"I'm worried, Freddy."
"Me too, it is rather odd." Freddy shook his head, trying to think.
Mari walked around, pacing back and forth quickly. "He hasn't been here for two days and whenever I try and ask Mr Fazbear, he never wants to give me a straight answer."
Before she could continue, she heard the front door go. It was 12AM. Could it be?...
"Sam?" She rushed out of the main stage area and towards the front door. When she got there, she was even more worried than she was before. It was indeed Sam who had entered the building but he looked…pale. Lifeless, almost. He turned his head towards here and with a dead smile, he waved.
What had happened, Mari thought to herself. She last saw him two days ago and he was completely fine. What caused him to disappear for two days and then to re-appear like this? She walked over to him and went to hug him, only for him to step away slightly. That hurt her.
"Sam, baby? What's wrong?"
He sighed, walking away into the office. "I'd rather not talk about it right now. Maybe later. Just give me some time alone for a bit, okay?"
Mari felt even more hurt but she obliged, nodding and stepping away. He smiled slightly.
"Thank you. I'll be fine, Mari. I'll tell you in a few hours when I've chilled out a bit. Tell the others that I'll talk to them later too." And with that, he closed the office door behind him and sat in his chair. Mari sighed, walking towards the main stage to tell the others of this strange development.
"I hope you're alright, Sam…"
"So, he just came in out of nowhere after a few days of being MIA and then looked almost like a zombie?"
Mari nodded, nearly crying.
Freddy and the others looked just as concerned, glancing at each other for a moment. Freddy stood up, walking towards the door. "He's had a few hours to himself. Let's see if he's ready to talk."
The others stood up but just before they got to the door, Freddy raised his hand, all of them looking at him in slight confusion. "Just me and Mari for now, please. We don't want to overwhelm the lad, especially if something serious has happened."
They all nodded in understanding and sat back down, sighing. Freddy and Mari walked out of the stage area together and towards the office. When they got there, they looked in and saw Sam looking at the tablet, still pale as a ghost. Mari sighed, rubbing her eye. Freddy put his hand on her should and smiled slightly.
"Don't worry, Mari. I'm sure it will all be fine, Mari."
She smiled in return and gave him a quick hug. "Thanks, Freddy. Mind if I go in first and then you can come in after I've spoken to him a bit?"
He nodded, stepping back and out of the way of the door. "Of course. Take all the time that you need."
She thanked him and knocked on the door, causing Sam to look up slowly towards the door. When he saw that it was her, he slightly smiled and nodded for her to come in. She walked in and closed the door behind her, walking over to him. She sat on the desk, not wanting to be too invasive right now. Sam sighed and put the tablet down, looking up at her. "So, let me guess, you want to know why I've been gone for a few days and why I look like this?"
She scratched the back of her neck sheepishly but ultimately nodded.
He rubbed his forehead before staring at her and then looking towards the floor. "My father died."
That hit Mari like a truck. She nearly started crying, mainly for Sam's sake. "Oh babe….I'm…I'm so sorry…"
It took him a moment to look back up from the floor but when he did, he smiled slightly. "Thank you for checking in and I'll go tell the others myself that I'm thankful. I know that you guys were concerned, I was watching on the cameras."
She walked over to him and waited to see if he'd let her hug him. He nodded. She hugged him tightly and he eventually, after a bit of reluctance, hugged back.
"I won't pry. Just tell me what you need."
He appreciated her a lot. He gave her a quick kiss to which she returned happily. He stood up and shook himself off. "I just need time. I'll be fine. If you want to know what happened, I'll tell you sometime later. For now, I better go talk to the others. If you want to tag along, feel free."
She didn't really like how blunt he was being at the moment considering it was very unlike the shy and bashful man that she'd come to love but she fully understood why. It can't be easy losing someone so close to you so suddenly.
"Of course."
They both walked out and saw Freddy in the corridor leaning against the wall. He raised his head and nodded at Sam politely. "Hey, Sam. You doing okay, bud?"
Sam nodded, smiling slightly. "Sup, Freddy. I'll be fine. I'm going to go tell the others why I've been gone. Want to tag along?"
He walked over and shook his hand. "Sure."
"And that's why I've been gone for a few days. Sorry that I couldn't let you guys know but it was completely out of nowhere."
They all sighed and looked down at the floor sadly, all of them eventually standing up and either shaking their hand or hugging him. They all sat back down and looked at him. Mangle was the first to speak up. "Anything you need hun, we're all here for you."
Foxy, Bonnie, Chica, Toy Chica and the others all nodded. He smiled. "You guys are amazing. For now, I'll just go back to the office and chill out for a bit. Need anything, feel free to stop by the office."
They all nodded and smiled. "Of course, Sam. Take care, we'll be here."
"I'm proud of you for telling them why you've been gone. You didn't need to."
He sighed, looking down at the tablet. "They had the right to know as did you. You're all family to me."
Mari smiled and walked over, hugging him. "You're a sweetheart."
He smiled, snuggling close. "Want to know what happened?"
She pulled away, looking at him dead in the eyes. "Only if you're ready to."
Sam nodded, letting her sit on his lap. "Alright. Basically, my father was on the way home from work as always and some idiot sped through a red light. Before my father could react at all, the car struck his car head on. He was dead before the ambulance managed to arrive. We got the news soon after. He's going to be cremated."
Mari really felt the urge to break down. "Oh baby….that's so….I don't even know what to say. I'm here for you, always. I'm so sorry that I can't do more…."
He started to cry, not being able to hold back anymore. She held him close. "That's it, cry it out. Better than holding it in, babe. I'm here."
"It's jus….just…just one of those things that you never expect and then bam….it hits you out of nowhere."
And for the next few hours, Mari and Sam sat together. They didn't move, they just hugged and kept close. When the time came for him to go home, Sam went home and tried to sleep. Little did he know that many nightmares would follow.