The Fall of the Aftons

092: Michael Afton

Michael hesitantly hobbled down the stairs, trying to be careful to not make a lot of noise. William was always complaining that his dragging foot was always thumping and banging on things--especially the stairs. William had been complaining a lot nowadays. He complained about Michael's paralyzed leg; Michael's grades whenever he didn't return home with a perfect one hundred percent on a test, which rarely happened nowadays because of Michael's bullies' distractions; whenever Michael dropped something at Fazbear's or Fredbear's because one of his coworkers tripped him; and many more. In William's eyes, Michael just couldn't be good enough. There was always something wrong. But he had a solution to one problem, and hopefully, that solution would start to solve the other problems. So Michael was on his way to Henry's bedroom on the second floor to discuss his plan with the only one who could help him.

"No way!" Henry exclaimed, bewildered after Michael explained his plan to his father's friend. "You're not getting your leg amputated, Michael! Why are you even coming to me for this? Shouldn't you be asking your father?"

"But, Henry--"

"No!" He sighed. "Why do you even want your leg amputated, in the first place?"

Michael didn't answer. Instead, he just looked away as he fiddled with his thumbs.

Henry sighed again. "This is about your father. Isn't it?"

Hesitantly, Michael mumbled, "Yeah. It is." He looked at Henry, determined to win this argument. "But that's not the only thing. I also want my full mobility back. I can barely do anything anymore!"

"But why aren't you asking your dad about this? He's the one who should make this decision, not me."

"I... I haven't told him about my leg being permanently paralyzed. He barely understands me anymore." He brushed a strand of hair out of his eyes. "Please, Henry? I don't want anyone else to know about this. You're the only one I can trust with this information."

"When are you going to tell your father about all of this?"

"Probably never," he begrudgingly admitted, his voice quiet.

"Michael Terrence Afton!" Henry shouted.

"What?! He doesn't care about me anymore! What does it even matter?"

Henry stilled, staring at Michael with stunned eyes. "Do you... Do you really believe that?"

Michael looked away. "I mean, yeah. Of course, I do. He doesn't talk to me anymore unless he's complaining about something stupid that I can't control," he explained with a roll of his eyes.

"Oh, Michael, that's the furthest thing from the truth that I've ever heard come out of your mouth. William loves you so much. He could never not love you."

"Then why does he ignore? Why won't he stop complaining whenever I do something wrong? Heck, he gets so mad at me whenever stupid Mark, Frederick, or Simon trips me when I'm serving meals at Fredbear's and Fazbear's! It's not even my bloody fault!" His voice started to waver as he shouted, so he took a deep breath to calm himself. He couldn't let himself lose control of his emotions. "You... You guys haven't noticed what those boys do to me." He held out his hands, staring at them as they shook ever so slightly. "I'm always so jumpy and shaky whenever I'm around them, no matter if I'm at the restaurants or school. As long as they're around me, I'm like a child hiding in the dark. Afraid of everything."

"'At school?' Are those boys the ones who've been bullying you all of these years?"

Michael looked away, twiddling with his thumbs. "Y-Yes, they are."

Henry frowned. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because they already believe that I'm weak and irrelevant to this world. That I'm a crybaby who can't stand up for myself. I don't need them to think that I'm some snitch, too."

"Are those three the only ones? Or are there other kids who've been bullying you, too?"

He hesitated. "There... There are others, too. But those three are the worst ones." He shook his head, trying to shake himself out of his thoughts. "We've digressed. Will you help me or not?"