When Kaldera first heard that Michael had died, he really couldn't bring himself to believe it. It couldn't be true. It couldn't be. He was desperate for it to not be true.
But after about a week, he slowly began to realise that Michael, the boy he treated like his own, was gone. It was a hard realisation for him to have. Of course it was. Michael was really all he had. Without him...
Now slumped over the stage after hours at the diner, on his third bottle, he couldn't help but wonder if it'd be any different had he been there. Hell, it should've been him. Michael had been so young. He'd had so much life ahead of him. It wasn't fair. Nothing about this situation was fair.
He wasn't on night shift. He should've cleared out of this place by now. Hell, he had next week off in its entirety. But it didn't feel like he could move, crushed by grief, anger, sadness, guilt, and a range of other emotions his foggy mind could barely label.
He was sure the new night guard or even his own boss would scold him for being like this, and send him on his way. On that topic, he didn't even like the new night guard. It wasn't his night guard. Fuck, he felt sick just thinking about it. Part of him was glad he hadn't seen Michael's death, because he was sure he wouldn't have been able to cope with it.
Well, less than he was right now, at least.
He was kind of half wishing that he'd be over this within the last week. But he wasn't. It still hurt just as much as the day he'd found out. Hell, the hour he'd found out.
He groaned. Throwing his head back and taking another messy sip straight from the bottle. He could almost hear Michael scolding him, telling him he shouldn't be doing this. But he wasn't really there. His eyes, albeit blurry, could confirm that.
It should've been him. It really, really should've been him. It wasn't fucking fair.
A/N: Whew! This was thrown out off the cuff, I dunno. I just wanted to get the idea down while I still had it. I might make a part 2 if people like this, I dunno. We'll see how it goes. I've proofread this, but if I missed anything, don't hesitate to (gently (i will cry)) let me know!!