Prewritten chapter woohoo! This one was so fun to write, I could honestly make a whole book about these guys.
Unrelated note but this website is dyinggggg rararar I am focusing more on animation on YouTube (check out the baby boy tigerstar map im in it!) But yknow the writing bug always comes back
Happy Halloween to those that celebrate it! I have been SICK with the RONA for the first time and it SUCKS i had to pirate the fnaf movie off a stupid discord link!
I loved it so much though no spoilers but I giggled at the cameos and the animatronics looked amazing!1!1!1!1!1!
Song: summertime sadness by Lana Del Rey the slay yippee
Enjoy!
Chapter 115
Summertime Sadness
The sky was a fresh dusky blue when Michael awoke, feathery clouds swathed against its canvas. It was a Sunday, so he took his time getting up, taking a swig from the plastic Pepsi bottle gone flat. He made his way to the bathroom and splashed some water on his face and rubbed Elizabeth's Disney Princess strawberry-flavoured toothpaste on his teeth (it tasted like a milkshake rather than the ice-cold burn of mint). Noticing the sudden heat, he pulled off his plain hoodie to reveal his new Queen T-shirt, strategically faded to look vintage. He wore red flannel pajama pants and free hotel slippers he'd swiped at one of his dad's business trips.
When he headed downstairs to the kitchen, he found that his siblings were already up, seated on the floor in front of the TV, blasting weekend cartoons. Elizabeth was drinking orange juice straight from the carton and getting it all over her pink Care Bears polyester onesie and Evan was picking at the feathers in the duster.
"Stop drinking that," Michael snapped at his sister. "Have you guys even had breakfast?"
"There's just dust," Evan explained, pointing to the counters where empty plastic cereal bags lay, crumbled grains in the bottom. "And all the bread is moldy end pieces. And we're out of fruit."
"I'm having orange juice," Elizabeth supplied.
"No shit. Now we don't even have anything to drink 'cause it's got your lice all over it."
Her mouth fell open. "I don't have lice!"
"Then what's that brown thing on your head?" Evan tickled her scalp with a loose feather. Elizabeth screamed and punched him in the chest.
"Owww! She hit me!"
"Evan, she's four and a half. Man up." Michael headed over to the kitchen. "And I'm sure there's plenty of food in the fridge! You just need to look." He opened the door and was met with half a jar of pickles, a limp stalk of celery, five plastic squares of Kraft cheese, and a slice of something that looked like one part bologna, two parts fuzzy alien creature.
Elizabeth had silently crept up behind him. She pointed at the ham/extraterrestrial being and giggled, jumping up and down. "Cookie Monster!"
Michael closed the door with a huff of frustration. "Well, whatever. The gas station's open 24 hours. Later we can grab whatever and head back here for dinner."
"Won't Dad just make us meals?" Evan asked. He took a seat on one of the stools on the kitchen island, kicking his legs.
"No, dimwit, he's working late, remember?"
"Daddy always makes us meals. Where is he, Mikey?" Elizabeth looked around as if he were hiding in a cupboard somewhere.
"I just— never mind. We'll be making our own meals, Lizzy, and they'll be even better than the rotten old food he makes us."
"I can make pies," claimed Elizabeth.
"You can?"
"Yup. I make lots of pies."
"Ahemmudpiesahem," Evan coughed.
"Okay. Ev, can you make anything?"
He shrugged. "I can make sandwiches."
"Ugh! Okay, we can pick up some KD from the store. Something easy we can make for dinner."
"Can we get freezer pizza too?" Evan asked. "I want avocado-pineapple."
"You always want avocado-pineapple," Michael snapped. "It's weird. Kids are gonna bully you."
"So am I." Elizabeth stared at him hauntingly.
"Anyways. Henry's gonna be here soon, so you two need to get dressed." Since it was such nice weather, Henry had agreed to dropping Charlie off for a playdate. Michael had figured they could bring some food and have a picnic by the creek in their backyard.
"So do you," Evan pointed out as Elizabeth hopped over the couch and scampered to her room. "You're in your jammies."
"Don't call them that. That's stupid." But Michael headed up the stairs and changed into a pair of beige cargo shorts, a black Nirvana tee and a white plaid flannel with the sleeves cut off. He headed back downstairs. Elizabeth was fiddling with the straps of her baby-blue swimsuit with ruffles on the chest and waist, a pink ice cream decal on the front. She wore a simple jean skirt over it.
Noticing him, she looked up eagerly. "Can you make me a ponytail?"
"Fine," he sighed, grabbing the pink scrunchie she tossed at him and began to tie up her hair.
"No! I wanna side ponytail."
He grumbled, but pulled her ginger hair to the side and tied her a neat high ponytail.
Evan emerged from his room dressed in a navy blue sweater, a gray beanie and baggy jeans cut mid-calf.
"You look like a homeless person," Michael snapped. "Take it off."
"But I like this outfit," Evan mumbled.
"You know what else is gonna like you? Heat stroke. Go change."
Evan's eyes clouded, but he tugged off the sweater and beanie, revealing an orange swim shirt with a decal of a shark riding a surfboard.
"Better. Okay, you two grab towels and sunscreen and anything else we'll need, and I'll try and make us snacks." There had to be something in the pantry.
"Blue and fuzzy means it's moldy," Elizabeth informed him as they ran to the closets.
"Thanks, Lizzy."
The doorbell suddenly rang, and Michael ran to answer it. There stood Henry, who was carrying Charlie in one arm and—thank God—a picnic basket in the other. "Hey there Mike! I hope you don't mind, we brought food. And a bit of ice cream, since your sister loves it so much." He winked.
"I don't mind at all," Michael sighed with relief and took the basket from him and quickly handed the ice cream off to Evan, who put it in the freezer. "They're just getting picnic equipment. I thought we could go into the forest since it's sunny out."
"What a great idea! Do you want to go into the forest, Charlie?"
"Tree," said Charlie ominously.
"That's right!" Henry praised. She made grabby hands at the ground, and he let her run into the living room. "So, I'm guessing Will's out, huh?"
Michael crossed his arms and leaned against the door, subtly blocking Henry's way in. He did not want the older man to know what a mess their house was. "Yeah, he's working."
"Right." Henry looked troubled, his thick brown brows furrowed. "You know, Mike, if you ever need help taking care of your siblings, you can always call me, okay? Even if I'm busy, I could take them to Jen's or to Charlie's daycare—I'm sure they won't mind if Evan's a little old."
"Yeah. Thanks, Henry, but we're doing fine. My father's usually home for dinner. He helps clean and makes us dinner and tucks Liz and Ev in at night."
"Mm." He clearly didn't buy it, but he looked like he wanted to. "Well, I should head off. I have some grocery shopping to do after you kids run us out of picnic supplies!" He laughed, but the smile didn't meet his eyes.
"You know us," Michael grinned. "I'll take good care of Charlie."
"I know you will," Henry said softly. "You're a good brother, Mike."
He ducked his head. "Uh, well—"
"Anyways, I'll get out of your hair. Have a good time!" He called into the house.
"Bye, Henry!" Elizabeth and Evan shouted in unison.
"Aren't you gonna say bye to Charlie?" Michael asked, but he was already running back to his van.
"Trust me, it's better this way! She's very clingy!" Henry called.
Michael shut the door. "You guys packed?"
"Yup." Elizabeth held up a grocery bag filled with sunscreen and water bottles, and Michael could see his brother carrying a backpack full of towels. Charlie carried her green sparkly water wings. She wore a pair of little black shorts and an olive-green tee that read This shirt is made of plastic bottles! with a recycling symbol on the back and some website links.
Everyone slid on their sandals and slapped on baseball caps or bucket hats (cheesy fishing cap for him, denim-print for Evan, Hello Kitty for Liz and worn brown cloth for Charlie). Evan slathered on a ridiculous amount of sunscreen over his freckles that seemed to double if he even looked at the sun, and Charlie carefully put on her cartoonishly large sunglasses.
They headed out the door and stepped onto the scorched cobblestone path, the grass bleached wheat-pale by the sun with bees buzzing around the daisies, who's tips had begun to go sweet purple. And after he loaded Charlie into his sister's old buggy, they were off. Elizabeth ran down the hill screaming with Evan walking down and gazing at the soft blue sky. Michael held her hand, helping Charlie carefully make her way down the hill. They broke through the doors of yellow forsythia into the shaded woods that surrounded their house. Sun leaked through the pines, dappling the forest floor. Evan tripped over a stray root but caught himself quickly. He could hear the rustle of leaves, the songbirds in the branches, the snap of twigs and the hum of cicadas. As they wandered through ferns and thistlefluff and dodged holly and nettles, he could hear the rush of water as the trees began to thin out and the sun warmed their skin with its rays.
"Water!" Charlie cheered. The light caught her chestnut hair and tinged it with gold.
"It's so hot out," Elizabeth whined. "I wanna swim."
"There's a whole river in front of you," Michael said with a roll of his eyes. "Go on ahead."
"Yay!" She kicked off her sandals and skirt and skidded down the bank into the water, splashing joyfully.
"Mike?" Charlie asked him, holding his hand tight. "Can you help me with water?"
"Sure thing, Charles." He helped her out of her T-shirt, where she wore a kelly-green swim top, and pulled on her water wings. He picked her up and carried her down the slippery slope and balanced himself in the rushing clear water. It shelved down until it was up to his mid-calves, rainbow shimmers reflecting off the pebbles. The current was not nearly fast or deep enough to be dangerous, but enough that the kids could pretend it was. He set her down carefully and once she was steady he let her go. She giggled and stomped, making tiny splashes.
"You coming in, Ev?" he asked the brunet boy.
He shook his head vehemently. "It's too…cold. I'll, uh, get hypothermia."
"Hypo-what?" Michael shook his head. "It's fine! The water's up to, like, my ankles. Just come play with the girls."
"...fine," Evan muttered. He went down the hill backwards, taking the babiest of baby steps. When he reached the bottom, he dipped a single toe into the water.
"Aw, don't be a baby."
"I'm not being a baby!" Evan yelled, balling his hands into tight fists.
"Kindergarten baby, stick your head in gravy!" Elizabeth sang, splashing rhythmically.
"Stop it!" His lower lip trembled.
Michael sighed. Leave it to the crybaby to ruin our trip. He started to make his way down the bank to knock some sense into him—very literally—but he slipped on some leaf mulch and fell on his stomach with a gigantic splash, water going up to his nose. The kids shrieked with laughter.
"Glad I could amuse you," Michael mumbled, spitting out a glob of algae. With his luck, he probably was poisoned and had three days to live.
Suddenly Elizabeth gasped and plopped down on her hands and knees. "Salad manager!"
Evan bent down to look in the pile of muck she was gazing into. "That's a salamander. It's an amphibian."
"You're an amphibian," Elizabeth mumbled. "Anyways, I knew what it was called. I was just…" She reached beside her and scooped up a handful of mud. "Mucking around!"
Before Evan could react, she threw it in his face, cackling. Michael figured he'd start wailing, but to his surprise he wiped it off and smeared it all over his sister, making great brown loops all over her cheeks. She screamed like a banshee, but her eyes glittered with feral glee. She tackled him to the rocky floor and wrapped her skinny legs around his waist, scooping up muck and throwing it all over him, the pair howling like wild children. Charlie was having a fantastic time watching, and Michael would be lying if he said he didn't find it pretty funny too.
However, Charlie seemed to take after her role model Elizabeth, because she picked up a handful that held pebbles and worms and leaves and looked at him questioningly.
He exhaled and let her slowly, carefully walk over to him and gently slop it onto his shirt. She gazed up at him, unsure if she'd done well.
Michael took a big breath, raised his arms above his head, and roared deep and guttural from the pits of his stomach. "RAHHHHHH! OH, YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THAT, LITTLE GIRL!"
Charlie squealed and tried to toddle away, but Michael caught her by the waist and zoomed her through the air.
His siblings had stopped fighting and were now looking at him, green with envy.
"Hey, not fair! I wanna fly!" Evan whined.
"Me now, me now!" his sister screamed.
Michael made a rocket landing sound for the youngest girl and stormed over to Elizabeth. She squirrelled onto his back and held on tight like a monkey. He picked Evan up and ran through the water, growling like a grizzly. Charlie watched, flapping her hands in excitement before stuffing one of them in her mouth whole.
Finally, he grew too tired to badger around the river and flopped on the grass above the bank. "I'm starved. What do you guys say we wash up and break open that picnic basket, eh?"
"Foooooood!" Elizabeth and Evan cheered, rushing to the brook to dunk themselves. Michael got Charlie to help him set up the blankets and he wrapped her in a fluffy yellow towel, making her look like a baby chick. His siblings tore open the wicker basket and began to load all the food out.
It was practically a feast. In a Tupperware container were turkey sandwiches with lettuce and Swiss cheese and thick butter on sourdough bread, and then there were Saltines with marble cheese and real strawberry jam, and a container of crisp green grapes with juicy watermelon cubes and lipstick-red raspberries. Then there were cool cans with condensation still wet on the outside, Pepsi for Michael, Orange Crush for Evan, and pink Crush for Elizabeth and Charlie. He was surprised Henry remembered their favourites.
The three Afton kids wolfed down their sandwiches, while Charlie ate hers slowly and meticulously, peeling off the lettuce and eating it separately. Michael hadn't eaten all day yesterday apart from the last brownie bar he'd grabbed for breakfast, so he was absolutely famished. He even ate the crusts he so despised.
"This is so good. Charlie, you're really lucky to have Henry as your dad," Evan said, popping a handful of grapes into his mouth.
"He makes me lots of food," Charlie beamed.
Elizabeth sucked on a Saltine quietly, then looked back up. "Is Daddy coming back?"
Michael frowned. "Don't be daft, of course he is. I've explained this so many times: he's just working."
"He hasn't been back ever since the court," Evan mumbled. "What if he ran out on us like Charlie's mum?" Charlie looked up at the sound of her name but quickly went back to stacking her watermelon.
"He isn't going to do that. He said he'd look after us," Michael said confidently. "Besides, even if he did, we've always got Mum." He paused. "Or me. I've done an excellent job taking care of you so far, right?"
"I guess," muttered Evan. "We still don't have any food."
"Well then we go to the gas station and get takeout. You remember when we did that, right Lizzy?"
"Yes, and we got crisps and fizzy drinks and sweets and ice cream sticks and stayed up aaaaaall night!" She was beginning to look excited. "Is that what we're gonna be eating every day?"
Evan scoffed, "Of course not, right Michael? We need to eat healthy food, not just junk and grease, and get good nine-hour sleeps."
Michael rolled his eyes. "We'll eat whatever we want and stay up as late as we want 'cause this is just pretend. Father hasn't run out on us and we're going to be fine."
"And we'll stay home from school and watch all the grown-up movies." Elizabeth was still daydreaming. "What'll you do, Evvy?"
"I don't know…probably read a lot more. Finish all my chapter books."
"Bor-ing!" Elizabeth threw a handful of crackers at him, and the pale crumbs stuck in his hair. Then a thought occurred to her. "What about school?"
"Well, we wouldn't go, of course. Though I bet goody-two-shoes Evan would be mad." Michael stuck his tongue out at him.
Evan did the same, then went quiet. "I don't like school. They tease me."
"Kids tease me too, but I say mean crap back and that shuts 'em up."
"Elizabeth hits them," he replied, and she nodded vigorously. "But they still don't stop. Sometimes I wish I could go to school without all the other kids."
"What, like homeschooling? Ev, you know I'm no good at that."
"I'll kill all the kids," Elizabeth said confidently, making finger guns. "I'll shoot them all dead, bang bang bang."
"That's enough, Liz." He didn't want her going around saying that, even if it was just a joke. "Let's get back to the topic. What else would you do if there were no grown-ups?"
She thought for a moment. "Then after we watched all the movies we'll go and get Charlie and take her round our place and she'll sleep with me on my bed. What would you do if your daddy left you, Charlie?"
"Cry."
"Not for real, for pretend."
She mulled over it. "Make card for Dada."
"Ewww! You're all boring boring boring!" Elizabeth flopped on the blanket and twisted around like a snake before lying still. "Mikey?"
"Yeah?"
"This all sounds fun, but I still wish Daddy was there."
Michael was about to tell her tough, but figured since it was all fantasy, she could have it. "And Father walks through the door with heaps of ice cream, and that's why he took so long, 'cause he was trying to find the tastiest kinds all the way in…in, uh, the Arctic."
"Actually, ice cream is typically made in—"
"And Evan is too busy stuffing his face to talk. And we all have a big ice cream party and I go and play video games and Evan reads his chapter books and you and Charlie and Father all have a big tea party, the end."
Elizabeth smiled dreamily. "I like that story."
"Me too," said Evan and Charlie. Michael had to admit it wasn't half bad. Maybe he should pursue a career in writing.
They finished the rest of the fruit and soda and most of the crackers, and they took swipes of the jam jar with their fingers till they could not reach the bottom. Then they all lay in the sun on their backs and told stories and made daisy chains and threw the rest of the crackers at a pair of crows. The girls found the salad manager and one with a red stripe instead of yellow and had a wedding with ladybug bridesmaids and roly-poly flower girls throwing dandelion petals onto the audience of humans. His siblings built a miniature cake with smooth white stones from the brook topped with smashed flies, which the newlyweds seemed to enjoy.
Then, Michael got an idea when he was collecting bark to build a gondola so the pair could go on a romantic honeymoon downstream. "Hey, c'mere." The kids all crowded around him, and he pointed to where someone had scratched M+J March 1972 into the trunk. "See? Someone engraved their initials into the tree, and it lasted…a while! Do you guys wanna write our names into it?"
"Won't it hurt the tree?" Evan asked. "Trees are living beings, you know."
"Don't be daft, they can't feel a thing." Michael rummaged around until he found a particularly sharp stone and bent down until he found a soft spot where someone had lopped off a branch and they could count the rings inside. He wrote his name and handed it to Evan, who printed it in very neat cursive. Elizabeth wrote hers quickly with a heart dotting the I and Michael guided Charlie's hand to sign her name. They stepped back to admire their handiwork.
Michael
Evan
Elizabeth
Charlie
June 2004! (a smiley with vampire fangs was drawn beside it)
Eventually, the sky began to fade to a dusky violet-blue and they packed their things up. Charlie buckled herself into her buggy, something she was enormously proud of, and Michael wheeled her through the forest, careful to avoid roots. Elizabeth sang some Girl Guides-type song with Charlie drumming her feet along until her throat was sore and she started to complain. "My feet hurt," she whined, limping a little. "Right on their underneaths."
"My everything hurts," Evan mumbled.
"I feel good," chirped Charlie, thumping her hands against the sides of her buggy.
"Never mind that, you'll all be home soon, and I'll run a nice hot bath," Michael said briskly, then realized with horror that he was starting to sound like his mum.
"What about food?" Evan asked.
He froze. Crap. "Uh, I hadn't thought of that."
"Will we go to the gas station?"
Elizabeth gasped. "Gas station, gas station!"
He weighed his options, then nodded. "Gas station it is. I'll run up and get some cash and we'll wait for Henry to pick up Charlie and then we can get whatever. What do you two want?"
"Pizza!"
"Wings!"
"How about both?"
The pair cheered. They made it through the forest, and he got Evan to help him lug Charlie up the hill. He sent his siblings in to change out of their wet swimsuits. Evan came out in his homeless-man outfit from earlier and Liz wore a worn gray shirt with a ballet slipper on the front and a black skirt. He broke out some old chalk from the garage and let them colour the cobblestone in pastel rainbow until Henry showed up, thanked him for taking care of her, and they drove off on their merry way. Then the kids put on their coats (black denim for Michael, navy zip-up for Evan, and white cashmere cardigan for Elizabeth) and their sneakers and headed off to the gas station. He had to piggyback Elizabeth some of the way, and of course his brother complained of favouritism, but he honestly just wanted his sister to be quiet. She always did this thing where she would say "I'm not whining" in a whiny voice until he did as she asked.
Finally, they reached the gas station and bought a plain cheese pizza, a box of saucy chicken wings, and two packs of watermelon gum for him alone, but he gave his siblings each a stick to shut them up.
They were halfway down the street when Elizabeth started to complain again. "Mikeyyy, I want whippyyy."
"We've got ice cream that Henry gave us in the freezer."
"No no no, I want whippy," she moaned, grabbing onto his arm. He shoved her off when she started to squeeze, and she screeched so loud a flock of blackbirds flew from the trees. "Owie! You gave me bruises!"
"Like you haven't been kicking me all over and giving me bruises since you were able to walk! Look, I'll squish it around and make it whippy, that good?"
"Fine," she mumbled sullenly.
"Can we have can milk too?" Evan asked.
"We'll all have canned milk if there's any left, and we'll see if there's any cherry pie filling in the pantry too. We'll have another proper feast. See, it's not so bad having me be your father for the day."
"You're okay," Evan admitted. "Better than I thought."
The kids rushed home since the sweet-and-savoury smell seeping through the boxes was making them ravenous. But once they got inside, they had something waiting for them that was even better than junk food. An orange light lit up on the answering machine. Michael clicked it and their father's voice rang out.
"Dad!" Evan cried. "You guys, it's Dad!"
"We're not deaf, stupid, we can hear that." Michael grinned. "I can't believe it. He never calls us!"
"Daddy Daddy Daddy!" Elizabeth wriggled, clutching herself. Evan ran around in circles, chanting as well.
His sister tried to climb on top of the table that held the television, but Michael wrestled her down. "Shh! All of you shut up! We're gonna miss what he's saying!"
The machine beeped and Elizabeth began to wail. "We're never gonna hear from him aga-a-ain!"
"Relax, moron, I'll just rewind it." He did just that and made a shushing motion.
"Hey, it's me. Work's taking longer than expected, and I realized I would be gone an extra day. I should be back around midnight, but I'll be late if there's traffic." The machine clicked to an end.
"He's coming back!" Evan shouted. "He didn't run out on us after all!"
Elizabeth started up the Daddy Daddy Daddy's again and the two paraded around the room like a pair of belly dancers. Michael sighed and popped a strip of gum into his mouth and began to work his molars. He didn't exactly blame his father for storming out like that after court—it was obviously stressful, getting a divorce—but he was pretty damn mad that his father had left them for three whole days without notice or any food in the house. Michael had done just fine, but what if he hadn't?
"Alright, siddown. Let's go eat before it gets cold."
"Can we eat in front of the telly?" Elizabeth pouted. "Because Daddy's not home yet."
He hesitated. "Fine, but just this once. Take off your cardigan, though, I know you'll get stains on it. And if you spill anything on the carpet, either of you, I'm going to stitch you into one."
"I'm a carpet!" Elizabeth lay on the floor and made herself very still.
"Yeah, that's a great game. You and Evan play carpets while I get the food set up."
She sat up. "Can I get—"
"No, you're a carpet, and carpets don't talk."
Oops, she mouthed, and lay back down, stiff as a rock.
He got out some old paper party plates from his father's restaurant so he wouldn't have to wash any dishes and loaded slices of pizza onto them. Rummaging around in the pantry, he found a can of pineapple only two days past expiry that smelled and looked fine for Evan, and some purple Greek olives for Liz, but the cherry pie filling was half a year past due and had something purple festering inside of it. He poured them all water mixed with leftover pineapple juice in sippy cups to minimize spillage and set them down in front of the television. He wasn't fussy about manners, letting them pick out chicken and eat it with their fingers, though he did have to peel it off the bone for Liz. When they were done, he got out the ice cream (chocolate chunk) and swirled it with some canned milk until it was sort of whippy, then served it up in mugs, which the kids found hilarious. They got chocolate all over their faces, but he didn't bother with cleaning since they were all so comfortable.
After they were full and sleepy, Evan grabbed his Fredbear plush, and they settled down on the couch to watch television. He turned it to some kids program until 10, when he switched it to his guilty-pleasure soap, The Immortal and the Restless. Suddenly, they heard the large metal gates creaking open from the bottom of the hill. Michael sat bolt upright and looked at the time. 1:02, had it really been that long?
The key jiggled in the lock and then suddenly, his father stood in the doorway, tall and swathed in dark clothes.
"Father! You're home!" Michael called, keeping his voice to a whisper.
"Of course I am. Don't sound so surprised, you make it sound like I was never coming back." He pulled his black trenchcoat off and hung it on the coat hook. Elizabeth, at her father's voice, suddenly sat bolt upright with her eyes closed. She took three shaky steps forward, then collapsed on the carpet with a snore.
William watched, amused, then turned to Michael. "Did they behave properly? I don't want to deal with heaps of mess right now."
"No, they were fine. Elizabeth spilled some juice, but I got it cleaned up."
"Brilliant." William rummaged around in his bag and pulled out a Coffee Crisp, tearing into it. "Well, I'm going to head to the basement. Have a good night."
Michael watched him go in disbelief. "Is that it?"
"What? What did I miss?" He scanned the room. "Oh. Don't leave perfectly good ice cream out like that. It's gone and melted, and now we must throw it in the bin."
"Forget about the ice cream! You left us here, all alone, for days and days without telling us! Ev and Liz thought you'd gone and left us, and…and I was sort of thinking the same thing."
"Don't be ridiculous. Children your age get left home alone all the time, and besides, you turned out safe and sound." He waved his hand. "You're the eldest. It's your job."
"God! I'm sick of being the eldest! I'm sick of being the one who has to take care of the kids and be a grown-up all the time. It's not fair," said Michael. His voice was thick. "You're supposed to be the father. Not me."
William's jaw tightened. "I'm going to work, and I don't want another word about this. It's time you started taking more responsibility now that your mum's out, and I do not need another ungrateful, pissy little kid getting on my nerves. Understand?"
"Whatever," Michael muttered, fists clenched tight with rage. He's so irresponsible! I'm not some nanny, I've got a life too!
William hesitated, and for one stupid moment, Michael thought he was going to say something compassionate. But no, of course not. "Put them to bed, would you? I don't want them whining about stiff parts in the morning."
"Sure thing," he growled out between gritted teeth. Carefully, he bent over and hoisted Elizabeth up, carrying her down the hall. She was sucking her thumb with grubby little fingernails, grass knotted in her ginger waves, smelling like chocolate and fresh air. She was so quiet and little when she was sleeping and not yelling, crying, or hitting, looking like a doll, and for a moment Michael wanted to curl up in her bed with her like they did when she was an infant and forget about all their problems. But he knew it was babyish, and he was responsible for her now, and he tucked her under the soft flower-print covers and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, Lizzy."
When he returned to the living room, Evan was sitting straight up, watching TV with unfocused, thoughtful eyes.
He halted. "You're supposed to be sleeping."
"I was pretending," Evan mumbled. "I heard what Dad said."
"Oh." Michael moved to sit on the couch beside him. "What were you thinking about?"
"Just what we're going to do without Mum. I mean, she did all the shopping and cooking and cleaning when Dad was away. How are you supposed to do it when you have homework and playdates with your friends and stuff?"
"First of all, they aren't playdates, we hang out." He ruffled Evan's brown tufts and he squirmed away, giggling. "Second of all…well, I don't know. I was thinking I could buy you guys food from our cafeteria and give it to you at recess, and I could probably do grocery runs every now and then after school and get food from Mum every other Sunday. Plus, there's always sleepovers and other people we can get food from. But I'm going to need you to help too, alright? You could work on washing clothes and cleaning up, and you could even get Elizabeth to help if she listens. But I think you and I both know Father's not going to be around much anymore, and we just need to figure it out."
Evan didn't respond, and when Michael looked over, he saw that he was crying, biting his lip to not make any sound. When he saw him looking, his chin trembled. "I j-just miss Mum."
Michael sighed and wrapped him in a hug, letting him cry into his shoulder and wet the fabric with his sniffles. "So do I, buddy, but it'll be okay. She lives right across town, and we'll see her every other week."
"What if she forgets about us, though? What if she marries a different man and has kids with him, nicer, easier kids, and doesn't want us anymore?"
"You know she wouldn't do that. At least not to you. You know you're her favourite."
"No, I'm not, you're just lying to make me feel better," he retorted, but his crying subsided.
"Don't be silly," Michael said, fiercely so his brother knew he meant it. "Of course you are. Elizabeth is loud and hyper, and I'm mean and stupid, but you're quiet and clever, just like her. You've even got all the freckles." He flicked his cheek and Evan swatted his hand away, laughing a little through his tears.
Michael saw the time and jolted away. "What she would be angry about, though, is how late you've stayed up! You get to bed before you get even worse eyebags."
Evan giggled. "You sound like her now. Besides, I've stayed up much later than this and been fine."
"Doesn't matter, and don't you compare me to her or I'm gonna put you in timeout, you cheeky little monkey," he said in a high falsetto, which made his brother giggle even harder.
"Fine, fine, I'll get going." He smiled at Michael. "Thanks for being nice to me."
"Yeah, well, you had an okay reason for crying. This time." He waved in a shooing motion. "Now bugger off, I wanna watch TV."
"Okay. Love you, Michael."
He hesitated. "You too, moron."
A/N
What a happy family. I sure hope nobody dies.
Question/Challenge: thoughts on the movie?
Have an amazing day/night!
~ghost