The rings around his eyes were darker than usual and his lips shared the same color again.
Tim frowned slightly as Gareth got into the car that morning, dressed in a black suit with a navy blue tie. He looked paler than usual as well, but Tim supposed that that could just be an effect from wearing so much black.
"Are you feeling all right, Gareth?" he asked.
"I'm going to me mum's wake. Am I supposed to be feeling all right?" Gareth asked.
"Gareth…"
"It's at Pine Meadow funeral home. Do you know where that is?"
"We had my great-grandmother's wake there. The people who work there are really great."
Gareth nodded to nothing in particular and he then leaned back and closed his eyes.
"Rest up, mate." Tim said softly and he pulled out and drove off. "God knows that you need sleep with those rings around your eyes."
It took Gareth a few minutes but he was soon fast asleep, lulled by the sound of nothing but Tim's driving.
He dreamt of his mother smiling down at him as she was making dinner and despite the fact that it was a dream, Gareth could swear that he smelled the blood sausage cooking.
"Hello, my little Gar-bear!" she laughed, reaching down to ruffle his soft hair for a moment.
"Mama!" he laughed, shaking his head rapidly to try and fix his hair up. "Don't mess me hair up!"
"And what is my little Gar-bear going to do if I don't?"
Gareth bared his teeth and held up his hands like claws and his mother quickly put on a frightened face as she covered it with her apron.
"Oh no! There's a wild bear on the loose!"
"Grr!"
Laughing, his mother ran away and Gareth chased after her.
He chased her around the table a few times before he then finally dove under the table and latched onto one of her legs.
"Got you!" he laughed happily.
"What the fuck is going on here?!"
The happy feeling around the room soon vanished and Gareth softly whimpered as he hid behind his mother.
"Is this what you fucking do all day while I'm out working and earning the money in this house?!" Gareth's father raged, his hand going to his belt on instinct
"Stop it!" his mother said, using her body to stand between her husband and Gareth. "The food is almost done so you don't have to worry about that!"
"And now you're fucking talking back to me?! You stupid bitch! Do I need to break the fucker's fingers again to prove me point to you?"
The picture started to melt together and as the shapes of colors moved, Gareth could vaguely make out his father throwing his mother out of the way and then grabbing onto his fingers; bending them back until they…
Gareth woke with a scream and Tim almost stepped on the gas in surprise while trying to park.
"Jesus!" he said, looking at Gareth worriedly. "What the fuck, Gareth?"
He panted softly, looking around with wide eyes.
"What?"
"We're here." Tim said, turning the car off. "What happened?" Gareth closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.
His hand was starting to hurt and he whimpered as he cradled it for a moment, the memory of his father breaking his fingers still fresh in his mind.
"I had a bad dream." He said softly.