Bread was bored. Really bored. He’d been kicking at loose rocks, thinking that would help satiate his unending boredom. Why was he always pushed to the side? Did Val not trust him? Well, it did make sense. The last time they had gone together, he’d made a big fuss about what she’d done.

He couldn’t help it. She’d hurt somebody. But was he really okay with it now? If that had happened again, what was he supposed to do? Let her hurt someone so that she could be happy?

He just hoped no one was home.

But he was still bored. He wanted to see new things, experience new things, have fun! He looked up at the mansion. It was huge. He wondered what it looked like from the inside. Was it just as large and amazing? He looked around; nobody was there. Just flowers and a faulty water fountain that seemed to struggle to spit out water. Val wouldn’t mind if he explored just a little, would she?

Bread sneaked in and made his way towards the window Val had jumped through. On the way, he looked around the yard. It was so pretty! There were colorful plants and flowers he’d only seen in his records, ponds full of fish and colorful, orange bushes. The only other place he could see nature like this was in Coach’s garden. It was just asphalt and concrete everywhere else.

He finally arrived in front of the small opening. It was barely large enough to fit an adult human. Placing one leg up on the windowsill, he managed to climb inside. His leg got caught by the edge. He pulled hard; it broke free, and he slammed into the countertop inside. Utensils clattered to the floor.

He caught his breath.

Silence.

He let out a sigh. It was dark, and the pans clinked together like awful wind chimes. From a nearby hallway, light dimly spilled into the kitchen. He made his way towards the source, poking his head out into the empty corridors. To his left was a staircase, but to his right…

Light. It was seeping out from behind two doors.

Bread wondered what was there. Maybe Val was secretly hacking into a big safe with all those cool gadgets he’d seen her pack into her bag! At least that’s what he imagined. He didn’t really have any good visual examples of what thieves did stored in his records. But as he got closer, he heard voices—unfamiliar voices…

“Mommy.” The voice was high-pitched. Higher than his. “When’s Daddy coming home?”

“Soon, sweetheart. Soon.” The second voice was more soft-spoken, gentler. “He promised. I’m sure he’ll be back anytime.”

“I thought he was coming Monday?”

“I thought so too, but maybe he’s a little busy.”

Bread peeked through the opening between the two doors. There were two figures—a woman with a little girl smaller than him sitting to her side. Next to them, a screen of a fake fire pit flickered on and off. It was weirdly kind of calming. Like it was actually releasing some form of warmth.

The two figures sat on the carpeted floor, watching the fire burn quietly. They softly rocked back and forth, head leaned on each others’ shoulders.

Something about the scene made Bread feel different. The bubbliness he had just a few seconds ago disappeared. And in its place, there was another feeling—this familiar feeling he’d felt before. This longing, this yearning that slowly filled his mind.

Somehow he knew this was what family was supposed to look like. What Coach had mentioned before of them being a family… Were they actually? Was Val really his family? These two strangers in front of him looked so close, comfortable. They were like a garden of flowers—like dandelions—connected with the earth, the sun, with all these warm and fuzzy feelings he felt inside. They were everything he wished for. Everything he wished he could’ve had.

Dad…

Dad reminded him more of this. A family, belonging. He missed Dad. He knew he shouldn’t, but he missed him. With Dad, he didn’t have to be anybody else. He didn’t have to be Beady; he didn’t even have to make anyone happy. All Dad wanted was him. For research, but still. He didn’t have to be anyone different.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Maybe…

He reached a little further.

Maybe I can still…

Just so he could be closer. Like this family in front of him.

Maybe I can still be a part of that…

He slipped—crashed onto the carpeted floor.

“What was that?” The same soft voice sounded, but it was nervous, more anxious. “Who’s there?”

“M-mommy?”

They locked eyes—Bread and the girl. Then the mom. He stared for what seemed like an eternity. The mom’s gaze transformed. Her face contorted into what seemed like fear.

Then they both screamed at him.

“Who are you?!” It was the mom again. “How did you get in?!” She pulled out what looked to be her phone and held it threateningly above her shoulders. She started pressing on the screen. “Securi—”

Something whooshed past him—a figure faster than wind. In quick succession, the figure then knocked the mom to the floor.

It was Val.

She slapped the phone out of the mom’s hand and tightened her arm around the woman’s neck and pulled. There were scents of something burnt. Val’s legs fumed smoke; parts of her pants were singed.

The girl looked between him and Val, terror trickling down her face. The mom tried to yell, but no voice escaped. She started aggressively pointing at the phone on the floor, making eye contact with the crying girl.

“Bread!” Val yelled. She nodded towards the little girl.

“W-what?” he stammered back.

“Zap her! Get her quiet!” She gestured to the rogue phone beside her feet. She kicked it over closer to him. “The alarms are instant! Stop her from getting to it!”

“Zap her?” The thing he’d used on Coach? The girl wasn’t even moving right now. “I-I can’t—”

“You can.” She glared daggers. “Do it! Just zap her! Either we get hurt or them! Please! You promised to help!”

He couldn’t. How could he do that to someone? How could he hurt the girl? No, he couldn’t. He couldn’t do that.

“Bread!”

“But she’s not even—”

The girl ran towards the phone; her hands outstretched, reaching closer with every small step.

“Bread!” Val screamed. “Now!”

“I—” No, he had to. He’d promised. He’d promised he’d help. For Val, he wouldn’t be deadweight. Not anymore. He’d promised to make her happy.

He jumped between the phone and the girl.

The girl fell backward, trying her best to avoid him. She started backing away on all fours, crawling until she hit the white, marble wall behind her. The mom screamed through Val’s hands. It looked like she was slowly choking; her face was turning purple.

Bread ignored everything else. He slowly made his way over.

The girl covered her ears, cowering in the corner. Her fearful eyes… It reminded him of when he was with Dad. When he was yelling, screaming at the top of his lungs. And her trembling body… He was like that too. Just like that. Scared, crying… The same white walls encompassing his eyes…

He shook away the thoughts.

“I-it won’t hurt,” he told the girl. Gently, he knelt down and placed his hands on her shoulders. “T-this will be quick. I promise.”

“Bread, hurry it up!” Val’s voice was strained. He could hear the mom’s muffled screams in the background.

“I’m… so sorry.” He had no choice. He had to do it. Closing his eyes, Bread concentrated—let the electricity pass through his body, let it slide down his arms like hot, freezing ice cubes…

Then the girl screamed. And with it, images flooded through—

He saw a slideshow of figures. A teddy bear, Mommy, and the back of some well-dressed man. The suit was blue? Pink? The colors blurred, changing constantly with every moment.

Daddy? He couldn’t see the man’s face. Then he started to feel something. It felt like needles stabbing at his chest—a familiar, longing feeling mixed with… frustration? Anger? And there was something else—an intense yearning welling up inside, a hunger, craving. For attention. For that suited man to looked his way, to hug him, to smile at him…

When Bread finally opened his eyes, the girl was resting in his arms, unconscious but still breathing.

The memories kept playing in his mind. It wasn’t his. It was hers—her emotions, her suffering. But it kept reminding him of Dad. He hated it. He hated all of it. He didn’t like when he hurt people, when he looked through their thoughts like he were snooping around. It didn’t feel right. He didn’t like stealing, sneaking, or hacking. He didn’t like trying to be somebody he wasn’t, so why was he doing all this?

He didn’t get it. Was making Val happy what he really wanted? Was it worth it? Could he belong if he made her happy? Could he really have what these strangers had? A family?

For just a moment, Bread imagined himself going back to that suffocating, white room. He imagined what it’d felt like to be yelled at, constantly hurt by Dad’s words. He didn’t like it at all, but…

At least in there, he didn’t have to do any of this. He didn’t have to hurt anyone. At least in there, he’d be locked up, confined. He wouldn’t be free like what he’d always wanted. He wouldn’t be free to fly the skies or watch the clouds, but…

But Dad would be there.

He’d have a family, and he’d be free to be himself. And if he were to really be reset—have his memories erased—he could forget about all this ever happening. He didn’t need to be free; he didn’t need to be real. If he could belong without it hurting so much…

Maybe he’d rather go back.