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“michael! stop eating the rough dough before you throw up.”
“what if i wanna throw up?”
“then i’ll laugh at you, stupid.”
a small ball of cookie dough bounced off of elizabeth’s face and to the floor, michael’s breathy laughter coming from in front. evan was sitting on the counter giggling as his feet dangled, watching his two older siblings fool around. “you’re so stupid!” elizabeth laughed, picking up the dough from the floor and throwing it back in michael’s direction. “whatever dummy, just hurry up.”
the house was filled with occasional laughter as all three afton siblings worked in the kitchen, baking cookies for mother’s day. it was cliché and basic, but it was the thought that counted; they knew their mother would like it anyway, especially since it came from three siblings– who normally fought– getting along. “hey ev, you wanna help me cut some shapes out?” michael nudged the boy on the counter with his elbow, gesturing his head towards the small sheet with flattened dough spread across.
evan eagerly nodded and hopped down from his spot, almost falling over due to the height and latching onto michael’s for support– michael only chuckling in response. “you’re so short little man, c’mere.” he grabbed the boy swiftly into his arms, holding him up so he was level with the counter. “there, that better?” michael teased, laughing at the weak slap to the chest he received in response.
“liz, how much longer do you think it’ll take for the oven to preheat?” the heat from the oven just grazed both michael and elizabeth’s legs as they stood before it, a comforting warmth sending tingles up their spines. it was like sitting in front of a fireplace, minus the fire and possibility of sticking your hand into straight flames.
“uh.. should be done in like, two or three minutes. that’ll give you and ev enough time to cut out a decent amount.” elizabeth turned to face michael, who nodded in acknowledgement and allowed evan to use a variety of cookie cutters scattered across the counter. they were all random shapes, some from halloween, christmas, valentine’s day; practically any holiday you could think of, there was a cutter for it. it was sort of a mixed mother’s day gift with the basic cookie flavor– chocolate chip– and mismatched shapes, but that only added uniqueness and originality. in some aspects, the different and unordinary cookies resembled the siblings; they were all unique in their own ways– personality, looks, etc., yet they all shared the same blood and family. they were all their own shapes, but all in all, they were all just basic chocolate chip cookies; that or they were just human, who knows with the aftons.
michael watched as evan evenly cut out the dough with different shapes, surprised at the lack of messes or random holes in the center of the dough; he was cutting them out fairly neatly, and michael had to give him that.
a beep sounding from behind all three was their signal to wrap up. michael threw on a random oven mitt and carefully slid the tray into the oven, not wanting his younger siblings to accidentally burn themselves. after setting the oven and closing it, he turned around and looked down at both of his siblings back and forth with a stern look.
“alright you lot, clean up pronto! put away tools or you’re fired!” rustling his knuckles on both of their heads, he chuckled and avoided their swats of protest to the best of his ability. he grabbed a hold of the cookie cutters and rinsed them off, pinching both eyebrows together in frustration when he couldn’t get a piece of dough out of the smallest crook ever. evan had, with a little difficulty, put dishes in the sink and moved aside for elizabeth to watch them. being the youngest had its perks, and those were being too short to do anything but watch.
“you’ve got a ‘lil somethin’ on your shirt, liz.” michael teased, gesturing to the multiple flour stains coating her clothes. she looked down at her shirt and back up again, glaring at michael and quickly flashing a middle finger. an exaggerated gasp came from michael, which earned another giggle from evan. “do NOT swear in this household elizabeth!” he spoke in a posh accent, exaggerating his own british accent even further. “i’ll do as i please.” she replied, mocking the accent her brother had put on.
“whatever you say, madam. now go get a new shirt already so we can play on the atari you nerd.” michael slapped a dish towel lightly against her side and smiled as she ran upstairs, her bright red hair trailing behind her through the wind. michael snatched up evan and carried him to the living room, laughing alongside evan’s giggles of protest. hearing the high-pitched laughter coming from his younger brother was a rare occasion, but when it was heard, it never fell on deaf ears. evan was usually scared or crying twenty-four-seven, but whenever he wasn’t, he was like a whole new kid.
he tossed the boy onto the couch and watched him bounce, rolling to his side while he continuously laughed. elizabeth had hopped back down the stairs and flung herself next to her younger brother, folding her legs beneath her and waiting for michael to set the atari up. whenever the three were free of their father, they never hesitated to play the damn thing for as long as they could, and this time, they had a good hour or so to kill.
–--
“liz, you packed ‘em up?” a soft hum came from the young girl in confirmation and she turned around, a small tupperware in hand. she had just put on a pair of fluffy pajama pants and a hoodie, holding evan’s hand in her free one. evan wore the same combination of clothes, while michael had just put on sweatpants and a black hoodie. the two youngest siblings watched as michael quietly grabbed their father’s car keys off the table, ushering them out the door and to the violet car out front.
their father was working in his office in their basement for the night, and if there was something that each sibling was sure of, it was that he would not be seen again until tomorrow morning. he always locked himself in for the night, deep in his work and too focused to take note of anything else around him. he wouldn’t notice his kids leaving the house with his car, not unless he was killed and replaced with a clone.
evan and elizabeth strapped themselves in the backseats while michael hopped in the driver’s, turning the key in the ignition and flicking on the headlights, the dark pathway before him immediately lighting up to reveal a dirt road. “let’s hit it.” without another word, he drove off.
it was about a ten minute drive to their location, but it took a bit longer as michael had driven a little slower due to the dark; it was already ten o’ clock after all. he pulled in and stopped the car, placing the keys into his pocket and grabbing the small flashlight he had shoved in his hoodie before leaving. “you guys ready?” michael asked and looked over to the two kids behind him; they were both holding each other’s hand out of fear and comfort, not liking the dark nor the location. michael held out his hand for evan to take, and his little brother willingly did so, his other hand held onto elizabeth while she held the tupperware of cookies.
“don’t worry, you guys are fine. nothing’s gonna get you, i’m here and so is mum.” michael reassured, clicking on the flashlight and scanning the area for their mother. thankfully it wouldn’t take too long to find her, but he knew well enough that liz and evan wouldn’t feel safe until they were near her. all three siblings walked through the trimmed grass carefully, avoiding stones and bushes to the best of their ability in the dark.
“over here guys, come on.” michael’s voice was soft and hushed, completely different to his usual loud and cocky tone. they walked over to their mother and sat down on the grass, elizabeth placing the tupperware in front of them.
“hey mum, happy mother’s day.”
“we love you,” they all spoke in sync, smiling at her tombstone with love.