The Fall of the Aftons

128: William Afton

This day couldn't possibly get any worse. First, Michael had stormed off like a bloody toddler. What kind of teenager does that? Next, Evan and Cassidy wouldn't stop running off. They went from one place to another, ducking and weaving between people while William was countless steps behind. And on top of that, Elizabeth wouldn't stop screaming and crying! No matter what he did, she wouldn't shut up. She went back and forth between flailing, covering her ears, and covering her eyes as she cried and cried and cried. It was giving him a migraine!

"Evan Christopher Whittaker Afton!" he shouted angrily, trying to get his son's attention. "Get back here right now! You need to stop running off!"

Evan flinched and looked back at him, rubbing the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand as he walked back over. "Sorry," he mumbled as he stood next to William.

William sighed. "It's fine. Just stay with me, okay?"

He nodded as he watched Cassidy join him. "How did you even respond to that?" she said quietly, standing next to him. "The only parts he got right are your first name and adoptive last name."

William watched as Evan shrugged. "He does that a lot. I've gotten used to it." He sniffed softly, rubbing his eyes again. "I don't know where he gets the Christopher from, but he gets my and Beth's birth names mixed up all the time."

"Really?" both Cassidy and William asked, but for different reasons. Cassidy seemed curious while William felt guilty. "Why didn't you tell me, bud? I would've corrected myself," he said sadly.

Evan shrugged, looking at the ground.

He frowned. "Well, what is your real name, then?" He chuckled awkwardly.

"Evan Norman Olger Afton," Evan responded, picking at his nails.

"I thought that Olger belonged to Michael. I'm sorry, bud."

"No, Olger is mine. Whittaker is Beth's, and Song is Mikey's."

"Blimey," he mumbled sadly. "I'm so sorry."

Evan opened his mouth to say something but closed it when Elizabeth's crying grew louder, making him flinch. He stepped in front of her stroller and froze when he looked at her. "Daddy, have you just been ignoring her this whole time?!" he exclaimed worriedly, unbuckling Elizabeth from her stroller and holding her close. "Shh... It's okay, it's okay, I've got you," he whispered, hugging her tightly.

"What do you mean, ignoring her? She's been screaming like a brat since we walked in here! You're not supposed to reward bratty behaviour!"

"She's not being a brat, she's having a sensory overload!" Evan explained, swaying side to side as Beth clung to his shoulder. "Cass, can you get that bag?" he asked his friend, pointing to the bag in the stroller.

Cassidy nodded and grabbed the bag from the stroller, putting it on the stroller tray. Evan put Elizabeth down and held her close with one hand, using the other to dig through the bag. He pulled out a pair of chunky headphones and helped her put them on. She stopped sobbing, but she was still crying.

"Ugh, does she ever shut up?" William grumbled, frustrated by her constant crying and screaming. "I swear, she never stays quiet!"

Evan looked at him, surprised. "She can't control it," he said softly, frowning. "She's only four. She doesn't know how to manage it yet. Just like how I don't know how to manage my schizophrenia yet."

"Manage what?" he asked, even more confused.

"Her sensory integration dysfunction," Evan explained. "She's a lot more sensitive to noises and textures and lights and that stuff."