!! TW !!
-Mention of divorce
-Mention of Accidental Pregnancy

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It was almost closing hour at the Fredbear's Family Diner. People were leaving and the usual loud, colorful place turned silent, dim and empty. As Michael sweeped the floor William finished cleaning the last table, when all the sudden he felt someone lightly tugging his purple dress pants. He looked down and saw a little girl who looked visibly tired, Elizabeth. She was whimpering as she rubbed her left eye, trying to communicate to her father that she wanted to go home. In response William sighed and carefully picked her up. "You're sleepy, aren't you?", he said while looking at Elizabeth and gently caressing her long red hair.

He took Elizabeth's little brother Evan by the hand and went to search for Henry around the pizzeria. Meanwhile the little girl immediately fell asleep, feeling safe in her father's arms.

Henry was putting back the big golden rabbit and bear animatronics back in springlock suit mode. Evan was still very afraid of the animal looking robots, so he left his father's hand and hid behind his legs.

"Henry, I'm already heading home since my kids are tired. Michelle is gonna have dinner at your house, right?"

"Yep!" the bearded man replied as he finished messing with the robots and wiped the sweat off his forehead, "We didn't change the plans".

"Alright then, I'll trust you with closing the place up once you're finished. I'm gonna stay up and watch TV after dinner, so just call me whenever I can pick Michelle up".

"Okay then, don't worry, It won't be too late since Michelle has school tomorrow". He got up and put the wrench back into the toolbox.

"Right, I'll be going then" The man said as he was about to leave.

"Aren't you gonna tell her?"

"You can tell her about this since you organized it in the first place. Besides, I don't think she wants to talk to me right now".

Henry looked at the man in front of him, concerned. "William-"

"Henry".

William replied with a condensceding tone of voice, looking down at the shorter man. He clearly didn't want to discuss this, he was visibly tired and stressed.

Henry sighed, defeated. "Fine, you can go. See you later".

"Goodbye".

He got out of the parts and service room and left the pizzeria, taking Evan by the hand again while holding Elizabeth.

Henry put the toolbox back in its place and walked up to Michael, asking him:"Need any help?"

"No, I just finished, finally".

"Your father agreed to making you have dinner at my house, he hurried back home since your siblings were sleepy though".

Michael turned towards the sound of a car driving away.

"Oh". He looked down for a second and Henry glimpsed at Michael, concerned.

"Is everything ok...?" he asked while putting an hand on Michael's shoulder.

The young boy sighed, returning to his senses. "Yeah sorry, I'm fine", but Henry clearly wasn't buying that.

"Michelle, look at me", Henry said while properly turning towards him and looking straight into his eyes. He was assertive, but his tone of voice and facial expressions still appeared warm and kind. "Is everything alright at home? You and your father were so close before, what happened? You know you can tell your uncle Henry everything, I wouldn't ever tell him a word".

Michael looked at Henry, not knowing how to reply.

"I... I don't know. Sorry, I don't really want to talk about it or figure things out right now".

Henry sighed, feeling worried about Michael, but still decided to respect his boundaries.

"Alright then dear, let's just go cheer ourselves up with some dinner, it's been a long and tough day we deserve it" he said as he ruffled the boy's hair and smiled at him. "You must be seriously hungry for some of my famous hamburgers!"

Michael laughed, "You bet I am! I haven't eaten those since I was Charlie's age, probably".

Once they arrived at Henry's house and he opened the door a young woman suddenly came up to them.

"Good evening, Mr. Emily!"

"Good evening, I hope my Charlie didn't give you too much trouble" Henry said, smiling at the woman.

"Oh of course not, she's such a good little girl! We were drawing together just now".

"Glad to hear that". Henry took a wallet from his pocked and picked up some money that he immediately lent to the woman, "Here, you can keep the change. You always did a wonderful job and tomorrow I'm gonna bring my little Charlie to work, so you don't need to come again. Have a great weekend!"

The babysitter took the money, sort of surprised by the generosity of the man. "Wow, thank you Mr.Emily! I'll get going then, have a good night, all of you".

"You too!" Henry smiled as the woman picked up her stuff and left.

Michael almost forgot the fact that Henry and Donna, his ex-wife, divorced a few years ago. Michael was around ten years old when that happend and still remembers how unnecessarily bad he felt for Uncle Henry. Of course, he did go through a tough time, but it wasn't as serious as other people made it out to be. It wasn't as dramatic as telenovelas and movies represented it and Henry and Donna never had a huge fight, especially not in front of Charlotte. Donna simply realized that the traditional family life wasn't made for her when it was too late, but she didn't and still doesn't despise Henry at all, quite frankly it's as if they're just friends again now.

As stated before, Henry was a ful-on hippie. Donna fell in love with him especially because they shared the same views and had the same plans for the future, but Henry changed paths after a few years. He realized he wanted to study robotics and live a traditional life. After all that can happen to every human being, since people grow and change.

Even so Donna followed him, thinking that she would still be happy to live a different life than the one she imagined, solely based on the fact that it would be shared with Henry who she felt happy and loved with, but she realized that it wasn't enough too late. The situation suddenly got worse when she accidentally got pregnant by him after a few years they started living together. She was still young and confused by her life choices, feeling as if something was missing in her life and now she suddenly had to grow a baby inside her aswell. She made the choice to give her life since she didn't have much time to clear her mind and plan the future anyways.

Besides, she wrongfully thought she had to force herself to live a classic family life now, but after living like that for a while she realized she felt misereable and didn't feel fulfilled at all, it didn't fill the void, it just wasn't her. That's why after some discussions with her husband they decided to divorce.

She still endlessly loves Charlotte with all her heart and sees her as her daughter. Henry and Donna still work together to make sure that their divorce doesn't negatively influence Charlie's quality life and that she spends the same amount of time with both her parents as she deserves. They might not love each other anymore, but they still respect one another and accept their responsabilities.

Besides, Henry truly loved Donna. Even if it meant losing her, he accepted the choice she made so she could finally live happily again, even if now he missed what they had sometimes. After all, it's been just a few years since they divorced and he didn't fully heal his emotional wound yet, but he still considered himself to be happy. Charlotte filled his life with joy, she was everything, his entire world. He thinks about trying dating again sometimes, but he still doesn't feel ready enough to commit for a serious relationship again, yet.

As Michael and Henry entered the kitchen they saw a little girl with long dark brunette hair sat at the table, with her eyes focused on a piece of paper.

"Charlie! Daddy has a surprise for you".

She turned around, happy to hear her dad's voice, but suddenly saw Michael and gasped in excitement as she quickly got out of the chair to run towards him.

Michael crouched down and opened his arms, letting Charlie hug him tightly and doing so in return.

"You've grown so much!"

Charlie let him go after a few seconds to take a look at his face and outfit. Her attention was captured by his piercings, which she started touching in awe.

"You look so cool! Are you a famous singer now?!"

Michael laughed at her innocence, "I wish".

"Did you do those on your own?!"

"Nope, my friend did these to me".

"Woah... Did it hurt?" She asked, curious.

"Yeah, actually" Michael replied honestly.

"That's so cool, you're like...a tough fighter!" She exclaimed, with her eyes glowing in admiration.

Michael giggled, "Kind of".

"Daddy!" Charlie suddenly called out for her father while looking at him, "I want to have cool scars like her aswell! I want to look super cool!"

Henry laughed while he took his jacket off and hanged it on a rack, "Pumpkin, you're too young for that. You have to wait, I'm sorry".

She started swaying impatiently, disappointed by her father's response: "But I don't want to wait..."

"Don't worry, when you will be old enough I promise you I'll take you to a piercer" Michael stated to cheer the little girl up.

Charlie looked back at Michael, excited by his suggestion.

"Really?! I can't wait, I want to look like you when I grow up!"

"Why don't you two spend some time together while I prepare dinner, hm?" Henry suggested as he started to take some pans and pots in the kitchen.

"Of course", Michael replied while smiling. "I wanna spend some time with my favourite little nephew".

He picked Charlie up and sat with her at the table. "What were you drawing?" he asked.

Charlie sat on Michael's legs as she picked up the crayons back and started scribbling away "It's my super fantastical cool world for my dolls!"

Michael chuckled "You really like the word 'cool', huh?"

"Yeah! It's a super cool word!"

"I guess it really sounds like a cool word".

"It's the coolest word!"

Michael spent time with Charlie in the kitchen, listening to her made-up stories and praising her drawing skills. Weirdly enough he liked babysitting her, probably because she behaved properly unlike his siblings. Henry sometimes turned around to look at them and smiled, happy to see them getting along and enjoying the evening.

It was around 9:00 PM when they finished eating. Henry noticed how Charlie was trying to keep her eyes opened, so he got up and lifted her into his arms.

"Michelle I'll put Charlie to bed, you can wait here".

"Oh sure, need any help?"

"No, thank you dear". He gently declined as he got up the stairs and carried Charlotte to the bed.

"I'm not sleepy, I want to spend more time with Michelle" the little girl expressed unhappily, finding the energy she had left in her little body to protest.

"It's bed time pumpkin, there will be always occasions to spend time with your friend. Besides, you need to rest since I'm gonna bring you to work with me tomorrow morning".

Even though she felt extremely tired her drowsy eyes suddenly got wider. "Really?!" She said loudly, flapping her small hands in excitement.

"Yes, but only if you rest enough!" Henry tucked her in bed.

"Ok then" she yawned, "We have a deal".

Henry chuckled "Wow, what a proper little business woman you are". He gave his daughter her favourite plushie to sleep with: it was some kind of clown, but a cute looking one. This clown was hollow inside, It happened to be one of those plushies that served as a puppet. Henry used to insert his hand in it and put on a little show to cheer Charlie up whenever she was upset or couldn't sleep.

"Do you want me to check under the bed?" Henry proposed as he tucked her in.

"No... I realized that monsters deserve some sleepy time aswell, they probably just don't wanna sleep outside cause it's scary. That's not evil, dogs also are creatures that sleep under beds sometimes but they're not scary!".

Henry smiled at her. "You're probably right, monsters are not scary". He caressed her head and kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight pumpkin". He took a last glance at Charlie and turned off the lights, leaving the room as he closed the door behind him.

Charlie always has been the type of kid who curiously searched the reason behind things. She was weirdly emphathetic even towards things that kids her age seemed as scary, such as bugs, lizards, ghosts and all that sort of stuff. She was just a forgiving, kind little soul who couldn't see malicious intent in anyone or anything.

Last week, the one that she spent with her mother Donna, she was bitten by a lizard for the first time. She cried and ran to her mom, telling her what happend and how hurt she felt, just like any kid would, since she only wanted to make friends with the little creature. But as Donna kindly disinfected the small wound and patched it up, she stopped crying and told her how it happend because she was a big girl now, so she must have looked scary to the little guy. Donna and Henry always sat down together and shared all these little moments with each other, laughing about how silly the things this little girl said were, but they also found her adorable, special and extremely kind-hearted for it. They felt so proud of how intelligent and caring Charlie was towards everyone and everything around her.

Henry finally got down the stairs and went back into the kitchen where Michael was waiting for him, nervously. The man however didn't notice the boy's behaviour and started to take the plates and cutlery from the table, going to wash them in the sink instead.

"Do you need any help?" The young boy asked, playing with the silver rings on his fingers.

"No, thank you dear" he replied to Michael as he washed the dishes. "Do you want to watch a movie when I'm done?"

"Huh yeah sure, but..." he gathered his courage while trying to stop his leg from shaking and still fidgeting with his rings. "Can I talk to you about something first?"

"Sure, you can talk to me right now, I'm all ears".

"Uhm..." He looked at Henry's back while he washed the dishes. "Did you meet a lot of gay people when you were a hippie?" He realized as he was speaking how awkward and weird the conversation starter was, even though he planned it beforehand and thought about it carefully.

"Gay people?" Henry thought as he was cleaning the dishes. "Yeah actually, me and Donna didn't care much about them though".

"Oh". Michael tried to decipher his answer to anticipate Henry's opinion on the matter, but now he felt his anxiety and insecurity building up since he couldn't tell. His plan was already falling apart.

"What is it? Do you like girls?" Henry suddenly turned around to look at Michael. His question was genuinly just out of curiosity, but it came off as condescending.

"No! I mean, I uhm..." Michael tried his best to just say what he wanted to say, but he began to touch his hair and look down. He felt anxious and ashamed. He was afraid of Henry's judgement. He couldn't even look in his eyes.

Henry noticed how nervous Michael looked and sat down in front of the boy again, understanding that he wanted to talk about something serious.

"Is everything ok?" He asked while looking at him. Michael could tell Henry was apprehensive by his tone of voice, and his genuine concern slightly comforted him.

He sighed and closed his eyes for a second, trying not to panic.

"It's just- I know it sounds weird, but..."

Henry stayed in silence, patiently waiting for Michael to speak.

"I don't really want to be a girl". He still wasn't brave enough to look at Henry's eyes, especially after he said that. He started shaking and nervously grasp his own arms tightly, scratching his skin.

"Oh". Henry did not expect that at all. He was astonished and stayed in silence, still looking at Michael, processing what he just stated.

Michael anxiously tried to fill the awkward silence with his shaky voice: "I know it's weird, but I just feel like this is not me, you know? I'm not Michelle. I'm Michael, it just... feels right". Tears started to form in his eyes. "and it just hurts when no one sees me as who I am and keeps reminding me how I'll never be a real boy by treating me like a girl no matter how much I change, no matter how much effort I put in to look more like a man. I know you probably find me a freak or a weirdo now, but I just couldn't take it anymore and I-"

Henry noticed how much Michael was shaking and how he was starting to break down in tears. His voice was starting to crack and everything in his body language screamed that he was in pain, scared and uncomfortable.

"Hey..." He gently took Michael's hand away from scratching his skin and held it. "Everything's ok, look at me".

Hearing Henry's kind voice calmed Michael down a little and he found the guts to look back at him while swallowing his saliva since his throat felt dry and tight.

"Listen". Henry sighed, he was confused by the situation but tried his best to process his thoughts and find the right words nonetheless. "I'm an old man, you know that, I don't understand this type of stuff easily, but to be honest with you...", he started stroking his hand with his finger to comfort the kid. "Even If I don't fully understand how you could wish to be a boy, I noticed how you've changed lately, positively".

Michael listened to Henry in silence while tears began to run down his face.

"You always looked deeply insecure and uncomfortable in yourself. Whenever your mother made you wear dresses you looked especially awkward. It made me sad to see you like this, you looked unhappy most of the time. But then I see you, suddenly finding yourself and turning into the person somehow I thought you were always meant to be: confident, loud, always making sure your voice is heard, but still a kind, gentle soul. No one could ever forget about you".

Michael started to sob while trying to dry his tears with the end of the shirt he was wearing.

"And if you tell me that this is who you truly are, that the happy, confident person you were always meant to be is a boy called Michael, then I fully believe you and I want you to keep being that boy. I'm an old man, so I'm sorry if I'm slow at times, but I want to make sure you feel loved and comfortable around me, you're... truly like a son to me".

Michael felt all his worries and struggles tumbling down. He let himself cry, since he rarely had the chance to do it in front of someone. Then he shook his head and got up from the kitchen table all of the sudden, and Henry understood that the kid in front of him wanted to be comforted, so he also got up from the chair and hugged him tightly, giving him a pat on the back.

"I'm sorry if you kept this to yourself cause you were scared of my reaction, I had no idea. I must have made you uncomfortable in many occasions".

Michael couldn't reply. He simply hid his face on Henry's shoulder and kept sobbing, damping the man's clothes with his tears.

Henry affectionately caressed Michael's back while he was hiccupping and in tears.

"I know this isn't the time, but I do not advise you to tell your father about this. He's not a bad person, but... he's a bit stubborn".

Michael's lifted his head from Henry's shoulder while the man softened his grip and layed his hand on the young boy's cheek to whipe off his tears. He looked at him with a sorry expression, it hurt him to advise Michael to hide things away from his father.

"I know". Michael looked down, letting Henry comfort him. "He would never understand it". He sniffed to avoid mucus from getting on Henry's shirt, even though he probably wouldn't have really cared.

Henry genuinly wanted to prove Michael wrong, but he sadly knew William wasn't easy to convince. He was stubborn, and even though he's a close friend to him, he couldn't deny the truth.

"Maybe he'll change ideas and go back to his less cranky personality, one day".

He tried his best to comfort him through words, but from Michael's silence he could tell that he didn't believe that. To be honest, as much as he loved William as a friend, he struggled to believe that aswell. As a matter of fact, he felt worried about Michael. He was afraid that William could kick him from his home if he found out about this. He didn't think his friend was a bad person, quite frankly he knew how much he cared about Michael and didn't believe he could ever do that, but he couldn't take the risk since he felt like he didn't fully know William completely sometimes. He hugged the boy tightly again.

"Just know that I'm always there for you, alright? Whenever you need me, call me or show up at my house. No matter the time, I'll be there for you. I'll always be there for you, Michael".

Michael suddenly hugged him again, letting his face touch the soft hoodie Henry was wearing.

"Thank you uncle Henry, I'll keep that in mind", he said with a muffled voice.

Henry put his hand through Michael's hair, ruffling it all up before changing the subject:"Come on, let's watch a movie to cheer yourself up".

He let go of Michael and warmly smiled at him, then suddenly asked him:"Do you want some popcorn?"

Michael smiled back at Henry and nodded in agreement, sniffing and wiping off the last tears he had left with the end of the shirt.

"Alright, popcorn it is", Henry stated before going to grab the bags of popcorn to microwave.

Watching 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestial' really helped to cheer Michael up. He found fantasy and sci-fi movies comforting for some reason, maybe because he wanted to stray away from reality as much as he could. He didn't want to be reminded of his life while trying to escape from it.

He liked the reality he was living during that evening though: the soft fabric of the blanket touching his skin while he was hugged comfortably by the couch and snacking on popcorns. He didn't feel like a guest when he was at Henry's house, so he didn't consider sitting straight and politely. He even made fun of Henry for crying at the end of the movie, when in reality he also shed some tears when E.T. said 'I'll be right here', but he covered it up well.

Like all pleasant and fun experiences though, it had to end at one point. It was past 10 PM at this point, so Henry had to call Michael's dad to pick him up.

Michael watched Henry as he was talking to William on the rotary dial phone. The young boy had a bummed expression on his face, he knew he had to go home but still didn't move an inch from the couch, in fact he rather tried to enjoy every last bit of the safeness and comfortableness he felt in that house before going back to his own by laying on it and snuggling in the blanket.

When Henry finished talking he turned around and looked back at Michael. He felt bad for ruining the fun, but he maturely had to accept the fact that he wasn't in the position to fully take anyone's side. Michael wasn't his kid and he had to accept that, he had to be the responsible adult of the situation and not make any sudden decisions.

"Your dad is coming to pick you up".

"I know..." Michael replied with a disappointed tone of voice, slowly pulling his weight up to sit on the couch and put back on the black and ruined All Star Converse he always wore.

In the mean time Henry leaned against the wall, crossing his arms and looking at Michael, feeling bad for the kid.

As Michael picked the last things he left in the kitchen a car pulled over and Henry opened the front door, slightly waving his hand at the man who was sitting in the car, smoking.

William also waved back, but clearly wasn't in the mood for a conversation. He didn't look too cheereful, probably cause he felt annoyed at having to leave the house again at this hour.

Michael ran to the front door and looked at Henry one last time.

"Thank you for everything".

Henry turned back at Michael, trying to fight off his emotions that were desperately searching about a way to help the kid. His dad-instincts were seriously kicking in, but he shut those down and hugged Michael, giving him a pat on the back.

"Have a good night. Don't worry, everything will be alright".

Michael slightly smiled at those words, he knew Henry hardly believed that aswell, but he was happy to see him trying to cheer him up and reassure him.

"Yeah".

He finally went through the front door and went back in his dad's car. The man let the cigarette fall on the concrete ground and rolled up the car window, not even looking or talking to the boy to ask him how the evening went. He simply started driving away.

Michael looked at his father during the awkward silence for a second. He was creeped out by his demeanor, it was unusual for William to stay silent. He almost wished his father would've started harshly lecture him as he always did, because that would have least shown that he's still William, that he was still the father that wanted to desperately 'fix' his son, since at least it showed that he somewhat cared, but no. William didn't say a word during the entire car ride. The car also vaguely smelled like alchohol. He suddenly reached a point of anger that became non-caring. Was he really letting Michael be a wreck or was he just feeling especially tired?

Henry knew William since college and he actually saw a lot of him in Michael. No, he wasn't a rebellious kid back then, quite the opposite. He always wanted to make his toxic family proud and never broke any house rules, but he also had this sweet nature in him. He was a nervous wreck who was just trying its best at life, just like Michael.

William would keep information about himself away from you if you approached him, and bagan observing and studying all your actions and your personality instead. He let you spill out all your life details and information about yourself. Only then, if you passed his judgement, if he trusted you, he would begin to warm up to you. That's when you would discover a new William: a more excited and ambitious boy who will share all his passions with you. Just when you thought he was a rude antisocial nerd, you would find out he kept a spark in his hand, hidden from everyone's sight. A beautiful, bright, colorful, captivating spark. College William was the type of person you would feel deeply envious about, cause he always worked hard. He just kept going, no matter the circumstances, always motivated by something. That was deeply enviable.

But now Henry doubted if he truly fully knew William after all. He kept changing, all the time. He was mysterious, cryptic, confusing. When you thought you cracked the code after years of hanging out with him you would notice a new side that you never have seen, and somehow you were left wondering if you can actually pin down the main real characteristics of this man. He could tell that he wasn't that college kid anymore though, that's for sure. And he wasn't that warm young man who just got married to the love of his life either.

It's as if that successful man who finally got everything he ever wanted and worked very hard for suddenly lost his excitement and interest. His ambition, his pride, his self-assured attitude. They were breaking apart. He became way moodier, negative. He was not fueled by passion anymore, but by anger. Now he had a way more violent, scary, big bright red spark that he tried hard to keep hidden inside the palm of his hands. It almost looked like he discovered that he wasn't good at something for the first time and that triggered him, and Henry couldn't tell what that something could be. He had his dream job, a family, a good financial status. What was hurting his self-confidence?

Well, William was envious. All these years he saw everyone has some kind of competition. He had to prove himself that he was better than everyone. He didn't want to see people fall beneath his feet before, because he never needed to wish for that. He was always better than Henry at everything: he had higher grades, better skills, looks. Even if he was not a people-person like Henry he still managed to marry his crush. He always got what he wanted in the end, no matter what it was, no matter what he wanted. He enjoyed being friends with Henry back in college because he was almost as good as him at robotics, and he was the first person who kept trying to make friends with him no matter how hard it was to let him go out of his protective shell. He was the first person to treat him as a human being with feelings, who tried to understand him. William let Henry into his life at first just because his skills pushed him to always work harder to not let that man surpass him, and later in life the reason became to make Fredbear's Family Diner a reality, to fulfill their dreams, and most importantly because he enjoyed having Henry inside his life, because he made him a better person and genuinly cared about him. Henry always praised William and supported him because he admired him, and that mysterious man knew that. He liked being praised for his skills, and as Henry continued to be as good as him he began to actually be happy for him aswell, and the anxiety he always felt slowly disappeared.

But now, after years of depending on that 'fact', that being the 'fact' that he finally didn't have to fight in life anymore, that he was at peace with himself, now that he officially got everything he needed to have the perfect life everything began to suddenly tumble down. He didn't have the perfect family life he wanted. It was chaotic, messy, unstable. He had the same dad-daughter relationship Henry had with Charlie, but now the tables have turned. Not only did he lose the good relationship he had with Michael, but he could also tell his son had a better relationship with his best friend rather than him, his own father. That made him furious. He was more angry at Henry than anything, even though he knew deep down that he blamed his best friend because he was too scared to confront himself and the fact that he simply was struggling. He preferred to let alcohol enter his body to let the irrational thoughts get a hold of him. All of his life he promised himself to be a good dad, and he was one for a moment. He made Michael, Evan and Elizabeth happy and loved for one moment, but their relationship suddenly fell apart. William always struggled to connect with people, to understand them, but Henry was a natural in that. He felt deeply envious of his friend's social skills, and now those skills were particularly important to raise a family.

Henry was naturally good at making people feel loved: he was highly emotionally intelligent and emphathetic. William, however, wasn't like that, even if he also felt the same way for the people around him. His struggles started to have an effect on the relationships with the people in his life, but he didn't want to accept that. He was blinded by how he viewed himself. He couldn't pin down what the exact problem was, cause in his mind he never changed. He was still that captivating, sweet college boy. He didn't understand why everyone apparently had a problem with him all the sudden.

Since he couldn't believe that he simply wasn't good at connecting with people, he also couldn't accept the fact that he's an emotionally distant man, that he will never be a good person if he doesn't keep opening up with to his loved ones, show vulnerability, that he will never be better than his parents no matter how good his intentions are if he doesn't take actual action.

Since he was deeply terrified of not being good at something, of not being perfect, of not having control on his life, he blamed everyone else. He blamed his wife for being mad at him for apparently no reason whatsoever, he blamed Michael's friends for making him rebellious, he blamed Henry for making him stray away from his father, he blamed Evan for closing himself. Elizabeth was the only daughter he still had a connection with, but he didn't know how much that could also last.

He gripped the wheel of the car tightly between his fists. For the first time ever he wanted to see someone, in this case Henry, fall. Maybe it was his inebriated state that made him think that, but he wanted to find a way to make him pay indirectly, but he was torn between wanting him to fail at life to make himself feel better and not wanting to see his best friend suffer. He knew he would regret seeing him desperate, but couldn't shake off this intense feeling. He felt guilty, he genuinly even felt bad for his friend, but he couldn't let go of that sweet reassuring feeling that he's doing better than him.

The weakest animals had to die to make sure evolution occured. That's basically how he viewed life: people had to fail to make sure he stayed on top, to give him that sense of security and control in life. He didn't want them to suffer, it hurt him to see the people he loved the most suffer, but he viewed it as necessary for him to stay on top of the life chain and not suffer himself.

It's the natural way of things.