13458 September Chapter 67: Alone in the Dark

"Nighty, Nighty," Emmet's mother used to call out to him, stroking his hair as he laid his head down on her lap, finding comfort in her warmth, finding solace in the quiet.

"Pyjama, Pyjama," Aunt Minnie called back from where she slept at the side, all three of them laid down on Emmet's mother's double bed.

Emmet never understood how Aunt Minnie managed to sleep on her back with her arms crossed, her body completely still save for her shallow, repetitive breaths, forming the beat which his mother's hands followed as she continued to run her fingers through his hair.

He had been attempting to grow his hair out, wanting long locks, just like his mother and aunt.

He wanted to fit in with them more. He wanted to look more like them, and less like his father. He wanted to show his mother more support. He wanted to show his mother how similar they looked.

Emmet had fallen asleep in his mother's lap that night, the sun sinking down against the clear sky t