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“She’s not ‘for you’, Liz, that’s just bullshit he said to get you out of his face.” Michael felt like they had been arguing about this forever. But their dumb father had Elizabeth convinced that he miraculously cared enough about her to design his ugly new clown robot after her. She wouldn’t stop talking about it, and it was really pissing him off.
“You don’t need to yell bad words at me! He told me because it’s true, Michael! He didn’t lie!” She’s really getting upset now. Her face is red, and it looks like she’s trying not to cry. Michael feels bad, sure, but it’s not like he’s shutting her down to be mean . He’s protecting her. If she expects anything from their father, it’ll only end up hurting her more in the end… Besides, their father had given clear instructions not to go near the animatronics, and he never gave them any kind of instructions. Michael didn’t want to know what would happen if they disobeyed.
“If he made her for you, why aren’t you allowed near her, then? He. Doesn’t. Care .” He glares down at her, and she just stares back at him for a moment, lip trembling.
"You'll see. I'll prove to you that he cares!" Elizabeth cries, before running off down the hall. Her door slams shut. Michael sighs and deflates into one of the kitchen chairs. He stares at his Foxy mask hanging with his backpack. He knew all about their father making his animatronics ‘for’ his kids. The Foxy animatronic wasn’t made for him, no matter what his father said. Michael had created Foxy, and William had stolen him just to make money. Just like he’d stolen from Elizabeth for Clown Baby, or whatever her name was… Michael’s friends thought all his father’s new characters were “Super Cool”, too, which just made it all feel worse.
Great, now Michael feels like he might cry, too. He gets up and heads towards his room, grabbing the mask on the way and pulling it over his face to hide his red eyes. He stomps down the hall and slams his own door, making sure it slams louder and harder than Elizabeth’s had. Sure, it doesn’t prove anything, but it makes him feel a little better. He glances at the clock. He still has a few hours until he should start making dinner… that’s plenty of time to cool down and pretend not to exist for a few hours. He grabs the “Highway to Hell” cassette that he got with his 12th birthday money (From Uncle Henry, of course. According to his father, letting him continue to live in the house for free was enough of a gift), and pops it in the player, hitting the play button and dialing the volume up until it makes his brain feel tight. He takes the mask off and flops face down on his bed.
He doesn’t realize that he had even fallen asleep until he’s shaken awake. He shoves at whoever is shaking him, and hears the soft ‘thud’ of someone hitting the floor, followed by a soft cry. Oops. That was Evan. He sits up, looking over at his brother, who looked like he was crying, as usual, and was clinging to that stupid bear he loves. “What do you want? Why are you in my room?” The alarm clock told him it was almost 8:00. Shit. He still had to feed the kids… Why hadn’t they gotten him up sooner? Sure, Evan was a terrified crybaby who was too scared to ask for anything, but Elizabeth knew when they were supposed to eat, and she wouldn’t usually let him sleep this long… was she that upset about their argument earlier? “...Why didn’t Liz wake me up? Why did you wait so long?”
Evan gets to his feet, wiping tears from his eyes as he finally says something. “... She’s not here… she told me not to tell you, b-but she just left...” Left!? Michael knows exactly where she's gone. He lets out a frustrated groan, and stands up quickly, pushing past Evan to leave his room and go into his sister’s. Like Evan said, she’s not in there. He hears Evan’s footsteps come into the room behind him. "...I-is Lizzie gonna be in trouble..?"
"Not if we hurry up and go get her before he finds her." Michael responds. He really doesn't want to drag Evan into this, but he really doesn't want to leave him alone again… He was furious with Elizabeth. What was wrong with her?! How can she be stupid enough to wander around the streets!? "C'mon, let's go." He rushes to get both himself and Evan ready, making sure his brother has a sweater on to keep him warm. He kneels down to tie the kid's shoes. Their father had insisted he get lace-ups instead of Velcro, and Michael had been trying and failing to teach him how to tie them.
Evan grabs Michael's hand as they leave the house. Michael looks down at the kid, and almost pulls it away, but thinks better of it and holds tighter instead. He only wanted to chase after one sibling tonight. Neither of them say anything as they hurry to the restaurant, but Michael can hear Evan sniffling. It was pissing him off. It wasn't like he was responsible for any of this. It wasn't like he would get in trouble for being irresponsible. Why was he so upset?
They finally arrive, entering through the front door. There's a gaggle of people in the lobby, looking like they must have just finished a party.
"Lizzie!" Evan slips his hand out of Michael's running off. Shit. Michael makes an attempt to follow him, but a bunch of kids run in his way, and he watches as his brother disappears down a hallway. He feels a spike of panic go through him. He needed to get through. He shoves through the kids, ignoring the cries and shouts of angry mothers. As he gets to the hallway he saw Evan run down, he hears his brother scream . Not his usual whimpers or cries, not a whine, a scream. Oh, god.
" Evan !" He races down the hall, skidding to a stop when he sees his brother trembling in front of an open doorway, staring with horror inside. Michael is almost afraid to look, but he does anyway. He peers into the room, and all he sees is that big ugly robot that his sister loves. Was that what Evan was screaming about? "Really, crybaby? I thought something bad happened!" He glares down at his brother.
"N-no, Mike, she- Liz- it-" Michael just feels more and more frustrated as he listens to his brother stammer.
"Spit it out!" He shoves his brother with his foot, pulling another sob out of him. Evan just raises a shaky hand to point at the animatronic.
"It ate her!" It what? Michael looks over at it. At first glance, it looks normal, but when he steps closer, he can see that the red on the edges of it's stomach don't quite match the rest of the paint, and they're… messy. Uneven. A chill runs through him. Was that…?
He steps closer. If his sister was in there, maybe he could still get her out. He takes another step, but he feels himself yanked back sharply by a hand on his collar. "What the fuck are you doing here?" An angry voice hisses at him, and his blood runs cold. He turns, looking up at his father with wide, terrified eyes. He sees Evan, holding William's other hand. Michael points to the animatronic.
"Elizabeth- Evan said it-" his father seems to understand before he's even finished talking, and a flash of what could be panic crosses his face, before it turns into a furious scowl as he cuts Michael off.
"And why weren't you watching her?" His voice is calm, not matching the look on his face or the tight grip he still has on Michael's sweatshirt. The calm voice just makes it all the more unsettling, though.
"She snuck away. We came as fast as we could, I swear- Father is Lizzie in there ?" He asks, desperately. "You need to get her out! " He tries to wiggle out of his father's grasp and closer to the creepy clown girl, but this time his father grabs his arm, squeezing tight. It hurts, and the tears that have been threatening to spill over finally do, and he feels so weak and so angry.
"Your brother is wrong." William says, in the same calm voice. Michael knows it's a lie. "Your sister never even made it here. Those streets are dangerous at night, you know. Lots of children go missing…" No, that wasn't true. Why was his father lying? Why didn't he care that Elizabeth was trapped inside of the robot he created? He looks at his brother, and Evan looks just as confused.
"I saw her, Daddy." He insists, and Michael sees him flinch as their father's grip on him tightens.
"No, you're mistaken, Evan. You didn't see anything. Now, I have to finish up here. Michael will take you home. Right, Michael? You don't want Evan lost, too, do you?" Michael is too confused to do anything but nod numbly. "Good." The cool smile from his father sends a shiver down his spine. He and Evan are both released, and the younger boy hurries to cling to his brother.
"...C'mon…" Michael tugs his brother's hand, but Evan doesn't move. "Evan, we've got to go. " He insists, with a frustrated sigh.
"But… Liz…" He protests, and Michael looks up at his father, who's just staring at the two of them, before looking back down at Evan and shaking his head.
"...I'm sorry Evan. We have to go home." When Evan still doesn't move, Michael sighs, scrubbing the tears out of his eyes, before leaning down and doing the same for his brother. "I can carry you?" He offers, and Evan nods, holding his arms out. Michael lifts him up, and heads out, not saying another word to William.
His head is spinning on the way home. His father knew the truth. And he must know that Michael knew, too. But… Evan was only 8. He didn't know any better… And of course William would use that.
Evan is asleep when they get home. They still hadn't eaten, but Michael had lost his appetite, and Evan had seen worse than him, so he probably had too. Besides, Michael didn't want to wake him up… he just tucks him into bed, arranging all of his stuffed toys with him, like they're protecting him. Michael knows it wouldn't really keep his brother safe, but… it still makes Michael feel a little better.
He heads back to his room after, pointedly not looking at Elizabeth's as he passes it. He isn't going to be able to sleep, he can already tell. What if his father wasn't lying? What if Evan had only thought he saw Elizabeth get swallowed up, and she was out there alone somewhere, or worse, kidnapped or killed by some creep?
And it really was all Michael's fault. Michael had worked her up about the animatronic. Michael had fallen asleep and left her unattended to run off. And Michael had lost Evan in the pizza place, arriving too late to save her.
He's lying there for hours, just replaying all the ways he could have saved his sister. He can feel himself crying. Eventually, he hears the front door open, and glances over at his alarm clock. Nearly midnight… was it usually this late when William came back home…? And he hated he own children so much that he still managed to be out of the house before 5:30 every morning…
Footsteps come down the hall towards Michael's room, and his heart speeds up. What was his father going to do to him? Was he going to be punished? He probably deserves it, honestly… As the door opens, he sits up in bed, staring at his father and bracing himself.
"You won't say a word about this evening to anyone. Understand?" His cool, evil voice has Michael frozen in place, but he manages a nod. "Good. And Michael? Do not let it happen again. I won't be cleaning up your messes." The door closes, and his father is thankfully gone. He's still confused and overwhelmed, but he knows one thing for sure. He won't let it happen again. Michael won't leave Evan alone with their father, and he won't leave Evan alone with any of his father's creations.
The next day is Saturday, and it passes in a haze. It’s filled with police, questions, and very little comfort. His father seems to be sticking to the ‘missing’ story he had fed to Evan and Michael, and Michael just confirms it, too scared to go against what his father says. He tells the cops that it’s his fault that she’s gone, and that he wasn’t paying enough attention to her. One of them tries to tell him it’s okay, and that accidents happen, but he stops listening.
Later, the same cop pulls him aside. She asks him about his dad. How often he’s around, how he treats them… Micheal knows what this is. He knows that if somehow they get taken away than he probably won’t be able to protect his siblings- no, it isn’t ‘siblings’ anymore, is it… He knows he won’t be able to protect his brother anymore. He can’t let that happen, so he lies. Again. It seems to work, and eventually the only ones left in the house are William, Michael, and Evan.
Nobody says a word at first, until finally it’s Willam who breaks the silence. “...I’m going to work. Don’t fuck anything up this time.” Michael doesn’t have the energy to argue, so he just ignores him. And then it’s just him and Evan.
Michael watches as his little brother slides out of his chair, tentatively approaching the couch where Michael was sitting. When Michael doesn’t tell him to go away, Evan climbs up, sitting next to his brother. For a moment, they just sit. Evan scoots closer, and Michael lets him.
“Why did Daddy lie?” Evan’s small voice asks. Michael doesn’t have an answer for him, but he knows he has to say something to stop Evan from saying anything to their father. He sighs, thinking.
“...You need to drop it, Evan. We can’t talk about it anymore… Do you want him to get mad at you?” Evan shakes his head, and Michael continues. “Then don’t talk about it. Just say she went missing, okay?”
“But-”
“ Stop! ” Michael stands up, jostling his brother. “I said drop it , okay? It may be my fault she’s gone, but it’s your fault, too! You watched it and did absolutely nothing! Do you want to get all of us into trouble?!” He knows it’s the wrong thing to say as soon as he says it. He’s being a complete asshole right now. He watches the tears start to well up in Evan’s eyes, but he doesn’t stick around to see them fall. Instead, he storms off to his room, slamming the door behind him.