Let me tell you - I am in LOVE with this game. And, me being me, the Dadsona wasn't enough original for me, so I just had to add my own OCs here, lol!
Now, I haven't been playing the game for too long, and I don't know everything about the characters yet, so if they do see a bit ooc or if something I've written doesn't match up to the canon, well ... chalk it up to me not knowing, ok?
I have taken some liberties with Robert, writing him how I feel he would be. Hope I've kept him IC!
If you like it, please leave a comment!
Chapter 1
Waking up was the worst.
A low groan escaped Robert's throat before he could even muster the energy to open his eyes. He knew that if he did, if he cracked his lids open even a tiny bit, then he'd regret it. He rolled over so that he could lie on his face.
His head was about to split open. Maybe he shouldn't have stayed out so late ... or drunk so much. He should have left the bar with Mary, instead of staying there for a few more hours, hoping to find something interesting to do. He hadn't, and had ended up gulping shot after shot to try and make the time move faster.
How he'd ended up in his bed was a blurry memory. He could vaguely remember walking out the bar and stumbling on the pavement. He'd somehow managed to get back to his house, in one piece at that, but everything beyond him walking through his front door was a dark wall.
Oh, well, what else was new?
Robert remained with his face buried in his pillow until he heard the soft patter of paws on the bedroom floor. He looked up just in time to see his dog hop onto the bed. The sight of Betsy, looking at him with her moist round eyes and with her tongue hanging out made him chuckle softly.
"You hungry, girl?" He asked and reached out to scratch her between the ears.
Betsy replied with a short bark. Robert yawned and laid down again for a few seconds. Finally, he sat up, groaning as his bones cracked. Thank God for Betsy - if it weren't for her, he'd have nothing to leave his bed for most days!
He headed straight to the kitchen and took out the dry dog food. The brightly coloured paper bag, presenting a cheerful dog not unlike his own, seemed much too light - he'd probably need to buy a new bag soon. He poured a generous amount into Betsy's bowl, spilling some of the food on the floor as well. He shrugged it off, positive that Betsy would take care of it.
He watched the dog dig into the pile of food for a while. Betsy seemed happy, judging by the sloppy sounds she made while devouring her meal. Robert chuckled.
"At least you're happy, huh?" He bent down to pet her on the head. "Good girl."
He then leaned on the counter, pondering whether he felt too lethargic to make himself coffee. He badly needed it, on one hand, but on the other, it felt so comfortable being propped on the counter like that, and even the tiniest movement would ruin it.
From where he was standing, Robert had a direct view out his window to the house across the street. That house had been empty for quite some time, though it wasn't uncommon for people to come look at it.
It was a nice house, two-storied and with a relatively large yard. The real estate company boasted that it was easy to maintain, though Robert doubted it. The lawn needed some serious work, and the roof was begging to be cleaned. Still, it was in surprisingly good condition, considering the fact that it was an empty house in a neighbourhood with a high quantity of troublesome youths. But despite all its good qualities, no one ever bought it, for some reason. Robert suspected he was the reason. He wasn't exactly what people sought in a good neighbour. Not that he ever tried to be one.
Now it seemed that the impossible had finally happened. Gone was the For Sale sign that had been stuck in the ground like the lone survivor after a battle. Now, cardboard boxes littered the space between the house and the street, and two moving vans were parked nearby. Robert scanned the people huddled near the vehicles. He stopped on the only man who wasn't wearing the uniform of the moving company, accurately pinpointing him as the new owner of the house. He was a short, middle-aged man with glasses, currently engulfed in a conversation with someone in one of the vans, who was just out of Robert's sight.
The man looked like quiet and meek, Robert thought. The kind of person who'd probably go to bed early and drink tea instead of coffee in the morning. The kind of person who'd Joseph would be quick to sink his teeth into, he thought bitterly.
As Robert was watching the house, a young boy that had just emerged from it caught his attention. He was short as well and was wearing a neon pink tank top that looked so hideous it made Robert groan in disgust. The youth ran across the yard to the man, all the while speaking with a huge grin on his face.
A father and a son, Robert thought grimly. What was it about this cul-de-sac that attracted fathers?
"Hm?" He looked down when he felt a nudge in his leg. Betsy was standing in front of him, looking up at him. She was panting heavily, and Robert knew what that meant. "Do you want to go out, girl?"
She barked in agreement before running out of the kitchen. When Robert found her, she was sitting near a sideboard in the hallway. What a clever girl, Robert thought with a smile. He fished out her leash from one of the drawers and fastened it to her collar. Then he put his jacket on, took his keys, wallet and knife, and headed out. As he headed to the park, he looked at the house where the new family was moving in. The man and his son were nowhere to be seen.
It was a warm day and the cloudless sky allowed the sun to shine on him mercilessly. Robert pondered if he should buy himself a cold beer to drink while he was walking Betsy, but ultimately decided against it. He'd drink something when he got back home.
When he entered the park, he took the leash off Betsy and she happily scampered off to her favourite spots. He followed her, walking slowly and taking in the peace and quiet. The park was mostly empty at the moment, as most people waited until the heat died down before coming. He could see Craig and Glenn in the far distance, doing some kind of exercises. It always amazed Robert as to how efficiently Craig managed to work out while having a baby strapped to his chest. Well, at least it showed he was a committed father.
His face darkened when he thought about his neighbours. They were all happy fathers, living with their children. Well, Glenn wasn't anymore, though seeing how serious things between him and Craig were going, it was safe to say he'd find himself a step-father to Craig's children quite soon. And while he liked most of his neighbours, seeing them with their children was a daily reminder of the rotten relationship he had with this daughter. It was hard for him to forget his past when it kept getting shoved in his face.
Sometimes he thought about leaving the cul-de-sac, but he knew he could never bring himself to do so. This place was a constant reminder of his past, true, but the thing was ... his past had been good, too. At one point. The house he lived in had been the last place Robert had felt truly happy in. If he moved away, he'd lose that.
The other reason why he wouldn't move was that, despite everything he was, the people in the cul-de-sac accepted him. And while his neighbours did look him oddly every time he launched into one of his extraordinary tales, no one confronted him about it.
After everything that had happened with Marilyn and Val, it was nice to have people in his life who accepted him.
So it seemed that, at least for the moment, Robert was firmly tethered to this house, in this cul-de-sac. For better or worse.
"Robert!"
He turned around when someone called his name. When he saw the person that was approaching him, his face hardened and he clenched his fists.
"Definitely for the worse," he muttered to himself.
"Sorry, did you say something?" Joseph asked. When Robert gave him no answer, he smiled and continued. "It's rude not to greet someone."
"You didn't greet me either."
"I didn't? I apologize, then. I shall do it now. Good day, Robert."
"Hmph." Robert folded his arms in front of his chest. "What do you want?"
"Small talk is wasted on you, isn't it, Robert?" Even if Joseph was upset by his bluntness, he didn't show it. "I suppose you know that we have a newcomer in the neighbourhood."
"I did notice the vans, yes," Robert admitted warily. "Did you go and bother him yet?"
"Not yet, the man seemed far too busy. We all now what movers are like, don't we?" Joseph chuckled good-humouredly. "I think I'll let the new family settle in before I visit them."
"Lure the man into a false sense of security, you mean?"
"Robert! You make it sounds like I'm some fiend." Joseph smiled. "We've managed to build quite a hospitable atmosphere in our little community and we would be betraying it by not welcoming our new neighbours to the cul-de-sac."
"Fine." Robert wished he was drunk. If he was, then he could easily have strangled Joseph and bury his body in this park. "Is this what you wanted to tell me?" He looked around for Betsy and soon found her. At the moment, she was paying her respects to a rosehip bush. "I'd like to be alone now."
"It's fine, I'll leave you to yourself soon. What I wanted to talk to you about was this - I'm planning on having a barbecue so that our new neighbour could meet everyone, so I'd be very grateful if you came."
"I'm afraid I'll be busy," Robert said in a cold tone.
"I haven't told you when it's going to be yet."
"My gut tells me I'll be busy whenever it is."
"I see." Joseph still had that infuriating smile on his face that tempted Robert to knock a few of his teeth out. "Well, if you change your mind, you're always welcome. Mary promised to stock up on your favourite drink, it'd be a shame to let all her effort go to waste."
Damn. That was a low blow. Mary was a good person, underneath all her brashness, and he didn't want to upset her. Besides, he was aware how much she despised her husband's barbecues, so she could probably do with some assistance.
"... fine. I'll think about it."
"Excellent!" Joseph beamed. "I'll take my leave now." He gave Robert a short nod for farewell and made his way to Craig and Glenn.
"Dick ..." Robert mumbled under his breath.
He walked around the park with Betsy some more, avoiding the places he knew Joseph frequented. He felt pissed, though he wasn't sure if he was pissed at himself, or the world in general. It was probably both.
If he'd known what kind of a person Joseph was - or that he was married - Robert would never have allowed what had ultimately happened to happen. He regretted it, though he couldn't blame himself for it, not really. So he blamed Joseph.
There were many rules that Robert was open to breaking. But marriage - that was something he respected. That was something he'd never mess with. Which was why he hated Joseph so much. It wasn't just the fact that he'd kept his marriage a secret to sleep with Robert. The light-hearted way in which Joseph had brushed off what had happened, and then saying that his wife would understand - disregarding her feelings and dignity - that was something Robert couldn't condone.
He sighed and covered his eyes with his hand for a moment. He felt old and tired, suddenly. Thinking about the past had such an effect on him.
"Come on, girl," he spoke to Betsy, whose ears perked up when she heard his voice, "let's go home."
He put the leash on her and led her out of the park. As he was walking to his home, he threw a glance at the newly-bought house. The moving vans were gone, but a few spare boxes still remained on the lawn. He eyed the labels on some of them, trying to figure out something about his new neighbours. Suddenly, he heard a loud cry.
"Doggo!"
It was the teenage boy. He was running through the lawn towards him, jumping over some of the boxes in his haste. Betsy barked, with sparkling eyes, and skipped forward, knowing she'd be getting some attention. The teen knelt down in front of her and cupped her head.
"Aren't you the cutest little dog!" He cooed. "Look at you, with those gorgeous eyes! And those ears!"
While the youth was exaltedly praising each of Betsy's qualities - adding pets and scratches too, much to her delight - his father emerged from the house. He looked around, worried, before seeing his son. He went to them, smiling lightly when he saw the teen playing with Betsy.
"Phoenix, couldn't you have waited at least one day to bother our new neighbours?"
"Nope." The teen wasn't even looking at Robert or his father, his whole being was focused on the dog.
"It's fine," Robert said. "It looks like Betsy's enjoying the attention anyway."
"Betsy?!" Phoenix laughed. He was still wearing the pink tank top from before, which clashed starkly with his bright ginger hair. "Man, what a lame name. Like, you should have named her something badass!"
"Phoenix, please behave." The man sighed and turned to Robert. "I'm sorry, my son can be quite the handful."
"It's fine, I get it. Kids, huh?" Robert smiled. Phoenix's behaviour was getting on his nerves, but for some reason, he decided to be merciful with his father. The man seemed like he had too much on his plate as it was.
"Yeah, you can say that again." His new neighbour huffed in exasperation. "I'm Nathan, by the way. Nathan Lear."
"Robert Small."
Curious despite himself, Robert studied the man before him. Nathan was shorter than him, and leaner too. He gave off the impression that he was soft-hearted, with a relaxed expression on his face and gentle dark eyes behind a pair of thick round glasses. On the whole, he looked like the kind of person who was completely unequipped to deal with a kid like Phoenix.
"Nice to meet you, Robert." Nathan smiled. "Do you live around here?"
"Across the street, actually." Robert turned around, indicating to his house.
"That's cool, you're so close!" Phoenix said. "Can I buy your dog, by the way?"
"No."
Phoenix pouted lightly, and turned his attention back to Betsy. Nathan sighed and gave Robert an apologetic look.
"Come on, Phoenix," he said, "let go back to unpacking."
"Do we have to?"
"Yes. We agreed we wouldn't have dinner until we unpack, remember?"
Phoenix rolled his eyes but got up. He blew a kiss at Betsy.
"Bye-bye, gorgeous!"
"Well, it was nice meeting you," Nathan told Robert.
"Yeah, same."
Nathan put a hand on Phoenix's shoulder and the two walked back to their house. Robert watched them for a few seconds before heading to his own house as well. As he was crossing the street, Phoenix's clear voice reached his ears.
"He looks like he's in a gang, doesn't he?"
An annoying brat, Robert thought. Definitely looked like a trouble-maker, with no care for authority. He imagined Nathan had a tough time keeping him in check. Or perhaps it was Nathan's wife who was the strict parent ... though Robert doubted there was a wife in the picture. As he hadn't failed to notice, Nathan wasn't wearing a wedding ring.