The Neighbor Next Door

The basement.

CONTENT WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER. PLEASE HEED THESE WARNINGS;Written panic attacks, robot gore, slightly detailed? character death [past], self harm, suicidal thoughts, & an attempt.

MePhone really didn't like going into his dad's room. Even despite his "healing", and feeling normal, and trying to be okay in this house again, it was still hard going into this room. He needed to do this though. Pushing back all his attempts of just trying to distract himself from having to do this, it was the last room in the house he had yet to get used to, so sitting alone in it would be... Fine. He made sure to keep the door to it open though, just in case.

Really, as he looked around, he felt guilty. He wondered if his dad ever thought about this room, with how long he used to live in it for. He also wondered just exactly where his dad even did all his tinkering in here. Sure, there was a desk, but there wasn't really... Anything. Just a place where his computer would've been. A printer, all things he had taken with him when he vanished.

MePhone just sighed. He'd feel too guilty sitting on the bed, so he moved to sit in the middle of the room, on the floor. There used to be a chair in here, but it had been moved out into the living room by the robot not long after his dad initially left.

Currently, it was Sunday. 3gs was out of the house, having decided to go pick something up for dinner for the two of them, neither of them having the energy-- or motivation to cook anything, but that was fine. Takeout was still fine for a 'family' dinner.

Maybe this was a stupid idea. Honestly, MePhone knew he shouldn't have done this while he was alone at the house, but... 3gs was also leaving tomorrow, and... He at least wanted the safety net of his brother being around if he did get upset over being in here, but he didn't want him around while he was in here. His thought process was just a bit complicated.

Maybe it would've been better to do this when he was here, but... It was too late for that. He just stared out the open doorway, looking at the cat, who seemed to refuse to enter the room, standing outside, almost politely waiting. MePhone wished it would come in here with him, but he understood why it probably didn't want to, seeing as this was an entirely new room to it, the door always being closed. Also the fact it had such an unwelcoming, cold air to it. Untouched for years. Probably horribly dusty.

MePhone just sighed, leaning back to be lying down on the floor.

Honestly, it wasn't that bad being in here. Compared to the rest of the house, this had much less memory attached to it. Just the association of a shitty person. He figured getting over that was easier than the rest, since he had only ever been in here a handful of times when his dad was around at the house.

He probably had around thirty minutes to just sit there, realistically. He knew it wouldn't take his brother long to pick something nice up, so... He wouldn't be alone for too long. Though he definitely wanted to be out of here before then. For now though, he just let out a deep breath, letting his eyes close as he soaked in the room, and his thoughts.

He remembers being nine years old again. Being called in here before bed one night, asked by his dad to help him with something, though it was more like his dad trying to teach him something, while he was trying to repair some remote or something. A lesson about being resourceful, or whatever. Back when his dad still pretended to care. Back when Red was still alive. He remembered how that was the only time he was called into the room for something like this, knowing he hadn't shown, or expressed any interest in what was trying to be taught. He knew Red was brought in for that a lot more than he had been, always the more curious of the two.

He wondered if his dad would've hated Red the same way he hated him, if he had been the one to die, instead.

MePhone opened his eyes, deciding this was enough thinking. He remained lying down, just looking around the room a bit, before his eyes landed on something he's never noticed before. This got him to sit up, his gaze locked onto the empty bookshelf in the room.