The Kids Weren't Okay || FNAF

5 || Something Happened, December 1975

(Unedited, Not Proofread, 5039 words)
Trigger Warnings: Abuse/assault, blood, intoxication, injuries, mentions of trauma and manipulation

New Year's Eve. The one night of the year that Alexander and Olivia Radley let their children stay up past their bedtime. This year in particular was the first time the couple had agreed to Ben's wishes to let him stay up until midnight. The four-year-old was more than excited, but his parents were all too confident he and Amelia— who had somehow talked Alexander into letting her stay up as well— would be asleep by nine. 

They weren't asleep by nine, leaving Alexander, Olivia, William, Clara, and Henry to wait patiently on the Radley couch while the two Radleys and a blabbering five-year-old Michael played with their toys in the middle of the living room. The adults had made an agreement to not drink any alcohol until the kids had gone to bed, but as ten-thirty rolled around, they grew tired of waiting and decided to have a beer each— Clara excluded.

For the men, one beer turned into two turned into four or five, and their laughter at the New Year's television broadcast grew steadily louder. Olivia, who had switched to wine after her first beer, kept the men as quiet as she could so that her kids and Michael could continue playing without being interrupted. 

At about eleven, Amelia Radley started to get tired, and she ended up laying down on top of one of the toys Michael had brought to the house. As this happened, William and Alexander had gone to get more beers while Henry left for the bathroom and Clara went to check on Elizabeth— who was sleeping in a crib in the guest bedroom. Olivia dozed off on the couch as a musical performance was muted on the television, the song having been too inappropriate for the kids to listen to. 

Benjamin and Michael were playing a game that made no sense to anyone but them. There were knights and animatronics and scary preschool teachers named Mr. Berry and Dr. Bertrum. They were going on a quest one moment and enjoying pizza and cupcakes the next. As Olivia dozed off, it almost sounded like they had created their own language composed of unidentifiable action sounds and broken sentences. 

As Benjamin's character— a knight in shining armor with a giant rabbit companion named Bonnie— made his way up the "mountain of icky mashed potatoes" (all three kids had developed a general distaste for the side dish after Michael wondered aloud how easy it would be to sneak sand into the "sand-colored" dish), Michael asked what monster they would find at the top. Benjamin shrugged his shoulders in response, having planned nothing. 

"How about a giant bear made of ice?" Michael asked, pointing to the blue teddy bear Amelia was asleep on top of. As soon as Benny smiled, Michael knew he had to get the bear and— without thinking— he grabbed the foot of the stuffed animal and pulled it out from under Amelia's head. 

Within an instant, Amelia's head hit the floor much harder than expected and her eyes shot open as she began to cry. 

"Amy!" Ben exclaimed, waking his mother up as he shot across the room while Michael panicked. 

"Amelia, what happened?" Olivia gasped as she climbed off of the couch and grabbed her daughter up off the floor. 

"Olivia!" Alexander yelled as he and William came running from the kitchen. Olivia turned to her husband, showing both of the men Amelia, who was holding her head and sobbing. Alexander raced to his daughter, having not heard her cry like that in a long time— Amelia was not usually one to cry.

"I don't know what happened," Olivia said shakily, "I dozed off. I wasn't watching." 

"Benjamin?" Alexander asked. 

"Her head—" Benjamin began, but an angry voice cut him off. 

"Michael, did you hit her with the bear?" William questioned his son, and everyone turned to look at the little brunet kid as he hugged the bear to his chest, his face pale.