The Fall of the Aftons

069: Michael Afton

Michael sat on his bedroom floor, leaning against his bed frame. His knees were curled to his chest and his head rested on his knees. Fredbear was gripped gently in one hand. Khael's old jacket was wrapped around his shoulders. To pass the never-ending time, he looked through the glass porch doors, watching as different birds flew past the porch. He could hear the birds' calls as they flew by. He could also hear Henry down the hall as he tried to comfort a sobbing, frightened Evan. Typically, Michael would go and help out. But lately, he'd been staying exactly where he was. He couldn't bear to be called "Ee-wins." Seriously, why couldn't Evan get his name right?!

Someone suddenly knocked on Michael's bedroom doorframe, making him flinch. He turned towards the door to see who was there. Unsurprisingly, he found William standing in the doorway, a worried frown on his face.

"Noah and Ella are here," William told him, offering a small smile. "They want to see you."

Michael nodded his head, watching as his father hesitantly left. He slowly stood up and reluctantly left his room. He didn't bother to get dressed. He was perfectly comfortable in his pajamas, and honestly, he was just being lazy. He was tired, exhausted, and trying to look forward to seeing his friends. He hadn't seen any of them since before he had killed Terrance.

He made his way downstairs to the first floor. Looking over the balcony railings of the second-to-first-floor staircase, he could see his friends quietly chatting with one another. When he walked into the living room, he expected his friends to strangle him in a huge hug. But instead, they stood right where they were, scrutinizing every detail about him. Michael stood there, letting them stare, even if it made him slightly uncomfortable. They were probably just making sure that he was okay.

After minutes of awkward silence, Estella was the first to speak.

"How are you?" she asked softly as she shoved her hands in her jeans pockets.

"I... I'm doing better, I guess," Michael mumbled, avoiding eye contact. He didn't want to see the sadness and disbelief in their eyes.

All of a sudden, Noah rushed over to Michael and embraced him in a tight hug. "I really hope that you'll feel better soon, Mikey. If there's ever anything that you need from us, we'll do it, okay? Even if it's something crazy. We'll do it," he promised.

Michael hugged his friend back. "Thank you."

Ella joined in on the hug a few moments later. About a minute later, she and Noah backed away from the hug. The three of them all chatted calmly amongst themselves, catching Michael up on what he missed in school and discussing what they should do.

"Could we play with Evan?" Noah suggested, trying to lighten the mood.

Michael inhaled a sharp breath. He really didn't want to see his little brother right now. He didn't think that he could handle being called "Ee-wins" again. All it did was dredge up bad memories that he couldn't bear to think about. What was he supposed to do? He didn't want to see his brother and risk being called the wrong name, but he also didn't want Noah and Ella to think that something was wrong.

With a heavy sigh, he reluctantly headed towards the stairs and told his friends to follow him. He moved as slowly as he could without drawing suspicion as the three made their way to the top floor.

Once they arrived at Evan's bedroom, Noah and Ella rushed inside to greet the young child and start playing. Michael didn't, though. In fact, he didn't even go inside. He just stood outside, not even in the doorway. He was just standing out in the hallway, watching as his friends played with his little brother.

But, after a few minutes passed, Ella looked back at him. "Are you okay?" she asked, both curious and worried.

Michael hesitantly nodded his head. "Y-Yeah, I'm... I'm fine."

"Aren't you going to come play with Evan?"

"I-I... I, um..." He sighed, then hesitantly stepped inside his little brother's bedroom, grateful that Evan didn't notice him. Thankfully, the little boy's oblivion hadn't ended when he took a seat next to Noah. Well, more like hid behind Noah.

A few minutes passed before Ella asked if they could go do something outside. Noah agreed and asked the same thing. They both complained about how they were getting bored since Evan was more interested in figuring out how the flashlight worked rather than interacting with other people. Michael agreed with them before he stood up. The three of them started to leave, but just before they could step out of the door, Evan started to cry.

"Why is he crying?" Noah asked, looking to Michael for guidance.

"He doesn't like being left alone," Michael grumbled. He turned back around and went back to his little brother, lifting the little boy from the ground. He rested Evan on his hip and brushed away a few tears from Evan's cheeks. "Don't cry, Evi. (Ev-ee.) Henry will come back in a few minutes. He's just getting clean laundry out of the dryer. Then he'll come back and play with you."

"No! Wa-an Ee-wins!" Evan exclaimed loudly. "Ee-wins!"

Michael grimaced at the name, his eyes starting to burn. "I'm not Terrance," he told his brother. "Terrance is gone. He's dead. I'm Michael."

"Ee-wins!" Evan insisted, pointing at Michael.

"My name is Michael," he persisted, pointing to himself. "Michael."

"Ee-wins!"

"Michael."

"Ee-wins!"

"Michael!"

"Ee-wins!"

"My name is Michael!" he shouted. His voice cracked and the tears started to slip down his cheeks. He turned to Noah, holding his brother out. "Take him."

"Wh-Why? Are you okay?" Noah asked worriedly, taking a step back.

"Just take him!" he exclaimed desperately, his voice cracking again. He carefully shoved Evan into his friend's arms, then sprinted out of the room as fast as he could. He tried to blink back the remaining tears as he rushed to his room, ignoring Ella and Noah's shouts for him. He was dizzy and lightheaded as he ran, but he ignored it.

The second he reached his bedroom, he slammed the door shut and locked it before he slouched against it, sinking to the floor as he wiped the tears from his eyes in vain. Sobs made his chest heave as he bundled himself into a ball, burying his face in his knees.

"Michael? Is everything okay?" William asked worriedly, stepping away from Michael's dresser. He wielded stacks of clothes. He must've been putting away clean laundry.

"Wh-Why does E-Evan keep c-ca-calling me 'Terrance?'" he asked, trying his best to not shout. Sobs choked out his words, making him sound more desperate than he already was. "I-I-I c-can't stand it a-anymore! B-But no matter h-how many t-times I tell him that I-I'm not Terrance, he still k-keeps calling me by the wr-wrong n-name!"

"Michael, he's only two years old. He doesn't necessarily know any better." He set the clothes down on top of the dresser, then slowly went over to Michael and took a seat next to him. "I take it that he called you 'Terrance' again?"

Michael nodded his head, even though it only made him dizzier. "I-In front of N-Noah a-a-and Ella, t-too." He sighed and rested his head against the door. "They d-don't know what I did t-to poor Terrance. Evan doesn't kn-know either, b-but that's just because h-he's too young t-to understand. B-But i-if Noah a-and Ella found out?" He exhaled an exasperated breath and slumped. "I d-don't want to lose m-my f-friends."

"You didn't do anything to Terrance. It was an accident. You didn't intend to kill him."

"I know that, but it was still my fault! I was the one that shot him!"

William sighed. "I know. I know." He reached over and gently swiped some of the tears from Michael's eyes. "And it's normal to feel guilty. Just... try not to dwell on it. You have so much more life to live. Don't let one mistake hold you back from everything else, okay?"

Michael hesitantly nodded his head. "O-Okay."

All of a sudden, somebody knocked on his bedroom door. "Mikey? Are you okay?" Noah's voice asked from behind the door.