(no subject)
Title: Pictures of Houses [2/?]Author:
more_awake
Rating: K
Pairing/Character: Addison, Archer
Summary: A series of random vignettes about Addison and Archer Montgomery's childhood. This second part involves Archer coming to the rescue after Bizzy carelessly forgets to turn on Addison's nightlight and was inspired by Addison's revelation last week about their father's many affairs with household employees.
Previous chapter: here
Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
Afraid of the Dark
Their bedrooms are right next to each other and share a wall, which works out quite conveniently for Addison. On nights where she has nightmares and is too afraid to fall back to sleep or leave her bed, she can reach up and knock on the wall until Archer wakes up and knocks back to signal that he will be right over.
He is good to her, and she adores him. He is brave enough to check under her bed for monsters, gives the best hugs, tells the best jokes, helps her reach things on high shelves, and makes her feel special. She misses him during the day when he is at school, and every afternoon, she awaits his return so that he can tell her about his adventures in third grade while they eat a snack.
This past afternoon was different, though.
Usually, Margaret wakes her up from her nap just before Archer arrives home, but today, Addison woke to the sound of her mother yelling in one of the angriest voices she had ever heard. Her parents argue a lot, but this was different. It was worse. When she heard a glass shatter, she slid all the way under the covers and tried to block out the sound with one of her pillows, staying that way until long after the commotion stopped, and by the time she emerged from her room, Archer was already home and eating cheese cubes and apple slices alone at the kitchen table, Margaret nowhere in sight.
That evening at dinner, their mother emotionlessly informed them that Margaret would no longer be living with them and would not be coming back. She gave no explanation, and even though they were heartbroken since Margaret had been their primary nanny since Archer was a baby, the siblings knew better than to ask questions.
Now, Addison finds herself buried under her blankets once again, but this time, it is dark. This time, it is silent. This time, she is nearly in tears because her mother didn’t bother to flip the switch on her nightlight.
Like most four year-olds, Addison is terrified of the dark. She is trying so hard to just be a big girl and go to sleep, but it has already been a rough night. Without her nanny, Addison’s nighttime routine was completely off-Bizzy doesn’t know how to do anything that Margaret did. While Margaret would gently help Addison comb through her wet hair after her bath, Bizzy just carelessly pulled through the tangles as Addison tried not to wince while her eyes watered in discomfort. Later, when it was bedtime, Bizzy simply waited in the doorway until her daughter had settled herself into bed before turning the light off and closing the door, a far cry from the glass of water, story, and hug that Addison was used to getting before going to sleep.
Initially, she couldn’t see anything at all in the pitch-blackness, which was frightening enough, but as her eyes began to adjust to the very slight moonlight peeking in through the curtains, things that once looked perfectly innocent in the daylight suddenly looked sinister. Before long, she was hiding underneath her covers in the very center of her bed, curled up in the tightest ball possible while clutching her stuffed kitten.
It’s getting unbearably hot, though. Flannel winter pajamas and three layers of bedding are causing her to feel sweaty and uncomfortable, but pushing her thick comforter off would make her feel even more vulnerable to whatever might be lurking in the dark. She doesn’t know what to do with herself, and she is beginning to grow more and more upset when she suddenly remembers that she has someone who can save her.
Finally, after sitting in the dark for what felt like hours (but was really only ten minutes), she crawls back up towards the headboard and cautiously reaches an arm out from under her comforter to knock on the wall behind her.
The first few knocks are quick, but when Archer doesn’t immediately knock back, Addison begins frantically tapping on the wall until the door to her room opens.
At first, she’s afraid that it might be her mother or father here to tell her to stop making noise, so she freezes with her knuckles against the wall and holds perfectly still.
“Sorry, I didn’t knock back. I was getting a glass of water, so I didn’t hear you,” she hears Archer whisper from the doorway, which gives her the courage to poke her head out from under the covers, cool air hitting her flushed face.
“Awchie,” she whimpers, her Rs and Ls coming out as Ws. “Help!”
“What’s wrong?” He asks, leaving the door open a crack as he steps inside with his glass of water in one hand.
“It’s dawk.”
“Did Bizzy forget to turn your nightlight on?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Here,” he says, walking over to her bookshelf and flipping the switch on the nightlight that sits on the third shelf, illuminating the room with a dim yellow light and causing Addison’s tense muscles to relax as she exhales in relief.
“Fank you,” she sniffles, sitting up fully and rubbing her eyes.
“You’re welcome,” he tells her as he approaches her bed, setting his glass on her nightstand. “Are you okay?”
She shakes her head. Archer can’t fix the other thing that is bothering her. “I want Mawgwet,” she murmurs sadly as her eyes flood with tears and her lower lip quivers.
“She’s not here, Addie,” he reminds her gently while climbing up to sit next to her. Addison’s queen-sized four-poster bed is far too high and large for a four year-old. She is dwarfed by a large sea of pillows and blankets, and even eight year-old Archer needs a step stool to climb up.
“Where‘d she go?”
“I don’t know, but she isn’t coming back. Bizzy told us that after dinner, remember?”
She remembers, of course; she just wishes that she had somehow misunderstood. It doesn’t make sense that the woman who had taken care of her since the day she came home from the hospital could possibly be gone forever without so much as a goodbye. Her whole world has been turned upside-down. She feels lost and overwhelmed, and she just wants everything to be the same again.
“B-but I want her,” she stutters as tears spill down her cheeks. “Bizzy does not know h-how to tuck me in. She did not turn on my nightwight, and I-I-I did not get a stowee or a gwass of water or a h-hug.”
“Hey, I can do all that,” he assures her with a steady hand on her back. “Your light is on now, and I can give you a hug and read you a story and you can have some of my water.”
She shakes her head adamantly through her tears, which are now streaking her face. “No.”
He scoots closer and wraps an arm around her shoulders. “It’ll be okay, Addie. I promise.”
“No, no, no,” she sobs loudly, shaking as she hyperventilates. “I-I-I want… I want-“
“Addison, stop it! They’re right down the hall, and if they hear you, we’ll both get in trouble,” he warns harshly, causing her to bury her face into his shoulder and cry harder. “Shh… come on. Stop. Please don’t cry, Addie,” he soothes as he rubs her back. When she finally calms enough to sit up on her own again, he reaches over to grab his water and places it into her shaking hands. “Here, take a sip. Just don’t spill it.”
She drinks gratefully, and gradually, her tears cease as her breathing returns to normal.
“Why did she go away?” Addison asks after a few minutes. “Did we do something bad?”
He shakes is head.
“It’s not our fault,” Archer insists. He motions for her to lie down, and when she does, he lovingly pulls the sheet up to her chin and tucks it around her sides before draping the blanket over her-just how she likes it. “I think she did something that made Bizzy really mad, though. I just don’t know what it was.”
“It was prowwy just uh assident,” she offers.
“Maybe, but she’s still not coming back.”
“’s not fair.” It is difficult to understand her due to her now-stuffy nose and her cheek pressed into the pillow.
“I know. It isn’t,” he agrees, grief now evident in his voice as well. “I’m sad too, Addie. I’m gonna miss her a lot.”
She nods and then sniffles. “Awchie?”
“Uh-huh?”
“Can you stay here tonight?”
Archer knows that his sister has the tendency to be a blanket hog who kicks in her sleep and sometimes still wets the bed, but he just can’t say no when she’s this upset. Besides, he’s pretty shaken up, too, and could also use having someone close by.
“Yeah. I guess so,” he replies. “Move over.”
“Fank you.”
“You have to go to sleep, though, okay?”
“Uh-huh,” she agrees drowsily, reaching out to for him.
“It’ll be okay. I promise.” He takes her little hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze. “Just try to sleep.”
She feels so safe when he is next to her, and within minutes, she is asleep.
“Night, Addie. I love you.”
A/N: So I think this might turn into something. I'm not sure how many there will be, but I'm sure once we see Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery together next week, there will be some good backstory for this.
Thank you guys so much for the feedback on the last one! :)