[TLH/SinKid] Strike

What did he even do wrong?
Lemy gingerly touched his cheek. Even the lightest pressure sent a jolt of pain through the swollen area.
This had never happened to him before. *She* had never done that to him before.
He fell onto his back, bouncing slightly as the bedsprings gave some resistance.
He tried to recall what he had done.
He remembered Lyra leaving for some kind of recital.
He remembered her mother stumbling through the doorway a few hours later, drunk out of her mind and a little down in spirit.
He had helped her back to her room, and he remembered saying something about her drinking too much. Or being too heavy.
Then, next thing he knew, he was on the floor, a sharp pain on his cheek.
As he played with his hair he remembered the... look his mom had given him. Rage. Contempt.
He had bolted to his room, too scared to pay attention to what she had yelled back at him.
He felt tears well up around his eyes. It made him feel weak.
He hated feeling weak.
... but maybe he was?
He heard the door open. He turned his head slightly. Lyra.
"Hey Lem." She said, putting her violin to the side.
"Hey." Lemy turned to face away from her.
"What, no witty comment or anything?" Lyra replied with a humoured tone. "I'm almost disappointed."
"Not in the mood." Lemy closed his eyes.
This statement gave Lyra pause. "Everything... alright?"
"Yes. No. Shut up." Lemy already had enough on his mind, he didn't need her sister butting in.
"Okay, fine." Lemy heard the sounds of clothes being removed and added, and then the creak of her own bed. "Well, good night, then."
Lemy didn't respond as the room went dark.
He tried to sleep. But he couldn't.
The throbbing in his cheek and the whirlwind of emotions stopped him.
"Lemy?"
The bedside lamp switched on and he heard her sit up.
Shit, was he actually crying?
"What?" He snapped back, his voice cracking a touch.
"I... I know you don't want me to know what's wrong. You'd expect me to give you some big lecture or to just not care."
Lemy paused.
"But seriously, dude. I care about you and I want to help. Even if it's just listening."
Lemy turned back slightly, looking at Lyra through blurred eyes. "Promise you won't yell at me?"
"On my faith, I promise I won't yell at you for this."
Lemy sighed shakily, and sat up facing her. His scruffy hair still covered his hurt cheek, but more than his other one.
Lyra moved up and gingerly brushed it aside, growing visibly shocked. "Jeez, dude..."
She gently grabbed his head to turn it to get a better look at his cheek. Lemy flinched at first but quickly found the touch a soothing comfort.
"What happened?"
Lemy looked away from her, too ashamed to admit his weakness.
"Lemy."
Lemy pulled his head out of her hands. "Mom... mom was drunk and she..."
Lyra gasped, already connecting the dots. "She what?!"
"I said something stupid and she swung at me." Lemy curled in on himself. "I... I couldn't defend myself... I'm not strong enough-"
He yelped as Lyra grabbed his head, holding it close to hers. She was looking at him with this intense expression. "Lemy, stop. It's not your fault."
"B-but-"
"If I hear you blame yourself for this one more time-" She sighed. "She shouldn't have done that. Even if you said something, no mother has any right to hit their child."
"S-she was drunk, though..."
Lyra shook her head. "Doesn't matter. I'll... I'll have a word with her tomorrow when she wakes up. I've got your back."
Lemy felt the tears welling up again. He practically launched forwards, wrapping his arms around her and pressing close to the warmth of her body. As he finally let the floodgates open he felt Lyra wrap her arm around him too, and a hand stroking his hair.
Just like Mom used to do.
The two stayed like that for what felt like years. Lemy let go first, moving back to his own bed with a weak smile.
"Hey, Lyra?" Lemy asked, as he lifted the covers and slid under.
"Hm?"
"Thanks."
"Anytime. You have any more dramas, let me know."
"Gotcha." Lemy replied as he shut his eyes, hopefully to sleep.

---

Luna groaned, stirring awake. She had a raging headache and she had to piss like a horse.
She started fumbling for her phone in the darkness of her room, her right hand sore for some reason. "Jeez, what time is it...?"
"About 2 in the afternoon."
Luna yelped, scrambling to make herself decent with her sheets. "Lyra! Bloody hell, luv, don't scare my like that."
Lyra, sitting in front of the door on one of the kitchen chairs, crossed her arms.
Luna sighed, turning around and grabbing some clothes, giving them a sniff to confirm they were clean. "So, you need something, honey?"
"I want answers." Lyra replied, sternly and clearly.
Luna paused, then turned back to face her. "Come again?"
"You heard me."
Luna frowned. "Lyra, I really have no idea-"
"You hit Lemy."
Luna turned fully to face her. "Don't joke about that-"
Lyra held her phone out. After a second to adjust to the glare, Luna saw a picture of Lemy. His cheek was swollen, and his usual optimism was almost entirely gone.
Luna's heard sank.
"Tell me what happened." Lyra's stern voice radiated cold fury.
"I..." Luna looked at her sore hand. It was slightly bruised around the knuckles, and she knew exactly why. "I don't know..."
"As I expected." Lyra sighed.
"I promise, I won't let this happen again." Luna tried her best to remain as composed as possible. It was barely working.
"I know you won't." Lyra idly scrolled through her phone. "Cuz I threw out all the alcohol in the house, including that bottle you were saving for my 21st."
"You..." Despair changed to surprise. "You *what?!*"
"I also let Sam know what happened. She'll make sure you don't come home drunk ever again."
Surprise changed to anger. "You told Sam?!"
Memories of an argument flashed in her mind, the few coherent memories she had before now. She had a fight with Sam the night before. The details she had forgotten.
"Christ, Luna, are you *trying* to break us up?!"
"No." She replied, calmly. "I'm trying to stop you from hurting Lemy."
"By ruining my life?!" Luna shot upright. This caused Lyra to shift just a little back.
"You seem perfectly capable of doing that without my help."
White-hot rage filled Luna. She blanked for just a second, but when she snapped back to reality her right palm stung and Lyra was covering her cheek.
Lyra moved her hand, then looked at Luna with a terrified expression. Luna knew immediately what she had done.
"Oh no." She murmured, then went to comfort Lyra. "Lyra, honey, I'm-"
Lyra yelled and pushed her back. She wasn't very strong, but she was able to stagger her onto her bed. By the time Luna knew what had happened Lyra had thrown the chair aside and slammed the door shut.
"Lyra, wait!" She called out, nearly tearing the hinges off her door to chase her. It was too late, she had already closed and locked her own door.
Luna tried to will herself to follow, but her legs gave out and she fell to her knees, sobbing.
Her will had been drained entirely. Weakly, she crawled back to her bed, curling up on herself, desperately wishing for her children to comfort her, so she could apologise.
But she knew that wouldn't happen, and as she slipped from consciousness she knew she had made herself a monster.

---

"Damnit."
"What's wrong?" Lemy asked as Sam fiddled with the doorknob.
"She's locked herself in."
"Really?" Lyra tilted her head.
Sam nodded, then reached into her pocket, pulling out a set of keys. "Good thing she gave me a copy."
"Why would she do that?"
"Guess it was in case of stuff like this."
Sam slotted the key in and twisted it, the door latch snapping open in time.
She pushed the door open and was immediately battered with the unpleasant smell of vomit and urine. She flicked on the light, and spotted the source.
Luna.
She was curled up on herself, and thankfully was still breathing. Her shirt, the only thing she was wearing, was stained with puke, and around her ample backside was a large and slightly yellow stain on the bedsheets. As Sam approached she saw a pile of empty bottles scattered across the room, and a few pools of dried sick near Luna.
"Is she okay?" Lemy asked.
"She's still breathing, at least." Sam murmured, moving onto the bed. Avoiding the stains, she placed her hand on Luna's shoulder and shook her slightly.
Luna's eyes slowly cracked open. They were bloodshot and caked in dry tears.
"Sam...?" Luna croaked out.
"Jeez, you look like shit." Sam cracked a smile, then started lifting her up. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up."
Lyra picked up one of the empty bottles. "I thought I threw all her booze out."
"Secret stash, probably." Lemy shrugged.
"Hey guys, can you do me a solid and start cleaning up in here?" Sam asked, Luna using her for support as she blinked wearily.
"Ugh, do we have to?"
"No, but I would appreciate it."
Lyra had already started the cleanup, grabbing some of the bottles.
Sam, leaving the kids to their work, dragged Luna towards the bathroom. She disrobed Luna and started up the shower, waiting for it to be nice and hot before helping Luna into the bathtub.
The water seemed to help Luna wake up somewhat. She looked... distraught. "Why are you helping me...?"
Sam grabbed a washcloth and began wiping away the dried sick around her mouth. "Lyra asked me to check up on you."
"Bullshit." Luna replied weakly. "As if Lyra wants anything to do with me..."
Without warning, Luna gagged, then upturned her stomach into the tub. She had gotten pretty much everything out at this point so not much came up.
"Easy, Luna..." Sam rubbed her back, trying to soothe her.
"You must hate me..." Luna began sobbing, curling up on herself.
"Luna, I could never hate you."
"But I hit my kids-"
"I know." Sam grabbed the cloth and continued to clean Luna's body. "And I'm absolutely furious. But this is the first time this has happened, and we did have a big fight last night."
Luna looked up slightly.
"I know you're better than this, and I wanna help you." Sam turned the taps off.
Before she could get up, Luna wrapped her arms around her and pulled her tight, sobbing loudly into her. Sam felt herself tearing up slightly. She hated seeing Luna like this.
"Please..." Luna choked out between sobs. "Please don't leave me..."
Sam gently pushed Luna off her, but still kept her close. "Look... Once you're back to normal, we're going to have to have a talk about this whole mess. But I promise you, I won't ditch you."
Luna hung her head, then nodded a little. "Gotcha, dude."
Sam smiled and kissed Luna's forehead. "Now come on, let's get you back to your cute self."

[written June 28, July 2, July 3, '18]