madwoman || william afton

chapter twenty-three

"Does William like omelette, Evan?"

A blown raspberry was her reply, bringing a smile to the speaker's lips as she took it as a no.

"A scone, maybe? A British one."

Another raspberry.

"Fruit Loops..?"

Evan nodded at that and (Y/N) chuckled, passing him a half-piece of banana as a reward. Was that what he wanted to eat, or his dad? She shrugged to herself – one could never go wrong with a bowl of good old Fruit Loops. Though, they certainly did go against his character, and maybe he'd feel personally offended if she turned up to his room with such a colourful breakfast.

Why she was doing him such a favour, you ask? Not that she wouldn't do it for him every single day if he'd let her.

According to William, his little problem yesterday wasn't a simple back cramp after all, and rather his "absolutely fucking stupid" chronic back pain that had struck again, early to its annual arrival. Poor man couldn't even move without howling in pain, so he was staying at home for the day, unfortunately for his ego. It was undoubtedly more bruised with a certain someone's presence, but he wouldn't be admitting to that irritation any time soon. Anyhow, Afton found that the pain was much more debilitating than last time, and he couldn't get out of bed to do any household chores, either.

That's where (Y/N) came in to save the day! She took a day off from work too, despite her boss's grumblings to leave, and had taken responsibility for the house today. For once, the woman felt like she was giving back to the home that offered so much to her, and she'd readily return as many favours as she could in this time.

First on her list was dropping Michael and Elizabeth off at school, which proved significantly harder than last time. Both had cried out that they had fevers and had to stay home, too. Then, after much coaxing, they began to tussle over who would be allowed to sit in the front seat of (Y/N)'s car – Michael argued that his little sister wasn't legally permitted to, whilst she defended that, well, she didn't care about any laws that'd keep her farther away from (Y/N). Not that the ginger would be that far to begin with; it'd only be the backseat of the car. A few moments later, the woman had managed to get Lizzie to strap herself in behind the driver's seat so she didn't feel oh-so distant. For the entire, agonizingly long, two minute ride, she had the pair list off all the ways she could make William feel better, ranging from merely talking to him, to hugging him and to giving him loads of get-well-better kisses on his booboo. She could only wonder, with flaming cheeks, if they knew where said booboo even was. It was a miracle she hadn't crashed the car with all the sudden breaks and swerves she took at their every suggestion.

Now back at home, the (H/C)-ette could get along with the second task: breakfast for herself and William. She'd already fed Evan when his school-going siblings were eating, so that was one less worry on her mind. Would Fruit Loops seriously suffice?

No, of course they wouldn't.

Sliding the bowl she'd made to Evan, the culprit who'd actually wanted them, (Y/N) rummaged through the cupboards for something better. Finding a box of porridge, she brought out four packets, tearing them open with her teeth and emptying them into a saucepan alongside milk and sugar. After she'd finished cooking them and poured two bowls, she skimmed over the expiry date on the torn packets, relieved that they were okay to eat. Probably should've checked that before, but no matter because they were good anyways!

"Should we head up to daddy, Evan?" She asked the toddler, who agreed with a clap of his hands and scooted a little closer to her, outstretching his arms. That meant he wanted to be picked up, and who was she to deny such a cute face's request? Wiping his milk-stained cheeks, she secured the brunette at her hip, getting him to clamp his legs around her waist and arms around her neck, so that she could grab both bowls. Giving him a nod and a countdown, (Y/N) speed-walked over the hall and up the stairs, using her hip to open the door to her patient's room. Entering without a warning, she immediately set the bowls down on the nightstand with a clang, and that rattled some trinkets off the surface but she paid them no mind. Rushing over to the corner, she unlatched a reluctant Evan from her body. The cry in his throat died the moment his emerald eyes landed on his toy box, crawling towards it and pulling out the plastic animals.