CHAPTER SEVEN: SHOCKING NEWS

When we finally arrived back at the house, I was still in shock, though not as strongly as before. It took this entire time for me to understand what happened moments ago; Roxanne Wolf had kissed me on the cheek… right… in front… of EVERYONE! It was one thing for Roxanne to hug me, but it was another to kiss me on the cheek.

'Why would she do that?' I thought to myself. 'It can't be due to me being her favorite. What's going on?'

"Mihael!" someone shouted, shaking me violently. I snapped out of my thoughts and looked to see Lisa looking at me with her hands on my shoulders. "Come on, let's go."

I nodded. We all stepped out of the car, slamming the doors shut behind us. We walked up the front porch leading to the front door. My mother took the key and inserted it into the lock. After a moment, she unlocked the door. We stepped inside the house, me closing the door behind us.

"Ah, home sweet home, at long last," I said aloud. At that exact moment, my stomach growled, loud enough for everyone to hear. My cheeks became warm as Lisa, my mother, and my father chuckled at that.

"Well, since it's close to dinner and I'm hungry as well, Mihael, why don't you help your mother out with cooking dinner?" my father said. I stared at him for a moment before I nodded, knowing one of the conditions of my punishment was to not complain.

"I know what we're going to have tonight," my mother said. "Come on, Mihael. Let's go."

With that, my mother and I walked over to the kitchen to go make dinner. I was curious as to what we were going to make. Whatever it was, I had no doubt it was going to be amazing.

We both entered the kitchen. It was a rectangular-shaped room with black-and-white tiles that make up the floor, a fridge at the far left wall with the back door beside it, a sink with a window above it at the north wall, and a stove just connected to the south wall. All in all, just your ordinary average kitchen.

"So, Mihael, what do you think of Roxy?" my mother suddenly asked. "Do you still think negatively?"

I thought about it carefully. Roxanne wasn't nearly as bad as I originally thought she would be; a complete opposite of how she was when we first met. I had no idea why she went through such a sudden change. It couldn't have been because of the short amount of time we got to know each other. Hell, all I knew about her was that she was the band's keytarist as well as the titular mascot for the still-under-construction attraction 'Roxy Raceway'. Despite all of that, Roxanne wasn't so bad.

"Well?" my mother pressed.

I shrugged my shoulders. "She's alright. I mean, she's a totally different animatronic than the one I first met with Lisa two days ago."

"Really?" my mother asked, sounding intrigued.

I nodded. "Yep. She sure as hell wasn't acting like that before. I wonder what's been getting into her. She told me I'm her favorite, though I doubt that's really the case."

There was a moment of silence before I looked at my mother. She had a smirk on her face. I didn't know why, but the sight of that smirk was making me feel uneasy. It was like she knew something I didn't.

"Mother, what's with the face?" I asked slowly.

"Maybe it's just me, but I think it's safe to assume that Roxy likes you," my mother said playfully.

I didn't say anything. I just stared at her, my brain trying to process what she just said. Maybe it was my imagination, or maybe it was my mind playing tricks on me. Better yet, maybe she said it as a joke. For God's sake, what could it be?

"Um… excuse me?" was all I was able to say. The smirk washed away from her face like dried dirt, being replaced with a deadpan look.

"Are you that oblivious?" my mother said, her tone matching the expression on her face. She walked over to me. "The excitement upon seeing you twice, her wanting to have more time to hang out with you when it was time to leave yesterday, the hug she gave you upon seeing you today, and finally, the little kiss she gave you on the forehead. Don't you see?"

"See what?" I asked, still not getting it. Or maybe it was my mind trying to deny it.

My mother groaned loudly before she looked me in the eyes. "Roxy has a crush on you."

If I had anything in my hands or mouth, I would've dropped or spat it out. My eyes widened in response. I tensed up, my body freezing in place. A strange sensation washed over my head, making me feel dizzy. So much so that it took everything I had to keep myself from falling over.

"WHAT?!" I exclaimed. "Mom, don't say things that aren't true like that!"

"It's true," my mother said, unfazed by my outburst. "In case you didn't know, Roxy has NEVER acted like that with anyone in the Mega Pizzaplex before, let alone kissing someone on the forehead. It's pretty clear she likes you."

"Ok, I'm going to pretend we didn't have this conversation," I said urgently. "Let's get dinner ready. Don't want to keep Lisa and Dad waiting, now do we? So, what are we going to have?"

"Lisa! Dad! Dinner's ready! Get your butts over her now before it gets cold!" I announced loudly, carrying two dinner plates that contained chunks of ham, green beans, and mashed potatoes in my hands over to the table while my mother carried another two in her hands as well. Each of them had a fork and knife on them.

"We're coming!" they both replied back. I placed the plate for my sister at its respective spot before I placed mine at its spot. My mother did the same with the two plates she had in her hands. I sat down at my usual spot on the table.

Lisa and my father entered the kitchen shortly after. I heard the sound of sniffing and satisfied groans behind me. A sense of pride washed over me. I heard Lisa walking over to her chair, the sound of it scraping the floor. I looked to see her sitting down before pushing it closer to the table. I looked over to see my father already sitting down, rubbing his hands together with a smile on his face.

"This looks great," my father complimented.

"It was a team effort between Mom and I," I said. My father aimed his smile at me.

"Let's dig in," my mother said. She didn't have to tell any of us twice. Without hesitation, we began to eat our meal.

For a while, none of us said anything. We focused on stuffing our bellies with this delicious meal. No surprise. When hunger takes over, the only thing that matters is the food in front of you. I was grateful for that. I didn't mind the chit-chat. I just prefer to focus on my food.

"So…" Lisa said. I waited for her to finish what she was going to say. She never did. I stopped eating and turned to face her.

"So… what?" I asked, curious over the long pause.

She gave me a funny look. "So, what did you do with Roxy and her friends?"

"Oh," I said as if I remembered. "Nothing special. All we did was play at Monty's Gator Golf. I will admit; I wasn't very good at it. I only got one hole-in-one throughout the whole game and it was on the final hole."

Lisa nodded, but I swear, it looked like she was going to laugh. No doubt about the part where I got only one hole-in-one. If so, she might as well get it over with.

"Well, one is better than zero," she said. I was slightly taken aback by that, but at the same time, I was relieved.

"Yeah, I guess," I said. I was about to resume eating, my mission now being to consume the rest of the food that was waiting in my belly.

"Do you know what day is it tomorrow?" she asked. I was about to answer when it suddenly clicked.

I mentally slapped myself for forgetting. Tomorrow was Lisa's 12th birthday! How could I have possibly forgotten?! I guess maybe it was due to all that has been happening for the past few days, but that still doesn't excuse me from forgetting about it. What kind of big brother was I?

"Yeah, tomorrow's your birthday," I replied casually. "How old are you going to be? 13?"

Lisa gave me a deadpan expression as if she wasn't amused at my attempt at humor. "I'm going to be 12, Mihael."

"I know, Lisa," I said with a smile. "I was just messing with you." I returned my attention to my food and stuffed a piece of ham into my mouth. "So, anything special planned for that day?"

I waited, expecting an answer. None came. I looked to see blank looks on their faces. A wave of uneasiness washed over me. Silence like this meant only one thing; they were hiding something. A big one even. No doubt something that they didn't want me to know about at all.

Now, I will say this. I didn't like it when people hid things from me. Hypocritical of me to say considering there were things that I didn't want my family to know. However, I had my reasons; it was mainly out of concern for their own safety. The secrets that didn't need to be kept for some stupid reason like for example; to not worry others or because of how they would react. Those were the ones I didn't like being kept from me.

"Well?" I insisted. Once again, nothing. At this point, I was now starting to get annoyed. They were definitely hiding something.

"Someone has to tell him," my mother said suddenly. I looked at my mother.

"I'll tell him," Lisa said. I looked at her, expectantly. She took a deep breath. "Mihael, we are going to have my birthday party at the Pizzaplex."

I felt as though my world came crashing down. A wave of terror had washed over me, bringing an icy cold feeling along with it. My eyes widened in horror as the world began to spin.

"WHAT?!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.

Lisa chuckled nervously. "Surprise."

"W-why?!" I asked, struggling to recover from the shock of it all.

"Well, we couldn't do it for my birthday last year because of the disappearance of Benny Keith that took place 2 days prior," Lisa replied cautiously. "We waited to tell you because well… we knew you wouldn't have approved it."

It took a moment for it to slowly sink in. The shock I felt was now slowly being replaced by a wave of growing anger. This can't be real. I didn't want to believe it, but I questioned why I was even doubting it. I should've known this would happen. Of course, it would.

I began breathing heavily as my anger continued to grow. A look of worry formed on her face.

"Mihael?" Lisa said worriedly.

"No… No… NO!" I shouted as I quickly sat up from my seat. "I WON'T STAND FOR THIS! I FORBID THIS!"

"Mihael, calm down right now," my father said firmly.

"NO, I'M NOT GOING TO CALM DOWN!" I shouted, my face hot from the fury I was feeling. I aimed my fury at Lisa. "WHY WOULD YOU HAVE YOUR PARTY AT THE PIZZAPLEX, A PLACE SECRETLY A DEATH TRAP?! MORE IMPORTANTLY, DID YOU THINK HIDING THIS FROM ME WAS A GREAT IDEA?!"

"Because we knew you would react like this!" my mother replied, now getting angry like I was. I didn't care.

"In case any of you little dumbbells have forgotten; 95% of the disappearance have taken place… on… FUCKING BIRTHDAYS!" I shouted, my throat starting to hurt.

"We know that," my father said calmly with a small trace of anger in it. "I'm only going to say this one more time; calm… down."

"How can I calm down when I now know that not only had you guys hid this from me, but are allowing this to happen?!" I retorted. "This is unacceptable! It is utter disrespect!"

"Mihael, please calm down," Lisa pleaded. "I know you're angry, but there's nothing disrespectful about wanting to celebrate my special day at the Pizzaplex."

I turned my attention to my sister, my fury growing to heights I never even knew it could reach. Lisa's face paled a little. I really didn't care at this point.

"Yes, there is!" I growled. "US celebrating your birthday there is like a spit to the face to the kids who went missing on THEIR birthday, including the still grieving families! For God's sake, our father is the chief of police! What do you think any of those families will think if they see that?! Oh yeah, look at us like we… don't… CARE!"

"That's enough, Mihael!" my father shouted, finally having enough of me. "You may not approve of this, but it's not going to change anything! Right now, your behavior is unacceptable! Either you calm down or you can go to your room without finishing your dinner!"

"I don't care!" I screamed. "You guys all care more about this stupid party than this ENTIRE situation!"

"We don't care about the party more than what's been going on!" my mother shouted, now standing up from her chair. "What we care more about right now is your BEHAVIOR!"

"Everyone… please calm down," I heard my sister plead. None of us paid her any mind. I was aiming my fury at our parents, though she was the one who told me about the party.

"BULLSHIT!" I screamed.

"ENOUGH!" my father shouted in fury. "Mihael, get the hell out of here! Don't ever come out of that room until tomorrow! Understand, young man?!"

"You know what?! Go ahead and have that stupid party at the Mega Pizzaplex!" I spat. "But just know, this is a bad idea! Something bad will happen! I KNOW IT!"

With that, I ran out of the dining room, up the stairs, and into my bedroom, slamming the door shut. I ran to my bed and jumped on it. I began punching my pillow, screaming bloody murder. I didn't give a shit if they heard me. Let them.

"IDIOTS! IDIOTS! IDIOTS!" I shouted repeatedly. "WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY THINKING?! CELEBRATING THE SPECIAL DAY AT THE PIZZAPLEX OUT OF ALL PLACES! DO THEY NOT CARE?! AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO EVEN CARES?!"

I continued punching my pillow as I felt my eyes sting. My vision became blurry as tears began welling up in my eyes. I felt them trail down my face as I punched the pillow less and less. All the anger washed away and I stopped punching the pillow.

I collapsed onto my left side on the bed. I wrapped my arms around the pillow. I began sobbing uncontrollably, fear gripping my heart and soul.

'Please, don't let anything happen to my sister or any kids that step into the Pizzaplex tomorrow,' I pleaded in my head, my heart aching at the thought. 'God, please, I beg you… Not my sister…'

Everything went dark.

Author's Note:

Here is the seventh chapter to the story! :D

I told you that it wasn't going to take long. This was in my mind since the day I started writing this. Nothing changed from what I had originally planned for it.

Now I know what you may be thinking; wow, Mihael's an asshole. Yes, while he is, don't forget that he was mad BECAUSE they hid it from him, knowing how he would react. Even if that was the case, they still should've told him. This is inspired by the times when I got pissed off about people hiding things from me all because they knew I don't react to certain situations.

Despite that, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Chapter Eight is the one that many of you have been waiting for. That is the chapter where everything falls apart. It will take a while so keep an eye out for it. Constructive criticism is appreciated and I will see you guys next time! :)