Chapter 6
It was a busy news day. Iris and her cameraman had reported on two traffic accidents earlier that morning near the city's center, then they'd run over to a popular residential area and covered a house robbery. 3 hours later, they were in the city's junk yard on an anonymous tip that there had been robberies happening.
Around noon, Iris and her news van crew went to cover a bomb threat at the hospital. Nothing happened, thankfully. Then they were sent to the university to report on a group of students' protests for a better learning environment after reports of a teacher sexually assaulting a student got out. Then they headed to the more shady part of town to report on some junkies drug deals going on before stopping by at a homeless commute to check in on them after reports of them going missing were filed. Then there was a massive bank robbery resulting in three severely injured and one deceased.
Iris and her mobile crew didn't get back to Picture News until 6pm.
Iris reached her desk and collapsed in her chair with a sigh, today had been eventful. She figured she should catch up on some paperwork before she was sent back out.
As she looked through files her phone rang. She looked down at it seeing the caller ID was her brother Rudy. That was certainly strange. They hardly spoke beyond special events like birthdays and holidays. And even that was a hassle. She sighed, hitting the answer button.
"Hello?"
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Iris rushed down the highway going faster than the speed limit. She hadn't expected for this to happen so soon. She was ecstatic as she drove trying her hardest not to be pulled over by a cop.
Today was the day.
𝙉𝙀𝘽𝙍𝘼𝙎𝙆𝘼, 𝘽𝙇𝙐𝙀 𝙑𝘼𝙇𝙇𝙀𝙔
Iris pulled up to the hospital quickly getting out of the car. She rushed to the counter asking directions before rushing off again. She made a quick turn towards the room she had been looking for bursting through the door.
"Did I miss it?" She huffed out trying to steady her breathing.
"No you didn't miss anything." Daniel Iris's brother said in an annoyed tone. She smiled letting out a sigh of relief. When she got the call that Mary was having contractions she panicked thinking she would miss one of the most important things in her life. Mary wasn't even due until another two months.
Unfortunately the contractions were false. Even so Iris requested time off of work to make sure she didn't miss anything the next time. She didn't want to risk it.
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𝑰𝒓𝒊𝒔 𝑷.𝑶.𝑽
It was one of the most important days of my life… the day Wallace Rudolph West was born. I can still hear the music that played in the delivery room.
I had been at work after a long day when I got the call from my brother Rudy. I rushed to Blue Valley, Nebraska heading towards the hospital as fast as I could only to find out it wasn't time yet. Even so, I stayed at a hotel room deciding to stay close by for when Wally would be born. I didn't have to wait long. Only a week later he came.
My brothers, Rudy and Daniel, and I hadn't been close in years. But a day like this I thought all of us reconnecting would be perfect. I was wrong. The whole time Daniel sat on his phone complaining about how he would rather be anywhere else. Rudy and Mary couldn't stop arguing it was pure torture.
What pained me the most was that after Wally was born Mary nor Rudy wanted anything to do with him. Mary wouldn't even hold him as she was too busy arguing with Rudy. Instead I got to be the first one to hold him. And the whole time I couldn't stop smiling. Nothing else mattered as I held Wally in my arms.
Even after my brother and his wife got Wally home, they continued to argue, but it was easy to tune them out. I couldn't take my eyes off Wally. There was a spark there…
I played with Wally, fed him his bottles, changed his diapers and rocked him to bed at night watching him sleep peacefully. Rudy and Mary barely paid attention to him. I couldn't understand it. He was such a beautiful baby. So unique, so special. Just seeing him smile made my heart melt.
I requested more time off taking a long break from being a reporter to take care of Wally. I was afraid if I left his parents may forget about him leaving him on his own. Plus there was no way I wanted to leave his side anytime soon.
The first few months of Wally's life I was there. I was there for all of his firsts in those few beginning months. Seeing him roll over for the first time, hearing him laugh, seeing him kick his little legs for the first time. But my favorite was when Wally first took his first steps.
I had left to head back to work after spending months with Wally. And to say I didn't want to kidnap him would be the biggest lie of the year. I called Rudy as much as I could, checking in on Wally and visiting whenever I got the chance. And during one of those visits one of the best moments of my life happened. He learned to walk for the first time.
But the thing was he didn’t walk. When he saw me he ran. His little legs started out in a small wobble as he balanced himself making his way towards me. The next thing I knew he had completely skipped the walking process as he began running. His face was filled with bliss as a huge smile spread across his face. His eyes had a sparkle to them. It made my heart burn with pride as he ran into my arms laughing. Despite everything Wally always had that spark to him. His light never dimmed.
Maybe that’s why I never noticed.
All his life I watched him grow. I could see how hard he pushed himself when he was feeling discouraged or defeated.
I was overwhelmed with joy when I heard Rudy and Mary say they were going to be moving closer to me before Wally started school. He was five years old when he headed to preschool. I was so proud whenever I heard how well he was doing. Even so he did struggle occasionally and when he did his parents were always overly critical. Maybe that should have been my first clue. No. The day he was born should have been.
Wally was eight years old when I finally figured it out. Realized the truth of what happened to him behind closed doors. Realized why he always stayed at my house as often as he could.
He was being abused.
I couldn't believe it. My own BROTHER abused his own CHILD. How could he do something like that? To this wonderful, creative, sweet, and caring boy. Why didn't 𝐼 notice sooner. I am a damn reporter after all. I've seen abuse cases before. So why didn't I notice? Why was it when it was too late did I finally realize?
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A hollowed knock echoed from the door as Barry made his way over. 𝑰𝒕'𝒔 9𝒑𝒎. 𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆? Barry thought as he turned the doorknob. He froze as he looked down.
There stood Wally crying as he held his head down. He was wearing pajamas, his feet bare as his hair blocked his face.
"Wally?" Barry said concerned as he closed the door behind him walking closer. He knelt down, getting on the same level as Wally. He brought his hand towards Wally going to cup his face. Wally flinched back, his hair uncovering his face. Barry's heart dropped as he saw Wally's right eye covered in a giant bruise. The bruise was just forming and starting to puff up. Wally's right eye looks bloodshot. As he looked closer at Wally he noticed he was covered in blood. Barry felt his blood boil as he took a deep breath trying to remain calm.
"Wally…what happened?" His voice came across stern and concerned. Wally looked away avoiding Barry's eye contact.
"M-my dad… he…" Wally's voice came across strained barely above a whisper.
"C-can I stay with you? Please?" He sniffled fidgeting with the hem of his pajamas.
Barry slowly brought his hands up cupping either side of Wally's face.
"Oh Wally… Of course you can." Wally began trembling as the words left Barry's mouth.
Barry pulled Wally into a tight hug. "Stay as long as you'd like."
"I-I'm so s-sorry.." Wally's voice cracked as he gripped onto Barry like his life depended on it.
"Shh.. It's ok. You have nothing to apologize for." Barry said reassuringly.
"Let's go get you cleaned up ok?" Wally nodded, not letting Barry go. Barry picked him up heading inside.
"Hey Barry who was at the door-'' Iris stiffened looking at Wally clinging to Barry like a lifeline.
"What happened? Is he ok? Why is he here? How did he-"
"Iris, you need to calm down." Barry said sternly. Iris opened her mouth to protest but stopped as she saw Barry shake his head, his eyes glancing towards Wally as he did. That's right. She needed to stay calm right now. Whatever was happening she could figure it out later. Right now Wally clearly needed her. She walked over holding her arms out for Wally to climb into. He quickly turned moving into his aunt's arms.
As Iris comforted him Barry walked towards the kitchen grabbing a cloth and putting some ice inside to put over Wally's eye. It took a couple hours but they finally got Wally to bed.
"How could this happen?" Iris paced back and forth around the living room running her hand through her hair. Wally hadn't said anything besides from the very little he said when he first arrived. All she knew was that it had something to do with Rudy. She didn't want to believe he could do something like this to his own 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅.
"Why did I never notice? How could I not have known? How could I have been-"
"Hey, hey stop. Look at me. We need to stay calm ok? We need to be calm and rational for Wally." Barry stopped Iris's pacing, gripping her hands, squeezing them in a reassuring way.
Iris nodded. "I know but-"
"No buts. No matter how angry we are feeling we need to be here for Wally. We need to be by his side until he tells us what happened. No matter how hard that may be." Barry felt his blood boiling. He wanted to drive over to Rudy's house and beat the crap out of him. Give him a taste of his own medicine. But he couldn't. He had to be here for Iris and most importantly Wally.
But he couldn't help but only focus on the question that rang through his head: What really happened to Wally?
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The sound of a plate crashing was almost completely drowned out by the screaming.
"It's all your fault! You never do anything right!" Rudy screamed at Mary picking up another plate.
"You see this? This is dirty! I told you to have the dishes done. Does this look done to you!?" He spat, throwing another plate on the ground.
"I- I'm sorry I'll do better." Mary whimpered out as tears streamed down her face.
"See you always say that Mary but you never learn. You weren't even able to have a damn baby the right way!" A slap echoed through the house as a loud thud was heard from Mary slamming into the counter.
"You think I wanted this? To have that thing of a son!? Everyday he looks more and more like you! He's a disgrace! Just like his father!"
"You better watch your mouth!" He grabbed her arms, throwing her to the ground.
"That boy is anything but my son!"
"Mom!" Wally rushed towards his mother leaving his place from the stairs where he had been listening to the screaming match.
"Don't you touch me!" Mary pulled away from Wally looking at him with disgust.
"You." Rudy walked towards his son leveling a glare at Wally. Wally shrinked back, eyes widening as his father got closer.
“You are nothing but a waste of space.” Rudy spat.
“ I-"
"Shut up! You are nothing! A freak of nature! A burden on all of us!” A hand struck Wally across the cheek knocking him to the ground. A kick came pushing all the air from Wally's lungs. He coughed as tears streamed down his face.
"Quit crying! Be a man!" Another kick came sending Wally into a coughing fit.
"You're just like your mother. Weak, pathetic, you never do anything right."
"I-I'm sorry." Wally felt another kick sliding him across the room. He should have seen this coming. His father was just having one of his drunken outbursts. He should have stayed in his room. Should've just ignored the screaming.
His father continued to beat him for another few minutes before getting bored and going to buy more beer. Wally's mother locked herself away in her room leaving Wally on the floor bloody and crying. His ribs were definitely broken.
He was in tremendous pain. This wasn't the first time his father beat him. This wasn't even the worst beating he's ever got. But he couldn't stay in this house for another moment. He had to run. Run somewhere. Anywhere. So he did. He ran to the one place he knew. His aunt and uncle's house.
His vision kept going in and out. He probably had a concussion. But he had to keep going. He ran and pushed forward before finally arriving at his destination. He collapsed before reaching the door puking. He felt the world spin as he stood back up knocking on his aunt and uncle's door.
𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕
"We need to take him to the hospital." Iris spoke softly, her voice trembling.
"I know."
"Then why are we still here!?" She shouted back at Barry.
"Because neither one of us is in any state to drive. That's why I called an ambulance. They should be here soon." Iris whimpered, closing her eyes. Her nephew who she saw as her own son needed an ambulance. Her nephew who was probably being abused for eight years, EIGHT YEARS was sleeping completely bloody on her couch. She should have noticed sooner. From the day he was born his parents wanted nothing to do with him. She should have just taken him home that day. They wouldn't have cared. They clearly never once cared about him if they were capable of doing this.
The sound of sirens came closing in as flashing blue and red lights shined through the windows.
Wally had a grade two concussion, three broken ribs, cuts and bruises over his body and a black eye. Iris couldn't stop crying the whole time as the doctors took care of Wally. She hated even more that all she could tell the police was she suspected it was her brother. It was far more than suspicion. Wally said it himself. But she also didn't know all the facts. And she hated that more.
Wally recovered thankfully without any complications. His father was arrested. And it was revealed that Wally's mother had been shot and killed in her own home. It was suicide.
Later on there was a trial against Rudy. Iris and Barry were there as Wally stood up in court telling everyone even showing them what his father had put him through. He was only eight and already had scars. None being visible to places you could normally see. Iris and Barry were furious as they heard the full story. Iris couldn't stop blaming herself for never noticing.
In the end Rudy was put into prison for child abuse and neglect. Barry and Iris got full custody of Wally.
It took a while for Wally to become his old happy self. After Barry and Iris discovered the truth he became distant, hardly ever smiling. He never laughed anymore, never wanted to go anywhere, he didn't even want to see Dick. His best friend. They became friends in kindergarten. Three years of friendship and not even Dick could get Wally to open up.
Eventually he began gradually coming out of his shell. By third grade he was back to normal. Or as normal as you could get after going through what he did.
In sixth grade he was told his father wanted to see him. He didn't know what to feel. He hadn't seen or spoken to his father since the trial. His aunt and uncle hadn't even wanted to tell Wally about his fathers request. Both Roy and Dick were completely against the idea as well. Donna, Garth and Hartley weren't fond of the idea but chose to support Wally in whatever he chose. But that was the problem. He didn't know what to choose.
All his life the only thing his father ever told him was he'd never amount to nothing special. Taking any chance to come at Wally from every angle.
He'd say things like: "You're the last thing I wanted." Or "You're nothing but a mistake." So why was it he found himself wanting to see his father? Why did he say yes?
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"Remember if you want to leave at any time just say so. We'll be right here waiting." Iris said bear hugging Wally.
"Ok. I can't breathe." Wally said, strained.
"Ok Iris let him go before he turns purple." Barry grabbed Iris's shoulder gently pulling her off. He looked over at Wally.
"You got this kid. But I swear if he-"
"Uncle Barry, I'll be fine. I'll see you soon." Wally said as he made his way towards where he would be meeting his father. He was nervous. That was obvious.
"Well would you look at that. You look just like me." Rudy said, smirking.
"I look like Aunt Iris, not you." Wally spat back. He wanted to try and be civil but just seeing his father made his skin crawl. It brought up a flame inside Wally. One fueled by rage.
"Why did you do it?"
"Do what?"
"Beat mom and me."
Rudy's smirk widened. "Because you both deserved it. You both could never do anything right. And just from looking at you I can see you're still a failure. I blame Iris. She was always too nice to you."
"Don't you ever talk about Iris that way." Wally's eyes narrowed and his voice was filled with irritation.
Rudy cackled. "How cute."
"How can you laugh? After everything you've done. You drove my mother, your own WIFE to kill herself!"
"You have no right to speak to me that way! I am your father!" Rudy shouted scowling. He looked ready to charge at Wally and strangle him.
"When have you ever been my father!? My whole life you've stood over me trying to make a fool of me! Always kicking me when I'm down, making me feel worthless! All my life I've been trying to undo what you did to me!" Wally bit back. He breathed heavily trying to calm down.
"You want an apology? Too bad. You aren't getting one."
"You never change." Wally scoffed, shaking his head. "I was a kid. 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 kid." He pointed at Rudy; his voice sounded repulsed at acknowledging Rudy as his father.
"You're right. You're still the same worthless brat from that damn courtroom." Rudy scowled disgust present on his face. He hated the fact that his blood ran through Wally's veins.
"Do you know what your abuse did to me? I became paralyzed in fear. Fear of one day becoming like you." Rudy's eyes lit up as Wally finished his sentence.
"You know what they say, you can't stop DNA." Rudy smirked
"You're wrong! We might share a face and share a last name but we are nothing alike!"
"Keep telling yourself that but you are just like me! That rage in your eyes is exactly like mine. You can run from the truth all you want but in the end you'll end up just like me. You're pathetic and weak now but one day you'll be like me. And when that day comes I'll be there." Rudy called as Wally stormed away.
The whole ride back Wally didn't say anything. He avoided eye contact with Iris and Barry, not even eating any dinner once they got home. The next couple of day's were the exact same. He hardly spoke or ate, it was just like how it was when he first went to live with Iris and Barry. Everyone was worried. Iris and Barry blamed themselves saying they knew better than to let him visit his father. They were all trying to give him his space and wait for him to open up.
All but one.
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Dick banged on Wally's bedroom door. "Open up! Iris and Barry told me you're in there!"
"Go away Dick!" Wally grumble yelled through the door. He didn't need to deal with this right now. This was the fifth time Dick has tried talking to him. What part of "leave me alone" did he not understand?
"Either open this door or I'll kick it down! And you and I both know I can afford to get it repaired so there's nothing stopping me!" Wally groaned as he rolled out of bed. He flung the door open and sure enough there on the other side stood a very annoyed Dick Grayson. He pushed past Wally flopping on his bed crossing his arms.
"What the hell happened that day?" Dick narrowed his eyes watching as Wally closed the door.
"It's none of your business. If that's the only thing you came to talk about then get out." He spat pointing towards his door as he walked over to his bed. He collapsed covering himself in his blankets.
"Wally." Dick tugged at the blankets over Wally's head. Wally gripped them tighter, keeping them in place.
"Wally, come on, it's been weeks. I've been giving you space but enough's enough. Tell me what happened. Please."
"I thought I asked you to get out." Wally huffed, squeezing his eyes shut as he curled in on himself.
"No. I’m not gonna sit here and let you think that you’re a mistake, or dumb, or worthless, or whatever else that bastard told you. You wanna know why? It's because when I look at you I don’t see any of that. What I see is someone who faced the worst kind of pain imaginable every day, and still made everyone around him laugh, and smile. Someone who managed to overcome his pain and ask for help when he needed it. That's not something very many people can do Wally. You're brave, strong, kind, smart, funny, and so much more. I can go on if you need me to." Dick said that last part smugly as he stared down at Wally's little cocoon of blankets he was wrapped in. The cocoon made no movements or noises as Dick sat there waiting.
Dick sighed. "I know that you don't think you can tell me about what happened. But I'm here for you. I don't know if I did something to make you feel like you can't tell me or-" He closed his eyes to keep from crying the slightest bit of sorrow was laced into his voice.
Wally finally turned over peeking his head out from under the covers. Dick looked like he was on the edge of breaking down. It pained Wally to see him like that.
"I- its not- I trust you Dick." Wally whispered, fully pulling the covers down, sitting up and looking away from Dick.
"Then why won't you tell me what happened?" Dicks voice wavered as he spoke.
Wally sighed, closing his eyes. "Because there's nothing to tell. My father did what he always does. He called me pathetic and a waste of space. I don't know why it hurts so much. It's nothing new." He flopped back down on his bed rolling over, hugging the blankets close to his chest.
"Wally…"
"He told me I would be just like him when I got older. That I had the same rage in my eyes as him. I tried to deny it but when I think about it he was right. You can't stop DNA." A tear fell down his face as he stared at the floor. He was so stupid. Why did he even go to visit his father? Why did he think he could be different from him?
"He's a lying asshole. No matter what that bastard says, you can't believe him. He only said what he said to get into your head. He knows there's no hope for him so he's trying to drag you down with him. He wants you to feel insignificant but in truth you're extraordinary. And he's jealous of that. He's jealous of you." Dick's voice was filled with confidence as he spoke not a single word sounded like he doubted himself.
"YoU bElieve-" Wally's voice broke. He cleared his throat trying again.
"You really believe that?" He looked over at Dick.
"I do." His voice was a soft whisper as he looked at Wally fondly. And just like that Wally broke down crying. Dick scooched in closer to Wally wrapping his arms around him. That day he promised himself he'd never let Wally's father ever harm him again.
No one was going to cause Wally pain like this again. Not as long as he was around.