Aaron always feels that mans' eyes boring into him. As soon as he steps foot into his own house the weight of his father settles back down on him.
The smell of tequila that Aaron never managed to scrub out of their carpet given it was continuously spilling. The sound of glass crashing and quiet curses when his motherβs feet were cut.
His mother sobbing and the wonderful encouragement of "you'll never amount to fuckin anything" the was slurred his way anytime Aaron tried to share his achievements with the man who was supposed to love him.
The day of that mans funeral, Aaron held his brother close. Telling Elliott everything would be okay, that of course it was okay to cry. All while his own face was bone dry and he felt relief for the first time in years that they might finally have peace.
And he did everything he could to deliver that peace. It took so much work but he cared for his family and eventually he had a position at a company where he could work his way up and his very own house. His very own space with no history and no ghosts baked into the wallpaper.
But in that quiet, that aloneness, a whisper comes
"You're such a fucking burden"
That man was leaning against the kitchen wall. He'd never set foot in this house, there was no reason he should have followed Aaron, but there he was - staring at Aaron the way he had when the boy was 5.
"You don't deserve peace and fuckin' quiet, you stole all that from me!"
Even though Aaron tried to ignore him and the vicious shit that had haunted him his entire bloody life, it didn't just go away. Anytime he let the house be quiet his father appeared spewing vitriol and Aaron ground his teeth and pushed through. At its worst, he threw a glass at the apparition of the man. It was well aimed - would've hit him in the head if that'd been physically possible - and smashed of course leaving tiny pieces all across his floor.
The mans laughter followed him for the rest of the night, only stopped by the drugs which forced Aaron to sleep.
From then Aaron spent as little time in his house as possible. Only really returning to sleep and only sometimes to eat but as often as he could he was anywhere else. Combined with his workaholic behaviour this did end up in a lot of overtime and arguing time with a certain Smartass.
Once he and his Smartass got together, that man started to disappear. Their presence worked like an exorcism. When Aaron could seem them that man faded, the decorations they put up meant he couldn't sit in those corners, his whispers of
"You'll never amount to anything"
are erased by Smartass' handwriting "I'll bring dinner home tonight, I love you <3 - rest!!!"
After that even the whispers disappeared, though that man was still there. He watched as his son succeeded and as he reunited with Elliott. He saw them being happy and unable to hear his screams and cries. He was truly alone now, with nothing to possibly distract him or save him from whatever those dark things crawling in the shadows were or what they were going to do to him.
*****
Redactober day 1 - Haunted
