The Failure of a Father
Ch 9: Lingering Memories
After Michael received that present from his siblings, he was feeling a bit happy today, unlike the emotional wreck he was when he ran away on Tuesday. Michael and Stephanie were skateboarding the way home, when the teenage girl asked her friend. "How was that present your siblings gave you?"
"It was pretty heartwarming to say it." The oldest Afton child said. "Maybe when we get home, I can read it."
"Sure thing…" Stephanie said. "Get ready, Michael…"
"For what—" Michael was interrupted as he and Stephanie skateboarded into the pedestrian crossing line, the car stopped, and the driver yelled. "CRAZY TEENAGERS! LEARN HOW TO USE A SKATEBOARD!"
The two friends then skated past Roberto, Lori, Lincoln, Elizabeth, and CC, the group was shocked upon seeing a flash of pink and grey. They shook off the sight of Michael and Stephanie skating past them. Lori smiled as she saw the duo skating. "What a heartfelt friend moment…"
"Much like Lincoln and Ronalda when they skate past the red sign last time." Roberto added.
"Let's just say, Roberto…" Lori giggled. "Your sister can literally take things to the extreme, at times." She formed a small smile on her face.
"Claro…" Roberto said, smiling at the sight of Michael and Stephanie.
Later…
They reached the Williams residence, Stephanie got off her skateboard, and signaled Michael to go inside the house. "Come on, let's go."
The oldest Afton then went inside the house, and rested on the couch. To put it lightly, he was exhausted and happy after that skateboard trip home. Studying the happy smile on his face, he had a lot of fun during that ride. Michael then fished for the comic his siblings and Lincoln gave him as a present, he opened the cover and read the first page. His gaze was fixated on the first panel, reminding him of Tuesday.
Tears welled up in his eyes, he didn't mean to shout at his father. He was just tired and exhausted from all of the physical and mental abuse he was being given at that time, and look what happened, he finally got to his breaking point and hurled hurtful words at his father. Michael finally turned his gaze to the second panel of the comic, which showed him and his siblings sleeping together.
Michael had a heartfelt smile on his face, as he kept reading the comic from the first page to the last page. Stephanie was in the kitchen, she was busy getting her ass chewed off by her mother. The teenage girl got out of the kitchen, irritated. "Got grounded for 1 week with no skateboard…she doesn't want me to get another 'severe injury'…"
Stephanie then fell to the couch, moving close to Michael while putting an arm over his shoulder. "Glad that you weren't that emotional wreck when you first set foot in my house." She said, patting her friend's shoulder.
Michael then laid a hand on Stephanie's shoulder, and the duo slept together in each other's embrace. Julius and Abigail watched as they saw the two friends sleep together, they smiled at the heartwarming sight between Michael and Stephanie.
"Aw…" Abigail said. "How adorable…"
"I know…" Julius chuckled. "They're the best of friends." He pulled out his camera, and took a picture of the friend duo. He looked at the picture, and said. "How cute...I'll keep this in our bedroom for the rest of the day."
He took the picture and went to their bedroom, Abigail resumed her business in the dining room a few minutes later.
7:00 PM…
Michael and Stephanie woke up from their slumber, and yawned as they stretched their arms out. The friend duo looked at the clock and got up from the couch.
"Time flies, isn't it?" Stephanie said, rubbing the dead skin cells from her eyes.
"Yeah, you're right…" Michael chuckled.
"We missed dinner." The teenage girl said. She looked at the table. "Good thing, Mom left us some food."
"Where are your parents?" The oldest Afton asked her.
"They must have gone outside with Jamie, to go to the movies or something."
They approached the dining table, and started eating away at their dinner.
"Hey," Michael said, his mouth full. "I have to ask you something."
"What is it?" Stephanie asked.
"Do you like going to the movies?" Michael replied.
"Nah, not really." Stephanie answered. "Movies aren't my cup of tea, but skateboarding is."
"Well, Lincoln is your complete opposite, and you know what he wants to watch?" The oldest Afton chuckled. "Ace Savvy, Muscle Fish, and some scary movies. Mr. Loud told me he went to see 'The Harvester', without his permission."
"What's the plot of the movie?"
"It's about a man who harvests organs from his victims."
"That's…terrifying and gory…" Stephanie said, as she shivered in fear. "Why would Lincoln consider seeing a scary movie, even IF he is still 11 years old?"
"It's his life, but the consequences weren't really THAT nice…he started getting nightmares, and when he went downstairs, he thought Mr. Loud was murdering someone, in truth, he was just eating a cake for a late-night snack. He even saw Mr. Grouse, as if he collected organs from other people. He goes fishing at night, that's the reason…" Michael shrugged while smiling.
"Does your younger brother hate seeing those type of stuff?" The Chica fanatic asked.
"Yeah…to put it lightly, when he sees scary stuff, he would hug me tight and start bawling his eyes out. Being a five-year-old is a thing." The older brother replied. "Same as Elizabeth, she would do the same as Joseph, but she would go to Father, and hug him." He added. "But I am indifferent, when I see that type of stuff, I just shrug it off and walk away."
They finished eating dinner, they put their plates in the sink. The duo then went back to their original spot, and saw a note saying:
If you would go outside, make sure to lock the door.
Signed, Abigail
Michael and Stephanie sat on the couch, just twiddling their fingers out of boredom.
"Nothing interesting is on TV, it's just a rerun of Breaking Bad." Stephanie said.
"Father and Mother watched that series a couple of times…" Michael replied.
The next day…
Lincoln was with Michael and his siblings on a bench, reading a Muscle Fish comic. The sibling trio placed their hands on Lincoln's shoulder, and the 11-year-old Loud patted them each on the head. Henry and Valerie came into the scene suddenly, surprising them and making Lincoln drop his comic.
"How are things at home?" Henry asked, smiling.
"Terrible…" Michael replied meekly.
"Why so? What happened?" Valerie asked.
"Me and Father got into some sort of conflict on Tuesday."
"Dammit, William, you got to screw up things as a father, do you?" Henry thought. "Lynn must have gotten a grasp of the situation, and talked it out with him."
"Poor little man…" Valerie thought, as she caressed Michael's hair.
"You know what, Michael?" The manager of Fazbear Entertainment asked. "I think it's time your 'father' must go to prison…"
"NO!" Michael said. "No, I don't want to see him go to prison…" He said, as Roberto and Lori came into the scene, and rested their hands on his shoulders.
"It's OK, amigo, even though you despise your papá, you still love him no matter what…" Roberto said.
"You're a pure-hearted boy, just like my brother…" Lori said, as she rubbed his back.
"Thanks, Roberto and Lori! I know you guys are my friends!" He said as he hugged the boyfriend-girlfriend duo.
Roberto and Lori hugged Michael back. "Thanks for being here by our side, amigo…"
To be continued in Ch 10…
A/N: Sorry if the chapter is too short, I decided to rush it a bit, so that I can get to work on chapter ten straight away. Upon mentioning The Price of Admission in this chapter, I decided to have Michael tell Stephanie about Lincoln's hobbies. That's all I'll tell you for today, and peace out. ^u^