LATER THAT NIGHT
Gregory walked out of his room with his wallet and phone in his hoodie pocket and his sneakers done up tightly on his feet. As he entered the living room and made his way to the front door, he noticed Michael on the sofa, drinking some coffee and reading his book.
"I'm just heading out" Gregory told him, gesturing to the door. Michael looked at him and nodded. He then put his book down, stood up and walked over to Gregory. He then hugged him. Which Gregory accepted. This pretty much told Michael that Gregory was slowly beginning to lose interest in being angry at him. However, he was still a little annoyed.
"Be safe, alright? There are idiots and weirdos around" Michael told him.
"Don't worry, Mike. I've got my phone so, I'll call you if I need any help" Gregory smiled, looking up at him before heading to the door.
"Love you, Mike" Gregory smiled, looking back at him as he grabbed the door handle.
"Love you too, my superstar" Michael smiled back. Gregory then opened the door, walked out and closed the door behind him. Gregory then began heading into town.
When he got there after thirty or so minutes, he walked to a store called Ralph's Collectibles and Gadgets. Michael was a huge fan of collectibles and all kinds of old retro tech. Gregory knew this because a few months after the events at the pizzaplex, Michael told him about it. He then walked into the store.
"Hello son, you're out late" The shop owner spoke in a curious sounding tone.
"I'm just looking for a birthday gift for my dad" Gregory smiled, looking at him.
"Well, I have just the thing" The shop owner said, gesturing him to come towards the front counter. As Gregory approached the counter, the shop owner grabbed out a box and opened it.
"This is a limited edition walkman from the 1980's. The reason why it's limited edition is because of the white and gold designs around the base of it. It was pretty popular back then. And pretty expensive" The shop owner told him. Gregory knew this gift was perfect. Michael loved 80's music and the walkman would be perfect for listening to 80's music.
"How much is it?" Gregory asked, grabbing out his wallet.
"Fifty dollars" The shop owner smiled. Even though on the box, the price was much higher than that. But Gregory had a feeling that the owner dropped it to that price because of the fact that he had said that he was getting something for Michael's birthday. Gregory grabbed the money from his wallet and handed it to the owner. The owner kindly took it, opened the register and grabbed some change out, which he then handed to Gregory. He then grabbed a gift bag from under the counter, put the walkman back into its box and put the box into the bag. He then handed it to Gregory.
"Thank you sir" Gregory smiled, heading for the door.
"You're welcome kid. And tell your father I said happy birthday" The owner told him. Gregory nodded and then left the store. After leaving, he headed across the street and into the alley that he had taken as a shortcut to get here.
But as he walked down the alley, using this as a shortcut straight back to the house, he thought he heard something coming from behind. He turned around to look. But there was nothing there. He then turned back around and continued walking. But as he did, something was driven into his back. Something painful and something sharp. The gift he had in his hand for Michael's birthday, dropped from his hand and broke on the ground on impact. Before Gregory had time to react, he was violently pushed to the ground and pummelled by very strong and powerful fists. He desperately tried fighting back but couldn't because of how strong this attacker seemed to be. He was then knocked unconscious after a final hit to the head.
Michael sat on the porch, wondering where Gregory was. Hoping he was ok. He tried calling Gregory's phone but it didn't pick up. It kept going straight to voicemail. Now he was starting to panic. He quickly put his head in the door and told Freddy to look after the house while he was gone. Freddy immediately complied. Michael then took his van and went to find Gregory.
As Gregory woke up, at first he felt nothing. Like nothing was hurting. But after a few minutes, the pain finally settled in. And it was excruciating. So excruciating that it brought him to tears. He then suddenly had the urge to cough. And when he did cough, he coughed up a rather large amount of blood. It dripped down from his lips and chin and onto his shirt. Which was already dirty from the ground and also being punched and kicked over and over again.
Michael soon arrived at where Gregory told him he'd be for half an hour. He got out of the van to look around. As he did, he called Gregory's name. But no answer. At least not one he could hear.
"M-Michael" Gregory spoke weakly, desperately hoping Michael heard that. Michael kept calling out Gregory's name and Gregory painfully tried calling out Michael's name but it only came out in a weak voice. A pitch that no one would be able to hear from where Michael was.
As Michael began giving up and began heading back to the van, he noticed something at the corner of his eye. He turned around to look at it and noticed something in the alley. He wasn't sure what it was though at first. At least, not until he stepped closer. When he finally did, he saw Gregory lying there, covered in blood and looking badly hurt.
"GREGORY!" Michael yelled, rushing to him.
"Gregory…can you hear me!?" Michael asked as tears began filling his eyes.
"M-Michael" Gregory stammered, looking at him with weak tired eyes. Michael looked at Gregory's injuries, horrified by them. He then picked Gregory up and raced back to the van. Gregory yelped in pain from the movement.
"Just hang on for me ok!" Michael told him as he put Gregory in the passenger seat of the van and then climbed into the drivers seat. He quickly started the engine and drove as fast as he could to the hospital.
As he drove, he could see from the corner of his eye that Gregory was really struggling to stay awake.
"Gregory, stay with me please! Stay with me! We're almost there! You've just gotta hang on for a bit longer ok!" Michael told him. Gregory coughed weakly, causing more blood to splutter out of his mouth.
Once Michael had finally gotten to the hospital, he jumped out, scooped Gregory out of the car and rushed into the emergency entrance.
"HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!" Michael yelled as nurses and doctors already came running with a gurney. Gregory was then placed on the gurney and wheeled towards the emergency room. Michael quickly followed behind.
"What's the kids name?" One doctor asked.
"It's Gregory. His name is Gregory" Michael replied.
"How old is he?" The same doctor asked.
"He's thirteen….I found him in an alley not too far from our house. I don't know what happened but someone attacked him" Michael said as tears rolled down his panicked face.
"Ok, thirteen year old male. Stab wound to what looks like the back. Extensive injuries to his arms, chest, legs and face" The doctor then said to the other doctors and nurses. Then one of those nurses stayed behind.
"Sir, I need you to stay in the waiting room until we call you ok?" The nurse asked him.
"Will my boy be ok?" Michael asked tearfully.
"The doctors will do everything they can to help your boy. Right now, the best thing you can do is wait in the waiting room" The nurse told, pointing to the waiting room. Michael, wiping tears from his eyes and face, walked to the waiting room and sat down. The nurse rushed off to join back with the rest of the nurses and doctors that were carting Gregory away.
About two hours later, a nurse came out to find Michael asleep in his chair. She walked over to him and gently tapped him on the shoulder, which seemed to wake him up. As soon as he saw the nurse, he immediately sat up in his chair, wondering what was going on with Gregory and how he was.
"Unfortunately the weapon that was used to stab him has cut into a major nerve, which has temporally paralysed him. It's going to take a while before he can go for extensive physical therapy to learn to walk again. He's got fractures in his ribs in four different places. A bruised femur and a bruised radius. He also has a lot of bruises on his legs, arms, chest and face" The nurse told him. Michael just sat there in shock.
"Other than that, he's ok right?" Michael asked.
"He's currently in a coma. When he was attacked, he also suffered a rather nasty head injury. Which didn't really present itself until we took him into the emergency room" The nurse told him. Tears began to form in Michael's eyes.
"C-Can I see him?" He trembled because of his overwhelming feeling of emotion and devastation.
"Of course. Follow me" The nurse said, smiling kindly as she began walking. Michael followed after her.
When they got to Gregory's room, the nurse opened the door and let Michael in. When Michael saw Gregory lying on the hospital bed with a ventilator tube in his mouth, he began to break down. He couldn't believe this was happening. To the kid he had been trying to protect. And like before, when Gregory's body was taken over by William Afton, he began feeling like he had failed Gregory.
"If there's anything I can get you, just press the call button and I'll come straight away" The nurse told him, beginning to leave the room.
"Thank you" Michael said to her as he walked over to the side of Gregory's hospital bed, sat down beside him and held his limp hand. Then from there, he began sobbing.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there, Gregory" Michael said softly, gently rubbing Gregory's forehead.
AN HOUR LATER
Michael just looked down at Gregory, still with a devastated look on his face. He was hoping that Gregory would pull through.
Many doctors that had come to look at Gregory's medical files, kept trying to give Michael hope. That Gregory would indeed pull through. But with him feeling depressed over Gregory's current state, he wasn't sure if he was going to pull through. But he was hoping that Gregory would fight through it.
*KNOCK KNOCK*
Michael lifted his head and saw Grace standing by the door with some flowers in her hands.
"Mr Afton?" Grace said, smiling slightly.
"Come in" Michael said kindly, gesturing for her to come in. Grace walked in solemnly and over to Gregory's hospital bed. Tears slowly began to fill her eyes.
"Is he going to be ok?" Grace asked Michael as she sat on the opposite side of the bed.
"I don't know. The doctors said that he suffered from a really bad head injury. And that when he was stabbed, it cut into a major nerve. Which will leave him temporarily paralysed" Michael explained. Grace's brow furrowed with worry as she looked at Gregory. She then grabbed his other hand and held it.
"Have they found who did this?" Grace asked, looking back at Michael.
"No. Not yet" Michael replied, shaking his head. Grace sighed slowly before looking at Gregory again.
A WEEK LATER
Michael entered Gregory's room with a cup of coffee in his hand after staying up for most of the night, worried about Gregory. He walked over to his chair, sat down and began drinking his coffee. As he did, he heard a slight gasping noise from Gregory. He looked at Gregory and saw that he was waking up. Immediately, he set his coffee down on the table next to the bed and stood up quickly.
"Gregory? Can you hear me?" Michael asked, getting tearful. Gregory slowly nodded his head. A smile appeared on Michael's face. A smile of relief. He then pressed the button above Gregory's bed, which called one of the nurses. And within a few minutes, a nurse came into the room.
A LITTLE LATER
"So, how are you feeling?" Michael asked, holding Gregory's hand.
"Like I've been hit by a truck" Gregory said weakly with tired eyes. Michael smiled slightly. Finding it a tiny bit amusing that that's how Gregory would describe how he's feeling right now.
"So, what happened? Last thing I remember was getting attacked by some weirdo" Gregory asked, looking around the room before looking back at Michael.
"I'm not sure who but, someone attacked you while you were on your way home. I found you with quite a lot of injuries. Including a really bad one to your back" Michael explained. When Michael said that, it immediately gave Gregory flashbacks. Forcing him to remember what happened.
"I was….picking up something for your birthday when I got….stabbed in the back" Gregory said with a shocked expression. Michael nodded. Michael took a pause before speaking.
"Gregory….there's something you need to know. Regarding the stab wound to your back" Michael told him, feeling nervous about telling Gregory the news because he had no idea what Gregory was going to say.
"What is it?" Gregory asked, now seeing the nervous expression on Michael's face. Making him more curious.
"The doctors said that…..the weapon used caused some damage to a major nerve near your spine" Michael explained, starting to get emotional over it.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Gregory asked.
"It….it means that you're paralysed" Michael answered. Gregory looked at him in shock before looking at his legs and beginning to feel them. Which he couldn't. That began to make him freak out.
"Gregory…..Gregory, listen to me ok!" Michael said, trying to get Gregory to calm down as he put a hand on his shoulder. Gregory, still panicking, looked at Michael.
"The doctor's said its only temporary. When you're ready and you've healed up enough, you'll be able to do physical therapy to regain the use of your legs" Michael explained.
"And how long is that going to take!?" Gregory asked in shock.
"Maybe a few months. Maybe a year. I'm not sure" Michael answered, shrugging.
"So….I'm just supposed to be in a wheelchair until then?" Gregory continued. Michael nodded.
"Yeah" Michael said, sighing a little.
Gregory then looked away from Michael and began to get emotional.
"Gregory…?" Michael spoke.
"Can I be alone for a bit?" Gregory asked, not looking at him still. Michael nodded slowly before standing up, grabbing his coffee and leaving the room.
Once Gregory knew that Michael was gone, he broke down into tears. Utterly overwhelmed by the news he had just been given.
As Michael stood in the hallway, Grace approached. And she instantly saw a look on Michael's face.
"Is Gregory ok?" Grace asked. Michael shook his head.
"I just told him something. And he's not taking it well" Michael told her. Grace looked through the glass into Gregory's hospital room and watched with a sad expression as Gregory sobbed.
Over the next few weeks in the hospital, Gregory went through painful physical therapy. Michael stayed by his side, assuring him he was ok and that he was getting stronger every day. Even though for a bit, Gregory didn't entirely believe it.
A few more weeks go by. Gregory and Michael are finally back at home. With Michael helping Gregory with things he would normally do by himself. Gregory hated being helped with things he could do himself but Michael kept telling him that it was something he'd have to get used to until he was fully healed.
And taking extra precautions, Michael had Gregory homeschooled. Only temporarily though. Again, at least until he was fully healed. And while Gregory did his school work at home, Michael began making phone calls with the police department. To start an investigation to what happened to Gregory. And so far, those calls went really well. Progress was being made. And that made Michael happy.