A/N: Thank you guys so much for the reviews/follows/favorites. I meant to say thank you sooner but for whatever reason, I haven't. It really means a lot that someone takes a little time to tell someone else that they enjoy what they've done, and it feels good to know that people actually stopped scrolling through titles and stopped on this one. So, thank you again. I hope I don't let you down with future chapters.
It wasn't so much that he hated him, but Merle had strong negative feelings toward his brother from the day he was born. From the second he laid eyes on that weird looking newborn face that all babies had when they just came out, he felt a mixture of annoyance and an increased hatred toward his father. Daryl wasn't the blessing his mother said he was, he was a burden. He felt sorry for the boy, knowing what he would be growing up in, and he couldn't help but be mad at his mother for deciding to have him, when she knew the environment he'd been born into.
"You wanna hold your brother, baby?" His mother asked. Merle shook his head. "Why not, you scared of hurting him? You won't."
"Maybe later, Mom." He said quietly. She nodded and continued staring at her new son. She sat in bed, wearing one of his dad's t-shirts and a pair of ratty looking shorts with hair dye smudges on them while his father was out in the living room watching Nascar on their old TV, which always had a staticy picture, no matter what channel it was on. "You need anything? I'm gonna head out."
"Where are you going?"
"Just out. Me and the guys might see a movie."
"You have money?" Merle shook his head.
"We ain't gonna pay for it, Mom." She pointed to her dresser.
"Grab that book I got there." He walked over, doing as he was told, and brought a thick book over to her, which she opened. Inside, she had two ten dollar bills. She took one and handed it to him.
"I don't need it, Ma-"
"You've been a big help, baby. Go have fun. Get food or something." He looked at the money before bending down and kissing her cheek. "I love you."
"Love you, too." He took the book back from her and discretely put the money she'd given him back into it before putting it back where he got it from.
1 Month Later
The screaming woke him up at least once a night, but it was the sound of his mother coughing that kept him awake. On this particular night, he'd had enough. Merle got out of bed angrily and stormed down the hall toward his parents room. Once at the door, he slowed down and quietly opened it. He kept his head down, glancing up only to see the crib, which he walked toward. He looked down at his screaming baby brother and grabbed the bottle on the dresser next to the bed, sticking it in the waistline of his pants before picking the baby up and taking him out of the room. He got back on his bed and took the bottle out, shoving it in the baby's mouth perhaps a little too roughly.
"I got shit to do tomorrow, kid, you gotta fucking sleep." He muttered. The baby slowly calmed down and began eating. "Not so hard, is it, Daryl? All you gotta do is stop whining and life suddenly gets a lot more pleasant, huh?" Daryl stared up at him, his eyes beginning to close already. "Good... Sleep, you little bastard." He turned and started to put his brother down on the bed next to him, which caused him to instantly start crying again. Daryl stopped as soon as Merle picked him back up. Merle tried again, with the same results. "Fucking kidding me." He mumbled angrily. He put the bottle down and laid back on his bed, with the baby screaming in his face. "Jesus I fucking get it!" He pulled Daryl onto his chest and began patting his back. "You gotta stop this, Daryl." He said, closing his eyes. He ran his fingers up and down Daryl's back, which seemed to stop the crying instantly. He continued doing it until he, himself, fell asleep. It was the first time since his brother came home from the hospital that he got more than five hours of sleep. It ended when he felt someone try to take Daryl off of him. He tightened his grip, waking his brother which started the crying again.
"Nice going, idiot." His dad said, a lit cigarette between his lips. Merle let go of the baby and his dad took him out of the room. He felt angry and he wasn't sure why. Daryl was an annoyance and he should've been happy that his father took him off his hands, but he wasn't. It was as if his dad had taken something that belonged to him, and it pissed him off. Trying not to dwell on the feelings, he got out of bed and went on with his daily activities, avoiding any thought of his currently crazy home life. After discovering that he had a talent for calming Daryl down, it became somewhat of a routine to take him from his parents room and bring him into his own to sleep. When his mother tried moving the crib next to Merle's bed, they discovered it wasn't the room Daryl liked, it was his brother, and the only way to almost instantly put him to sleep was for Merle to hold onto him, which is what he ended up doing more often than not.