CHAPTER NINETEEN: ROXANNE MOVES IN
*A FEW MINUTES LATER*
Kyle and I weakly returned to the green room, the both of us caked in sweat and grime. The muscles in my arms and legs felt like they were going to fall off due to how weak they felt. I wiped the sweat off my forehead and looked around the room.
The green room still looked the same, though it was now missing the vanity desk, the chair, the go-kart, along with the spare parts for it, and the arcade machine. We just got done with the arcade machine and that thing was the worst. I was glad that the couch was the last thing Kyle and I had to carry to the loading dock.
"You guys look terrible," Montgomery teased. I turned my attention to the alligator, who was standing beside the couch with Freddy, Chica, and Roxanne.
"No shit, Sherlock Holmes," I retorted. "We just got done carrying a fucking arcade machine to the loading dock, which felt like it weighed over a thousand pounds. Of course, we're not going to look so good."
Montgomery raised his arms defensively, a glare plastered on his face. He could tell I wasn't in the mood to deal with his teasing. I was very grateful that he got the hint. The last thing I wanted was to freak out on him for not getting it.
"So, is the couch all that's left?" Roxanne asked.
I nodded my head. "Yes, thank God."
"Has anyone ever told you about how cute you are when you get so frustrated?" she teased.
"Don't even start, Roxanne," I retorted, not caring about how she called me cute. That got her to chuckle. "Let's get this over with, Kyle."
He nodded and we walked over to the couch. I went over to the left of the couch while Kyle went to the right. I grabbed the bottoms of the couch, making sure to get a good grip as to keep the couch from slipping. Once I had a feeling that I got a good grip, I looked at Kyle.
"Ready, Kyle?" I asked.
"Ready," he replied.
"Okay," I said. "1… 2… 3!"
At the same time, we lifted the couch off the ground. I was taken aback by how heavy it was. I was aware that couches were heavy, but this felt like I was carrying something that weighed over at least a hundred pounds.
"This is heavy," I grunted.
"Let's get this to the van," Kyle gasped. I nodded and we began to carry the couch out of the room.
"Freddy, Chica, Montgomery, Roxanne, meet us at the loading dock," I announced as we struggled to get the couch out of the room. "I want to get out of here as fast as possible."
I looked to see Roxanne looking at each of her friends. Roxanne looked at me with a soft smile.
"Can you give us a minute?" she asked pleasantly. "I want to talk to them."
"Okay, but make it quick, alright?" I said. She nodded and once we got the couch out of the room, we began to carry it all the way to the loading dock.
"Just a little bit more, Mihael," Kyle grunted as we struggled to carry Roxanne's purple couch into the back of the cargo compartment of the van. Beads of sweat trailed down my face, and my arms grew tired.
'Why do couches have to be so damn heavy?' I thought tiredly. 'It is so ridiculous.'
"Alright, put it down," Kyle said. With the last bit of strength, we rested the couch down near the vanity desk. I gasped in relief as I straightened my posture.
I slowly walked to the opening of the cargo compartment with Kyle following behind me. I sat down, letting out a grunt as I did. I wiped the sweat off my forehead as I tried to catch my breath. I was grateful that the couch was the last bit of furniture that would be loaded into the van. At the same time, I was pissed at Roxanne for having Kyle and I do this.
As I waited for my strength and stamina to return, I surveyed the loading dock. It was a large room that had a warehouse-style look to it with dark green crates at the right of the room with nothing on the left. There was a forklift parked close to one of the metal shutters with the room being lit by fluorescent lights. The van we loaded all of Roxanne's stuff in looked like that of a small moving van painted white with the Pizzaplex's logo on the side.
After surveying the loading dock, I turned my attention to the doors at the far end of the room. I watched it intently, waiting for Freddy, Chica, Montgomery, and Roxanne to get here. I hoped they would get here
At that moment, the doors swung open. Freddy, Chica, Montgomery, and Roxanne entered the room and began heading in our direction. Freddy and Montgomery were doing their best to comfort a distressed Chica, who looked like she was ready to burst into tears. Roxanne looked down at the ground with a heartbroken expression plastered on her face. She held the keytar tightly in her arms, looking like she was trying to fight off tears.
The sight broke my heart. Whatever it was that took place between them must've been something emotional. No doubt it had something to do with what Roxanne wanted to talk about with her friends. I felt the need to go over there and comfort Chica, but my body refused to obey. Carrying the couch all the way to the loading dock and into the van took a lot out of me.
They got about a foot away from me before they stopped in their tracks. They looked at me, expectantly.
"It's done," I said, knowing what was going through their heads. I heard footsteps creeping up behind me. I looked in time to see Kyle walk past me and hop out. He turned to look at me, beads of sweat on his forehead. "What time is it, Kyle?"
He looked at his watch. "It's 7:52 AM. It's best that you and Roxy get going."
"It sucks that I have to leave my truck behind," I said. A soft smile formed on Kyle's face. He held out his left hand expectantly, keeping his eyes on me.
"I can drop it off at your house and take the van back here, if you like," Kyle offered politely. I stared at him for a moment.
Ever since I got the truck, I never allowed anyone, especially my own mother and father to drive it. I was very protective of it. At first, I really didn't like the idea of having Kyle drive my pride and joy. However, the very idea of my truck being left here for any period of time didn't sound all that appealing.
'Might as well give him a chance,' I thought to myself. 'If Kyle gets even a scratch on it, I will have him pay for the damages.'
I snapped out of my state. I had to answer. He was waiting.
I nodded and stuffed my hand in my left pocket. I pulled the keys to my truck out of my pocket and handed them over to him. He looked at them for a moment before turning his attention back at me.
"These look like they belong to an old vehicle," he said.
"My truck's an Old Classic Chevy, the kind of truck that came from the 1950s," I clarified. His eyes widened a bit.
"Where did you get that kind of truck?" he asked, surprise present in his tone.
"I was out with my mom when I saw the truck in the front yard of an old man who owned the truck," I replied. "My mother helped me buy it as I didn't have anything in my name. I was still in high school at the time."
He nodded, satisfied with the reply. He reached into his pockets and pulled out a set of keys. He handed them to me with a smile. I took the keys, jingled them for a moment before I nodded.
"Well, we better get going, Roxanne," I said, looking at the wolf mascot. Roxanne looked at her friends and I saw the oil building up in her eyes. She stared at them for a moment. She quickly looked at me.
"Mihael, can you hold my keytar for a minute?" she asked. "I want to do something quickly."
I nodded. She slowly walked over to me and held out her keytar. I slowly reached for it and took it into my hands. I slowly took the instrument out of her grasp, making it sure to be careful with it. I was surprised that it wasn't heavy. It had a weight to it, but not to the point where it proved to be a struggle.
Roxanne slowly walked over to her friends, her tail tucked between her legs. She got about a foot from them before stopping dead in her tracks. She looked at them, and this time, the oily tears began trailing down her face.
"Well, I guess this is it," she said weakly. Chica began choking on her sobs before she wrapped her arms around the wolf, giving the wolf a tight hug.
"I'm going to miss you, Roxy poo," she said through her sobs. That did it for Roxanne. The wolf began whimpering before returning the hug, sobbing along with the chicken.
I felt a stabbing feeling in my chest. I understood what was going on. It was never easy to say goodbye, even if it was only for a few days. Their bond; they were more than just friends. They were all a big family. I understood their pain all too well.
After a moment, Roxanne and Chica stopped crying and released each other from the hug. Roxanne walked over to Freddy and proceeded to give the bear a hug.
"I'll miss you, Freddy," Roxanne whimpered.
"I'll miss you too, Roxanne," Freddy whispered softly. "Everything will be okay. I know it will."
When they were done, Roxanne walked over to Montgomery. They both stared at each other, neither of them, strangely enough, going for a hug. Maybe Montgomery wasn't the kind to give other people hugs. If so, I wasn't going to judge.
"I'll miss you, big guy," Roxanne said.
"I'll miss you too, Racing Champ," Montgomery said, a soft smile on his face. Him calling her that caught her off-guard for a brief moment before she regained her composure.
She nodded and walked over to me.
"Let's go, Mihael," she said simply. I nodded and handed back her keytar. She took it gratefully. With my hands free, I hopped out of the cargo compartment of the van. With Kyle's help, we managed to shut the door to the cargo compartment.
I walked over to the passenger's side door of the van and pushed the unlock button. A few clicking sounds emitted from the van. Two beeping sounds loudly emitted from the van before it went silent. I opened the door. I looked to Roxanne, motioning for the wolf mascot to step inside. She hesitated for a moment, looking at me before stepping inside.
I shut the door and walked over to the driver's side of the van. I opened the door and stepped inside. I was surprised by how neat and tidy the inside of the van looked, despite the fact that it might not have been used for quite some time. Not only that, the interior looked like that of a moving van with beige leather seats, 3 cup holders, and had a modern-style look to it, unlike my truck.
I shut the door and put the keys into the ignition. I gracefully turned the keys. The van came to life. I remained still for a brief moment before I looked at Roxanne, the wolf clutching her keytar a bit tightly. She looked away from the window and turned her full attention to me.
"You ready?" I asked.
"Yes, let's go," she said. I nodded and looked to see the metal door in front of us opening. When the door fully opened, I drove out of the Mega Pizzaplex and headed in the direction of the neighborhood, never looking back.
I drove down the road leading to the neighborhood, my eyes locked on the road and traffic ahead. I had the air conditioning on so it helped with keeping both me and the van cool. Up ahead, the traffic light turned red. I stepped on the brakes, slowly pulling the van to a stop.
While I waited, I turned to see Roxanne staring out the window with a slightly heartbroken expression on her face. I felt bad for Roxanne. Even though the idea of her staying at my house was nice, I could tell that the situation was hitting her hard. I wanted to take her back, but I knew the consequences if I did.
I looked back at the traffic in time to see the light turn green. The cars in front begna to move, some of them turning left, some turning right while others went forward. I stepped on the gas and the van began moving again.
As we drove, I felt the need to say something to Roxanne, but what was there to say? I tried to think of anything to say to the poor wolf. Nothing came up. I began to doubt if this was the best course of action. There was no doubt in my mind that Roxanne was thinking about her friends right now. To be honest, I would be thinking the same thing if I was in her position.
I sighed. "I'm sorry, Roxanne."
"For what, Mihael?" she asked curiously. I quickly looked to see her looking at me, the heartbroken expression on her face. I turned my attention back to the road.
"For what's happening right now," I said remorsefully. "I didn't think about how this might affect you and your friends. It's very heartbreaking to see you like this."
There was a long pause before Roxanne finally spoke up. "I don't blame you for any of this. I know this is to keep that monster from hacking me. I just can't believe this is happening. It all feels like… like…"
"Like a nightmare you want to wake up from but can't?" I asked.
"I guess so," she said. I heard her let out a low growl. "It's not fair."
"I know how that feels, Roxanne," I said. "The fact is that life isn't fair. It can decide whether to be cruel or not. When life decides to be cruel, there's nothing you can do about it. It's just the way it is. I always hear people complain about how cruel it is, but honestly, what does complaining about life being totally unfair accomplish? It accomplishes nothing at all. The best thing you can do is deal with it and move on."
I couldn't help but find how ironic my statement was. Here I was talking about how it was best to deal with it and move on when I haven't moved on or accepted what happened 10 years prior. I could only hope that Roxanne would come to terms with what was happening to her right now better than how I dealt with the situation back then.
"I wish it wasn't unfair," she growled.
"You and me both," I said coldly. Silence followed, with the only noise being the air conditioning.
As we inched closer to the neighborhood, I couldn't help but think about how surreal the situation was. How the CEO agreed to letting me have Roxanne stay at my house until Kyle and I found William Afton. Come to think of it, the whole thing seemed… weird. If anything, I found it to be very… suspicious.
I thought back to Kyle's blank expression, and how he didn't reply to my question about what the CEO said quickly. Why did he hesitate to tell me about what the CEO said about having the wolf stay at my house? Speaking of Roxanne staying at my house, I thought about how Kyle finally responded to the question. His words echoed loudly in my head.
"He didn't give me a yes or no, but he did say that there are some conditions that he wanted me to lay out to you."
The fact he said that made it more suspicious. Asking the CEO if I could have Roxanne stay at my house wasn't a yes or no question. If anything, it was more of an allow or object question. Did Kyle lie about the whole thing? If so, why? What was the whole point of it? Unless there was a good reason for him to lie about it, but what could that be?
"So, this is Hurricane?" Roxanne suddenly asked. I snapped out of my thoughts.
"Yes, it is," I replied.
"It's very beautiful," she said blankly, though there were slight traces of genuinity present in her tone.
"It sure is," I said.
"Why is it called 'Hurricane', Mihael?" she asked. I smiled for I knew the answer.
"It received its name after a whirlwind blew the top off a buggy which a man named Erastus Snow was riding in," I replied proudly. "From what we learned in school, when the top of his buggy came off, Snow exclaimed, 'Well, that was a Hurricane. We'll name this 'Hurricane Hill'. And that's how it got its name."
Silence followed. I wondered how Roxanne thought about the whole thing. I would understand if she didn't get it. After all, Roxanne wasn't programmed to know who Erastus Snow was or how Hurricane got its name.
"That's pretty cool," she said.
"It is," I said. That's when I thought about my suspicions. Might as well ask her and hear what she thought about it. My smile died immediately. "Hey Roxanne, I want to ask you something."
"What is it, Mihael?" she asked.
"Do you find this whole thing suspicious?" I asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, do you find how suspicious it was that Kyle hesitated to tell me about what the CEO said about you staying at my house for the time being?" I clarified. "I don't know if it's just me, but it looked as though he was hiding something."
A long pause followed afterward. I wanted to see her reaction, but I couldn't as I had to keep my eyes focused on the road. I really didn't want to risk getting into an accident.
"Now that you mention it, it did look like he was hiding something from us," she said finally. "How did we not pick up on it?"
"Probably because of the anxiety we were feeling at the time," I said. "When we get caught up in our emotions, we sometimes miss the smallest details of certain things. We don't realize it until later on."
The traffic light up ahead turned red. I stepped on the brakes. It slowly came to a stop. I took the opportunity to check on Roxanne. She had a tense expression on her face, like the wolf mascot was putting in a lot of effort thinking about something.
"What usually happens in situations like this, Roxanne?" I asked. Roxanne didn't say anything for a moment before she turned to look at me.
"If a situation like this were to happen, the company would house my friends and I in a location they own," she replied. "The catch is that we get turned off and remain that way until we are returned to the Pizzaplex. Since it's happening for the first time, I would assume that's what's going to happen."
"How do you know this?" I asked.
"Kyle told me after he introduced me to my friends," she replied. "He never told us which location the company would house us in if something like this were to happen, though."
"That's odd," I said.
"Very odd now thinking about it," she agreed. I looked to see that the light was now green. I stepped on the gas pedal. The van slowly picked up speed and the drive to the neighborhood continued.
As the drive grew shorter, I thought about what Roxanne said about how Kyle didn't tell them about where they would be housed if something like this were to happen in the future. Why would he not tell them anything about it? Did he not agree with certain policies the company had? Maybe he did. Maybe he didn't. I would never know until I asked him myself when he dropped off my truck.
"It doesn't make sense," Roxanne said suddenly.
"I agree," I said. "Something about this seems very off. Whatever it is that Kyle's hiding, I will ask him about it when he drops off my truck. There's a good chance he will refuse to tell me. If that happens, that will only make things harder for him. He might have a good reason for hiding, but in the end, the truth always finds a way out."
"You will tell me if Kyle tells you, right?" she asked. I thought about it for a moment.
It wouldn't be right for me to hide about why Kyle didn't say anything or the possibility of him not telling the truth if he were to tell me from her. If anything, she had every right to know. It would be the right thing to do. That was enough for me to know the answer.
"Yes, I will tell you if he gives me the answers," I said.
"Thank you, Mihael," she said, sounding grateful.
"It's the right thing to do after all," I said softly. The rest of the drive to the neighborhood was met with silence.
We finally arrived at my house, a wave of relief washing over me. I pulled into the driveway and turned off the engine. I looked at Roxanne, who was eyeing the house in slight awe.
"Well, here we are," I said. "Home sweet home."
She stared at the house for a moment before turning to look at me. "This is your house?"
"Yes, it is," I replied. "I know it's not big, but it's a decent place to live. I lived here by myself for the past five years."
Roxanne didn't say anything. She returned her attention back to the house. I noticed there was a tiny hint of disappointment in her eyes, like she wasn't expecting my house to be like this. That hurt a little bit.
"This… looks nice," she said reluctantly.
"I know it's not what you were expecting, but a house is a house, Roxanne," I said blankly. I take the keys out of the ignition. "Now, let's go."
She nodded and opened the door. She hopped out and slammed the door shut. I followed suit. I lead her to the front door, a feeling of anticipation growing within me. I dreaded this part. I knew exactly what was going to happen next. At the same time, I prayed that it didn't happen at this very moment.
Unfortunately, luck wasn't on my side.
"Hey, Mihael!" called out the familiar deep, gruffy voice. Roxanne and I stopped dead in our tracks. We turned to see Peter coming our way.
"Roxanne, get behind me, right now," I said sternly. Roxanne did what she was told. "Don't say anything to him. Let me handle all of it, got it?"
Roxanne nodded her head, anxiety plastered on her face. If things got out of hand, I was going to take her as far from here as possible. I refused to let anything happen to her.
I turned my attention back to Peter. He got about a foot from me before stopping in his tracks. He had that familiar friendly smile on his face. I could only hope that things won't go south, but this was Peter, so there was a tiny hint of doubt that it would.
"Hey, Peter," I said as normally as possible.
"How was your shift?" he asked casually.
I shrugged. "It went alright."
"That's great to hear," he said. His eyes flicked to Roxanne. "I'm curious, what is Roxy doing here?"
I looked at Roxanne. She had a pleading expression on her face, the poor wolf looking like she was going to have a panic attack. I gave her a reassuring smile, but it seemed that it didn't do much to convince her otherwise.
I looked back at Peter, who was waiting patiently. I gestured for him to come closer. He did so. I leaned forward, and cupped my left hand around my mouth.
"Someone or something was trying to hack Roxanne Wolf, Peter," I whispered softly. "To prevent that from happening, we decided that she will be staying at my house until we find the bastard."
I leaned away from him, removing my hand away from my mouth. Peter had a shocked, and somewhat disgusted expression on his face. This surprised me. I've never seen Peter have a look of disgust on his face in all the years I'd known him. He must feel very strongly about the whole thing.
"Why would someone want to do such a thing?" he asked. I wanted to tell him the truth, but right now wasn't the appropriate time to do so.
"I have no idea," I replied. "Whatever the motive for it is, it's not good. Because of this, the Mega Pizzaplex will be closed for the next few days."
Peter's eyes widened in shock in response to this. "You're kidding me?"
"I'm not," I said. "From what my boss told me, the CEO wasn't too happy about this. In fact, he freaked out at the mere possibility of a breach happening."
"That's horrible," Peter muttered. "I do hope they find out who's behind this, Mihael."
"I will take part in searching for the motherfucker," I declared. "I don't know what will happen now, but in the meantime, I have to help Roxanne get settled in and move her stuff inside."
"Are they inside that van?" Peter asked, pointing to the van that was parked in the driveway.
"Yes," I replied. "I have to get everything inside before my boss arrives with my truck. No doubt he will want to take it back to the Pizzaplex immediately."
"I can help you move her stuff inside, if you like?" Peter asked. I had a feeling he would ask that.
I was going to object, not wanting him to waste his time helping me, but I thought better. There was no way I would be able to carry all of the heavy stuff inside. I wouldn't even be done by the time Kyle gets here with my truck. I had a feeling that Kyle wouldn't be too pleased if he arrived at the house and learned that I didn't get all of Roxanne's stuff inside. Might as well accept Peter's help.
"I greatly appreciate that, Peter," I said. I looked at Roxanne. "The door is unlocked. Head inside and wait for us to get done with everything. Keep the door open so we can bring the couch and vanity desk inside. Don't come outside unless absolutely necessary."
Roxanne nodded. She opened the door and stepped inside. I looked back at Peter.
"Alright, let's get this over with, Peter," I said. "I don't know how long it will be before my boss gets here."
"Alright, let's set it right here, Peter," I grunted as Peter and I lowered Roxanne's kart down onto the floor in the far left corner of the garage. When the go-kart touched the ground, we straightened our postures.
"That… was the last… of Roxanne's stuff," I said, gasping for air while wiping the sweat off my forehead.
"Wow, I didn't… think that go-karts… would be that heavy," Peter said in-between his gasps.
"I can't tell you… how much of a hassle… it was… to carry that… thing to the van… from Roxanne's green room," I said, gasping. "I almost broke… my fucking back… carrying that thing."
"Isn't that the couch's job?" Peter asked, slowly regaining his breath.
"Depending on the type of couch you have," I replied. "If you have one that reclines, then you best be careful while carrying it."
We both laughed for a moment before we regained our composure. It was crazy to think that I accepted help from Peter after all the times I declined his offer to help for the five years since I moved into the house. I felt the need to repay him for all of his help. I didn't want him to go empty-handed.
"Peter, I appreciate you helping me with getting Roxanne's stuff into the house," I said. "Is there anything I can do to repay you for your help?"
Peter was taken aback by this. I couldn't blame him. It genuinely wasn't every day that the one neighbor he'd failed to befriend for the past five years accepted help and wanted to repay him. If I was in his shoes, I would be taken aback by it as well.
After a moment, Peter regained himself and smiled. "Nah, you don't need to repay me for helping you. It was the least I could do. That's what friends are for, right?"
I stared at him with wide eyes for a brief moment before I smiled myself. It felt so weird to now be friends with someone who I made it clear that I didn't want to be friends with. I found this to be a bit ironic.
"Yeah, that's what friends are for," I said. A pleased expression formed on his face. I understood the reasoning for the look.
"How do you feel, Mihael?," Peter asked suddenly.
"Feel about what, Peter?" I asked, confused by the question. That all-too-familiar friendly smile formed on his face.
"How do you feel about having Roxy stay at your house for the moment?" he asked. I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly.
"It's going to be weird, no doubt," I replied. "At the same time, I think it will be a great experience."
Peter nodded, satisfied with the reply. To be honest, it all felt like a dream. The fact that Roxanne was now in my house and will be living with me for the next few days was something I never thought would happen in the past. Now that it was happening, it felt all so surreal.
The thing was that what was happening wasn't a dream. It was real. I didn't know whether to be grateful that it all wasn't a dream or not. It was nice that Roxanne was staying, but the reasoning for it was what made it difficult for me to be grateful or not.
"Mihael, your truck is here," Peter said suddenly. I snapped out of my thoughts and turned my attention to the driveway.
Parked next to the van was my truck. I surveyed the truck quickly with my eyes. I was relieved to see that there weren't any signs of damage on it. I made a mental note in my head that this would be the only time I would ever let anyone drive my truck. I would bring hell on anyone if they damaged my pride and joy.
The driver's side door swung open and Kyle stepped out of the truck. He looked in our direction, the blank look on his face. He stared at Peter and I for a moment before he slammed the door shut. He walked over to us with the keys held in his right hand.
"Hey, Kyle," I said as the man got about a foot from us before he stopped in his tracks.
"Hello, Mihael," he said blankly. "Did you get all of Roxy's stuff into your house?"
"Yes, I did, with the help of Peter, of course," I said, pointing to Peter. He turned to look at Peter for a moment before returning his attention to me.
"That's great to hear," he said before holding out the keys to my truck. "Here are the keys."
"Thanks," I said, glady taking back my keys. I held out the keys to the van. "Here are the keys for the van."
He nodded and retrieved the keys. Without saying a word, he turned his back to me and began heading towards the van. As I watched him go, I remembered what Roxanne and I were talking about on the drive to the house. I wanted to ask him, but I couldn't with Peter still here. I had to act quickly.
"Hey, Peter, why don't you head home," I said, looking at Peter. "I want to talk to Kyle in private."
As soon as those words left my mouth, Kyle stopped in his tracks. Peter stared at me for a moment before he nodded and began jogging out of the garage.
"See you later, Mihael," Peter said as he exited out of the garage and headed in the direction of his house. I waited until he entered his house.
With Peter now gone, it was now safe for me to ask Kyle about what was really going on. I began walking over to him. As I got closer, a wave of dread washed over me. Something in the back of my mind was telling me to not ask him.
I stopped beside Kyle, but he didn't look at me. I looked to see a grave expression plastered on his face. I didn't like the look one bit. It was like he was dreading what I wanted to talk about with him in private. Though a part of me was warning me to not ask him, I brushed it aside.
"Kyle, I need to ask you something," I said. He still didn't look at me.
"Ask me what?" he asked darkly. The tone caught me off-guard, but I regained myself quickly.
"About what's going on," I replied. "Why did you hesitate to tell me about what the CEO said about having Roxanne stay at my house? It looked like you were hiding something from us. I mentioned this to Roxanne on the drive over here and even she agreed that you were hiding something. Can you explain this to me?"
Kyle's face slowly became pale with beads of sweat forming on his head. This confirmed both my and Roxanne's suspicions. He was indeed hiding something. Whatever it was, it wasn't anything good. I felt a rush of worry flow through me at the thought.
"Kyle?" I said. "What's going on?"
I waited, hoping he might snap out of it and tell me. Nothing. I felt myself growing impatient. I really wanted the answers to my questions. Unfortunately, Kyle was either refusing or ignoring me. Probably hoping that I would give up and let him leave.
A bit of color returned to his face. He slowly turned his head to face me, the grave expression still plastered on his face.
"I can't tell you, Mihael," he said gravely. His tone caught me off-guard, but I regained myself quickly.
"Why is that?" I asked.
"I'm not telling you anything," he replied. I felt myself slowly become agitated.
I glared at him. "Kyle, there's something you're hiding from me. I know it's something bad and I'm not going to drop it until you tell me."
Kyle groaned, facepalming in agitation. "Mihael, I'm not having this discussion with you right now. I need to get this van back to the Pizzaplex. Now, if you excuse me."
He began to walk away from me. I felt my agitation turn into anger at this point. There was no way in hell I was going to let him go without giving me answers. I wasn't going to give up that easily.
I sped walked after him, determined to get the answers out of him. Kyle opened the driver's side door, readying himself to hop inside. Before he had a chance, I placed my hand on the door and slammed it shut. Kyle slowly turned to look at me, his face now full of anger. I stood my ground.
"Mihael, I'm not having this discussion," he said in a chillingly calm tone.
"You bet your ass we will have this discussion," I said firmly. "I know you're hiding something. I want you to tell me. Right. Now."
"Mihael, I'm only going to say this one more time; I will not have this discussion with you," he growled aggressively, his face now turning red. "This is not the time for you to get stubborn. Now, get out of my way."
"No, Kyle," I said angrily.
"Mihael, get… out… of my way," he growled aggressively again.
"Not until you-"
"I SAID GET OUT OF MY WAY, MIHAEL!" he shouted angrily. The shout caught me by surprise. I stepped back from the door, staring at him in surprise. He sighed. "I'm sorry, Mihael but this is not the time to have a discussion like this. It's not the appropriate time to talk about it."
He sighed and opened the driver's side door. He hopped inside the van, closing the door after getting seated. He looked at me through the window. I watched an expression of sorrow form on his face.
The window lowered and he poked his head out. "And don't worry about coming in today. I talked with the CEO on the way here and he told me to tell you to take the rest of the day off. You will come in at 8 AM to help search for William Afton and will go home at 3 PM. Take care of Roxy. She will need all the love and support she can get. See you tomorrow, Mihael."
His head retreated back into the van, the window rolling up. The van came to life and slowly backed out of the driveway. Once it got out of the driveway, the van began its short journey back to the Pizzaplex.
I stayed where I was, standing still as a statue. It took a moment for everything to fully sink in. I failed to get the answers out of Kyle. I sighed and stepped out of the garage. Grabbing hold of the handle, I lowered the metal door. When I fully closed it, I walked over to the front door.
I opened the door and slammed it shut. I rested my back on the door, letting out a low sigh as I looked down at the floor. A rush of anger flowed through me at how the conversation with Kyle went. It didn't go the way I wanted it to go. I felt a strong wave of disappointment flow through me at failing to get the answers out of him.
"Mihael, are you okay?" I heard Roxanne ask, concern present in her tone. I heard her walk over to me before I felt a metal hand on my right shoulder.
I looked up to see the wolf mascot looking at me with concern. She might be thinking that something bad happened out there. I noticed that she didn't have her keytar in her hands. I quickly looked to see that she placed it on her couch, which was pressed up against the wall behind the oval-shaped table.
"Mihael?" Roxanne asked again, this time sounding a little more worried. I looked back at the wolf mascot.
"I'm not okay, Roxanne," I replied grimly.
"Why? What's wrong?" she asked, now very worried.
"Kyle came to drop off my truck just a moment ago," I said. "He just left not too long ago."
"He did?" she asked.
"Yes," I replied.
"Did you ask him about what was really going on before he left?" A wave of defeat washed over me. I frowned and looked away from her, shutting my eyes shamefully. "Mihael?"
"I did ask him," I whispered.
"And?" she prompted. I felt something in the back of my mind tell me to not say anything. However, I ignored it.
"He didn't say anything at first," I replied. "When I asked him what was going on, he snapped out of it and told me that he couldn't tell me. I asked him why, but he said that he wasn't going to tell me.
I sighed. "I knew he was hiding something and I told him so. Kyle became aggressive as I kept on trying to get him to talk. When I refused to let him leave, he snapped at me, telling me to 'get out of his way'. Kyle calmed down and told me that he wasn't going to have that discussion, saying 'it's not the appropriate time'.
"When he got into the van, he told me that he called the CEO. He instructed Kyle to tell me to take the rest of the day off. I will be going back to the Pizzaplex at 8 AM and help them try to find the culprit until 3 PM. After he told me that, Kyle drove away. That's what happened, Roxanne."
A pause followed suit. I opened my eyes and looked to see her with an expression of slight shock. I didn't know whether the shock was a good thing or a bad thing. Either way, I didn't like the looks of it.
"He got aggressive with you?" she asked.
"Yes, he did," I replied hesitantly.
"Did he raise his voice at all?" she asked promptly.
"Yes," I replied nervously. "Is that bad?"
"Mihael, Kyle's not one to get aggressive with anybody," Roxanne said. "Even when mad or frustrated, he never raises his voice or gets aggressive. Kyle will usually speak in a stern manner when he does.
"As for his evasiveness, he usually gets that way when he's hiding something. He'll act all nervous and hesitate. For him to get both aggressive and evasive at the same time is worrisome and suspicious altogether."
I nodded in agreement. I thought back to all the times Kyle became nervous and hesitant about certain things. To learn that he wasn't one to get aggressive like he did confirmed that Kyle was indeed hiding something. He knew something we didn't. Whatever it was, I will find out.
"Well, we can worry about that later, Roxanne," I said. I gestured to the living room with my right hand. "Why don't I give you a tour of the house? Since you'll be staying here for a few days, I might as well show you where everything is."
She gave me a warm smile as she removed her hand from my shoulder. "I like the sound of that."
I smiled and nodded my head. I gestured for Roxanne to move aside. She did so without hesitation. I took a few steps before stopping. I gestured to the living room with my right hand.
"For starters, this is my living room…"
Author's Note:
This is the nineteenth chapter of Robotic Love! :D
I'm honestly surprised with how fast I got this chapter done. I thought this chapter would take me a while, but I'm glad I was proven wrong.
As you can see, things are starting to get very mysterious. Kyle is hiding something from Mihael and Roxanne, but the question is; what can it be? It will be a while before we find out the truth. Quick warning, it's both horrifying and shocking. 0_0
That's all for now. Check Chapter Eighteen for I have added new content to it. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Chapter Twenty might take a while so don't expect it to come out as quickly as this chapter did. All constructive criticism is appreciated and I will see you guys in the next chapter! :)