Deranged Writer's Afterword

I look at the family that I had left behind with a strange sense of nostalgia.

The three continued to watch the stupid tv program without paying any attention to us...this is probably a hallucination or dream of some kind.

Wait....is this what people call...your life flashing before your eyes?

" Why are we here ?", I ask John.

[ To remind you...what exactly you are.]

~~^~~

-----------------

Claire Sinclair loved her family.

She had a loving husband and the most beautiful son in the world.

" Hahahaahaahah"

"Hahahahahahaah"

Hearing her husband and son laughing heartily put a warm smile on her face.

Claire hoped that they would always be this.....but reality is often disappointing.

\'Knock\'

\'Knock\'

Tom Sinclair immediately switches light that they put on, he didn\'t bother turning the television off as they were watching the show with no volume.

" I KNOW YOUR IN THERE, YA ROACHES !". the voice of their very drunk landlord came from the other side of the door.

" I NEED MY RENT !...I\'M NOT RUNNING A CHARITY HERE."

After shouting for a few more minutes, the landlord retreats back into his own home.

Claire removes her hands which were tightly covering her son\'s ears, she didn\'t want her son to hear such profanity....

She looked at Tom, clearly worried.

Claire had no real education to speak off, so it was very hard for her to find a job. She worked as waitress near a local café but the money earned from there wasn\'t enough. Tom had no real job going on as he was recently fired as his company he had worked for went bankrupt.

The Sinclair\'s were broke as fuck.

If it was just the two of them, they might have been able to hold on somehow but the issue was that they had a very young son....who had many needs.

The both of them were desperately looking for jobs.....but they obviously hadn\'t succeeded.

" It\'s time to sleep, Johnny..", Claire tried to take the boy away from his father but John refused to budge.

" I want to sleep with papa !", the young boy proclaimed trying to look intimidating.

" Awwww, I\'m so lucky to have such a loving son.", Tom said rubbing his cheeks against John\'s prompting him to giggle.

~~^~~

" I\'m scared, papa....", John whispered to his father.

" Of what ?", Tom asked half-asleep.

" The landlord...."

Hearing his son, Tom eyes widen,

....

" Are we going to be alright, papa ?"

Tom gently patted his son on the head before he said,

" We\'re going to be fine...I\'ll make sure of it."

John smiled, his innocence clearly visible within in his smile,

" I love you, papa."

" I love you too.....son."

Soon, John fell asleep and later woke up to find his parents conversing silently, He pretended to sleep while eavesdropping on his parents.

" ------John\'s a strong kid.....we need to raise him properly.", Tom said shifting his gaze to the boy.

" I agree.....but you can\'t just stop taking your meds.....you need them, Tom.", Claire said, her gaze on John as well.

" It\'s not a matter of need...we can\'t afford them anymore....I\'ll be fine."

" Still--"

" This discussion is over.", Tom said in a raised voice.

John was slightly scared, he had never seen his father angry before.....he was always happy and kind.

~~^~~

After two months

______________________

John observed his father who looked strangely tired.

His mother was away on work.

" I want strawberry juice, papa.", John said bobbing his head up and down.

It was tradition within his family that both him and his father drank strawberry juice or shake or just a plain old strawberry. For the past few months they hadn\'t done anything of that sort.

Tom had been in a bad mood for the past two months and John had noticed this.

John thought that his father\'s mood would improve if he drank some good old strawberry juice...after all it was his father\'s favorite..

John pretended to like it because he wanted to be like his father, even though he hated strawberries...to him it tasted like an unsavory medicine.

" Go away, John.....I can\'t play with you now.", Tom said massaging his head.

" But-"

" NOT NOW.", his father screamed frightening the boy.

John went to a corner of the studio apartment and sat down on the floor unsure of what to do.

After a few minutes, the door bell was rung and John rushed to open it. Claire had said that she would be late.....but it seemed like she had come early. John was delighted to see his mother again but when he opened the door....the person that greeted him outside the door wasn\'t his mother...but the scary landlord.

" Where\'s your daddy, kid ?", the man asked looking inside the small apartment.

" What do you want ?", Tom said pushing aside his son.

" Ye know what I want, you bastard !"

" You\'ll have your rent by the end of this week.", Tom said firmly.

The landlord scowled and said,

" Why lie ?...we both know that you\'re broke.....I\'m sure I won\'t get my rent.....if you want I can just overlook this entirely if you.....send your beautiful wife to my room for a night....it\'s a fair deal isn-"

Before the landlord could finish, Tom punched him to the ground and closed the door on the man.

" YOU\'LL REGRET THIS !", the landlord screamed from the other side.

Tom closed his eyes and tried to calm his breathing but it never does, this anger he had didn\'t go away...

\'Just why....why is this happening to us ?", he thought wondering what exactly his wife and him to deserve a life like this.

[ You know exactly what it is....it\'s him...that boy is the problem.], a voice whispered into Tom\'s ears.

Tom looked at his child that was visibly shivering from fear,

" Papa.....w-why d-don\'t you have some s-strawberry juice ?", the boy said through his fear.

Hearing his son, something inside Tom broke,

[ Ungrateful.....]

[ Kill him]

[ You\'ll be free....]

" I\'ll be free....", Tom said in a daze walking towards John.

" P-papa ?", the boy asked confused as his father got on top of him and gently clasped the boy\'s neck with his hands and then-

\'Thump\'

Tom started choking his son.

John thrashed around unable to breathe and comprehend what was happening to him....

Tom tightened his grip on John\'s neck...the voices urged him to increase his strength even more and just as he was about to do so-

" S-stop P-papa...", the boy somehow managed to plead with his father.

Hearing John, Tom\'s mind finally calmed down bringing him back to reality.

Removing his hands away from his son\'s tiny neck, Tom was horrified to find his handprint etched into John\'s skin.

John gasped for air and lay on the ground unable to understand what had just happend.

" What have I done ?.....", Tom said backing away from his son.

~~^~~

After ten minutes,

Claire opened the door to their apartment using her key.

Seeing the inside of the apartment, she froze.

She wanted to scream, but her shock prevented her from doing so....

Tom was hanging from their fan, a tight rope was wrapped around his neck.

Thomas Sinclair was dead.

" Mommy...you\'re finally here.....could you wake papa up---

Claire eyes widened as her eyes fell on her son, who sat in a corner of the small apartment.

----he isn\'t waking up no matter what I do."

Claire ran towards her son, who had a bright smile on his face....but his eyes....they looked dead.

~~^~~

.....

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