Autophobia

Chapter 18: Revelations

Henry was silent as Charlie's wounds were cleaned and redressed.

"Dad." She reached for his hand but he crossed his arms, staring straight ahead. She choked back tears.

"Alright, Miss Emily. We're just going to give you a tetanus booster and then you can be on your way." Dr. Kessler said, taping the bandage into place.

"O-okay." She choked. Her father let out a long sigh. Dr. Kessler seemed to sense the animosity in the room, hurrying out. The silence that ensued was unbearable to Charlie and she let out a sigh of her own. Her father hadn't gone into specifics with the medical staff, simply saying that she'd caught her leg in a "type of iron vice" he worked with.

"Dad." Charlie tried again. He turned her way at last, his expression unreadable. She lost her nerve and stared down at her hands.

"Charlotte Marie..." His tone scared her- it was very similar to the one he used when disciplining one of his staff. He appeared to lose his gumption as well, choosing to stare at the blank TV on the wall. Ping! Her phone chimed in her pocket. She reached for it slowly, half expecting him to yank it out of her hand. Much to her surprise he continued to stare at the TV.

Where are we meeting this weekend? John had typed. Charlie glanced at her father one more time before typing back.

I don't know. I'm pretty sure I'm even more grounded than I was before. She sighed and stared at the TV as well. Ping!

Charlie, what did you do now?

Something really, really dumb. You're going to hate me, too. A few minutes passed with no response. A nurse entered the room, bearing discharge papers and a large needle. Somehow the needle hurt just as much as her leg, but her father still refused to hold her hand. Much to her surprise, he held her close as they walked out to the car a few minutes later. She'd expected him to leave her limping behind him at a snail's pace. The ride home seemed a million times longer than usual- but she soon realized that they weren't going home. Henry pulled into a gas station parking lot and turned to look at her, his gaze still fiery.

"Which location was it?"

"What?"

"The animatronic, Charlotte. Where is it?" He yelled. Figure it out yourself!  She wanted to yell back, YOU probably put it there!

"Fr-Freddy and Friends'." She said instead. Henry gunned it out of the parking lot, nearly colliding with another car. Please don't let him find out about Michael. Charlie thought, staring out the window as the world rushed by. The parking lot at Freddy and Friends' was nearly empty when they arrived 10 minutes later. She started to unbuckle her seatbelt but her father snatched her wrist.

"You stay right here."

She nodded, biting her lower lip to keep from crying again. She watched him disappear into the pizzeria, a renewed sense of dread filling her chest. Ping!

You went back, didn't you? John wrote.

Ping!

Are you doing okay? Michael wrote. She replied to Michael first.

No. Dad knows. We're at Freddy and Friends' right now- he's looking for Spring Bonnie.  She went back to John's message.

I'm not going to lie to you. I did. But you HAVE to let me explain everything. I'll let you know where we're meeting soon. I love you.

Ping! Michael.

Remember what I said.

Ping! John.