Chapter Text
Wednesday 9th November, 1983
Afton Residence
New Harmony, Utah
11:26PM
The rain was yet to stop, pounding heavier and heavier by the day. It was slowly becoming a flood risk and the residents of New Harmony were starting to purchase sand bags which they kept prepared by their front doors just in case. The thunder was booming and rattling nearby windows but William Afton couldn’t bring himself to mind. Even when the lightning had begun and he knew his children would be shrieking in fear, and even when his umbrella got flipped inside out by the wind rendering it useless - there were things on his mind he deemed more pressing than the threat of his worldly belongings being destroyed by a spot of rain.
The local weather reports showed no indication of it changing any time soon either, and yet William still did not make an effort to purchase a new umbrella, rain coat or sand bags.
He slammed his garage door down, finally locking up his house for the night with his car safely tucked out of sight. The rain dripped off of his hair and clothing having hardly dried off in the car journey from Fredbear’s to his house and he was starting to trek muddy footprints around the garage. The garage contained nothing except an old ripped couch that he had said he was going to take to a scrap yard months ago but never did, and coat and shoe racks. The coats hadn’t been used in months, they were William’s and Michael’s and both of them had refused to wear them. The shoe rack however still had its uses as William slipped his shoes off and added them to the rack. It did disturb him though that he’d now be walking around in his socks. His misshapen umbrella got haphazardly tossed down next to the shoe rack before he opened the door that led into the house's hall.
He could hear fake studio laughter and sighed as he entered. He had never liked comedy, no one really laughed, only aggressively breathed air through their nose. If anything, it was a sign of sympathy. He thought it was people’s way of saying “your joke wasn’t at all funny, but you tried” and he decided that it wasn’t something he was going to partake in. He’d heard the same voices countless times before and was quite frankly fed up with the cast of ‘Family Ties’ so decided he wasn’t going to stick around to watch it with his wife. He knew that the one place he’d find peace was his home office, it was the only place that he wouldn’t be disturbed by the countless yells and cries of his children and the annoyingly loving nature of his wife.
He subconsciously rose to his tip toes, avoiding the floor boards that he knew were creaky in an attempt to surpass his wife. He hadn’t expected Michael to be sitting watching the show too however, he had figured it wouldn’t be Michael’s idea of entertainment. Especially since he was watching it with his mother and last time William had checked, there was nothing Michael found more degrading than actually having to spend time with his family.
“William darling,” Clara called out, still facing the television. She had heard the small click of the door from the garage and knew it could be no one else. Nothing bad tended to happen in New Harmony, not until Charlie’s death, it was a small town and no one really held any sort of vendetta or grudge against one another. He was disappointed to hear his name called, he had almost made it out of the living room, about to place his first foot in the dining room. He sighed, but didn’t plan on waiting around anymore than the brief disturbance had already caused him to. He flattened his feet and started strolling through the small dining room towards his office door. William heard quieter footsteps behind him but they were quick and before he knew it she was standing directly behind him. She pulled on the fabric of the back of his shirt, bringing him to a gradual stop. Defeated, he turned around.
“Come watch the show with us,” she requested with a smile. William glanced over her shoulder, witnessing Michael scowl at the thought of his father joining them on the couch. He was almost tempted just by that. “There’s only around fifteen minutes left of this episode, then you can get to whatever you were planning on doing,” Clara tried to tempt him.
“I’ll pass. Why isn’t Michael in his room? it’s a school night,” William questioned, staring past his wife to his eldest son. Michael shrunk into the cushions, almost curling up.
Clara grabbed William’s sleeve pulling him slightly out of Michael’s sight as she hushed her voice. “He hasn’t been doing so great lately, I don’t think he’s been sleeping well. He always looks exhausted, and one of his teachers called today to express her concern for him. Apparently he’s been daydreaming in his classes when he’s usually paying attention,” she explained. William laughed, catching her by surprise.
“Michael paying attention in a class? You’ve got to be kidding,” the man scoffed. She glared at him before shaking her head. “This is serious, William… I think, maybe, Charlie’s death might have something to do with it. He was the one that found her out there after all,” Clara looked like she had tears in her eyes, it almost filled William with a sense of pride but he couldn’t determine if it was pride for the act or the upset it had caused. William shrugged his shoulders, catching another glare from his wife.
“Charlie’s death has impacted all of us, Clara. We were all close to the girl… And lord knows Henry has been no help at all with the business since it happened,” William mumbled the last part, he was already getting bored of Henry’s lack of presence. And even when his business partner was there, he was distant and seemed preoccupied.
Clara took a deep breath. She spun on her heel and took a few steps towards the doorway separating the dining room and living room, leaning on the frame as casually as she possibly could. Michael looked from the television to his mother and smiled, assuming she was finally going to sit back down to finish the episode. “Michael dear, please could you head to bed. Your dad is right, it’s getting late and you have to be up early tomorrow,” she requested. Michael nodded and started heading up the stairs. Clara waited until she heard the creak of the last step before turning back to William, face not matching the tone of her voice less than a minute before whilst talking to her son. Her fists were clenched and face quickly turned red. “How arrogant are you?” She almost yelled, “Henry and Kristen’s daughter has just died of god knows what and your main concern is how much help he’s being to you? What is wrong with you?”. William stared at her blankly, holding back a slight splutter of laughter however he wasn’t appreciating being yelled at in his own home. It was a kind of disrespect that he simply wouldn’t stand for. “You’re supposed to be there for him right now, not the other way around! Give the man time,” she demanded, stomping a foot down as she had brought herself no more than an inch away from her husband.
“Hey, stop acting like I’m being unreasonable here! I gave the man time but now is time to work! Don’t you care that Christopher’s birthday is in less than a week? There’s preparations to do!” William shouted back, his voice echoing through the building.
“You are being unreasonable! Charlie isn’t even in the ground yet!” Clara reminded him.
“He’s had plenty of time to dig the hole, Clara, what we don’t have is much time before our business falls to the ground because of his negligence!” He argued. Clara took a step back, crossing her arms.
“You are unbelievable, you know that? How would you feel if it was Elizabeth?” Clara calmed down a little, she wanted him to understand. She wanted him to take on a new perspective. “Don’t you dare wish such a fate on my daughter,” William matched Clara’s lower volume but there was still a hint of venom, “you don’t understand, Clara, you don’t have any responsibilities to look out for”. Clara shook her head.
“Of course I do, for years now every hour of my every day has been dedicated looking after you and our kids. There is no bigger responsibility than that,” she tried to reason, but it was no avail. “What are you trying to suggest now? That I don’t take care of my own children?” he accused. She shook her head, getting tired of the fight when it had hardly begun. Her main concern was that if the yelling continued any longer they’d wake the kids. “William, that’s not-” she couldn’t finish her sentence as he had already turned and entered his office. He slammed the door and the house shook silently in the mix of the slam and the thunder. Clara huffed before making her way upstairs. She didn’t have the patience for him at that time of night but she knew something that did.
There were countless documents that he had to read through and sign within the next few days and he resented that he had to deal with it on his own instead of splitting the workload. He knew that it was a smart move though, as if something had come up in the reports that he didn’t want others to see it would only be a matter of time before Henry had found out. He knew the other man would find out one day, if anything he wanted him to find out, but there was a time and a place and it wasn’t at all soon. Things like fresh tyre tracks and footprints were all documented but he considered that it could have been anyone that was responsible for those. Fredbear’s didn’t have security cameras, William viewed them as an unnecessary expense and Henry hadn’t thought to question it at the time but last time they spoke Henry had begged to get some installed. “The damage is already done,” William had explained, “installing cameras now would just be a waste of money”. Henry hadn’t looked angry or shocked, he didn’t look anything. “But what if they come back and something happens to another kid,” Henry replied, directing his attention to the back door of the diner behind which his world had shattered into billions of tiny pieces. William chuckled lightly but yet didn’t smile. “Well just keep a better eye on your kids- sorry, kid. Then maybe you can at least stop Samuel wandering out the back door,” was the last thing William could recall saying to Henry before he left for the night. He wasn’t sure if the other man had left at all yet.
William heard a small knock at the room’s door but didn’t respond to it, just kept reading. He listened carefully to the small creak as it opened. “What do you want now?” he asked to his wife. She stood in the doorway with her hands behind her back and a fleeting smile across her face. She cautiously took her first step into the room.
“I figured that as much as I view your little outburst about Henry completely unreasonable, I have never owned a business so would be of no reassurance in other situations involving Fredbear’s so…” she pulled out a small notebook from behind her back that was decorated in various Sesame Street characters, Willian raised an eyebrow at the sight. “I thought maybe you could write them down, then at least you don’t have to keep them all inside,” she smiled, holding the book out towards him. He took it, flipping it over and inspecting the pages, before holding it up as if he were presenting it to her instead. “Sesame Street?” he asked quizzically. She laughed a little.
“I had brought it for Michael a few years back when he first started having a few troubles, he never used it though. I don’t know why I kept it, I guess I just knew it would come in handy one day,” she explained, taking a step back ready to leave. He placed the notebook on the desk, staring at it again for a brief moment before looking back up to her.
“Clara,” William said, voice quiet.
“Yeah?” she asked.
“Thank you”.
“You’re welcome… I’m heading to bed, don’t stay up too late,” Clara gave a small wave before departing from the office. William listened to her footsteps as she headed up the staircase. William pulled the book open, running his hand along the smooth paper. His pencils were sharp and shards of granite broke off as it made impact with the page. He couldn’t think of much to say, but he wrote the little that he did.
'The man still has everything. Just because she’s gone does not mean he’s suffered a loss. The boy still adores him, wants nothing more than his affections and yet he acts as if his world has come to an end. He has no right to complain. Not at all.
If anything it’s selfish of him.
He acts like some kind of tortured genius, and yet if there is one thing he’s not it’s tortured. How can one be suffering whilst living in a modernised idea of perfection? An adorning wife, beloved children and successful business.
Kristen loves him and I can’t bring myself to see how. He’s insufferable. Everything he does is just another shred of filth added to the Earth. He would have never succeeded without me. All he can contribute is those dumb little mascots.
He needs to start pulling his weight. There are things to do, fix, and parties to plan. I can’t be expected to deal with the mechanics.
He needs to pull his weight, regardless of the change in circumstances.'
“You pathetic man, Henry Emily,” William had spoken into the room. It felt good to him to let it out, as if the lord was listening to him and could potentially share his opinion. But it wasn’t long before he realised someone other than the lord had been listening as he heard scurrying away from the office door. He slammed the notebook to a close, made even angrier by the sight of the colourful puppets on the front. He opened one of the desk draws and tossed the book into it before slamming it, almost breaking the draw slides. William got up and followed the directions in which he had heard the footsteps retreat, the house’s kitchen. He already knew who it was. He knew the pattern of the boy’s steps and knew how much weight he put on each foot based on the volume of each step. Michael was standing at the fridge, holding the door open and scanning the shelves. It seemed as if he wasn’t sure how to stand, fidgeting in his place as he attempted to hide in plain sight.
“When are you going to learn to mind your own Goddamn business?” William shouted at his son. Michael turned around to face his dad, playing with the lid of the carton of milk in his hands. “Sorry,” Michael shrugged before taking a swig out of the milk. William hit it out of his hand, the liquid spilling to the floor in one big puddle. “ Sorry doesn’t cut it, young man! I don’t want to deal with you right now, it’s late! Go back to your room!” William was throwing his arms around, Michael ducking to dodge them every time they drew remotely close. He dodged under one of his father’s arms and dashed towards the stairs, not willing to admit to the tears welling up in his eyes.
As he glanced up the steps he spotted the smaller body sitting on the top. Christopher. The boy was clutching tightly onto his Fredbear teddy with streams of tears already staining his cheeks. Chris stood up as he spotted his older brother through blurred vision and tried to reach his bedroom before the other reached the top step. Michael gritted his teeth at the sight. “Why can’t you mind your own Goddamn business, you little freak!” Michael yelled at him, gaining slightly worried afterwards that he may have woken his mother or sister. Chris’ tears started again, Michael scoffed and headed to his room. The door shut with a satisfying slam. Christopher stared at it for a moment before turning and trekking across the hall to his own room. He climbed into his bed, staring into his open closet with a sickening feeling slowly washing over him. Luckily for him though, it was wiped away as soon as the door opened and the light from the hall flooded in.
He felt the shift in balance on his bed as William sat next to him, smiling sympathetically. Chris sat up, making more room for his dad. “Sorry, Chris, did my yelling wake you up?” William asked him. Getting only a nod in response. “Well, I’m sorry for that. Did my yelling upset you?” he asked another question. There was no response initially, but after a minute or so Chris nodded. “I’m sorry for that too,” William sighed. He glanced at his youngest child, only just able to see the red bags under his eyes in the dim light.
“Are you excited for your birthday party?” William knew his son would smile with that question. He loved parties. “You can see Fredbear again!” William exclaimed.
“Fredbear’s coming to my party?” Chris asked, eyes lighting up with that certain childish glee.
“Of course he is. Did you really think Fredbear would skip your birthday party?” William said with a false sense of equal excitement. Christopher shook his head at the question, grinning ear to ear. “You’ve got to work out who you want to invite, it can’t just be you and Fredbear,” William explained. Chris thought for a few moments.
“Can Lizzie come?” he asked, almost jumping in his uncontainable excitement.
“Of course she can!” William laughed.
“And Michael! And Sammy! And Charlie!” Chris listed off his nearest and dearest as if he was scared he’d forget their names. William frowned.
“I’ll have a talk with Henry but I’m sure Sammy and Charlie will be in attendance,” William spoke, standing up. Chris slipped back to lay back down, waiting for his dad to tuck him in. After the blankets were snuggly holding him in bed he whispered his goodnights and watched as William left and the room returned to just him and the darkness.