The Fall of the Aftons

102: William Afton

What in the world is taking them so long?

William weaved his way through the crowd of worried people, then opened the front door and stepped outside, closing the door behind him. He wandered around the cars, looking for his son. After about a minute of searching, he found Michael half unconscious, his head resting on the lap of his new friend, Mason.

"O-Oh, Mister Afton!" Mason exclaimed. "We were just about to go inside, but Michael nearly passed out. He claimed that he just needs a little water and some rest."

William sighed. "What he needs is to get inside and eat." He bent down and lifted Michael into his arms, standing up. Michael weighed so little! How was this kid still alive?!

With a heavy sigh, he brought Michael inside and carried him up to his bedroom, then carefully tucked his son into bed before he dragged Michael's desk chair over to the bed and sat down. He wasn't planning on leaving anytime soon. He needed to make sure that his son would be okay, whether or not that meant staying up all night at his son's side.

"Will he be okay?" Mason asked worriedly, standing in the doorway.

Analex was standing beside him with TJ, Lavender, and Ella standing behind the two.

"He'll be okay. Right?" Mason continued as he anxiously fidgeted with his hands.

William took a long look at Michael, scrutinizing every detail. "He should be. He'll need a few days so we can nourish him back to health. But yes, he should be fine. Don't worry about him."

"What health?" Analex asked as she crossed her arms over her chest. "He rarely eats, and if he does eat something, it's nothing substantial. He's always overworking himself when he plays any sports, so much to the point that he nearly passes out every time he plays. He's anorexic, isn't he?"

"I was afraid you'd say that," William admitted quietly. "But yes, he's anorexic. He has been for a few years now. But it's never gotten this bad before."

"I thought that he looked too skinny for his age," Lavender said softly as she studied Michael.

TJ stared at his younger sister, dumbfounded. "He's the same age as you!"

"That's my point, you idiot," she explained, flicking her brother's forehead before she rested her hand on her hip. "He's only three inches taller than me but I'm over thirty pounds heavier than he is. That's not normal, especially considering that I'm a girl and he's a boy."

William chuckled sadly at the Rixon siblings' bickering. "Okay," he interrupted before they started getting too into it. "I think you all need to go back to school now. You can come back and check in on him tomorrow, all right?"

Everybody agreed in some way before they all filed down the hallway except for one person.

The new boy.

Mason.

He stood in the doorway, staring at Michael with an unintelligible expression.

"Mace, let's go!" Analex shouted a couple of minutes later. "We're gonna leave without you if you don't get your ass down here!"

Mason flinched and hesitantly ran off.

William sighed and turned around, facing Michael. The boy was asleep, but he was sleeping restlessly. He always did whenever he had a nightmare, William had noticed.

What kind of dreams did he have if he was always twisting and turning? Why did they make him scream and shout for help as he slept? Did he ever have any good dreams? By the looks of it, it seemed like he never got a good night's sleep. He was always having nightmares. He always had the shadow of bags underneath his eyes. He always acted drowsily.

What did the poor boy even dream about if it left him screaming every night? William would have to ask. But he doubted that Michael would tell him the truth. If he were to ever tell anyone about his constant nightmares, it'd probably be to Henry. Or maybe Evan. But he'd most likely never tell William about his horrible dreams.

Suddenly, Henry knocked on the doorframe of Michael's bedroom, startling William out of his sad and worryful thoughts.

"How is he?" Henry asked softly. "Does he need anything?"

"Nothing yet. He's just sleeping right now."

Henry walked into the room and stood beside William, resting his hand on his friend's shoulder. "You look exhausted, Will."

"I am exhausted," William admitted as Henry pulled him onto his feet. "I'll sleep so much better now that he's home safe and sound."

Henry chuckled. "Why don't you go take a nap? I can watch over him as you rest."

"Really? You'd do that?"

"Mmhmm. So go get some sleep. I'll be in here when you wake up, okay?"

"Okay," he said gratefully, his voice soft.