The End of Days

[23]

Liam must've been drained because he woke the next morning covered in sweat. It had been another one of his dreams ripping him from his rest.

Adams death haunted him much like the night before. He couldn't feel it, even last night. It was a weird sense of relief the dreams were starting to bring him as fucked up as they were. Liam did grieve, even if only deep down. He wasn't a monster, at least not yet.

When he walked out that morning, the first thing he saw was the kids bedroom. The door was opened then and he could spot the drawings and toys that must've accumulated over the years. He wondered how long Paige had been with them before the outbreak.

It was easy to spot the difference between the two despite the mess. One was littered with stuffed animals and Barbie's, the other with trucks and robots. There in the middle of the room on one of the twin beds sat the boy who stared again. Liam glanced briefly to the kitchen where voices could be heard. He turned back, trying to dredge up the self taught lessons from yesterday.

"Sorry, Fred." He sounded out slowly with his fingers, stumbling a bit. Fuck, he probably didn't make a single bit of sense.

Abby spotted him down the hall. She smiled, waving him on and calling out, "Freddy sweetie, breakfast!"
Liam took a step back as the boy made to leave. But he stopped before he could pass, standing in front of the man twice his size.

Fred placed a fist to his chest, rubbing slowly. "Sorry." He made a point of gesturing until Liam nodded his understanding, then he was gone. Liam stood there for a bit, a smirk tugging at his lips.

That talk came eventually, after the kids had ate and were forced to go do their homework which Liam did a double take on. Abby tossed out some math books for them, smile sweet while Mac just sat and watched, mouth pressed tight.

Liam didn't understand it. Maybe math or reading would matter in a place like the Sanctuary. But out here without walls or protection, just a house and 2 adults it didn't make sense. If something were to happen to them, those kids were defenseless.

"So their adopted?" Liam asked despite the knowledge he had yet to share. Mac spoke before her wife got the chance. "We're fosters, their not ours."

"Mackenzie." The blond woman glared. She faced down Liam again who stared, smile forced. "Money was real tight at the time and I'd always wanted a kid-" Liam's eyes slid to the masculine woman who's gaze only grew in dissatisfaction. Could at least try to hide it, he thought.

Abby went on to explain how they'd taken in Freddy, just a few months before the outbreak. They hadn't known he would be deaf. With her experience as a translator, it wasn't a big adjustment for her. Unsurprisingly, that hadn't been the case with Mac.

Liam imagined them waiting around for their first child, tipping toes into the waters of parenthood. How they'd expected some hyped up, rambunctious little boy they could toss a ball around with or convert into feminism. And there Fred stood, dark hollow stare piercing into their souls.

Liam looked over to the couches where the kids sat, Paige fiddling with her pencil and the boy watching them silently. He might not hear well but he wasn't blind or stupid. Did he see it too? Did kids that young understand when they weren't wanted?

"Paige came after, just a few weeks before uh..everything, went down. We were having such a hard time with him, I thought maybe we were doing something wrong. He never laughed or played or talked so we thought maybe she could help him." The pained look that crossed her features said it didn't plan out the way she'd hoped it would.

Mac cut them off eventually, finding the topic draining appeartly. She questioned Liam about his plans and he hesitated but admitted, "The Sanctuary. I had a group but they didn't make it." Not Adam, not the boys, not Chang. His shoulders slumped a bit in his seat. "It's all I had so..figured I'd try."