Thanks for @blorbopostingtime for this idea!
FERAL BRANCH!
LET OUR BOY UNLEASH HIS INNER MONSTERS!
Anyway, I suck at writing angst so you can TOTALLY feel free to add or say anything about this. I accept and appreciate criticism
Enjoyyy!
~~~~~~~~~~~
"Well, an apology isn't going to fix everything…" Branch muttered, taking a step back.
"We know, but-"
"But what?" the youngest stammered, anger slowly replacing his initial fear. "But what?!"
"Branch, calm down-"
"Calm down? Calm down?!" he yelled, not caring if it was Floyd he had interrupted this time. "Do you even have any idea what I've been through?!"
Clay took a deep breath, trying to speak in a gentler tone than his brothers, if that was even possible. "We know we messed up, but we're here now, and we want to make things better."
Branch scoffed. "Now? Now when what? Now when I've managed to battle my own demons? Now when I've found happiness? When I've moved on from Grandma's death? Where were you during all that?"
They froze, racking their brains for a logical justification.
But there was none.
Seeing no response, he went on. "Where were you when I was having a panic attack every single day, blaming myself for Grandma's death?! Where were you, when I was living alone in the wilderness, huh?!" He stomped his foot in frustration, his hands unknowingly clenching and unclenching in fists. "Do you even know what it feels like to be rejected by your OWN people, just because you're different, because you're sad?! Instead of them actually helping you?!"
Poppy hesitated, tears welling up in her eyes as she tried to move towards her boyfriend, to hug him, to comfort him, but something inside her screamed at her to stop. He needed this moment to let it out, and they needed to hear it.
He glared at them with tears in his eyes, feeling a surge of resentment and betrayal. "You abandoned me! You left me alone and I was only a freaking five-year old baby! And now you come back, acting like nothing happened, like you care about me?!" he shouted.
"Branch, we're sorry, we're so sorry-" Clay said, his voice cracking.
"Sorry? Sorry doesn't cut it!" Branch snapped. "Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for you? How many days have I woke up hoping against hope that you were back?!"
They took a step back, unsure of what to do or say, if there was even something to be said. They messed up, big time.
Floyd's eyes were starting to water, and he managed to mutter, "Branch, we don't want forgiveness, we just want to talk about it-" before his brother stopped him with his sarcastic tone.
"Oh, that's so great, let's talk about why we abandoned our baby brother and never came back, even though we promised, didn't we, Floyd?" he spat. "Was I even on your mind? Because if I was, I'm sure this whole talk wouldn't be happening right now!"
"That's not true, Branch, that's not true!" Floyd protested. "We love you, we've always loved you!"
"Then why did you leave me?" Branch asked, his voice breaking. "Why did you leave me when we could've talked it out? When we could've been a family?!"
They lowered their heads, unable to answer. They had their reasons, but they knew they were not good enough. They had made a mistake, a terrible mistake. And now, it was their turn to handle its consequences.
"Branch, please, listen to us-" Floyd tried again, reaching out his hand.
However, his brother flinched and slapped his hand away, shaking his head. "Don't touch me!"
"Alright, no touching, no touching!" the red-haired troll retreated, holding his hands up. "Just listen to us, please."
"Alright." Branch took a deep breath, letting it out as a frustrated sigh as he pretended to zip his lips. He gave them a sarcastic smile, silently allowing them to stand up for themselves.
Bruce began, seeing no attempt from the others. "We messed up, okay? We know we did. But we love you, we love you so much."
"Yeah, bro, and nothing will change that," John added, his voice shaking slightly as he expected another interruption. But to his surprise, their youngest brother stayed silent.
"We just want a second chance," Floyd chimed, "And we promise, this time, we'll do better."
But Branch had stopped listening long ago. What was the point? He'll trust them, get attached, then bam, they'll leave again. Same old story. Even Floyd, the one who's never broken a promise in his life, broke one promise - his and Branch's promise, and Branch didn't know if he'll ever be able to forget this one.
Everything hurt. His head hurt, his chest tightened, and his limbs were starting to shake. He closed his eyes, trying to pull himself together, but the dull troll was greeted with the room swirling around him in a dizzying manner as soon as he opened his eyes, and his brothers' intertwined voices weren't helping, if anything, they were adding to his headache. He put a hand on his forehead, desperately trying to regain his balance, but the more anyone talked, the more the room swirled. All he wanted was some quiet.
Which was the opposite of what he got when he collapsed to his knees in a heap.
"Branch! Are you okay?"
His girlfriend, as always, he thought, was the first to be by his side, and he felt her hand gently lifting his chin, locking their gazes.
"You okay?"
He nodded, deciding it'd be better if he didn't try to get up in his current state.
"Do you want water, anything?"
He shook his head, and instantly regretted the small gesture as the dizziness that was starting to subside persisted.
"Sure?" He felt her hand squeezing his, as if trying to convey as little reassurance as she could provide at the moment.
He blinked, just now realizing that his brothers were surrounding him, each putting a hand on either his shoulders or back. He took a deep breath, finally managing to his voice, and without thinking, he choked a weak, "Leave…"
"But-"
"Leave!" Branch yelled. He stood up abruptly, and quickly reached out for the nearest piece of furniture to steady himself. Great, now the room was spinning again.
"Branch, you're not okay, at least lie down-"
Branch cut off the pink troll, softer than he did with his brothers as he slurred, "Fine… fine…" His head was pounding, but he didn't care. He turned to the remaining audience with a feeble wave of his hand. "Get out…"
But their bodies wouldn't listen.
"GET OUT!"
They gasped, unconsciously taking steps back but not fully comprehending their youngest brother's words.
Till they hardly dodged the shreds of his wooden table.
"Get out! Leave me alone!"
At this point, Branch was crashing anything that came his way as he paced back and forth, moans and screams escaping his lips and palms pulling at his hair, taking out dark hairs on their way back.
"Leave! Now!" he shouted, not even looking up to face his brothers. "What part of NOW don't you understand?!"
They tried to move, but they couldn't. What happened to the baby of the family?
"Get out of my bunker! Now! Or I'll show you CRAZY!" He screamed, flipping his entire bookshelf and maniacally tearing at his books, a sight that left Clay in a trance-like state.
Poppy was the first one to recover, eyes darting between the shattered furniture and the blood on her boyfriend's hands.
When she said she wanted him to let it out, this was not what she meant, not at all.
Slightly panicking, the Queen took her sister's hand and quickly led her to the elevator, before doing the same with Branch's brothers. Each was holding another one's hand in an attempt to drag him along, though Poppy was already on that mission.
And in a blink, they were gone.
He was alone.
—------------
He was alone.
So why wasn't he calming down? Why was he still screaming?
The bunker, once tidy and organized, was now messy and dusty, debris crumbling down the walls and onto the ground. Why was he doing this? Branch didn't know for sure, all he knew was that his hands were itching.
He wanted to crash something.
He needed to crash something.
He wanted to let it out, but on what, when he's destroyed his own home?
The troll felt a surge of rage as he smashed his belongings. He had spent years building this bunker, treating it like home, like his safe place. But now it felt like a prison. He was alone, just like he had always been, so why did it hurt this time? They didn't really think that after leaving him for over two decades, and then come back, that he would want to join their party with open arms, did they? He didn't need them. He didn't need any of them.
He stormed in and out different rooms through his bunker, looking for something else to break.
But there was nothing. He'd crashed everything.
And that's when he collapsed to the floor, his chest heaving.
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