Down the rabbit hole.
Chapter 16: Lost and helpless.
AN: Its been over a year since I've worked on this. I'm really sorry about that. I know what I want to do for this story but I'm having trouble writing down the scenes, and I'm also working on other stories at the same time. Not much is happening in the chapter, but its better than nothing.
Jeremy was pacing in his room.
He was trying to figure out what to do next. The drawing he found last night was on his desk, and he was trying to figure out how to handle the situation. There was no doubt in his mind. The person in the drawing looked like Mike, yet Jeremy couldn't figure out what it meant.
Was Mike in danger?
Truthfully, he was at a bit cross roads with it. It could mean nothing, and somebody was simply doing something nice for the redhead. But you don't do nice things for people without a reason - especially since that person is a complete stranger to you. Or, it could be the start of someone's obsession.
Jeremy shook his head. Perhaps he was reading into this too much...
But...
There was something not right about this. If his theory was correct then there was only one person who was behind this.
Vincent.
It just had to be him. There were too many warning signs for him to ignore. The way he stared at Mike when they first met was creepy., like he was the only person in the room and he deserved his entire attention. Then there were the words he said after he went closer to the redhead.
"Its you."
Though it was nothing more than a whisper, Jeremy had heard him. Of course, Vincent had played it off as 'him wanting to meet the very person who tampered with the animatronics'. But his response didn't match up with his reaction. He probably would've been more happier to meet Mike since he had a feeling that Vincent didn't like working at Freddy's. But he seemed to be more... shocked to see him.
Did they meet before?
The brunette didn't think so. Mike seemed to be a little bit uncomfortable around him. And Mike had never seen him before otherwise he would've been a lot more happier seeing an old friend.
So what was it then?
Then there was the fact that Vincent defended him against Mr Johnson.
He could see why he decided to do that. Mr Johnson could be seen as a bit of a bit of an asshole but he was clearly under some kind of stress - though that didn't really make things any better. He told him that the last time Mike worked at Freddy's he had tampered with the animatronics, thus breaking the company's trust in the process. But, it wasn't like Mike had any choice in the matter. Of course, he didn't have to tamper with the animatronics but he would've been killed if he hadn't made that decision.
He had told him about the animatronics were trying to get inside his office but Mr Johnson didn't believe him, he just put it down to the 'free roaming mode' the animatronics had. And he fired Mike without allowing him to explain himself. He didn't think he would've believed them even if they showed him Scott's last phone call. Whilst it wasn't clear who exactly was doing what, the sheer panic alone would've told him that something was going on.
But there was just some part of this that didn't make sense. Why would he defend Mike in the first place? Mike was a complete stranger to him. He didn't have to do anything for him. Yet, he defended him anyway.
And, for whatever reason, Mike trusted Vincent - or, at least he trusted him to an extent. Why? Why did he trust him? Vincent was just a stranger to him. There was no reason for him to trust him. He probably told him about the abuse or his other secrets as well. But not him. Mike didn't tell him.
Why?
Why didn't Mike trust him?
They were friends, weren't they?
Why couldn't Mike come to him about his troubles? Why did he have to ask Diana about it? He knew there was something wrong when he saw Mike crying on the first night he went to pick him up. Heck, when he was in complete distress for some reason but he didn't tell him about it. He just kept dancing around the questions when he asked him about it. It was Diana who told him that Mike was being abused.
But why couldn't he come to him?
"Why, Mike?" Jeremy muttered to himself. "Why don't you trust me?"
"You must remain patient. Mike will come to you when he is ready. Its not easy to talk about abuse."
But how long must he wait? What if something happens before then and he can't do anything to help him?
Jeremy sighed as he took a seat at his desk. He just wished there was more he could do for him. Like help Mike with some other problems, or maybe help out more at the Pizzeria. Just something to keep him busy. But what else can he do? Maybe he should talk to Diana about this? She'll know what to do.
Besides there was something else on his mind at the moment.
Like Fritz wanting - No, demanding - them out of the back stage room before somebody sees them.
…Yeah, what was that about?
Well, he knew that he wouldn't want Mike to get into trouble again since he was already on thin ice as it is. If somebody caught the breaking into the door that leads down into the basement - Mr Johnson, for example - then Mike would be fired again. Plus, it was Fritz who stepped in to help Mike when he needed it the most. So, yeah, it was pretty understandable why Fritz wouldn't want them in that room in the first place.
But...
Was it just him or was Fritz a little bit nervous when Vincent entered the room? Not only that he didn't want to say Mike's name when he was introducing them. If that's the case then why not give him a fake name? Was it so bad for him to say his name in the first place? Its not like he was revealing any secrets by telling him his name? So why was he afraid to say it?
Why was there this whole mystery surrounding Mike in the first place?
He had some sort of memory loss. He didn't remember him or his childhood. He was living with Aisha for some reason - He probably told Diana about that - and he had to stay with her whilst dealing with some kind of abuse. And there was somebody watching over him. He didn't get the idea of tampering with the animatronics out of thin air. Somebody told him to do it. Clearly, something was going on. Some people were trying to protect him from something.
It made him wonder. Did he even know the real Mike Schmidt? Was he even the same Mike Schmidt that he remembered?
Jeremy wasn't the only one preoccupied with his thoughts.
Mike was alone in the garden. He was sitting on the swinging bench whilst Aisha was in the kitchen working on dinner. He had offered to help her but she declined his offer. Instead of going upstairs to his room, he decided to head outside and go to the one area of the house he called his happy place.
The swinging bench.
Ever since Rachel moved out of the house he had avoided it. He had consider that place as special and, without having Rachel around, it just didn't feel right to sit down on it. The last time he sat down on the bench was... his twenty second birthday. Boy, what a great day that was. He didn't celebrate his birthday anymore. It just never felt right to celebrate it without any friends or his family.
But that didn't stop Rachel from buying him presents, and vies versa. She seemed to be the only one who truly cared about him, she invited him into the family. With Aisha it was expected since he didn't really have a Motherly figure in his life. But not Rachel. Rachel warmed up to him immediately, she accepted him with open arms, she sticked up for him when it was needed, invited him to join in on her games when nobody else would.
And his birthday was no different.
It was a day like no other. Thankfully, Jonathan was out most of the day because of work. Rachel was the only one who wished him a happy birthday. But... There were no cards, no presents, no other birthday wishes. Aisha had work as well but she had forgotten what day it was. Mike didn't mind though, as much as it hurt. It would've been nice to receive something but he was used to the rejection and the abandonment.
Then everything changed when Jonathan got home.
Jonathan had made some... comments about Mike's living arrangements before. He thought Mike had over stayed his welcome and that he should of moved out of the house when he had became an adult. But Aisha told him that Mike had to stay with her. Then he went onto say that Mike wasn't doing enough around the house - Or, so he thinks. So, needless to say, he was surprised to see Mike helping Aisha in the kitchen.
Then it all went down hill from there.
"Well look who's decided to start helping out?"
Mike turned around slightly to see Jonathan leaning against the door. At the corner of his eye he saw Rachel rolling her eyes and shaking her head, before making eye contact with him. Mike just gave her a small smile in return, clearly unbothered by what Jonathan had said despite everything.
"Mike's been helping me with dinner He does that every now and than." Aisha said.
"Oh? Is he now?" Jonathan remarked. "Well, if Michael here believes that he is a such a good cook, then perhaps he should cook the meal by himself then. Or, maybe not. He might end up poisoning all of us."
Mike's smile dropped. "Poison..."
"Jonathan, don't be silly. Mike knows how to cook but we shouldn't put too much pressure on him." Aisha chimed in.
"What not? I've never seen him do anything around the house. Perhaps he should start helping out more." Jonathan replied.
"Mostly he stays out or your way. Jerk." Rachel muttered as flipped through her magazine.
She wanted to say more, she wanted to call him out on his bullshit. Of course Mike helped around the house. He's just never around to see it. Maybe he should quit drinking instead of making accusations, and stop being mean to Mike. Instead she makes eye contact with the redhead. He just shakes his head at her. Not here, not now, not today. Rachel nods her head in understanding, but she still doesn't like it.
"I'm helping out now, aren't I?" Mike questioned.
"Buts its not enough, Michael. Your staying here for free. You don't even have a job. Everybody is meant to help out around the house. The least you could do is earn your stay instead of doing nothing." Jonathan responded.
Mike sighed. "Its never enough for you, is it?"
"Excuse me?"
"Your literally accusing him of doing nothing when he just said he's helping out." Rachel interjected. "Every time he helps out your not here. Your either at work or your out with your friends. So, what is it Jonathan? What more does he have to do for you in order to gain your trust?"
Before Jonathan could even reply, Aisha clapped her hands.
"Alright, that's enough. Dinner will be ready soon. Lets not ruin it with another argument." Aisha said. "Rachel, go and help Mike set the table."
"But, Mother..."
"Please, sweetheart."
Rachel sighed as she left the room, not even sparing a glance at Jonathan as she did. Mike seemed hesitate to move. He just kept shifting his gaze between Jonathan and Aisha. Somehow he had a feeling that there was going to be a shouting match between the two of them.
And it would be his fault.
He jumped slightly when he felt someone touch his shoulder. He turned to the right and saw Aisha looking at him.
"Please, Mike. Go help Rachel." She said.
"A-alright." Mike replied.
Aisha smiled at him before she went back to what she was doing before the interruption. Mike made his way out of the room but, as soon as he passed Jonathan, the black haired man grabbed his arm.
"Remember who's house your living in, Schmidt." He warned him in a hushed tone.
Mike tried to take his arm back. But Jonathan gripped him harder. "Let go. You're hurting me."
"This is just a warning. Rachel can't keep saving you forever. If you ever disrespect me again I can easily make life unpleasant for you." Jonathan responded. "Do you understand?"
"I...I..."
"Let go of him!"
Jonathan let go of his arm as soon as Rachel yelled at him. Aisha turned around as Rachel was pulling Mike towards her, her movements were much more softer than Jonathan's. She looked at them quizzingly as Rachel comforted Mike.
"What happened?" She inquired.
"Mike nearly walked into the door frame. He wasn't looking where he was going, he was staring into dreamland. I stopped him from getting hurt." Jonathan replied.
"Liar!" Rachel yelled. "You were hurting him. I saw you doing it."
"Rachel, are you sure you saw everything?" Aisha questioned.
"I'm certain, Mother. You told Mike to come and help me set the table, I waited but he didn't follow me. I came back and I saw Jonathan holding Mike's arm. He looked like he was in pain." The black haired women replied.
"This is just a misunderstanding." Jonathan said. "Aisha, I promise you..."
"A misunderstanding? You despicable..."
"Rachel!"
Rachel froze. She turned around and saw Mike staring at her. There were tears coming out of his eyes.
"Not today. Please." He begged.
He turned around and walked away before she could could even say anything. She scolded herself. She broke her promise. She hadn't meant to, knowing full well what today is, but she couldn't stand there and do nothing. Not while Jonathan was hurting Mike.
"What's so special about today?" Jonathan said.
Rachel glared at him. "Today is his birthday, you ass."
"B-birthday?" Aisha gasped. She looked over to where she kept the calendar in the kitchen. She checked the date and, as Rachel had said, today was Mike's birthday. "Oh gosh. I had completely forgotten. I thought..."
"It doesn't matter, love. People tend to forget all the time. Just get him a card in the morning." Jonathan said. "Its just a birthday. Michael shouldn't get upset over nothing."
'Just a birthday..." Rachel thought.
She turned on her heel and left the room. She made her way upstairs and entered her room. She walked over to her closet. Just a birthday? It wasn't just a birthday. It was meant to be a happy day, and a certain asshole had to ruin it. Mike didn't have a proper day to celebrate his birthday. He had said before that he didn't want to have a birthday party but the least they could've done for him is get him a few presents or cards.
She wasn't angry at her Mother for forgetting Mike's birthday. She had a lot on her plate lately, and she should of reminded her about it.
Still though...
Why can't they have one day without any conflict.
Rachel shook her head as she opened her closet. She picked up the party bag and closed the doors. At least one good thing can come out from today. Mike didn't want a party, but that didn't stop her from buying presents.
She left the room and made her way downstairs, only to stop half way when she heard her Mother and Jonathan talking in the kitchen.
"I just wish we could all get along. It just feels like we're having a battle every single day." Her Mother said.
"I understand, love. Rachel is stubborn but she is a good kid. She just... hasn't had a agood Father figure in her life." Jonathan said.
'As if you could ever replaced my Father, you ass.' Rachel thought.
"Rachel doesn't even know who her Father is, John. But I know your trying." Aisha said. "I want this to work for the four of us."
"It can, Aisha..." Jonathan assured her. "...Maybe if Michael moved out..."
"He can't!" Aisha protested. "Its not safe for him out there. Not while..."
"Not while what? Michael has been in your care since he was ten, Aisha. I get that, but you still haven't told me the full story." Jonathan replied. "And, its not like he hasn't got relatives out there. What about his Uncles, his Aunt, his Godfather. Can't he stay with them instead?
"Absolutely not! Its out of the question, Jonathan. He was brought to me for a reason. Somebody is looking for him and, if he gets his hands on him, we'll never see him again."
Rachel felt sick. She made her way downstairs, not really caring if her Mother or Jonathan had heard her, and opened the door. As soon as she was outside, she closed the door just as her knees gave out. Thankfully, no one was around to see her freaking out.
Why... why would her Mother say something like that? And why hasn't she told Mike? He has a right to know about this. Its not fair. He has to deal with Jonathan's abuse all because somebody is looking for him. Why? Why were they looking for him. And for what reason? She didn't think Mike had any enemies. He kept his head down so that he wouldn't get into trouble. So, what was it then?
'And, if he gets his hands on him, we'll never see him again.'
Oh... Oh god. Was somebody trying to kill Mike?
Rachel gulped as she stood up, she was using the door handle for support. No... No, it wasn't possible. Who would want to kill Mike? He was literally the nicest person out there. Why would anyone want to kill Mike?
She took a few deep breaths to calm herself. She assured herself that she was overthinking it. She had to be, right? This was just a big misunderstanding, and nothing bad was going to happen.
She still needed to give Mike his birthday present.
With that in mind, she made her way to the garden at the back of the house- hopefully she didn't look like somebody who had just received bad news. The last thing she wanted was for Mike to freak out over this alleged information. Apart from his bedroom, the garden was Mike's favourite place in the entire house. He needed to be somewhere he could relax and do his artwork in peace so his spent a lot of time in the garden.
As expected, she found him sitting on the swinging bench.
"Beautiful night, isn't it?" She said.
'Smooth, Rachel. Real smooth.'
"Yes, it is. I almost wished I had my sketchbook with me I wouldn't mind staying out all night." Mike replied.
"Do you want company?" Rachel inquired. "I don't want to go back in there"
"Sure."
Rachel made her way over to him and sat down on the bench.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
Mike shook his head. "No. Not really. It would've been nice if we went one day without any conflict. But, you can never have any good days. Not with my luck."
"...I'm sorry." Rachel apologised.
"Its not your fault. You were just trying to defend me." Mike assured her.
"But today is your birthday. You shouldn't have to put up with this bullshit, Its your special day, and that asshole ruined it." The black haired women replied.
Mike didn't reply to her. He just frowned at her, unsure of what to say. Rachel huffed as she turned her attention back to the house. She could see movement inside the house.
"Asshole. Who does he think he is?" She muttered.
"Did something happen?" Mike inquired.
"Jonathan said you were getting upset over nothing, like he doesn't know how awful this day is for you." Rachel told him. "He told my Mother that it was okay that she forgot your birthday."
"He said that?" Mike questioned. Rachel nodded. "Well, I'm not angry with your Mother. She's been busy lately so there was always a possibility that she was going to forget. Besides, its nothing special. I haven't celebrated my birthday properly in years so I wasn't expecting anything big. It... doesn't really surprise me that Jonathan would say something like that. But, there again, I'm used to it by now."
"But, its not right, Mike. He can't keep doing this to you." Rachel protested.
"I..." He turned away from her. He didn't know what to say other than the obvious thing. Of course he knew Jonathan shouldn't be threatening but what could he do? He didn't even know if Aisha would listen to him. "I don't know what to do, Rachel. I don't want to be an inconvenience"
"Your not an inconvenience, Mike. You have every right to be in this house as much as he does." Rachel replied. "I'll drop it for now, but we need to talk to my Mother about this at some point."
"Alright." Mike said. "So, what's in the bag?"
Rachel smiled as she picked up the bag. "Just a little something something for the birthday boy." She handed him the gift which Mike accept wholeheartedly. "Happy birthday, Mike!"
For the first time in what felt like forever, Mike was grinning from ear to ear. He didn't even think it was possible for him to smile again, not anymore at least. Inside the gift bag was a card - which was in a blue envelope - a new sketchbook, a set of acrylic paints and some brushes.
"Rachel... You didn't have to do this." Mike said.
"But I wanted to. Its your birthday and I wanted to do something special for you." Rachel replied. "Oh, and what's a birthday without some sort of cake. Stay right there."
Mike raised an eyebrow as he watch Rachel stand up and run towards the house. She opened the door that connected the kitchen to the garden and walked inside. Thankfully, no one was in the kitchen so it didn't take long for Rachel to come back. In her hands was one of the cupcakes that was in the refrigerator. There was a lit candle sticking out of it.
"Tada!" Rachel cheered.
Mike laughed. "Thank you, Rachel."
"Go ahead. Make a wish."
The redhead accepted the sweet treat. Truthfully, he didn't know what to wish for and he didn't know if his wish would come true - so he didn't want to waste it on something too generic. There were so many things he could wish for, but he did have to be careful. He was well aware of the phrase 'Be careful for what you wish for' and, knowing his luck, if he wished for something bad to happen - for curiosity sake - then that might come true and he would end up blaming himself for it.
But... there was one thing he wanted more than anything else in the world. Whether or not it would come true was debatable. But... if there was a small possibility that it might come true...
Mike closed his eyes and made a wish.
"Meow"
Mike smiled, he didn't mind loosing his train of thought. A certain orange tabby cat had decided to join him. Somehow she always knew when Mike was feeling down. She jumped up, went onto Mike's lap and started pawing him. Mike stroked her in return, making the cat purr in delight.
"Hi, Ziggy." He greeted.
Ziggy was Rachel's cat, she was the one who named her, yet Ziggy wanted to stay with Mike when she moved out. Rachel didn't mind since the cat was a great source of comfort for the redhead. And Ziggy reminded him of Rachel. He missed her dearly, and he had been devastated when she told him she was moving out. It was completely understandable, as much as it hurt. She couldn't live in the house whilst Jonathan was living there.
She also wanted Mike to runaway with her.
She knew she had to leave, but she couldn't bare the thought of leaving him behind. Not with that monster. Mike had been bit unsure at first. But, after thinking about it, he decided to leave with her. They were almost successful... had it not been for Aisha and Jonathan showing up at the train station.
So, she was forced to leave him behind. But she did promise him that they would talk every single say and that he could call her whenever he needed to.
"Oh well." He said. "I'll be able to see Rachel again soon. Maybe she could help me with Jeremy." Oddly enough Ziggy agreed with him.
He couldn't really decided if he was hurt by Jeremy's actions or just angry with him. He went to Diana, told her about what happened to him after he ran out of the house and asked her to talk to him about the abuse - that probably means he know the real reason as to why he was crying before there shift the other night.
It just seemed so silly. He was getting worked up over nothing. He probably should of told him what was really going on sooner rather than later. They were friends, weren't they? If he couldn't tell him, then he should have asked Jeremy to wait until he was ready. Its not easy to talk about abuse, its even harder to admit it in the first place. He should have done that instead of letting Jeremy find out on his own.
…So why didn't he?
…Because he didn't trust him.
It wasn't just the incident with Diana. He just didn't trust Jeremy enough to hell him about anything. Yes, they were friends but he didn't know how exactly they became friends in the first place. He had no memory of it. He didn't think Jeremy was lying. He seemed to overjoyed when he discovered who he was. But he wanted to know more. He wanted to know more about their friendship, about how they became friends, what they did together. He wanted to who Jeremy was, and why he considered him as a Brother. He wanted to know about Jeremy's family.
He wanted...
…To find his real family.
Because they wouldn't have left him here, would they? There was a reason for everything, wasn't there? Maybe they had no choice in the matter. Aisha told him that somebody was after him. Maybe it was related to that. Maybe they thought he would be safer with Aisha whilst they dealt with the problem.
…They were coming back for him, weren't they?
They haven't forgotten about him, have they?
Mike was brought out his inner turmoil by Ziggy nudging him with her head. He silently thanked her as she scratched her behind the ear. He was grateful for the distraction because he didn't want to be left alone with his thoughts at the moment. When he was left alone with his thoughts, they tended to... spiral out of control. Then he would get depression, then would start crying and he was such a wreck when he started crying. He would need to find a more healthier way of dealing with his thoughts. Maybe he should get a journal. He needed to get some new paints soon. Maybe he should pick on up the next time he visits the craft store.
He placed Ziggy down on the ground, got up and started to pace - Ziggy, however, decided to jump onto the bench and made herself comfortable. What exactly was he going to do abut Jeremy? He would need to talk to him at some point. He probably wanted answers, though whether or not he would be getting them is debatable. Maybe he was being bitter about it, maybe he should have told him sooner. But he wasn't ready to talk about. That being said though, despite being angry with him, he was willing to make a compromise with him.
Besides they had other things to worry about. Like finding the person responsible for murdering the missing children. That should be priority number one. Not his problems, not petty arguments, not...
"Wait." Mike said as he slowed down. "Why was Jeremy angry with Vincent earlier?"
He was certain that Jeremy hadn't said anything earlier - though, if he did, he probably didn't hear him. But, whenever he mentioned Vincent's name, Jeremy was scowling and he didn't know why. After there shift ended, when he was driving him home, Jeremy wanted to know about the encounter he had with Vincent in the achieve room. He didn't have any issues with it, he just told about what happened. But, when he was finished, Jeremy wasn't happy. And when he asked him about it, Jeremy didn't say much. He just told him that he was fine and that nothing was wrong.
Had he done something to upset him?
Or, was it Vincent's fault?
Honestly, Mike didn't know what to make of the man. Yes, he was a little bit weird - not to mention creepy - but Mike believed he was a decent person. He defended him against Mr Johnson twice, he comforted him whenever he needed it, gave him room to talk and didn't interrupted him until he was finished. So why does Jeremy have an issue with him?
"I don't understand, Zig. Vincent seems to be a nice person, yet Jeremy doesn't like him. Am I missing something here?" Mike asked.
Ziggy merely tilted her head to the side, making Mike laugh in response. He went up to her, knelt down and rubbed her head.
"Silly girl" He said. "What am I going to do with you?"
Ziggy meowed in response as Mike shifted his position, trading kneeling for sitting down on the grass. They had there meeting with 'Goldie' tonight and he was looking forward to it. Hopefully, he would have the answers they needed. Maybe he could talk to Jeremy before the meeting. Before anything else could happen, they needed to have this conversation.
If not... Well, Mike didn't know what to do anymore.