Promise Me - A Michael Afton x Fem Reader story

Chapter 32 - She Knows...

CW: (blood, heavy topics!!)
———————————————

"Henry I'm running to Michaels quick! I just wanna drop something off!" You yell up the stairs. "Okay! Be careful!" He calls back.

You run outside and grab your bike, starting to pedal towards Michaels house with the Polaroid in your back pocket.

When you arrive, you notice that Michaels car is nowhere to be seen. "That's strange... did he not get home? He should've been here for a while now.. I guess I'll wait in his room" wheeling your bike to the backyard, you lay it in a bush so William won't see it. You climb up to his window but realize his lights are on, and the door is open. "So he is home? Then where's his car? There's no reason for William to be in here, so why?"

Now hearing muffled and intense yelling you slide the window up and hurriedly climb in. "What's going on?"

"MAYBE IF YOU WEREN'T A SAD EXCUSE FOR A SON THIS WOULNT BE HAPPENING"

You immediately stop moving. That's Williams voice. You know he gets really mad a lot from what Michaels tells you, but you never expected this.

"WHAT DID I EVER DO TO YOU?!?" Michael screams back. You can hear in his voice that he's angry crying.

"YOU WERE FUCKING BORN THATS WHAT YOU DID. I NEVER WANTED A CHILD IN THE FIRST PLACE. AND ON TOP OF THAT YOU KILLED YOUR OWN SIBLINGS. THIS IS YOUR FAULT. EVERYTHING IS YOUR FAULT-"

You can't see it, but Michael finally snaps.
Everything that's been building up all these years; the anger, the sadness, the tears, the neglect, the abuse- both physical and verbal, all the pain, comes rushing to the front of his mind all at once.

And all he sees is red.

He grabs William by his shirt and smashes his jaw with his fist. It's the hardest punch Michael has ever thrown in his life. It even knocks William into the counter and onto the floor. Michael stands there; shocked at his own strength and extremely proud of himself all at the same time. He smiles a little as he watches blood drip onto the kitchen floor from his fathers nose. A feeling of serotonin releases in Michaels brain, he's been waiting to do that for a while now, it feels good. Really good. It's like he wants to take a picture of it and frame it- the sight is wonderful.

You hear a loud bang and then silence. Your heart beat stars to rapidly increase. "What the hell was that??"

The anger in Williams eyes is unlike anything Michaels ever seen before. This is something William never expected to see from Michael. One of Williams favorite things was when Michael cried as a child when William would yell or hit him. To see him so vulnerable and weak, when he would try to hold his little arms up in a desperate attempt to protect himself, it made him feel powerful and in control. A feeling William is addicted to. He always planned to keep it that way; fearing deep down Michael would become stronger than him one day. Only, his fears has become his reality just a few moments ago. Now fully standing, William aggressively grabs Michaels jaw with his hand and brings him closer to his face.

"I never loved you, Michael."

William raises his hand and begins to physically abuse his son. You can hear everything from upstairs. You heard what William said, and you can hear him hurting Michael now, along with Michaels grunts of pain. It absolutely shatters you. You stand in his room motionless and hot salty tears begin to run rapidly down your face. "This.. how long.. how did I not realize? Me, of all people should've known. I know him better than I know myself. I should've known. I should've known." You raise your hand to cover your mouth to prevent sobs from escaping. Then, things start to click in your mind. "All those bruises when we were kids and even now- he was lying the whole time. I always know when he's lying. How come I didn't figure it out? If I did maybe I could've helped and this would've ended a long time ago. How much has he suffered? What do I do? Do I risk running downstairs? Do I wait? Do I call the cops? Do I call Henry? I don't know" You begin to cry harder, completely helpless. Anything that you chose to do in this situation won't end pretty.