Chapter Text
Prologue
October 18th, 2023, the 11 month anniversary of the death of Mr. and Mrs. Windslor.
โRobs, could you go get some of the boxes from the attic? We need to throw them out!โ Radford hollered, looking up at the stairs, he was carrying about as many boxes as he could even fit in his scrawny arms. He was planning to drag them all the way to his little car in the driveway. His chin held down the beat up looking boxes in his arms firmly so they wouldnโt collapse for the 5th time in a row, he had an exhausted look on his face along with sweat dripping down on his now rosy cheeks. He hadnโt expected moving to be so difficult, then again the last time he moved anywhere was when he was six years old moving to this very house with his parents in a car seat. โDo we really need to throw them all out?โ Robert replied reluctantly, slipping his dadโs old, fuzzy collage sweater over his head, hugging it close to him then popping his head out of his bedroom door. โAll of it.โ Radford replied, giving Robert his signature โolder brother look" which always gave Robert the not so subtle hint that he wasnโt taking โnoโ for an answer.
Robert let out a hefty sigh, going back into his room. His gaze strung across each wall of his now gutted out bedroom, remembering all the photos and posters that once happily graced the hand painted olive walls, that were all boxed up in the trunk of his older brotherโs hand-me-down car. He looked around his room a bit more, wanting to make the most of it for seeing it one last time. He looked up, surprised to see a few small glow in the dark sticker stars still clinging onto the ceiling after all these years. He had never noticed that before. He remembered how ecstatic he was when his dad turned off the lights to reveal those stupid starsโhe snickered, also remembering how one of those stars fell on his head and he thought it was a bug and screamed like a little girl. God he was so little. Oh how he missed being so little, no responsibility, no real drama, no trauma, nothing. Just pure innocence. He smiled, playing those memories in his head all over again like a roll of film in his mind. After a few minutes, he was done. Done with reminiscing on the past, he had to be in the present now. The awful present. The present in which he didnโt have his parents, he didnโt have his house, he didn't have anything he once had. All he was left with now was a handful of his stuff, a beat up car and his siblings. The awful reality he was now stuck in made his bright mood dim to a murmur of light. He picked up his small, olive colored bag from the door handle and slumped it over his shoulder, leaving his childhood bedroom for good.
He quickly sprinted to the door where the attic was, swallowing down the fear he always had of the place and grabbing the fateful key that led to the place, slowly and carefully putting the small scrap of metal into the lock and with a โClick!โ The door was unlocked. He reluctantly opened the door, being quickly hit with the wave of smell of both rotting rug and a thick layer of dust. He tried his best not to cough, covering his nose and mouth with his hand as he went up the long set of stairs, each step he took making a creaking noise due to the old wood it was built from. After what to his inpatient mind felt like an eternity he was finally upstairs and in the dreaded attic. Though he expected it to be completely dark, it was actually well illuminated by the sunset outside provided by the large circular window that was outside of it. He blinked, looking around the placeโit was surprisingly empty for an old attic. He wouldโve thought it contained heaps of his momโs old theater clothes and his dads old paintings butโno. He guessed that those things were long gone by now, even if that guess contradicted to what his parents' words were. He grabbed a few boxes, but when he took a closer look at them he realized that they werenโt even his familyโs! No, in fact they were the original owners boxes of stuff. He was shocked that they hadnโt taken the boxes while they couldโsense it was cheaper in the 50โs. With a shrug he shoved the boxes up high into the shadows, keeping them locked in time until the new prissy perfect family owners found it and thought it would be great to sell priceless pieces of memories for 15 bucks on facebook marketplace. He hated the new owners with a burning passion, he thought they were about as interesting as watching white paint dry. Not even olive paint, just white. He scowled even thinking about them, shoving the boxes even further into the shadows with that fuel of thought. While he was shoving the boxes into the depths of nothingness he heard a โThunk!โ He froze, looking down at the source of the noise. He saw a photo. He swiftly picked it up, his eyes glued to all of it. It was a 17 year old photo of his mom, his dad, and his brother. They all looked young in it, his mother was smiling as she stood in front of their house, her long puffy brown hair was tied back into a braid while his father looked like a dork as he always did, his round glasses, his freckles and blonde fluffy hair, all illuminated by the morning sun. He noticeably had the same grin Robert has always had; he never really thought about it but he rarely ever saw his dad smile with his teeth. And in the middle of both of his parents stood his brotherโhis brother was very small and looked to be no older than 6, he had no glasses yet and his hair was much longer than it ever has truly beenโhe looked kind of like a child hippie. Robert snickered at that. Right in the middle of a thought he got interrupted byโ
โROBERT WINDSLOR! We donโt have all day to get the boxes down here!โ โIโm coming, I'm coming, give me a moment!โ โIโve given you plenty of moments NOW COME ON!โ
Robert groaned, looking at the photo lovingly one last time then shoving it into his bag and grabbing the only two boxes that belonged to his family off of the floor, marching down the two flights of stairs and meeting a glaring Radfordโwho had clearly been waiting for a while. โA million years later!โ He huffed, snatching the boxes out of Robert's hands and storming off to the back of the house to throw them away. Robert mumbled a few profanities under his breath before putting the attic key on the kitchen counter and walking to the car, sitting in the front seat. He glanced into the rear view mirror to see Roxie, his four year old sister playing with a random dead bug she found. โwoAH WOAH WOAH NoOoOโ No no no, no. We donโt play with that!โ Robert exclaimed, quickly snatching the dead worm out of Roxies mits. โBuT-โ โNo buts! That is a worm, not a toy!โ He scolded, rolling down the window and quickly tossing the worm out into the yard. โMr. Bond..โ She said sadly. Robert blinked, leaning into the backseat โ...Roxie how do you know about tha-โ โOk, who put a DANG cockroach in my bag!?โ Radford exclaimed, holding up a dead cockroach in his hand. โWell, ask your favorite sibling over there that was just playing with a dead worm that she named Mr. Bond.โ โ...wHAt?โ Radford looked behind his seat at the backseat to a moping Roxie. โ...โ Robert was snickering while Radford let out an exasperated sigh. โYou're lucky you're cute.โ He teased, handing her an old barbie he found in one of the boxes. She cheered, hugging the doll, โScully!โ โ...Uh Radford? Have you been letting her watch late night tv?โ Robert asked, tilting his head. โUhโฆMaybe.โ โSo that's a yesโโ โANYWHO! I got a call from the new owners of the house that weโre selling too and they are going to pay us the more expensive option for our โtroublesโ I guess-? But hey, it's extra money!โ Robert groaned โGod those rich people are so snotty!โ He whined. โOh whatever, it's not like weโll ever see them againโbesides they paid us extra so we have no complaints here!โ Radford said cheerfully, closing the car door and starting the car. Robert sighed, slumping in his car seat as he felt the car start to move. He took off his bag and buckled himself up. Radford turned on the radio and started to drive out of their neighborhood, smiling brightly as he drove. Robert took out his phone and checked his group chat of his three other best friends, they were all talking about a potluck that they were having.
Maya_Sweetheart278: โIโm so excited to bring my family's famous chicken tenders! Honestly it has to be the best food iโve ever had in my entire fourteen years on this earth ๐ญโ
Gold (Daniel):โSounds great butโฆI honestly think my grandmaโs Menudo might change your mindโI dunno man itโs pretty good tbh!โ
CityofNoah: โI doubt any of you have anything on Robโs food honestly, he makes some great stuff! Hey Robs, do you wanna come to the potluck tonight?โ
Robert let out a sigh, they had forgotten he had told them he was moving.
1#Starsfan: โAck..Iโm sorry but I canโt come didnโt I tell you guys Iโm moving today? (ใ ๏นใ )โ
Gold (Daniel): โWait WHAT?!โ
1#Starsfan: โMaya didnโt you tell them?โ
Maya_Sweetheart278: โWhoops..โ
CityofNoah: โAre you kidding me? I was already planning for Robert and his siblings seats too..โ
He honestly felt even worse now, slumping even more down into his seat.
Maya_Sweetheart278: โSorry guysโฆโ
Gold (Daniel): โWeโre gonna miss you dude :(โ
CityofNoah: โMore than anything!โ
Maya_Sweetheart278: โWhere are you even going to anyways?โ
1#Starsfan: โIโm honestly not even sureโfrom my memory it's a town with like..2000 people in it? Really tiny town that my uncle lives in.โ
CityofNoah: โAt least youโll see a family member I guess..โ
Gold (Daniel): โYeah..โ
Maya_Sweetheart278: โI hope you stay safe on the road Robs!โ
Gold (Daniel): โDrink responsibly!โ
CityofNoah: โHey that was my line! XDโ
Robert smiled, at least feeling a little bit better knowing that he still had his friends to talk too, he turned off his phone and let out a sigh, This was going to be one hell of a ride.