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“What on Earth is HE doing here?!”
Loaf stared ahead in disbelief. His own mother, with that sweet smile of hers, was standing right next to him. The thought alone made his hands shake.
“Oh, Mr. Ingot just wanted to stop by and see you guys again!”
Mr. Ingot? Loaf’s mind was racing at what felt like a million miles per hour. He didn’t understand why his old boss was here, or what he wanted, or how he slithered his way into Loaf’s wonderful family, who knew nothing at all. This was all too much. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down. He gripped the handlebars of his wheelchair tightly.
When he opened his eyes, he was left with a much more disturbing sight. He was in a void. A dark and empty void, with no one else around but him. He was just there, floating in the vast space of nothingness.
After a few moments, he heard something. He thought it was just his brain playing tricks on him, but he turned around and saw it.
It was Brioche.
They were crying.
Loaf didn’t know how, but he began to float towards them. Only their back was facing him, and they were covering their face like they always did when they were upset.
“Brioche? Are you okay?’
He placed his hand gently on their shoulder. Their hand grasped his. But when they turned around to face him, it wasn’t Brioche anymore.
It was him.
“WHY DIDN’T YOU FORGIVE ME?” he said with a piercing tone. “I DID EVERYTHING RIGHT!”
Loaf tried to speak, to argue against him, but he couldn’t. It was like his mouth was super glued shut. He grasped at his mouth hopelessly, desperately trying to pry his lips apart.
“ANSWER ME!” he screamed. Loaf watched as the figure in front of him seamlessly morphed to be as tall as a skyscraper. His teeth seemed to sharpen, but Loaf couldn’t quite tell. His own teeth were jittering around inside his skull, pleading for release.
Loaf couldn’t make out any words anymore, just more disturbing growls coming from the head of the creature. He could make out something in the distance. Two large hands. Two sharp, clawed hands. He could only watch in terror as they approached him. Closer. And closer. And closer. And…
He woke up in a cold sweat. His mouth was unsealed, and he wasn’t in that void anymore. He was in his bedroom. That “Mr.” Ingot had been in his home just a few hours before. Loaf had gone to bed early, with Santa Hat staying over for the night to keep him company. Loaf stared at the ceiling fan in relief. He turned his head over, and almost screamed at what he saw.
“Sorry, sorry!” Santa Hat whispered, about 3 inches away from his face. She scooted away from him quickly. “Didn’t mean to scare you. I just heard you crying and I got worried.”
Sure enough, Loaf touched his cheek and felt tears mixed into his sweaty face. He let out a long, defeated sigh. This concerned Santa Hat.
“Are… you okay? You’re not looking too hot.” She said, getting onto his bed and brushing the bangs away from his face. “Was it… y’know, him?”
He groaned. “Yeah. Just a nightmare. Thought I’d gotten rid of them…”
She patted him on the back. “I’m sorry. I wish this didn’t happen…” She looked to the side uncomfortably.
Loaf frowned at this. “It’s not your fault. I just…” He sighed. “I didn’t think it’d bother me anymore. But… when I saw him… I don’t know what happened, I just…” He let out a frustrated yell, which caught Santa Hat off guard. She put her finger to her lip, telling him to be quiet. Everyone else was asleep at this time.
“Sorry, I just…” He tried his best to keep his voice to a whisper. “Who does he think he is? To just- come up to my family and- and talk to them like we’re his friends?! And to make a scene in front of them like WE’RE the bad guys?!”
More tears started to form in Loaf’s eyes as he continued. “I left the show to get away from him, so I would never have to see him again! Let alone like this!” He put his face in his hands and started to sob. Santa Hat let out a sad sigh and hugged him. He couldn’t tell exactly, but judging by the sniffles she was making, she was tearing up too.
“It’s okay, Loaf… It’s gonna be okay. He won’t bother us anymore. I… I’ll make sure of it.”
“You… You can’t stop what he does. Especially not with his show still going on…”
“I…” She wiped her eyes with a shaky hand. “I’ll try my best, okay? I’ll try…”
The two sat like that for a while, both of them crying as quietly as they could. Santa Hat was the one to break the silence.
“I’m sorry.” She sniffled.
Loaf looked up at her. “For what?”
“For not leaving sooner. We could’ve left so much sooner than we did, and you wouldn’t have had to go through what he put you through. I’m… I’m so sorry.” Her voice was shaking almost as much as her body was as she covered her face with her hands.
Santa Hat was much better at comforting people than Loaf was. He knew this. He also knew that Santa Hat only cried in front of the people she cared about when she was genuinely and truly upset. She was too cool to not be able to control her tears over something lame like Loaf always did.
As he watched her sob into her palms, he knew she was really sorry. Sorry over something that wasn’t her fault. Sorry over something she couldn’t control.
Sorry over him.
Loaf stared at her hand covered face, heartbroken over the realization. After working up the courage to speak, he took a deep breath.
“Don’t be.”
Santa Hat’s cries quieted down. She peaked from behind her hands, a confused expression on her face.
“Sorry! D-don’t be sorry. It wasn’t your fault we had to stay. He made us think we needed him, b-but he just needed us. He… made us do all the paperwork, made us look like laughing stocks…” His voice trailed away. He hated thinking about what his old boss did to him. He cleared his throat and continued.
“But… it doesn’t… doesn’t matter now. We’re not with him anymore, and we’re doing just fine here. And… you were the one who suggested we leave in the first place,” He chuckled nervously. “Without you, I’d probably still be there, counting off votes or shining his shoes… or something…”
Santa Hat stared at him. She wiped her tears with her pajama sleeves and pulled her hands away from her face. She smiled and let out a shaky sigh. “Thank you,” She whispered, “But… I just wish I'd done more. I-I wish I had been more open about you. I…” She hesitated. She looked down at the sheets of the bed. “I’m sorry I said he cared about me more than you.”
Loaf smiled. “It’s okay. I forgave you a long time ago. No need to be sorry. We both know it was true anyway.” He looked into her eyes and immediately regretted speaking. She looked even more guilty, with just the tiniest bit of worry sprinkled in. He put up his hands in defense.
“It’s true though!” Loaf said. “He never kicked you into a forest, or ran you over with a golf cart, or-” He was caught off guard by a sudden hug.
“He didn’t care for me anymore than he did you. He just had a different way of showing it.”
Loaf froze for a moment, before letting out a sigh and returning the hug. They stayed like that for what felt like the rest of the night, comforting each other and making the other feel safe and secure. Loaf wasn’t quite sure what Santa Hat was thinking during this, but he knew one thing for certain.
They would get through this.
Together.