madwoman || william afton

chapter fourteen

"Bloody Hell!"

(Y/N) winced in the doorway she was peering at the irritated man from, trying to decipher him as analytically as possible. William's mood was absolutely horrendous this morning – he was swearing constantly and running shaky hands through his untamed locks. Fortunately, the kids were still upstairs and fighting for who got to use the bathroom first, and were therefore missing whatever was happening downstairs.

What was happening?

Well, for starters, Afton had woken up on the wrong side of the bed. He'd burnt a hole straight through his favourite, ugly green shirt; his messy hair was messier and wouldn't come under his comb; great God, he'd just burnt his third batch of pancakes, and that was his breaking point. (E/C) eyes widened when he threw the entire stack, plate included, in the bin, along with the pan that now had pancake batter glued to it. Taking a swig of coffee from his mug, he spat it out immediately, finding it awfully bitter from his usual. Groaning loudly, he carelessly tossed the ceramic into the sink, striding out of the kitchen. He locked eyes with her, changing his course of direction to tower over her.

"Take care of the kids for me, will you love?" He spoke just above a whisper, his voice deep and hoarse. She nodded frantically at his request and so he hummed, making his way to the front door again.

A string of profanities, keys jangling violently, a door slam, a car engine revving and then tires skidding affirmed that William had left the premises.

(Y/N) was now home alone with the kids. Said kids came tumbling down the stairs, pushing and shoving each other. Thankfully they were able to get ready for school by themselves, spare Evan, but, thankfully again, Afton had been mindful enough to leave a pair of fresh clothes for him on the kitchen counter. Speaking of Afton, his children wandered around the dining hall and kitchen, looking aimlessly for him. Where was he?

"Where–Where's daddy?" Michael asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"He had some... some really important work to–to do, yeah! So he had to go super early today, mhm!" She fabricated, laughing nervously but hoping it seemed genuine enough to fool their inquisitive stares. "It's–It's, uhh, just us guys! How about you all wait for me at the dining table, hm? I'll whip us–us up some nice breakfast!"

They agreed, taking their respective seats and chatting idly to one another. (Y/N) shuffled hurriedly into the kitchen, finding a few boxes of cereal and pouring milk into three bowls, followed by fruit loops and cornflakes. Popping two into the microwave for a minute, she tapped her foot impatiently. Glancing at the clock, she gawked at the time, afraid that the kids would be late if she didn't make haste. Yanking Evan from his high chair, she set him on the island, hastily changing his clothes and slipping on his socks and shoes – she got distracted momentarily by his itty bitty feet and the fact that they were very ticklish.

At the ding of the microwave, she returned him to the dining table, coming back with two bowls of steaming cereal. Setting them down in front of Michael and Elizabeth, she stared at them expectantly, hoping they wouldn't mind having such a... plain breakfast, compared to Afton's five-star variation. They looked at each other and (Y/N) gulped in anticipation. Realizing she'd forgetten Evan's food, she left to grab the bowl, as well as a cup's worth of excess coffee William had brewed. Unlike him, she remembered the sugar, sipping unceremoniously and sitting next to Evan, letting him slurp the cereal on his own.

A rather loud cough alerted her, (E/C) eyes darting over to Michael.

"Ah–Ahem!" He cleared his throat, tapping his cheek. "Morning kissies! Rem–Remember?"

(Y/N) had not remembered. Wouldn't it be awkward, though? She adored them, she really did, but she was still no more than a stranger to them... But the pair wouldn't eat until they kissed their father, and what if it's the same now..? They were already running late for school, and she'd told William she'd take care of them... gah, this was fine! She was pretty sure they'd crossed that boundary way back anyways, when they'd accidentally kneed her ribs on the first day.