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He knows he’s dreaming, he knows that Afton is gone, that Abby is safe. But no matter how many times he has this dream, he can’t stop it.
He sees the rabbit appear out of the hallway, he’s cackling at him, in one hand is a knife and the other is Abby. She’s screaming for help but he can’t move, his feet are glued to the floor. He can’t even call out to her, can’t move his arms. He’s stuck in place as the man who murdered his brother stabs his baby sister in the stomach and throws her across the room.
Only then is Mike allowed to move. He rushes towards her, scoping her up in his arms while the yellow rabbit laughs in the background.
“You couldn’t save your brother and now you can’t save your sister, you’re a failure, Michael.” He laughs before vanishing.
Abby is unmoving in his arms as he holds her close, burying his face in her hair, his body racked with sobs.
“Why Mike…” Abby speaks, her voice shaky, “Why did you let him kill me?”
Mike sobs, holding her closer to his chest, “Take me instead!” He screams, the pizzeria shifting into a dark void, Abby fading away in his arms. He’s alone, complete and utterly alone.
He wakes up to a dark room, his face wet with tears. He lets them fall, trying to control his breathing like Vanessa showed him. He can make out the sound of rain falling on the roof and a rumble of thunder.
“Mike?” He turns his head toward the voice, making out Abby’s silhouette in the darkness. He worries that this is part of the dream for a second until she speaks again. “Are you okay?”
He nods and sits up, “Yeah, I’-I’m okay Abs. What woke you up?” He rubs his eyes, trying to remove the tears.
“The thunder, and then I came in here and heard you crying.” She gets closer to the bed. “Did you have a bad dream?” He nodded, Abby pulling herself into bed, “Was it about Garrett?”
“It was, um, about the pizzeria. But I’m okay, don’t worry, let’s get you back to bed.” He throws his comforter back and begins to climb out of bed, but she grabs his arm. “Abs?” She buries her face into his chest and throws her arms around him.
“My friends say it’s okay to cry sometimes,” She whispers.
Mike wraps his arms around her and buries his face in her hair, the tears starting up again, “You got some smart friends,” He replies, gently rocking her. Her breathing grounds him, she’s not dead in the pizzeria, she’s alive in his arms. Tomorrow he’ll make her pancakes and drop her off at school, then he’ll pick her up and they’ll go get ice cream.
He tries to stand up while holding her to take her back to bed, but she whines, “Let me sleep here tonight, your bed is better.”
He chuckles, “Why is mine better?”
“Because you’re in it.” She says as if the answer was obvious.
“Alright, you can sleep here tonight,” He removes an arm from her to pull the comforter over them, Abby snuggling into his chest. He rests his chin on the top of her head, the rain and her breathing lulling him back to sleep.
The bad man is gone, and she is happy and safe in his arms.