Michaelâs Late Night Escapades
After all is said and done, and theyâre trying their best to build a life as normal as they can, Mike and Vanessa still have no idea what to do about Michael. He bounces between their houses as he pleases, though heâs still very reclusive.
However, no matter where heâs staying, at exactly 3am, long before the sun has risen above the horizon, he slips out of the house as quietly as he can. Sometimes he walks for a long time in no clear pattern. He just⌠wanders. At the end of his walk, he always ends up at Freddyâs. The old location, now vacant of the animatronics that he had once controlled.
When Vanessa followed him the first time, sheâd worried that he was up to something. Planning something again to follow in their fatherâs footsteps. But when sheâd come back the next day and checked the cameras, he hadnât done anything that looked suspicious. In fact, he hadnât really done anything at all. Just sat silently at one of the long abandoned tables, until the sun came up, and then he left.
Vanessa told Mike about Michaelâs late night escapades. Sheâd tried asking him why he goes back there every night, but he never answered her. She just wanted to understand, to catch up on the years spent tearing them apart. But she couldnât get a word out of him, he wouldnât talk to her. Mike was pretty sure he had a good idea of how to find out.
Abby had been more than happy to agree to the plan, never one to turn down an opportunity to stay up late. Plus, sheâd developed a sort of bond with Michael in the past few months. The two of them would sit across from each other in Mikeâs living room, drawing various pictures of the animatronics, and sometimes Mike and Vanessa would hear Michael talking quietly to Abby. About Foxy the Pirate, or old features of the Freddyâs buildings, or whatever was playing on TV.
So, it was Abby that they sent along with Michael on his 3am trip. As much as they wanted to intrude, Mike and Vanessa stayed in Mikeâs bedroom, listening carefully.
At around 2:55am, Abby slipped out of her room, finding Michael sitting on the couch, flipping through channels on the old TV. She asked him if she could come with him tonight, and with some convincing, heâd agreed to let her tag along. Mike and Vanessa listened as Michael helped her with her coat and shoes, and the two of them set off into the night.
Tonight, he took a direct path to Freddyâs, not wanting to keep Abby out in the chilled night air for longer than he had to. When they got there, he sat down at one of the tables, and Abby sat across from him. Silence filled the empty building, though it wasnât eerie as it had been months ago.
No, the silence now was calm. Almost⌠peaceful. She could understand why Michael liked it here.
âDo you miss your friends?â She asked.
Michael hummed inquisitively, leaning back in his chair.
âI miss my friends. Especially Chica,â she continued. âDo you miss them too? Like Charlotte?â
âCharlotte and I werenât friends,â Michael said, and she was sure she could hear a small amount of sadness in his voice. âI was too young. And Father would never allow it anyways.â
âYou werenât allowed to have friends?â Abby asked, incredulously. Sheâd known that Mr. Afton was a bad guy, but it was hard for her to wrap her head around how heâd been as a dad.
âNope,â Michael said, making a small pop at the end of the word. He was quiet for a moment, before speaking again. âBut⌠I do miss someone.â
âIs it your dad?â Abby asked, curiously. She knew that while Vanessa didnât like her dad all that much, Michaelâs feelings seemed to be a lot more complicated.
âI do miss him,â Michael said, softly. âBut I come here, where itâs quiet, to hear my mother. If I listen closely enough, itâs like a I can almost hear her voice. Sheâs trying to tell me something, I just⌠donât know what it is.â
Abby nodded solemnly, not questioning nor doubting what Michael said. After all, sheâd had her own experiences with ghosts.
âDid she like it here?â
âGod, no. My mother hated Freddyâs almost as much as she hated my father; at least, near the end,â Michael said, picking at the dusty tablecloth. âShe wouldnât step foot in here, not unless I asked her to. Maybe I shouldâve stopped asking.â
Michael didnât say anything more after that, and Abby didnât push. They sat together silently until the sun started to peak through the restaurantâs boarded windows.
The pair walked home together, hand in hand, Michaelâs jacket wrapped around Abbyâs shoulders to keep out the morning breeze.
When Vanessa and Mike asked her what sheâd discovered, sheâd just shrugged. âHe misses his mom.â
They couldnât pry anymore information from her, stubborn as ever.
