[Sammy sniffled and wiped his eyes. It might have been silly to get so upset over being yelled at, but...he'd become a lot more sensitive, more fearful, ever since what happened to Charlie -- ever since he'd seen the monster that was Mr. Afton. Maybe that's what made this so much scarier. Michael was Mr. Afton's son, and he bore an uncanny resemblance to Mr. Afton. Being yelled at by him struck at the core of Sammy's deepest fears.]
[Unlike Mr. Afton, though, Michael apologized to him. He admitted that Sammy hadn't done anything wrong, that snapping at him hadn't been warranted. It didn't make his latent terror go away, but it did help him feel the slightest bit better.]
"I'm sorry." [Sammy signed with shaky hands, even though apologizing to Michael wasn't necessary. Excessive apologies had just become instinct over the past few months. "I'm sorry" was the first sign he'd memorized, thanks to all the repetition. His hands hovered in the air for a moment, thinking his next message over carefully. In rudimentary sign language, he continued.] "I don't want to be scared anymore."
[Simple, but to the point. He was so tired of being terrified, but he couldn't control it. His circumstances were devastating and deeply traumatizing. From the way his father no longer acknowledged him to the continued presence of Mr. Afton in their lives, he felt insignificant and unwanted. His mom had even asked if he'd like to stay with her in the event of a divorce, but in doing so, she treated Charlie's death like an annoyance. Like he and Henry were to blame for her unhappiness because they cared so deeply. "A lot" massively toned down the agony that had become his life.]
[...But it toned down the agony of Michael's life, too. Sammy wasn't the only one suffering an unbearable, earth-shattering loss. Michael was, too...albeit one caused by his own hand. Sammy hadn't been there to see the carnage -- he couldn't go back to Fredbear's -- but perhaps that was for the best. If he'd seen what happened, he might not be able to speak to Michael at all. And given that Michael would be staying with them indefinitely, well...he wouldn't have been able to stay in his own house at all.]
"A lot." [Sammy repeated, then let his hands fall. One squeezed the homemade Fredbear plush in his lap, and he held the other to his mouth, biting at the skin of his fingers. He was wary of being too open with Michael, but Michael was also the strongest person he knew...second only to Charlie. He wanted help. He needed to talk to somebody. Yet...the only people he could trust anymore were the kids of the scariest monster he'd ever known.] "I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I don't know how to keep..." [Sammy's hands shook, too fearful to admit that he sometimes thought about joining Charlie. Sometimes it felt like that was the only thing that could fix him.]
"I don't know to keep myself together. How do you do it?"
