ON YOUR LAST BREATH | Mike Schmidt ✔️

chapter seven .. they are here

CHAPTER SEVEN —    " they are here "

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          THE REST OF THE NIGHT HAD BEEN uneventful, forcing Haley and Mike both to continue talking in an attempt to remain awake. As soon as all the serious topics like the one regarding Abby's nightmares or the one about Mike's 'work friend' who's stopped answering her phone were spent, it became downright impossible to ignore the ache behind their eyes, begging for reprieve. Luckily for them, it wasn't all that long after they ran out of things to get each other caught up on that the sun shyly brightened the sky and the electronic clock on the desk read clearly across crammed pixels — 6AM.

Though with yawns out of control at her mouth, Haley insisted to join Mike into first taking the gasoline canister back downstairs, and then taking to the computer in the library to see the playback of last night's recording. They should have gotten something on the second floor, at least according to Mike's retelling of the happening, however, once he was seated before the computer screen with Haley chin rested on his right shoulder and her head heavy enough to lean into his for support, he played back over dull footage of him just standing there, watching Freddy run to his room.

"We don't have sound on these things?" He inquired, infuriated at seeing nothing grab his arm on tape.

"No," Haley muttered, either too tired to actually speak up or trying not to irritate him since she was right next to his ear. "How about the camera in the gym? If Foxy was out, we should be able to see that there, right?"

Exhaustion has definitely caught up with Mike too, because until she pointed it out, he hadn't really considered checking the gym footage.

Turns out that, save for those couple of seconds when a glitch passed through the whole system, the gym remained unmoving throughout the night.

Though proof seemed to be continously against Mike, when she straightened up, Haley avoided actually pointing out the obvious doubts and concerns, retorting instead to voicing defeat after a yawn, "So we still got nothing."

Mike has always been a sore loser — a dozen game nights in which her and Abby teamed up against him just to see his freckled cheeks get red in frustration over silly boardgames stood testimony to that very fact —, so when his glare persisted and his voice rippled across a large array of grunts, Haley knew it was time to wrap her arms around him and leave a short kiss on his cheek, a dual herald that it was time for them to retreat and promise they will try again another night. Though he knew for a fact that trying a second night in a row to catch the animatronics on tape felt like an idea of all shades of bad, Mike was perhaps too tired and infuriated by the way things had worked against them to argue with Haley just then.

"Are you sure you don't want to sleep over at my place again?" Mike inquired once they were in the car and Haley asked if he could drive her home first.

"Another night and I will have to start wearing from your clothes."

"There's nothing wrong with that," he glanced over, relishing in just how easily she could take his mind off of fatigue and nightmares. In his moments of extreme tiredness, Mike felt the luckiest man alive to have Haley Anne next to him.

"I also need to change the oxygen tank..."

"I get it," Mike interrupted, a coy smile forming on his lips. "You got tired of me and Abby."

Instantly, he received a smack from her on his upper arm, a definite scold and proof that she would not stand for such lies.

It didn't take nearly as long as they would have liked to get to Haley's house, but though they kissed goodbye within seconds of him parking before her driveway, she lingered a little longer in her seat, until she gathered her thoughts on the matter and decided time was a crucial factor they had to be effective with. "We'll try again tonight." Mike sighed, and feeling he was ready to disapprove, Haley continued, "We'll sit it out together again."