Chapter 8 - Fear and anxiety

Summer of 1989

"Yakko. I'm hungry!" Said a voice

"Me too!" Came another

Yakko perked up. He was currently sitting on his bed reading a comic book, when he saw out of the corner of his eye his two younger siblings enter his bedroom simultaneously, both of them begging him for a snack.

Yakko smirked, raising an eyebrow. "What? Again?" He said, surprised, "We just had lunch an hour ago. You're seriously telling me that you two are both hungry again?"

"Yes! I want Yakko to give me crackers!" Dottie chanted, clapping her hands together joyously.

"I want crackers, too. And some milk to go with it," Wakko added.

The nine year old child rolled his eyes, knowing how needy Wakko and Dottie could be. But in spite of their clinginess, he's always willing to do anything to make his siblings happy. Yakko will admit he's a bit of a pushover at times; he could never stand the sight of his siblings being sad and upset. Thus, he spoils them, perhaps a little more than he probably should. As long as his little sibs were happy, he was happy. Simple as that.

"Please, Yakko!?" They pleaded. "Pretty please!?"

"Alright, alright. Settle down there, sibs. I'll fix you up with something to eat in no time!" Yakko reassured them as he got up from his bed.

Wakko and Dottie shouted a joyful ' Hooray' in response. Then, the two siblings ran out of the room together, their older brother tagging along behind. Yakko followed them through the living room and into the kitchen. Wakko and Dottie started what Yakko could only describe as "a snack time chant", where his two younger siblings would jump up and down shouting 'snack time! Snack time! Snack time!' Over and over again until he finally gave them a snack. Yakko couldn't help but smile as his siblings laughed and smiled as little kids would.

"Quit that racket!"

But there always has to be an exception.

Wakko and Dottie stopped their chant, a surprised look on their faces. They turned their heads to look at what was behind them, Yakko staring in the same direction. His father was sitting at the table, holding his newspaper in his hands. The man appeared to be annoyed, his eyebrows were crossed and an angry frown had been engraved on his face. He was home – for once – because it was his day off from work. His mom, meanwhile, was working the morning shift at the deli today, because of course she was. There's never a time where she's not working overtime. Honestly, Yakko would rather have his dad out of the house than be here. His father was a real sticker about noise, especially when that noise was being created by his own children. This irritated him to no end; his sibling's couldn't control how loud they were. To them, it's not a problem.

"It's ok, dad. They're only little. They don't mean any harm," Yakko attempted to pacify his father's anger. This only earned him a disapproving look.

"Trying to act smart, huh boy?" His father said snidely, "Careful when running that mouth of yours. It'll cost you someday."

You first, Yakko wanted to say, but knowing how well his father is at controlling his temper, he wisely held his tongue. He knew better than to provoke his father.

Instead, he calmly replied: "Wakko and Dottie are really hungry, so I'm getting a little snack for each of them. I promise to keep them quiet the best I can."

"You better," his dad growled, and said no more.

Having no desire to negotiate with his father for a second longer, Yakko turned back to his troubled siblings. Wakko and Dottie appeared frightened by their father's sudden outburst. He held his arms out for his siblings to run into, bringing them in for a hug.

"Don't be scared, sibs. Your big brother is here," he soothed, "how about you guys go play in the living room while I get you guys a snack, ok?"

His siblings nodded in response. Yakko smiled and stood up.

"Don't forget the milk," Wakko reminded.

"I won't," Yakko reassured.

He smiled as he watched his two younger siblings run off with smiles on both their faces, running together side by side. Yakko noticed how much Wakko and Dottie have grown up a lot over the last two years – Dottie, especially. She was shaping into her own little person, inhabiting a sweet personality, with an affection for everything pink. When his aunt took his sister to Toys R us for her birthday last week, Dottie went straight to the toy aisle and started grabbing as many Barbie dolls as she could carry. He and Wakko were rolling on the floor laughing as they watched their aunt try to contain a wild Dottie on a shopping spree. She could walk fully on her own now, and was becoming more independent by the day. She could talk now, too, speaking in full sentences that are fluent enough for others to understand – no more babbling. Dottie could be sassy sometimes, talking back when Yakko tried to say something to her. At least she wasn't as bad as Wakko when it came to listening to instructions.

Speaking of Wakko, he has changed a lot, too. But Yakko couldn't decide whether or not his brother changed for the better or for the worse. On the surface, he was the same energetic, troublemaking toddler, always up to getting into some mischief whenever he found the chance to. But on the other side of the coin, Wakko could be awfully sweet. About a month ago, Yakko caught his brother drawing on the living room wall with crayon. The four year old cowered in shame as his older brother dragged him to the corner to sit in time out for five minutes. Afterwards, Wakko ran up to him, crying, hugging him tightly, apologizing for what he had done. The boy may be troublesome at times, but at least he's affectionate – Yakko can appreciate that.

He can also appreciate Wakko's affection towards his little sister. It was very strange to him: his brother was unbelievably nice to his sister, hugging and kissing her multiple times in the span of a day. They had their hardships of course – for instance, the other day Wakko got into a fight with Dottie that involved him biting her hand so hard that she cried – but for the most part, the two remained close. For Yakko, that's great. As much as he loved his brother, he needed his fair share of alone time. Dottie acted as his next resort, in a sense. Whenever he was busy, Wakko would go play with her, and he definitely made a good playmate for Dottie. The two are strikingly similar in age, with Wakko only being a year older than his sister. Maybe that's the reason why they get along like a house on fire. They were the terrible, toddler tag team; always together, and always getting up to something that they probably weren't supposed to.

"Yakkooooo! I'm hungry!" His brother whined impatiently.

"Quiet out there!" His dad barked.

Jesus, I really gotta stop spacing out all the time!

Tired of pondering about things that didn't even really matter in the grand scheme of things, Yakko resumed the task in hand: getting his siblings a snack that would hopefully satisfy them for the next hour or two. He opened a cabinet that hung over the kitchen counter, and pulled out a box of Ritz crackers. He didn't know why, but Wakko and Dottie loved this stuff. His little sibs could eat half a box of these in a matter of minutes. Yakko shook his head, baffled by his siblings' mannerisms. But, at the very least, he ensured that neither one of his siblings were starving, unlike someone else he knew.

Remembering that his brother wanted milk, Yakko grabbed two orange sippy cups from the dish drainer. Then, he opened the refrigerator door and grabbed a carton of 1% milk that he hoped hadn't expired just yet. He opened the carton and poured milk into both cups. Closing the carton, he put it back in the fridge, where it would hopefully stay cool. The refrigerator was on the brink of giving out. (And this was a relatively new fridge, too. Their old fridge busted last year, so his father swayed the landlord into getting them a new one. They got a cheap, crappy refrigerator that was similar in condition to their old one. It used to belong to the tenants next door. The tenants next door got a new fridge). But they were poor, and they couldn't afford maintenance anyway.

His siblings' snack prepared, Yakko picked up the two sippy cups and the box of Ritz, juggling the treats between both his arms. He started to walk slowly out of the kitchen and into the living. But as he was about to step out of the kitchen area, his father stopped him suddenly.

"Yakko." He said. Yakko looked over to see his father looking up from his newspaper.

"What dad?" Yakko asked.

"First of all, quit the attitude," his father warned, eyebrows furrowed. "And second, you better keep those kids quiet out there. Don't you dare make me intervene."

His father's eyes widened as he spoke, scrunching his lip. The man was trying to threaten him, but Yakko remained unfazed. This wasn't his first rodeo, far from it. Yakko knew that this was just how his father was: insensitive, inconsiderate, intolerant, and not to mention anger issues (the worst trait his father inherited in Yakko's opinion). His father has acted this way for the majority of his life to the point where he had just grown used to it. It's not like he could do anything about it.

"Sorry dad, I-"

"Dad?" His father raised an eyebrow.

"Sir..I-I meant sir. I'll keep Wakko and Dottie occupied for the afternoon. I will make sure that they don't get too loud, I promise."

He hoped that giving into his father's harsh requests would hopefully deflect his dad away from his anger for the time being. Thankfully, this method seemed to work, to Yakko's honest surprise. But his dad couldn't help but open his mouth one last time and finish him off with a cold, ominous reply:

"You damn well keep that promise. Don't you dare make me intervene."

"Yes sir," Yakko replied quickly.

He stepped into the living room where his siblings awaited him. Wakko and Dottie jumped up at the sight of their older brother walking into the room with their snack. They ran up to him, jumping around in joy and excitement.

"Here you are, sibs," Yakko told them as he handed them their sippy cups and then the box of Ritz. Wakko practically dove his head into the box, grabbing as many crackers as he could carry. Dottie took a more leisurely approach, pulling two crackers out of the box at a time, shoving them in her mouth before getting more crackers. Yakko laughed. He found the sight of his siblings going hog wild on a box of crackers to be surprisingly entertaining.

Yakko sat down on the couch, watching his siblings eat the crackers while occasionally taking swigs of milk from their sippy cup. He chose not to join his siblings in eating – he wasn't hungry right now. He wasn't a big fan of Ritz crackers anyway, and milk would only cause him to have bad gas for an entire afternoon. Almost a year ago, during a trip to his aunt's house, Yakko learned that his stomach's resistance to the milk in the refrigerator wasn't because the milk had gone bad. He drank a cup of freshly bought milk that his aunt prepared for him, and to his bewilderment, Yakko experienced the same agony in his stomach that he did previously. His aunt told him that he must be allergic to milk, in fact, he was told that he's probably allergic to anything dairy. It apparently wasn't a matter of how fresh the milk was – but Yakko still had a feeling that it might have been the case. At least his parents weren't forcing him to drink it anymore. Yakko didn't know if he had it in him to deal with stomach cramps and incessant farting again.

Perhaps this is why Yakko prefered to eat so little every day. He didn't really need food – not every second of the day anyway. Besides, they only had so much food in the house, so Yakko tries to rationalize it the best he can. To him, it was more important that Wakko and Dottie ate. His siblings were much younger than he was, and they needed food way more than he ever will. He couldn't stand the sight of his siblings groaning on the floor, clenching their empty stomachs, staring at him with sad, hungry eyes. Maybe this is why Yakko was so inclined to give food to them; he could never bear to witness his own siblings starving the same way he is, so he nourishes them on the daily. And just by the look of Wakko and Dottie guzzling down an entire box of Ritz, Yakko couldn't help but smile as his tummy rumbled inside.

Pretty soon, his siblings had devoured the entire box of Ritz crackers.

"All done," Dottie announced as she happily teetered towards Yakko.

"Was that yummy?" Yakko asked.

His sister nodded with a grin. "Yes, yes! Ritz yummy!" She answered joyously.

Yakko laughed as he held his arms open to his sister. Dottie wrapped her arms around his waist while Yakko put his hands around his sister's shoulders. A warm, endearing hug was enough to bring a warm, endearing feeling to his younger sister, and Yakko understands this. He always makes time out of his day to hug his little sister, to make her feel appreciated, to make her feel loved.

"Hey! I want hugs too!" Wakko complained as he got up from the floor and ran towards Yakko as well.

" Oh, how could I forget about you?" Yakko said as he held out an arm for his little brother. "C'mere, brother, sibling."

Wakko grinned as he rested his arm against his knee, Dottie doing the same. Yakko smiled at both of them, gently stroking the top of their heads, rubbing his hands through their soft, ivory black fur. He knew that his brother craved attention just as much as his sister did, and it would be unfair if Yakko picked one sibling over the other. Both his siblings needed that daily dose of attention that would reassure them that they were indeed loved and cared about.

If only Yakko received the same sort of attention from his parents.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his father walk past him, his tall, lanky body moving slowly in some sort of trudge. The man strolled through the living room and was about to enter the hallway when he turned back to his son.

"I'm gonna go into my room for a while to organize my stamps," Yakko's dad told him. Yakko paid no attention to his father at first, and continued to cuddle his siblings. That is, until he raised his voice: "Hey! Look at me when I talk to you!"

Yakko turned his head away from his sibs and instead glanced at his father. His dad was wearing his ever-prevalent scowl, a sign of annoyance and disapproval.

"Yes, dad?" Yakko asks casually.

"I'm going to my room for a while," he reiterates, "Be sure you keep those kids quiet. Don't go outside. Don't answer the door if you hear a knock. And most of all-" he hesitates before ending his statement, "Don't let those kids get into trouble. Do I make myself clear?" He stretches those last words out, raising his left eyebrow.

Yakko nodded. "Yes sir."

"Good," he mutters, almost in a whisper, and he disappears into the hallway.

With his father now gone, Yakko turned back to his siblings and continued to snuggle them like he had been. There was a solemn look in his eye, though he didn't let his siblings see it. They didn't need to know. He didn't want them to know.

For all the hugs he gave his brother and sister, Yakko sadly knew that he would never receive any from anyone else; his parents certainly wouldn't. Maybe his aunt, but she worked so much that he barely got to see her anymore. These days, he does reading and math in his own time, only because his mom insists that he does. He assists Wakko with his home schooling. The toddler would fuss and complain the whole way through, but Yakko was persistent. He has become self taught and incredibly resilient, more so for his own survival. Besides, it wasn't like his parents were going to step in and help him out – that was far out of their capabilities. They definitely weren't going to help raise Wakko and Dottie.

Guess that's all I'm good for at this point in my life, he thought to himself. I'm the second parent. No! I AM the parent! If Mom and Dad aren't going to be there for Wakko and Dottie, then I guess I have to be!

And that was something that Yakko had figured out a long time ago.

Eventually, his siblings grew tired of the hugs, so they separated from his arms and ran off to supposedly play with the toys that were in the big box of toys in the corner of the living room. But as they ran, Wakko accidently tripped over his sippy cup, causing him to plummet onto the floor. Dottie stopped and ran over to her brother, startled by what had happened.

"OW!" The toddler yelped in pain. "That hurt."

"Wakko, shh!" Yakko hushed his brother, not wanting him to disturb his father. Big brother instinct kicked in as Yakko leapt off the couch and hurried to be by his brother's side.

"Wak fell," Dot observed. "Why Wak upset?"

The answer was as clear as day: Wakko had scraped his knee after falling down onto the hard, gritty carpet. Yakko lifted his brother off of his stomach and maneuvered him so that he was sitting on his bottom. He closely examined his brother, noticing the big gash that had taken form on his knee. Tears had formed under Wakko's eyes as he began to sob from the pain. Yakko continued to hush his brother in an attempt to calm him down.

" Shh, Wakko, it's ok," he spoke to him softly. "You should be more careful next time. Remember what I told you about running in the house?"

"Not to do it," replied Wakko, sniffling. He used his arm to wipe the tears from his eyes. "It really hurt." The boy continued to weep into his arm. Yakko placed a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder.

"I know it does. Please don't cry, Wakko. It's going to be ok, I promise," Yakko soothed. "I'm going to clean up your wound and get you a bandaid. Just stay here for me, please."

With a sad head nod from Wakko, Yakko hurried to the kitchen to get first aid for Wakko. He opened a cabinet below the sink, grabbing a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, cotton balls, and a box of bandaids. He placed the items on the counter while he grabbed the last item needed to clean his brother's wound. Standing on his tippy toes, Yakko extended his arm out towards a roll of paper towels on a shelf above him. He leaned far into the counter, his arm was shaky and his legs wobbled. As he tore off a couple of paper towels from the roll, his elbow accidently bumped a knife on the cutlery block. The knife was knocked out of the holder and fell onto the counter with a thud. Yakko froze, his heart stopped. His eyes slowly glance down at the knife sitting flat on the counter below his elbow. Thankfully, the knife missed his elbow by a few inches. Yakko thought it was a miracle that the knife didn't fall onto his arm and slice it open. More than anything, he was just glad that it didn't happen.

He took some deep breaths, his body still shaking from the scare, as he finally calmed himself down to a point where he could function again. Putting the paper towels down, he reached for the knife to put it back when he heard the call of his brother:

"Yakkooooo! I'm bleeding!"

"I'll be right there, Wakko! Just sit tight," Yakko hollard back. He prayed to himself that dad would stay in his bedroom.

In a rush, he left the knife where it was and grabbed the rest of the items off the counter. He hurried back to where his brother was. Wakko was in the same position he had put him in, crying in pain as a trail of black ink trickled down his leg. His sister Dottie, who appeared sorry for her brother, sat close to him. She looked at her brother with a frown, her eyes having a saddened glow to them. Yakko knelt down to his brother, gently setting the supplies down on the floor.

"Don't worry, sib. I'm going to get you cleaned up," Yakko assured his brother, "Everything is going to be ok."

Wakko gazed at him and sniffled, wrinkling his nose.

"Ok," he answered hesitantly.

Yakko used the paper towels and wiped the rubbery ink off of Wakko's knee. Then, he opened the bottle of hydrogen peroxide and poured a tiny amount of the liquid onto a cotton ball. Once he did this, he started to rub the cotton ball around the wound.

"Ow! That stings!" Cried Wakko.

"Wakko, shh!" Yakko quickly shushed his brother. "I know your knee hurts, but it's going to be better soon, I promise."

I really hope my brother isn't being too loud. I do NOT want dad to interfere right now.

He continued to rub the hydrogen peroxide around his brother's knee. Thankfully, Wakko's crying had come to a halt, but tears continued to drip down his cheek. After a couple of minutes, Yakko had finished cleaning up his brother's wound. The only thing that remained was a dry scab where the cut had formed, which would heal overtime. The final step was to apply a bandaid. Yakko grabbed a bandaid from the box of bandaids beside him, tore the white paper underneath the bandaid, and placed the sticky side over his brother's wound.

"There. All better," Yakko said as he shot a smile at his brother.

"Can you kiss it?" Wakko asked.

"Of course," he nodded. He leaned down and kissed his brother's bandaid.

He glanced at Wakko, relieved to see that his brother was smiling again. Yakko held his arms out for him, Wakko gladly plunging himself onto his older brother, wrapping his arms around his body. Yakko embraced his own arms around his sib. He was glad that his brother wasn't feeling defeated after getting hurt. Wakko retained the same old goofy grin that Yakko expected from his little brother.

"I love you sooooo much," Wakko said sweetly.

"And I love you even more, baby bro," Replied Yakko with an endearing smile.

"I wanna hug!"

Yakko's ears perked up, his eyes shifted towards his little sister standing behind him. There was an angry pout on her face, her eyebrows furrowed and her face scrunched up tight. He hadn't noticed her for the past two minutes, as he was busy cleaning up his brother's wounded knee.

"Dottie. It's ok," Yakko tried to console her, "I was just-"

" Noooo! I wanna hug big brother Yakko!" Dottie whined.

Yakko was confused. Why was his sister so upset over him hugging Wakko? She did see what happened to him, right? And besides, he was snuggling with Dottie just a little while ago.

"Dottie, your brother just got hurt. I'm trying to make him feel better," he explained to his sister.

Dottie either didn't understand or was too angry to listen to him, as she continued to become more upset.

"Why won't you hug meeeee!" The girl sulked.

"Why is Dottie crying?" Wakko asked him.

Believe me, I want to know the same.

"Not now, sib," Yakko told his brother. He let go of his brother, breaking the hug, and approached his sister. Dottie glared at him, pouting her lip. She was trying to look guilty, but Yakko wasn't buying it. He attempted to place a hand on his sister's shoulder, only for her to back away. Yakko narrowed his eyes on her.

"Dottie, please, it's ok," Yakko spoke to her, trying his best to remain calm. "I didn't mean to make you upset. I don't even know what I did."

"You no love me no more!" Dottie frowned at him, tears welling in her eyes.

"That's not true. I love you a lot, sister, sibling. Just because I hug your brother doesn't mean-"

"NO!" Dottie shouted, cutting him off, "you no love me no more!"

Yakko was dumbfounded. He's shown his affection towards his sister multiple times a day. Never before has Dottie ever gotten mad after he told her 'I love you'. Never has he seen his sister act like such a brat towards him. He couldn't pinpoint what exactly caused his sister to act this way, but frankly, Yakko didn't care about what was causing Dottie to be upset; he had enough of this nonsense.

"Dottie, stop! That's not true," Yakko raised his voice. He was beginning to get mad himself.

"NO! I want you to hug me! NOW!"

"Not with that attitude," he retorted," If you don't cut it out right now, then it'll be nap time for you."

At that, Dottie broke…

The toddler threw herself onto the floor and began to throw a tantrum, pounding her fists and stamping her feet against the floor. She wailed dramatically, her cries growing increasingly louder. She was yelling something at him, but it sounded muffled to Yakko so he couldn't make sense of it. Yakko started to feel a headache coming on as everything rushed towards his head. He was experiencing a bunch of thoughts at once, and he could barely make sense of it all, but he did know that he had to do one thing: he must find a way to get Dottie to calm down before it's too late.

"Dottie, shush! Be quiet!" Yakko snapped. Lashing out didn't help as Dottie continued to cry and throw a fit. Ok, he thought, try a different approach. "You need a nap, don't you. I'm taking you to-" he was going to say that he would take Dottie to her crib, but since his dad was present, that was out of the question. "..my room! I'll take you to my room! You hear me?"

Using quick reflexes, Yakko scooped his sister off the floor and into his arms. Dottie was squirming, kicking her legs at his knees. One of her legs hit his upper thigh with extreme force. Yakko nearly yelped in pain, but swallowed it in order to avoid causing alarm.

"Don't you dare hit me there again!" Scolded Yakko. He scowled at his sister, gritting his teeth. Dottie continued to fuss and squirm. From his past experiences of dealing with tantrums like these, Yakko found that trying to hold a crying toddler was like trying to wrestle an alligator; it wasn't easy. But Yakko was persistent – he had to be – and would stand for hours on end trying to get his crying sibling to calm down, even when he felt like he was dying inside.

He spent the next few minutes bouncing Dottie around in his arms, making shushing noises with his mouth in trying to get her to calm down. Thankfully, his sister's sobbing was coming to a standstill. She was no longer kicking her legs at him – Yakko felt greatly relieved about that – and she was no longer screaming excessively, either. It was by some miracle that his father had somehow missed the sounds of his sister's meltdown. His father was grumpy on a good day and screaming his head off on a bad one. He's probably too engrossed in his stamps to care. Stamps are so boring, but I guess everyone needs a hobby, Yakko thought.

"I don't…need a nap-" Dottie protested sleepily. She yawned, closing her eyes. She rested her head against his shoulder. Her breathing became heavier, its rhythm slowed some. Yakko's scowl turned into a smile as he watched his baby sister begin to fall asleep.

"That's it, Dottie. Drift off into dreamland," whispered Yakko, stroking his hand through her hair gently.

As Dottie finally calmed down from her tantrum, and was just about ready to fall asleep in the comfort of his arms, Yakko carried his sister from the living room into his bedroom. Opening the door, Yakko emerged himself into his nearly pitch black bedroom, perfect for Dottie to sleep in. He gently set Dottie down on his bed, carefully tucking her under a warm blanket. He grabbed a teddy bear from off the floor, the same teddy bear that Wakko slept with every night and couldn't sleep without, and tucked it under Dottie's arms so that the girl was snuggling the stuffed bear.

Yakko smiled to himself. Even though it was dark in the room, he could make out the sight of his sister sleeping soundly in his bed with crystal clear vision. The toddler breathed softly, hugging the stuffed animal, dozing away. She looked so adorable in that moment that it was hard for Yakko to believe that this was the same girl who was acting like a brat just ten minutes earlier.

"Sweet dreams, princess," he cooed as he planted an endearing kiss on his sister's cheek.

You did good, Yakko. You did good.

Once he ensured that Dottie was sound asleep, Yakko tiptoed out of his bedroom without making a sound. Once his body had fully emerged from the room, he gently shut the door behind him.

It wasn't usual for Dottie to be sleeping in his bedroom; she'd usually sleep in her crib. But when he put some thought into it, Yakko figured that his sister would rather sleep in an actual bed than an uncomfortable crib that was a hand-me-down from him and Wakko. That old thing had so much tape holding the structure together that he feared that it would someday collapse with his sister inside it. Yakko couldn't stand the thought of that happening. She'll be safe in your room, Yakko reassured himself. Don't worry about it.

Allowing the thought in one ear and out the other, Yakko walked away from his bedroom and reentered the living room. Glancing around the room, Yakko immediately noticed something was off. He saw the hydrogen peroxide, bag of cotton balls, and used paper towels that he had used to clean his brother's wound. He'll have to put that back where he found it. He also noticed the box of Ritz crackers that his brother and sister devoured earlier, too. But something – someone – was missing. Where's Wakko? Did Wakko run away while he wasn't looking? His brother wasn't upset about him abandoning him while he hushed his sister and calmed her down from her fit, did he? If he was, then Yakko would feel like a terrible older brother. No, he could not have run away while he was gone. His father locked the front door, and Wakko doesn't know how to work the lock on his own. Besides, where would Wakko even go? The park, maybe? Plausible, yet still unlikely.

His big brother instinct kicked in as Yakko started to panic. He must find his brother at once, and ensure that he is ok. His father would literally kill him if anything were to happen to Wakko. It would be his fault if Wakko were to get hurt while he let his guard down just for a little while.

Then, his eyes shifted towards the kitchen. There was Wakko, his head just slightly poking over the table. When Yakko caught sight of his brother, his heart stopped. He gasped, his breathing quickened. What he saw triggered a great response that came from his mind. His big brother instinct took over his entire body. Yakko bolted towards his brother.

"Wakko! NO!" He screamed. He ran as fast as he could, not hesitating for even a second.

He saw Wakko's eyes grow wide as he ran at him with great speed. His brother froze, holding the sharp knife in his hand. He stood incredibly still. As still as a statue. Yakko stared directly into his younger brother's eyes, his jaw hanging open. Wakko looked up at his older brother, still holding the knife, tears forming in his eyes. Both of them just stood there, staring on in silence.

After a moment, Yakko ripped the knife out of his brother's hand and slammed it into the sink. He didn't even know what to think of the current situation he was in. He felt shocked, scared, and angry all at the same time. He didn't even know how his brother was able to reach the knife on the counter. But that was the last thing that mattered to him right now.

"Are you hurt?"

His first instinct was to make sure that Wakko wasn't hurt, and that he didn't cut himself. His brother winced, tears starting to drip down his cheek, and shook his head no. Yakko approached his brother slowly, knowing that Wakko was frightened, and inspected both of his hands. He felt an internal feeling of relief when he discovered that Wakko was not hurt. Yakko hugged his brother, allowing the toddler to sob into his shirt.

"I'm sorry," murmured Wakko, tears rolling down his cheek.

Now, Yakko felt extremely guilty about what happened. Why didn't he just put the knife back in the cutlery block where it came from? This whole thing could have been prevented if he would have bothered to take ownership for his mistake, but he didn't. And now he felt like a total failure. All he could do right now is try his best to comfort his brother and reassure him.

"Wakko, I know you did not mean to do what you did. But that knife can really hurt you if you're not careful," Yakko spoke firmly to Wakko.

He put a hand under his brother's chin, forcing his head to look upwards. Wakko's face was smothered in tears, tears that were still falling from his eyes and down his cheek. Yakko wiped away his tears, just like last time, and continued to hug his brother harder.

"If you see an object that looks unfamiliar to you, than you should-"

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU YELLING ABOUT!?"

Yakko's body froze at the harsh sound that came from behind. His blood ran cold. His heart sank. His body started trembling out of his control. He turned his head and looked up. His father stood directly above him. A cold, hard stare is what he saw. Yakko's eyes grew wide with fear. Wakko broke away from his hug and scurried away as fast as his legs could carry him. Yakko wanted to chase after his brother, but he couldn't. He wanted to be anywhere else but here, but he couldn't. He was now alone. With his father.

There was nothing Yakko could do.

"What am I to do with you? You little SHIT!" His father teethed.

Yakko felt his eyes start to water. He didn't want to look like a coward, not in front of his father. He scrunched up his face and held his tears in.

"I-I'm sorry, dad. Really I am," Yakko shuddered, "I didn't want Wakko to get hurt so I-"

"I don't fucking care, Yakko!" His dad continued to shout at him. "Don't you dare talk back to your father, you hear me!?"

"I'm not-"

"YOU ARE!!"

Next thing he knew, his father grabbed him by his shirt collar and held him up to his face. Yakko could feel his father breathing on him. His breath smelled like beer and cigarettes. He tried not to look his father in the eye, but that was hard when his eyes were staring directly into his soul. *SMACK* Yakko was smacked in the face, the biggest blow to him by far.

"Listen to me, you little pest! I told you to be quiet and you've been anything BUT quiet! I've lived a hard ass life, ya know that? You've done nothing for me but make my life more miserable! You better start appreciating what I do for you, and stop acting like a brat YOU UNGRATEFUL BASTARD!!"

SMACK* Another hit to the face. This one hurt more than the last smack. Yakko's ears began to hurt from having to endure his father yelling in his face. But he said nothing as not to anger his father even more than he already was.

"I've had enough of you for one day," his father said coldly, "Go to your room and stay there! Don't you dare leave your room unless you want me to kill you! You hear me!"

"Yes, sir." Answered Yakko, cowardly. "Sorry, sir."

"Don't make me intervene again," finished his father, gritting his teeth.

The moment that his father finally set him down on the floor and let go of his shirt, Yakko sprinted away as fast as he could. He could feel his father staring him down as he ran away, but Yakko didn't care. He didn't love his father right now, and he wanted to be as far away from him as he possibly could. When he turned the corner into the hallway, he saw Wakko hiding behind the corner, cowering in the dark. When his little brother caught sight of him, he ran to him and hugged his arms around his waist. Yakko gladly accepted his brother's affection. While he wasn't going to admit it, he really needed this hug. So he savored it for as long as he could.

With tears bellowing in his eyes, he told Wakko: "Lets just go to our room, ok sib." Wakko shyly nodded in agreement.

Yakko grabbed onto Wakko's hand. He gave his brother a reassuring smile, even though he knew that things were far from pleasant. Together, the brothers sadly entered into their bedroom, the door closing behind them. Yakko crawled up onto his bed, being careful not to disturb his baby sister's slumber. Wakko followed suit, making his way up to him, positioning himself so that he was laying in between him and Dottie. It was the first time all three of them were laying in the same bed as each other. Yakko had to admit that, in the way each of them were positioned on the bed, it felt rather soothing, in a way. All the anxiety he had previously was already starting to melt away, as he rested his head on his pillow. He did worry about Wakko, though, as he tends to move around in his sleep. He doesn't want the boy to accidently crush his sister, for he is a lot bigger than Dottie is.

"Yakko?"

Yakko's ears perked up at his brother's voice. Wakko sounded much less cheerful than usual. His usual loud, excited voice was completely absent, and was replaced with a softer, worried tone.

"What is it, sib," Yakko rolled over on his side to face his little brother.

"Is it my fault that daddy was mad?"

Yakko felt his heart rip in two. He didn't think his sibling would catch on to these sorts of things; he didn't think his brother would ask this big of a question to him. To think that Wakko would start to believe that all of the hitting and smacking that he received was his fault was heartbreaking.

"No, it's not your fault," Yakko reassured him in a soft tone. No, it's mine. "Daddy just had a bad day today and is in a grumpy sort of mood." That's a lie.

Wakko smiled, taking his fibs for granted. His brother trusted every word he said to him, and would never question whether what he told him was true or not.

"Ok, Yakko," replied Wakko innocently. "Sorry for what I did."

"No, it's fine," Said Yakko. He then yawned loudly, suddenly feeling tired. "Just stay away from knives from now on. Ask mommy or daddy to help you. I'm tired. Let's go to sleep, ok?"

"Ok."

Yakko decided that he wasn't going to reminisce on what his father did to him. He had a really bad migraine, and, overall, he felt empty inside. Unloved. Not cared about. A pest, as his father would put it. Such a terrible older brother he was for putting Wakko in danger like that. He'll never understand why he couldn't have just put the knife away and out of Wakko's reach.

Yakko didn't even realize that he had fallen asleep. He slumped up into a sitting position, feeling groggy and tired. The room was submerged in darkness. Yakko could barely make out his bedroom door in the dark; it was too dark to see anything. What time was it? How long had he been sleeping for?

Rolling over onto his left side, he could make out Wakko fast asleep in the darkness, his body sprawled out on the mattress. This didn't surprise Yakko one bit. He had caught his brother on several occasions sleeping in the oddest sleeping positions. Wakko was a very heavy sleeper. The moment he closed his eyes, he was out like a light. Squinting his eyes, Yakko noticed something else: his sister was not in his bed anymore.

That was when Yakko heard loud wailing sounds coming from the room next to him.

He immediately knew that those cries belonged to his little sister. Dottie had been taken out of his bed and moved into her crib in mom and dad's room. His mom must have come into his bedroom while he was asleep to grab her. His ears perked up as Yakko listened closely. He could then hear the sounds of his parents yelling at each other in their bedroom, with poor Dottie sobbing in her crib while the argument occurred. A part of Yakko wanted to get out of bed and go into his parent's bedroom to comfort his little sister, but he knew that he would get in big trouble with both his parents if he did that. So he sat where he was like the coward he is.

Yakko flinched when he heard a loud slap echo from his parent's bedroom. From what it sounded like, his father had gotten mad at his mother for a reason that was unknown to him. But whatever caused the two parties to fight, it did not sound pretty:

"YOU ARE HORRIBLE, ROCKO!" his mother cried helplessly. "WHY ARE YOU SO GODDAMN CRUEL TO ME!?"

"I AM NOT!" his dad clapped back, another slap could be heard. "I got the food stamps, didn't I? I did exactly what you asked me to do. What else do you want from me!"

"I WANT YOU TO LOVE ME! I WANT YOU TO BE THERE FOR ME AND YOUR CHILDREN!" He heard his mom sobbing loudly. It was nearly as loud as his sister's sobbing was.

That last line hit Yakko the most. He remembered what his father did to him earlier. He remembered what his dad said to him earlier. He remembered the conversation that he and Wakko had afterwards right before they went to sleep. It was all coming back to him now.

He remembered once, a long time ago, he had woken up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water. When he exited his bedroom, he saw his mom and dad dancing in the living room, listening to dad's favorite album. A slow, romantic song was playing, filling the room with soothing music. The couple were dancing slowly, both of them in sync with each other, their arms wrapped around each other's shoulders. His father even sang, his voice tender and warm. Yakko stood there for a while as he watched his parents dance, both of them smiling as they admired each other's face. A few minutes later, his father noticed his presence and held his arms out for him to run into. His father gave him a hug. His mom put her hands around his dad's shoulder and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Why are you and mommy dancing?" Yakko remembered asking his father.

"Son, this is our love song," his dad explained to him. "Someday, when you're as old as I am, you'll have a little sweet pea, too. And you and your sweet pea will have your own love song. Just like me and your mother do."

His dad then ruffled the top of his head. Yakko was safely snuggled under his father's warm, protective arms. His mom approached him and gave him and his dad a kiss on the cheek. After that, his dad carried him to the kitchen for a midnight snack: a plate of chocolate chip cookies.

To think that the two adults screaming insults at each other in the room next door, not giving a single care about their daughter sobbing in the same room as them, were the same kind and caring parents from that night. It was enough to make Yakko want to cry. And then, against all odds, he felt a single tear drop down from his eye, followed by another tear, and soon, Yakko was crying just as hard as his sister was.

He just didn't understand what had happened between his parents. His mom and dad who used to love him dearly had left him to fend for himself, while both of them went off to the bar to drink beer after beer and argue until dawn. It was then when Yakko came to a horrible realization, a terrible truth, something so sad yet unfortunately true:

He didn't love his mom and dad anymore. There was nothing to love about either one of them. Both of them were horrible, horrible people. And the more Yakko thought about it, the more Yakko believed that he would be better off without them.