MISSING LINK

Chapter 7

M/n stood in front of a very familiar house. He gripped the straps of his bag, hesitant to go inside. His heart was racing a million miles a second. But, he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

"You're only here for one day... Just one day, then you can go home..." he told himself.

He took one last deep breath before heading toward the front door. He reached out and knocked. Seconds went by without an answer. Feelings of anxiety began to eat at him as he stood there awkwardly. 

Just as he was about to knock again, the door opened. There, standing at the entrance, was none other than his mother. His stomach began to churn at the sight. 

"You're finally here," she said.

She turned and walked away, letting M/n enter. He stepped inside the house and immediately took notice of the interior. Things seemed very different than when he had last been there. It was obvious that things would change, but he could barely recognize the place.

His mother disappeared into the kitchen, leaving him standing in the middle of the living room, not really knowing what to do. He then saw his mom step out to place stuff onto the table. 

She looked over at him and sighed. "Leave your stuff somewhere. Just don't leave it in plain sight. Guests are coming over and I want them to see this place spotless."

He had stepped inside the house only moments ago yet he already wanted to leave. Before he could make an attempt to move, a figure walked toward him. 

"Nice to see you again, M/n."

The (h/c)-ette turned his head to see his stepfather standing a few feet away from him. "Hey," he replied.

"You can settle in in the attic. We fixed it up to be an extra room."

"Oh... Okay."

It beat standing around in the living room. So, he made his way upstairs and to the attic. Once there, he could see that the man wasn't lying. They had indeed fixed it up. It was no longer covered in dust and cobwebs. 

It had been remodeled, painted, and filled with a little furniture. Most of the boxes were gone, but those that remained were piled up in the corner of the room.

M/n wondered if any of his father's old things had been thrown out. He tossed his bag onto the bed and made his way over to the pile of boxes, wanting to satiate his curiosity. He opened up the first one and peered inside, only to see Christmas decorations. He put it aside and grabbed another. Inside this one, there were old toys.

They weren't his, so he pushed that box aside and grabbed another one. This time, he found some folders with lots of papers inside. He grabbed one, curious about its contents. But he was only left with disappointment at the find. The (h/c)-ette tossed the folder back inside.

Just as he was about to open up another box, he heard the door to the attic open. He quickly got up off of the floor. It was his stepfather who had decided to stop by. 

"Hey. Settling in okay?"

"Uh... Yeah," M/n answered.

"Good. Then come back downstairs," he said. "Some of the family have arrived."

M/n resisted the urge to roll his eyes and, instead, nodded. "Okay."

The man then left, closing the door behind him. M/n sighed heavily. "I wanna go home..."

--

The (h/c)-ette took his time making his way downstairs. He wasn't psyched about the situation at all. But, he needed to act like he wanted to be there. To some extent, of course. Still, he was doing all he could to stall.