov
I had no idea what had just happened. Mom had said some very confusing things, yelled randomly, then told me I was a disgrace? What was this?
Mom ran out the door. I called after her but I was too late, she had escaped. I felt so confused and hurt at the same time. Her words stung. I had heard them before.
"You are a disgrace to cat-kind, son! You are a weakling, undeserving of being my son. Undeserving of LIFE! You disgrace…" Dad kicked me from above. I cried on the ground. "I'm leaving! I hate the both of you, and I hope I never see you again!"
I was so confused. What did I do? "Wait!" I yelled, getting up off the floor. "Dad, please don't leave! Tell me what I can do to be better! I'll do anything, just please don't go!"
Dad looked at me with a look of hatred in his eyes. "No matter what you do, it'll never be enough. You'll never be enough." He slapped me across the face, hard enough to knock me down. Mom came over and covered me with her body as I cried. "See! THAT is why you are a weakling, and will be one forever. You rely on others. Disgrace!" he spat.
"Leave him alone!" yelled Mom. "He doesn't deserve this!"
"Yes he does," snapped Dad. "Goodbye!"
"NO! No, no, no, no, no!" I cried. "Dad, please don't go, please, I'll fix myself, please, I'll stop whatever it is that I'm doing wrong! PLEASE!"
I cried, nay, sobbed, on the floor. "Dad…" But he didn't even look back.
I cried on the floor next to Lil' Petey. I was abandoned again. Was there something wrong with me? Why didn't anyone love me?
I snapped myself out of it. That's not true. Lil' Petey loves me, right?
"Kid, do you love me?" I said out loud.
"Yes, of course! I love you so much, Papa!" he said as if he couldn't believe I even asked. He hugged me as tight as he could with his little body.
I wish Mom and Dad loved me too.
Lil' Petey's pov
"Stupid, stupid stupid!" I yelled. "I can't believe I forgot that Living Spray turns things evil! AARHG!"
"Hey, hey, it's alright, we all make mistakes!" says Papa, wiping his tears.
"It's not alright, Papa!" I said angrily. "I disappointed you! I brought her back, and she hurt you! So I hurt you!"
"That's not true!" he yelled. Yeah right.
"I want to be alone." I walked away and to my room. All I wanted was to make him happy. But it had the opposite effect. I wish it had worked.
I wish I could just learn to keep out of everyone's business. The same thing had happened when I brought back Grampa. He had been rude to Papa, treating him like trash. He treated ME like trash too. Then he stole everything in the house. He hurt Papa, and since I had brought him there, I, by proxy, had hurt him.
I remember apologizing to him afterward. He had been so positive about the whole thing then. I knew it was a mask. It's gonna be so much worse now. Papa loves his momma, and it hurts much more to be rejected by someone you love and look up to than by someone you've hated for so long.
I just... I always want everyone to be happy. But more recently I've started realizing that this isn't always possible. I remember when I was kidnapped, and I had felt so alone. It left lasting damage, and for a while I couldn't bear to be alone for too long.
It got better over time, but I still remember what it was like to feel… bad. And my desire for no one to feel that way grew exponentially.
So when I brought back gramma, I just wanted him not to be alone, like I was. It didn't work out very well, though.
I sighed. My therapist says I'm an emotional chameleon. I take on the emotions of others around me. I could walk in on a bunch of people I don't know crying about some random thing, and instantly feel like crying. But the opposite is true as well. I can be feeling very sad, but if I walk into a room of happy people, I quickly adopt the mood and become happy. My therapist says that's why I try so hard to make others happy- because it makes me happy too. He says I'm an empath. I guess I am.
My therapist ALSO says that sometimes being a chameleon can make it hard to remember what color I am. And sometimes, everyone around me is so many colors that I don't know what to feel at all. All the colors mix together and create gray.
Therapists are mind readers, I think.
Petey's pov
I sat there, very confused as Lil' Petey stormed out of the room. I wish I was more socially adept. Then I could go and talk to him and comfort him properly without it being painfully awkward.
I guess I should leave him alone for a little while.
I don't want to be alone though. Being alone reminds me of the fact that my mother essentially just abandoned me. Lil' Petey explained to me how he had brought her to life with living spray, and how that had turned her evil. I guess that makes sense.
It was really nice of him to try, though. I wish that it had worked. I could have my Mom back, and Lil' Petey could have a grandma. Then he would have a more socially adept comforter. Plus, Mom could finish teaching me to cook. She could teach Lil' Petey for me, too. I've never been a great teacher.
I guess I should go check on him now. I walked to his room.
"Hey, uh, kid?" God, I am so bad at this! "Are you okay in there?"
"Hi Papa…" came his response. "You can some in, if you want."
I came into the room. Lil' Petey was sitting on the floor. "Um, I just wanna say, it's not your fault what happened, and even if it was, it doesn't matter because I will always love you. Okay?" I said. He looked so sad.
"I just… I just want you to be happy."
"And I am! Well… mostly, I am. And anyway, people aren't always happy. Sometimes, people are sad, and that's part of life."
Lil' Petey looked at the floor. "I know. But I wish it wasn't like that."
I sat on the floor next to him and hugged him. "I know."
Gramma's pov
I finally found him. "Richard."
He turned around, surprised. "Shannon?! I thought you were dead!"
"Well I'm back, dear husband, and I'm here to join you. I'm evil now," I told him. "Now, to break you out of prison."
(A/N: I chose random names for them because there aren't any in the books and I needed them to adress each other by thier first names because what else are they going to call each other? I hope you don't hate the names, but they aren't super important in the story so hopefully they are tolerable.)
Grampa's pov
My wife is back… And she's evil.
The last time I saw her was the day I left her and my stupid son. At some point I was informed that she had died. I didn't go to her funeral. Funerals are for grieving, and I sure as heck wasn't grieving.
Sometime later, I saw an orange cat on the news. This young teenage cat was causing havoc in the city. But he always got caught in the end. It was obvious this was my son. Even though he was evil, he got caught, and he was a disgrace. He was, is, and always will be.
At that point I left the city. I had no roots, and traveled wherever I felt like it. It was a fun lifestyle. But after a few years, (I don't know how much time passed) a big orange ball-looking robot came and picked me up for no reason. He took me back to the city.
That's when I was reunited with my disgrace of a son. When they left to go play hero, I stole everything in the house except for my quote unquote "Grandson's" dumb comics. I couldn't sell those, nor did I want them for myself. They were trash. But since I stole the trash bins too, I just left them on the floor.
Somehow I was apprehended and taken to Cat Jail. I hate that place.
I escaped once or twice, but always got taken back. The only notable escape was when I created the Motor Brain, and faced up against my stupid son and his even stupider friends. He was such a weakling to have friends.
That was when he had the audacity to forgive me. Even though I did nothing to him! All I did was tell him the truth, and hit him to toughen him up. If anything, he should've been apologizing to ME for being such a weakling and a disgrace, like he did as a child. As a kid he always cried when I hit him, like a weakling. And he only cried even more when I told him he was a weakling. So I kept doing it, and eventually he learned not to cry when I hit him. He did occasionally still do it though, and let out pitiful, stupid wimpers. When he did that, I just hit him harder to make him stop. I told him he was a stupid, pitiful disgrace, and he apologized. He asked me how he could be better. He wanted to fix himself. I told him he couldn't. And all he did was cry.
My stupid wife cried, too. I hit her as hard as I could when she did. She and I would argue through the night, and I would yell at her and hit her. She cried. Once I hit her into Petey, who slept right there on the floor in the living room because our house was so small. She fell onto him and he cried, and so did she, and she shielded him with her body.
So when my wife came back, I wasn't too happy. She said she was evil now, but I was reluctant to give her a chance. She might be lying and turn on me.
When she got me out of jail, I realized she was actually evil. I realized I could use her.
"Shannon… You say you are evil now. Will you serve me?" I asked.
"No. But I will be a partner," she answered.
I considered this. We could rob banks, steal cars, step on grass, and do all kinds of illegal stuff together. And if we get caught, I can always throw her under the bus. This is a good deal.
"Yes. Let's go be EVIL!"
Petey's pov
The house is quiet. It's Saturday, so Lil' Petey was at Dog Man's. The weekends are when I sleep late, because I don't have a little kitten jumping on me every morning.
It was 8:00 am, so I figured I should get up and eat breakfast. I toasted a bagel and smeared a copious amount of cream cheese on top. I took my bagel into the living room and sat on the couch to watch tv while I ate. I can't do this during the week because Lil' Petey isn't allowed to do it because he'll make a big mess, and if I do it he will complain about fairness and hipocracy or whatever.
I turn on the news. I have to keep up on the times or else Lil' Petey will have to explain it to me. And let me tell you, his explanations are a HEADACHE.
"-And coming to you live from the scene of the crisis…," said Sarah onscreen. Wait, a crisis?! Again!?
"What appears to be a calico cat is working with Grandpa to rob a bank. The police are on their way," continues Sarah nonchalantly.
Oh no. A calico cat?
MOM!
Lil' Petey's pov
I was watching the news with Dog Man. I looked carefully at the cat onscreen. "Yep, that's Gramma!" I said. "We need to get there asap!"
"Yep!" said Dog Man.
80-HD got out our costumes, and we were on the move!
Petey's pov
I almost choked on my bagel when Lil' Petey jumped out and started fighting. What is he doing?! Is he crazy or what?! This kid has a death wish!
I need to get over there! What if Evil Mom does something to him? I'd never be able to forgive myself.
I start running toward the bank. It's about two miles away so I can reach it in a little over ten minutes.
I should probably make a car or something so I don't have to run everywhere. I usually can just ride one of my robots, but those are typically huge and not practical at all. At least with this setup I've gotten pretty good at running, as well as learned the distances in the city.
When I make it to the bank, I'm out of breath but don't care. I run into the bank, in which Mom and Dad are. I took a deep breath. I can do this.
"Hey! Mom and Dad!" I shout, and everyone looks at me. "What are you doing here? What do you have to gain?"
"Uhhh… money, duh!" says Dad in a condescending tone. "Are you too stupid to know that?"
"I don't care what you think, Dad," I said calmly. "But what are you going to do with the money? It's not like you can spend it. You're a wanted criminal!"
Dad looks thoughtful. "True…"
"And Mom. Why are you working with him? He is USING YOU. He only wants you as a stepping stone on his rise to power. I repeat: HE. IS. USING. YOU!" I said. Hopefully I can get through to her. I want her back on the side of good.
Mom is still for a few seconds.
"LIES!" she yells suddenly. "Why would I listen to you, a stupid weakling who is worth nothing?! Richard is my PARTNER!"
Worth… nothing?
I shake it off. She doesn't mean it. She is under the influence of the living spray.
Still, it hurts to hear her say that, even if it's not really her, her. It hurts to hear it come out of her mouth.
"I- he's- its-" I stutter.
"That's not true!" Lil' Petey to the rescue! I kind of tuned out after that. I was kind of in a daze. I don't know why.
I was later informed that they escaped.
Typical.
(A/N: That was me being lazy. I suck at writing action/fight scenes. I'm only good at angst.)
Lil' Petey's pov
I went back to Dog Man's house disappointed. We had failed to catch grandpa and gramma. It doesn't matter though, because next time we can get them for sure.
Bam! The door was slammed open. I jumped. Papa was standing in the doorway, looking out of breath.
"Kid!" he panted. "You can't just jump in like that! Those people are dangerous!"
"Wait, what? What's happening here?" I asked.
"I'm telling you to stop running into fights like that! Especially with people like Dad who we know are dangerous!" he says. "You scared me half to death back there!"
"But Papa, it's our duty to protect the citizens-"
"No it's not, you guys just made that up. But I'm not saying you can't fight anymore, just not against Grampa and not without a plan," says Papa. He looks like he means it. But I can't just accept that!
"But we have to help people against Grampa, too!" I protest.
Papa sighs. "Why can't you just listen to me kid!? I don't want you to get hurt. These villains are mostly stupid and I have no problem with you fighting those, but grampa's pretty much as smart as us. This isn't a game. Sometimes things can get dangerous and I don't want you to die…"
"...I guess that's okay," I say looking down. I try to look sincere, but I know I'm NOT obeying this dumb rule.
Later, I'm walking with Dog Man in the city.
"I can't believe he made that rule," I complained to Dog Man. "I mean, come on. Doesn't he have faith that it'll be alright?"
"He's worried about you," says Dog Man. "He may be overprotective to some degree, but I think you should follow his rule. It'll give him peace of mind."
BOOM!
An explosion rocks the ground as the building next to us collapses in fire. My ears are ringing as Dog Man runs out of the way with me in tow.
Two figures were coming out of the rubble. Grandpa and Gramma!
Oh no. I am NOT ready for this.
Emerging from the smoke were the villains we all feared- Grandpa and Gramma. At least I had an excuse to fight them now.
The police, firefighters and paramedics were coming as fast as they could; I could hear them coming. But I don't think they'll be able to reach us in time. Grandpa and Gramma were holding huge bags of loot. They were going to get away unless someone- I- did something.
I jumped up and ran at them. I can make it! I made a grab for the stuff and missed. Instead I grabbed onto grandpa. I went with it, kicking and punching and scratching him as much as possible. I wanted to slow him down-
Crack! Several huge slabs of rock were falling down at us. I screamed. Suddenly a body hurled at me, tackling me and pushing me out of the way. It was Dog Man!
We both made it out of the way safely, but the same could not be said about Grampa and Gramma. They were covered by the rubble. Grandpa was knocked out; I could see him poking out of the rubble. But where was Gramma?!
Petey's pov
Watching the news (again… I kinda just put it on as a background sometimes…) I heard about the explosion. Some other reporter was there because Sarah was on break.
I watched as Mom and Dad came out of the smoke, holding huge bags presumably filled with stolen goods. Oh, great. They were behind this. Well, at least now I don't have to worry about Lil' Petey joining the fight, since I made a rule that he couldn't.
Aaaand he's doing it anyway. Great. I make a note to chastise him the second I'm done tearfully hugging him because I'm dying of anxiety.
A cracking sound comes from above them, and a bunch of huge slabs of rock start falling towards them. I almost died of a heart attack!
Wait who was that- tackling Lil' Petey out of the way-
OH MY GOD DOG MAN!
I realized I was hyperventilating and tried to control my breathing. Oh man, Dog Man just saved Lil' Petey's life! I make a note to hug him after I'm done with Lil' Petey.
Wait, I can see Dad knocked out under some rocks… but where is Mom?!
Some paramedics came to try to help out. I shut off the tv and took a deep breath. I need to get over there! The thing is, I know the police won't let me get too close. I need to call Dog Man or something!
Forget it, I'm running there anyway. No cop can stop me from getting to my son!
I ran up to the barricades that the police had put up. Scanning the crowds, I caught a glimpse of Lil' Petey.
"Kid! Kid, over here!" I called out to him. He and Dog Man weaved their way through the crowd.
"Papa!" said Lil' Petey. He sounded scared. He hugged me tighter than he ever had, and I hugged him back. "Papa, I was so scared! I was just standing there and those rocks were falling and Dog Man tackled me out of the way!" He looked up at me earnestly. "And Papa, I seriously thought I was going to die, right then and there. And I was sad that I didn't get to say goodbye to everyone. My life flashed before my eyes, and all I saw were the adventures we had, playing with Dog Man, and being with you."
He took a deep breath before continuing. "And I was like, 'Well, this is it! It's been a good run.' I almost died. But Dog Man saved me!"
I squeezed Lil' Petey super hard. "I was watching the news, and I thought you were going to die. Again. I thought I was going to lose you, only this time I had proof you were dead. And then Dog Man saved you."
I looked at Dog Man. "Thank you. You saved the kid." I drew Dog Man into the hug. I don't think I've ever done that before.
"You're welcome," said Dog Man quietly.
"You're my hero, Dog Man," I whispered into his ear.
Mom and Dad were taken into the hospital. Dad was mostly fine, but Mom was in critical condition.
Sarah also happened to be in the building when it exploded. Thank God she was alright; only a broken arm and a few bruises. She was also currently in the hospital.
Chief, Lil' Petey, Dog Man and I sat in my living room. I don't know why we're here instead of Dog Man's house, which is where we usually go. I guess my house was the closest.
The four of us sat quietly. Nobody said anything because nobody knew what to say.
Lil' Petey spoke up. "We should go visit Sarah at the hospital."
Everyone but me nodded. I didn't want to go there. What if I saw Mom or Dad? I don't think I could take it. I would probably start crying, and I hate crying. If Dad saw me cry, he would probably say something really mean like he used to when I was a kid. Mom might do the same, and I really wouldn't be able to handle that.
"You guys go… I'm… tired," I say.
Chief looks at me like he can tell why I'm not going. He probably can. That man is a mind reader. "Okay," he says. "We'll go to Dog Man's house after, if you want to join us."
"Bye, Papa!" says Lil' Petey. "See you tomorrow probably!"
They leave and close the door behind them. Glad I got out of that.
It's late, and I really am tired, so I go upstairs and go to bed.
I walked through the street. I went into my very small house. I was just a kid, so I had to stand on my tip-toes to reach the doorknob and open the door.
Inside was the living room, where I slept. Standing there were Mom and Dad. For some reason they weren't fighting now. They looked at me, all menacing-like. I was scared and ran to hug Mom, but she pushed me away.
"Get away from me, scum," she said. I was taken aback. Mom was never mean to me! What did I do?
"Mommy? Are you mad at me? What did I do?" I asked.
"You were born, Petey. You are a disgrace to cat-kind!" she yelled at me.
I started to cry. What did I do?
Dad slapped me. "Stop crying, you weakling! You disgrace, you scum!"
I stopped crying. I knew he would just hit me harder if I didn't.
I wondered why Mom was being mean too. Normally it was just Dad. I guess I deserve to be treated like this. I must have somehow upset them; done something wrong. That's why they act this way. It's my own fault. At least that's what Dad tells me.
Mom and Dad advance toward me. I don't know what's happening. Dad makes a fist and punches me hard in the stomach. I'm winded, but I don't cry. Not even a little.
Mom hits me in the ribs with a lamp. This time I shout in pain, but quickly stifle the noise. I need to be quiet, or they'll just do it more.
"Petey! Go do your work," says Mom, pointing to the trash, dishes, and lawn. "There is work to be done!" she pushes me toward the stuff. "What are you waiting for, go!"
I obey, rubbing my ribs as I walk. That really hurt! Why is mommy doing this?
Mom and Dad hit me whenever I stop doing work, and sometimes even when I am doing it. They say I deserve it, and I believe them.
I stop mowing the lawn for a second, trying to catch my breath. The lawn mower was pretty much twice my size. But stopping was a mistake. Dad walked towards me, looking angry.
He raised his fists in the air, and beat me. He beat me almost to unconsciousness. I begged for mom to save me, but she just stood there. Laughing.
Laughing.
I woke up. What a dream. I haven't dreamt about my childhood in a while. I guess it was because of Mom being evil. She was evil in the dream, too. But the dream was super dumb. It had no plot and barely made any sense. It was stupid.
(A/N: That was me berating my own writing. Honestly looking back the dream isn't all that bad, but yeah, its not great.)
I don't want to go back to sleep. I've learned that when I have nightmares, it's virtually impossible for me to go back to sleep, regardless of the hour.
So I get up, and head to my invention room. I'm gonna go build another giant robot.
I am woken up by the sound of my phone ringing. Wait- woken up? I must have fallen asleep sometime.
I pick up the phone. "Hello?" I say.
"Hey Papa! I'm calling through Dog Man's phone. How're ya doing?" said a high pitched, childish voice on the other end. Of course it was Lil' Petey.
"Uh… fine, I guess. Why are you calling?"
"Well," says Lil' Petey, "I woke up this morning, and I was bored so I stole Dog Man's phone and called you! Do you know you're not in his contacts? I added it in, of course!"
He took a breath. "I wanted to tell you about what happened yesterday. We went to visit Sarah. She's doing great, and she said to say hello. But on our way, we saw… your parents."
I inhaled sharply. I am very not ready for this. I hung up. Without warning.
I'll come over later. He can tell me in person. In the meantime, I'm going to make another giant robot. Again.
Lil' Petey's pov
Papa hung up on me, for some reason. Maybe it's because he's tired or something. It's pretty early in the morning.
I'll go build a cool robot or something.
Papa barged into the house. Without warning. Again.
Whatever. I'm still happy to see him! "Papa! Hi Papa how are you?" I say as I run up to him and jump into his arms.
"Waaah-," says Papa, nearly tipping over from my sudden weight in his arms.
"Um," he says, regaining balance and putting me down. "I guess I'm fine… I'm here to pick you up, kid."
"But it's only the afternoon!" I whined.
"I want to go to the park or something," he says. But his face makes it clear he just doesn't want to be alone.
"Okay," I say. "Bye Dog Man! See you soon!"
Me and Papa walk on the sidewalk. He says nothing so I take it upon myself to start a conversation.
"Papa, why'd you hang up on me earlier?" I ask. It's been bothering me all morning.
"Um, well… I didn't want to talk about my parents, and I… kind of panicked." He looks kind of embarrassed. "Anyway, you can say what you were going to say."
I take a deep breath. This is a sad thing to talk about. "Well… The doctor said that Grampa's gonna be fine. His leg is badly broken, but they can fix that. But Gramma…"
Papa stiffens visibly. "What happened? Is she…"
"She's not dead!" I say quickly. "She'll probably be fine…" I try not to cry. "She's really badly injured. She is very close to death." I take a shuddering breath. "The doctor said they might be able to save her… and they will, right?"
I hear a whimper next to me. Papa has stopped walking, and is trying fruitlessly to hold back tears.
"...Right?" I squeak.
Papa breaks down in tears on the floor. I hug him and he sobs into me.
"Why?" he sobs. "Why can't I keep her? Why is she always taken away? What did I do to deserve this?"
I don't answer. I don't say anything. I just stood there and let him cry.
Petey's pov
I sob into Lil' Petey. I wish that Mom would hug me just one more time. I wish she wasn't evil.
I remind myself that she isn't dead yet. The doctors can still save her.
But I remember the last time that they supposedly 'could still save her.' They couldn't. They couldn't save her, and she died. She was gone, permanently.
What did I do to deserve this? Why aren't I worthy to have a mother? What is wrong with me?
I am not enough.
I am a disgrace to cat-kind.
A weakling, scum, who doesn't deserve anything I have.
I deserve this. I deserve to hurt. I deserve for her to be taken away.
Right?
It's Monday, and I wake up to Lil' Petey jumping on me at 6 am. I forwent my usual complaints and just got up to make breakfast.
"What do you want today, kid?" I ask.
"Uuuuuummmm… omelet! With… cheese!" he says happily.
I walk to the kitchen and get started.
"Hey Papa," he asks, "are we going to go visit your parents at the hospital today?"
I stiffen. "Uhh… I don't know." I sigh. "I don't know if I'm ready to see them."
"Well too bad, because we are going today and there's nothing you can do!" he yells happily.
Wait, what?
"You can't do that, kid!" I turn around. "I'm your Papa, I'm in charge!"
Lil' Petey giggles. "Chief and Dog Man will drag you out by force if you don't go willingly."
I sigh. Of course he would do that. "...Fine. I'll go. But only if you clean your room; it's a mess!"
(A/N: I hate that ^ part lol)
In the afternoon when Lil' Petey's done cleaning that pig pen he calls his room, Dog Man and Chief ring the doorbell. Of course the kid barks all the way to the door. Like always.
I have butterflies in my stomach all the way to the hospital. Actually, forget butterflies, I had straight up wasps in there.
I don't want to see dad, let alone MOM. I wish Lil' Petey had never brought her back to life. Then I wouldn't have to see her die again.
Lil' Petey said she's on the verge of death. I hope the doctors save her. I really do. Because if she dies again… I don't know what I would do. I've already cried enough for one week. I hate crying.
I guess at some level I'm afraid of crying. When I was a kid every time I cried I was hit, insulted, or both. I was seasoned not to cry, and to think of crying as a weakness. I associated it with pain.
When Dad left I was a mess. The only person I trusted was Mom, and I still had my insecurities with her, too. I was terrified she would leave me too. And then she did leave me. She died. After that I trusted no one.
Chief, Dog Man, and Lil' Petey were talking in the background. I'm glad they're not talking to me. I'm so nervous I might puke if I open my mouth.
We made it to the hospital. I take a deep breath. Here we go.
"So, um, who do you want to see first?" asks Lil' Petey. I stare straight forward and shake my head. "Ummm… okay… How about we see your dad first? He's on the way."
I close my eyes. I really don't want to do this, but I don't think the kid will let me turn back. I hold my head in my hands. "Kid, why do you want me to do this? Why do you care anyway; Mom and Dad aren't anything to you."
"What do you mean, Petey?" says Chief. "We want you to see them because we know if you don't, you'll regret it, especially with your Mom. You already got closure with Grandpa, but Gramma's causing all sorts of problems for you. We want you to solve them because we care about you."
Why would they care about me? I am a disgrace to cat-kind. I am a weakling. I am-
No. No, stop, you know it's bad, don't think like that.
But I know it's true, deep down. I know I'm not worthy of their love.
No, yes I am, they said so!
No they didn't. They never said I was worthy; they just loved me. But I know that deep down they're lying, and they don't really care about me.
No, but… but…
You know it's true, Petey. Nobody will ever love you, because you are stupid, ugly, weak, scum, a disgrace, a waste of space, a worthless entity only here for others to use and step on.
Repeat after me: I… am… useless.
I… am… useless…
I… am… a disgrace.
I… am… a disgrace.
I… am…
"Petey, we're here." Someone nudges me in the arm, snapping me out of my thoughts. I realize we are at the door of the room Dad is in. I take a deep breath. No turning back now.
"Oh… it's you," says Dad spitefully.
I take another deep breath. (That's, what, the 5th one today?) "Don't even try, Dad. You have no power over me."
"Don't lie to yourself, son. You know you're still scared of me. Deep down, you know everything I said about you is true." He sneers at me. "You know you're just a worthless little scum. Nobody will ever love you, because you are useless and pathetic, and-"
"DAD!" I yell. "That's not true! Nothing you told me was true! You can't hurt me anymore! It's not true! It's not true…"
You know it is. You know what he says is true. You are a worthless disgrace to cat kind.
I snap out of it. "Dad… I'm sorry you got hurt. I hope you get better soon." So you can go to jail, I think. "I hope I never see you again."
I turn around and walk out of the room, feeling marginally worse. I should've just avoided him altogether. I don't know what Lil' Petey expected me to do in there, but that was probably not it.
"Well, that was disastrous," I say, pretending I don't feel like I'm falling apart. I feel like someone stuck a barrier inside my lungs to prevent me from breathing; like I can't fill my lungs completely.
(A/N: That line is how my lungs feel when I have a panic attack put into words as best I can. As best I could when I wrote this. If I were to rewrite this it'd be better but I'm too lazy.)
We walk toward where Mom is. We go up some stairs, then down a hallway. Suddenly, I hear a bunch of frantic voices.
"-get her a respirator-"
"-needs help-"
"-this is bad-"
"She's dying."
Wait, did I hear that correctly?
I ran up to one of the nurses. "Are you talking about Shannon the Cat?" I ask frantically.
"Yes, what is your relation to her?" says the nurse, equally as frantic.
"She's my mom, can I see her?"
"Go in, but don't touch anything."
(A/N: Idk if that is how it works, but thats how it works here. Also sorry about all these dumb author's notes interruputing the story.)
I go inside the room. Most of the nurses and doctors have cleared out. I look around the room, and then I spot Mom. What I see takes my breath away, and not in a good way.
Mom has lots of bandages around her chest and torso, as well as around her head. The bandages on her stomach had some blood soaked through them. One of her legs is immobilized; probably broken. She had a breathing mask on, and her eyes were at half mast. She looked exhausted and in pain. Even so, she still found the energy to look at me hatefully.
And I'm rooted to the spot.
"Mom?" My voice sounds unfamiliar, sounding terribly small.
She narrows her eyes. "Why are you here, scum?" She coughs. "I thought… I was… through with you," she says with effort.
I can't move. I can't speak. I can't do anything.
"You worthless scum! I hate you!" She continued to cough.
She's dying.
"Mom!" I sob. Wait, I'm crying? "Mom, don't go, please, I need you!"
"Why would you… need me? Because you're a weakling, that's why." Every word she says costs her so much effort.
Suddenly something changes in her eyes. "Petey?" For some reason her voice is much softer and lighter. "Petey come here."
I am barely aware of walking forward.
"Petey, I love you. The living spray is wearing off, because I am dying. I just want you to know, I love you so much. You are my everything."
I let out a pained wail. "But I'm not worthy. I am a disgrace to cat-kind, a worthless scum. Nobody will ever love me, because I am a useless piece of trash; a waste of space; a pathetic weakling."
"Petey, that's not true. You are amazing," whispers Mom. "You are the best thing that ever happened to me, a wonderful person, and so many people love you." She cups my face in her hands. "And even if all those things you said were true, I would still love you, because you are you. And so would Lil' Petey and his friends."
Mom looks at me with a loving look in her eyes. "I love you, Petey."
And then she died.
She's dead. Mom is dead.
I can't look away from those eyes. Gray and lifeless.
Dead.
She left me. Again.
All I can think about is her death.
11 years ago
Mom is dying, the doctors said so. They say the cancer is going to kill her, and she has weeks to live. I want to hug her and cry, but I know it would hurt her. So I curl up on the floor of the shelter, and cry alone.
Mom says she loves me. Dad says I'm scum.
Mom is dying. Dad left me.
Dad left me on purpose, voluntarily leaving, because I am inadequate. Mom is leaving me too, involuntarily.
I'm sure she would've left me eventually anyway.
Dad left me when I was 7. I'm 13 now. I've grown.
Why does he still haunt me in my dreams?
The doctors say Mom has 3 weeks to live. I go to the hospital every day. I want to hug her like I used to; hold her tight and rub my head on her fur. But I can't do that anymore. I can only hug her loosely; carefully. It doesn't feel right.
She tells me all the time that she loves me. I rarely say anything back. If I open my mouth and try to speak, I'll probably cry. I can't cry; I'm not allowed.
I just look at the floor, and hold back the tears. I show no emotion. I have to be strong. I have to step up, take care of her. Bring her gifts I buy with the money I get from the minimum wage job I have that takes up the rest of all my time.
I'm not allowed to cry.
My job is as a worker at MackDeenoolds. I take both the late and early shifts every day, because I earn more money that way. I spend most of the money on gifts for Mom instead of food for me. Mom is dying. She needs it more.
Some of the doctors at the hospital are worried about me. They say I'm too skinny, and that they're worried for my health. Some of them reached out to me and offered to hook me up with therapy.
I ignored them. I don't have time; I need to work. I know I'll need to pay hospital bills.
Mom has days to live. I rarely left the hospital. Mom sleeps a lot of the time, but I don't. I can't sleep. I'm afraid Mom might die while I slumber.
I'm so tired in more ways than one. I want Mom to just be okay again. I wish none of this was real. I just want this feeling in my chest to go away, and everything to be normal again.
I want the pain to end.
Unfortunately, I know that won't happen anytime soon.
One night, while I sit there awake, Mom wakes up suddenly, gasping for air.
She's fading. I can feel it.
She looks at me with a loving look in her eyes. "I love you, Petey."
Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep
I'm falling apart. Everything is falling apart.
I'm falling down, down, down, it never seems to end, I'm losing control.
I'm falling, forever it seems, my world is disintegrating.
I can't breathe, I can't think, I can't feel, I can't anything.
As I fall into nothingness, I feel like the pain I feel is immeasurable, and insurmountable.
Mom is dead.
My eyes are swollen from crying.
I quit my job. I'm too exhausted to work.
I feel like I can't do anything. I feel like I'll never get over this. I feel like all of it, it's suffocating me.
Everything, Mom dying, Dad leaving, every taunt and hit from my childhood, all of it is piling up around and on me, blocking my way and weighing me down.
I can't breathe. I can't sleep or eat.
It's all too much.
I want to die.
I don't want to have to feel anymore. I want to die.
I want all my problems to be solved. I want to die.
I want my mom back. I want to join her.
But I know that even if I die, I won't join her. I won't ever see her again.
I know this because she went to heaven.
I'm going to hell.
Present day
I want my mom back. I wail loudly. I just want her back. I'll do anything.
Tears rolled down my face. I hear the door open behind me, and some people come in. They walk up to me and surround me. One of them holds my hand. I can't take the pressure and collapse into the people around me, crying as they hug me together.
Do I deserve this? Is there something I did? Can I fix it? Is it me? Can I fix myself?
I want to pretend none of this ever happened. I want to go back to simpler times.
But… There are no simpler times. Life was always like this. From when I was just a child.
Maybe I don't deserve this. It all started when I was too young to have done anything. Maybe I'm just unlucky. Maybe Dad was wrong. Maybe all the things he said weren't true.
No, says the voice in my head. He was right. He was always right, you do deserve this. You are worthless and stupid.
I know. I know I am.
It was just wishful thinking, I guess.
Lil' Petey's pov
We all sat on the couch together, comforting Papa. I felt really bad for him. He just lost his momma, and not only that, but it was for the second time. My poor Papa was clearly shattered.
We huddled around him at my house, none of us really sure if we should say something or if our presence was enough. Surprisingly, Petey broke the silence instead.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
"Sorry for what?" I said, confused.
"I'm inconveniencing you all. You don't need to be here. I can deal with it alone."
Chief took Petey's hand. "You don't have to, Petey. And you're not inconveniencing us. If you need our help, we will gladly give it." He looked Petey in the eyes. "We care about you Petey. We want you to be as happy as possible."
Petey looks down. "Why would you… care about me?" he forced out. "I'm worthless. A waste of space. I'm stupid and ugly and useless and a disgrace to cat kind. Why would anyone ever love me?"
I'm appalled. Why would he say that?!
"Papa, that's not true!" I say.
"Yes it is," says Petey. A few tears rolled down his cheek as he looked downward at nothing in particular. "Of course it is. It always has been. I deserve all of this."
I take both of Petey's hands and sit in his lap. "No, it's not," I said. "It never has been. Papa, you are wonderful. You are smart, you are beautiful, and you are wanted. You are loved."
Petey keeps looking down. "But I don't deserve to be loved."
"Papa, you don't need to deserve love. If someone truly cared about you, they would never make you feel like you needed to be perfect to be loved. They would just love you." I hugged Papa tightly. "And that's how it is with us. We just love you, for you."
Papa stutters. "Bu-but I'm- I'm-"
"You're normal. You make mistakes, just like everyone else."
Petey takes a deep breath. He looks at me. "...Really?"
I hug him even tighter. "Yes. Always. I love you Papa."
Papa smiles, but I can tell he still doesn't really believe it. This is gonna take work.
Petey's pov
Lil' Petey says I'm a good person. He says I'm not a worthless scum or a waste of space or a pathetic weakling. He says I'm the opposite. He says I'm great.
I want to believe him, I really do. But my brain keeps telling me he's lying, and that I really am worthless. It's hard to get my brain to comply.
Chief says that's because this thought process has been cemented into my mind since childhood by my Dad. Dad abused me physically too, but the verbal abuse did more damage. As a child, I simply took everything he said as true, including all the things he said about ME. And I repeated these things in my head as facts. Chief says that that's why I'm struggling.
Sarah is appalled that nobody tried to fix this sooner. I told her it's because nobody loved me, and she can't really argue with me. My Mom tried I guess, but she was not great at it. In the end she just gave up and just gave me her love.
Dog Man licks me and hugs me a lot. He says it's so I don't fall over, which doesn't make sense since we mostly sit. I think he just likes hugging me.
Lil' Petey makes me say things out loud and repeat after him. "I am creative. I am loyal. I am diligent, hardworking, kind, and patient."
"I am brave. I am passionate. I am thoughtful, I am loving, I am persistent."
"I am brilliant. I am ambitious, and compassionate."
"I am enough."
I don't know why they are helping me. I feel guilty sometimes that they are taking the time and effort to help me not feel like dying. I didn't want their help.
No. Don't think like that. They're helping me because they care about me, and they want me to be happy, just like I want the same for them. And the truth is I needed the help.
But why would they love me? I am worthless and stupid and-
No. That's not true. I may not be perfect, but no one is. I am enough.
"Papa, I'm hungry! Can I have potato chips?"
I look down at my son. "No, kid, we just had lunch! If you're hungry, eat some fruit or something."
Lil' Petey pouts. "Hmph. Can you cut me an orange, then?"
"Sure," I say, walking into the kitchen. I took the fruit and cut the orange part off, but left the white part because it's healthy and Lil' Petey likes it. I cut the rest of the orange into cubes and put it in a small cup-bowl-thing. Lil' Petey takes it happily and eats it.
"Thanks Papa! You're the best!" says Lil' Petey as he runs off to play, aka make a mess.
Honestly this kid is amazing. I can't help but wonder how the heck he got so good at therapy overnight. One thing is for sure: he may be my clone, but me and him are very different!
Or maybe not. Maybe that's just what I'd be like had my childhood not been so screwy.
But Lil' Petey is other things too. He's an amazing inventor, and never mixes up millimeters and centimeters like I do sometimes. (My secret shame.) He is compassionate and so brave. He sees the good in everyone, and never hesitates to give help when it is needed, no matter to who. And he always manages to save me.
I've had some rough patches in life, it's true. But he makes it better.
I wish I'd had him as a child. Me and him would've been best friends in school.
School was tough for me, because I had to pretend everything was fine. It was exhausting to do so though, so I mostly stayed by myself. Nobody really knew me, so I didn't bother to know them.
Critter scouts was different because I could earn badges. I thought of them as trophies of success, and though I didn't say it out loud, worth. I thought maybe if I did all these things right, I would be worthy of my father's love and he would stop hurting me.
When I was kicked out, I had no more badges of worth. I was completely worthless again. Dad said I was always worthless. He told me how stupid I was to think that some dumb, goody-two-shoes badges would get him to love, or even like me. He said he only let me go to critter scouts to get rid of me for a few hours.
But Dad was wrong. I am not worthless. I am creative, loyal, diligent, hardworking, kind, and patient. I am brave, passionate, thoughtful, loving, and persistent. I am brilliant, ambitious, and compassionate.
I am enough.
A/N: God, I kinda hate the ending. The rest of it is fine but the ending is rushed and kinda stupid and cheesy. But I re-read this and it's really not all that bad. Hopefully this wasn't a waste of time when I could be working on my other story that I am currently procrastinating on. I hope you somewhat enjoyed this and it wasn't too long. The word count says 10,635 words but it'll probably be more once I save the author's note, but I'm not changing what I just wrote. I've read some people's one-shots that are longer than this and I was fine. To think I wrote this in 15 parts originally.
I barely edited this at all. I wrote this a long time ago and didn't really like it then. I'd like to think I've grown as a writer since I wrote this, but you'd have to read my other stories to decide that for yourself (wink wink nudge nudge.). But not the Dog Man ones because I wrote those around the same time as this one. I should wrap this up now. Bye!