The Things I Can't Take Back [Michael Afton x F! Reader]

Chapter 14 ~ Dinner With The Aftons

     "So you're cool with coming over Sunday night for dinner?" Michael asked from over the phone, "my mom also wanted to know if you had any allergies she should know about."

     "Yeah, Sunday is fine," you replied, trying to hide the nervous tremble in your voice. You thought it was sweet how caring his mother was about your well-being, even though she had never met you before. You made sure to tell Michael about any possible food-related health risks you had, and he hummed in reply.

     "Sweet, I'll let her know," you heard him chuckle softly from the other side of the line, "and hey, don't be nervous. You've already met every other member of my family, and trust me, my mom is definitely the best out of all of us."

"Oh wow, even better than my best friends; Evan and Elizabeth?" You asked with a devilish smirk, knowing that he was probably pouting, "and here I thought they were the best in the Afton family."

"Um, hello, you're literally dating the second best," Michael retorted matter-of-factly, "but my mom definitely takes the cake for first. She's the parent that actually takes care of her kids."

     You couldn't help the aching feeling in your heart when he said that. Michael had briefly explained a few of the reasons why he didn't have the best relationship with his father; he said that while he was growing up, William was always more focused on work than he was on his family. Even so, Michael idolized him for the longest time, and he always said he wanted to grow up to be just like his father.

     However, as Michael grew older and eventually entered secondary school, he started getting bullied a lot by the other kids. He quickly learned that the only way he would truly be able to stand up to his bullies was through physical force, which led to him getting in quite a lot of trouble throughout school. As he began getting into more and more trouble, it really put a wrench in his relationship with his father. William would say things such as "I can't believe the person you've become," and, "what happened to the son I raised?"

     His father had no shame in really rubbing salt into the wound, as his younger siblings came along and grew older. It became increasingly obvious to Michael that William was much more willing to create bonds and relationships with Elizabeth and Evan, and he didn't understand why he never got the same treatment. He had always wondered if his father had just secretly hated him his entire life. Maybe Elizabeth and Evan could be his golden children instead.

     That was the one and only time Michael had admitted to being jealous over anything, and to think, it was over the love that his siblings received from their father. He would never admit it, but you knew that he secretly blamed himself. He felt like it was his fault that his father didn't seem to care about him, and he always wondered what he could've possibly done to make things different.

Maybe that was why he didn't like it when you showed so much attention to his younger siblings; for once in his life, he finally had someone who put him first. And unbeknownst to you, while you feared that Michael would suddenly lose his feelings for you one day... Michael also had the exact same fears about you.

"Well, I'm glad you're so close with her," you hummed softly, "she sounds like a wonderful woman, I can't wait to meet her... let's just hope she likes me..."

"I told you, doll, she's gonna love you!" Michael tried to reassure you, "from what I've already told her, she thinks you're a super sweet girl."

"You told her about me?" You felt your face flush bright red in embarrassment, though you didn't really know why you were so surprised. Of course he talked about you to his family; from what you had heard, he apparently talked about you to everyone. "What did you say?"