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high-functioning-fang1rl · 7 months ago

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Ahhhh everything about this is just perfect! Mama Nica has me in my FEELS 😭😍

Breaking The Dollhouse - Chapter Seven

Word Count: 3.3K

Summary: What would have happened if Junior survived and was taken by Tiffany from the hospital? What would that mean for Junior and Nica over the next year?

Notes: Yes, I know. I'm awful at consistent updates, these may be slow but i promise i will not be stopping for good any time soon. There is still a lot of this story to go. Also, it's GG's birthday today, so this chapter is dedicated to them!

Tags: @barclaysangel @streets-in-paradise @fairchilds-glasses @high-functioning-fang1rl

“I win.” Junior announced once again with a triumphant smile.

“Again?! I knew I was out of practice but this is just embarrassing!” Junior had stumbled across a pack of playing cards as he was ‘exploring’ the week before, Tiffany had grown used to Junior being more fidgety after having to stay hidden when the twins visited, since Tiffany still seems to think that it isn’t the ‘right time’ to introduce them. It certainly isn’t a lie, Junior still dreads being cooped up in his room for multiple days as the twins visit, he doesn’t blame them, only Tiffany. If Tiffany is so focused on keeping him and Nica for that matter, hidden from them, maybe they are actually pretty decent people, he’s never heard them mention Chucky. Maybe they disowned him or something and are being fooled by their mother the way he was.

The only time Junior can leave his room during those visits is when everyone is in bed and he can sneak out to see Nica. He wishes he could do more than that, that’s the main reason why he feels the need to wonder around more after the visits. Those visits continue to remind Junior of just how trapped his mom and him are, how desperately he needs to find a way for both of them to escape. They had been there for months now and Junior had memorised almost every inch of the house's interior and is still no closer to finding a way out.

As a small plus, Junior does at least find more things of use, even if that is just entertainment. Like the playing cards that he and Nica had made great use of over the past week.

“Right, come on. One more game before we get some sleep, I need to redeem myself.” Nica claimed with a smile as she gathered up the cards. Junior only gave her a judgemental look in response, “Winning one game is enough to redeem yourself after losing for a week straight?”

“Obviously! Now, you shuffle for us, I'm still kinda sluggish right now. I think Tiffany gave me a higher dose this morning.” Nica suppressed a yawn as she passed the deck over to the boy.

“Excuses, excuses.” Junior joked as he began to shuffle, “Aren’t you supposed to be the one to tell me we need to sleep as I insist on another game? You know, set a good example for me and all that?”

“Probably. But were also being held hostage by a woman who willingly married Chucky. I’m pretty sure Oogie Boogie would seem like a good influence in comparison.”

Junior let out a chuckle as he began to deal the cards once again, he knew Nica didn’t want to risk falling asleep whilst the drugs were still affecting her. He wasn’t sure exactly why, he’s assuming it’s to do with her time in mental hospitals but was never quite brave enough to ask. He didn’t want to risk bringing up bad memories for Nica, Junior just wants to make sure she’s okay.

“Um- Mom?”

“Yeah, honey?” Nica tried to suppress the buzz of excitement at being called ‘mom’ once again.

“Are you starting to feel better, now? With how much she drugged you? Like- do you know what day it is?” Junior couldn’t help but worry, reverting back to his early tactics when he first began talking to Nica.

“Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay, just waiting for the last of the fog to go. It’s uh- Sunday, right?”

“Monday. May 21st.”

Something in Nica’s eyes seemed to change for a moment then, she looked distant, almost haunted. “Monday, okay…” She took a deep breath and composed herself once again, but Junior couldn’t ignore it.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Junior had noticed the way Nica’s eyes were shining with tears that had begun to well up.

She sniffled slightly before answering, “Yeah, I'm- I'll be fine. It’s just-” She took another breath to help steady her voice, “It’s Alice’s birthday tomorrow. She would have been thirteen.”

“Oh.” it felt as if that was all Junior could say. Instead, he opted to gather up the cards and quickly set them aside before moving to sit next to Nica, gently resting his head on her shoulder as a form of comfort. It managed to pull a small smile to Nica’s face as she wrapped an arm around Junior’s shoulder and held him closer, brushing her thumb against his shoulder.

They’re not sure how long they stayed like that, Nica couldn’t focus on much at all. Her mind was consumed by different scenarios and ‘what if’s, all the things she could have done, even slightly differently, that just might have saved her niece's life.

Nica could remember joking with Ian about how he and Barb would cope when Alice became a teenager, if they would struggle, especially with Barb's constant claims of Nica already being a ‘bad influence’ on Alice. Nica herself could just never picture it. Not then, or now. She couldn’t for the life of her imagine Alice as a teenager, that was part of the pain. Something she once thought she would get an answer to without even realising it would now never be answered, Alice would never change from that cheerful, curious, little girl that lived in her memories. She would always be that innocent little girl who would run to her Auntie Nica’s arms every time they were reunited.

The same one that was scared of ya.

Stop it. You manipulated her!

She had already decided when I found her again!

She was confused because of what you did!

“Mommy and daddy are dead. Auntie Nica killed them.”

“Just shut the fuck up!” Junior instinctively flinched and Nica’s tone and it suddenly sunk in that she had spoken out loud.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry honey. It- I didn’t mean to snap, it wasn’t directed at you.” She wanted to reach out, stroke his hair or pull him close but was also terrified of frightening him again. She had scared him, she knew that, and hated it.

“I know… It’s okay, it just startled me. What was he saying?” She took a deep breath. “Just- a whole load of bullshit. You know how he is…”

With that, Junior decided it was best not to pry, Nica had gotten used to dealing with Chucky’s comments, even mastered the art of responding to him without saying anything out loud. Unfortunately, that also meant that it must have been something awful for Nica to snap enough that she spoke out loud without realising it. Nica herself was still quiet, Junior could tell that she was trying to keep her emotions hidden, the same way she would stay silent around Tiffany as she rambled, fearful that if she didn’t she would drop the act of believing she was dismembered and kill her right then and there with her bare hands. She couldn’t do that, no matter how bad either of them wanted it. They would have nowhere to go, Nica could try and clear her name but she would have no chance of that if she killed ‘Jennifer Tilly’ in cold blood.

It was strange, Junior never thought he would have wanted a sibling, sure he felt lonely growing up and he liked spending time with Jake when they were little kids, but he always knew that if he had had a sibling, it would have just been more comparisons made by his dad. More competition and training, a constant battle for validation from his father. Yet, hearing the way his adoptive mother spoke of her niece, he knows it would have never been like that, a part of him hopes that they would have gotten along. Granted, if Alice was anything like her aunt, he’s sure they would have. He can’t help but imagine how different his upbringing would have been if Nica had been found innocent in her trial and adopted her niece, from what he knows, Alice may as well have been her daughter anyway. Would he have still met Nica? A part of him wished that Chucky was lying, was it possible for Chucky to show Nica things he imagined and pass them off as memories? Maybe Alice could have gotten away, she was safe and hiding somewhere, maybe started going by a different name and is in a random foster home somewhere...

His thoughts were interrupted by Nica taking a deep breath, the kind he had grown accustomed to hearing when Tiffany would leave the room. As if her emotions that were fighting to get out had finally stopped pushing on the door, for better or worse.

“Right,” she sighed out, “Would you like one more game or would you rather just get some sleep, Junbug?”

“Uh, I think I would just like to get some sleep if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all, honey.”

As he lay down and began to allow sleep to take over his senses, he couldn’t help but worry about his mom. He could ignore the feeling that she was trying so hard to avoid becoming like her own mother that she would end up hurting herself even more. She was so devoted to making sure that he was okay and staying strong for him that she was fighting all her grief and suffering on her own as well as fighting his grief and trauma alongside him. He had to do something, help her in some way, let her know that she’s allowed to struggle as well. That’s when the idea struck him, and calmed those worries enough for him to drift off to sleep.

Where the fuck was she?!

Junior was sure he must have checked almost every room in the house by now and yet no sign of Tiffany. It didn’t make sense, she hasn’t left the house since she brought him and Nica here, and she wouldn’t have gone to ‘visit’ Nica without telling him. But the only explanation she had given was that she just had to ‘take care of something’. He half debated going to check on Nica but it was far too risky without knowing where Tiffany was and what direction to listen out for her.

That was when he heard it, the faint noise of Tiffany’s signature cackle, he focused on the sound, following it intently to find his captor. Before he came face to face with that door, the one other door Tiffany told him to stay away from after Nica’s room. Which luckily, had stopped being off limits after it was clear to her how well he had been getting along with her ‘girlfriend’.

His curiosity got the better of him, he had to know what she was doing in there, was it more voodoo stuff. Maybe she was helping Chucky again, and decided to give him another chance considering that part of him was still possessing the woman Tiffany had ‘fallen for’.

There was another voice, but it definitely wasn’t Chucky, it was a female voice, one too small and muffled for him to make out the words through the door. It wasn’t long before he heard the familiar clicking of Tiffany’s stilettos and he rushed, at least as quickly as his heart would let him before resuming his place on the couch as if he had never moved.

Tiffany was already drunk, Junior figured he had half an hour tops before she passed out this time, that's when he would investigate. And like clock work, he watched as Tiffany clumsily placed her wine glass down as her eyelids began to droop. He gave it another five minutes just to be sure that she was out before retracing his steps to the room, his precious kitchen knife in hand.

He hesitated briefly once he was there, debating whether he should knock. He doesn’t know why, surely no one would be in there unless they had to, so he decided to skip that part and start picking the lock. He soon heard the triumphant click and slowly pried the door open and to his confusion, saw a room nothing like the one Nica was placed in. Strange. He was so sure he heard a voice, he expected the same layout as another bedroom but this seemed to be no more than a storage room. Random boxes and items coated in dust was all he could see, there had to be something he was missing.

“Hello?” Junior fought hard to keep his voice as steady as possible, if there was someone in there with him, he couldn’t let them know he was afraid. He was beginning to think he had imagined that mystery voice earlier, he was just being paranoid when there was an almost inaudible response.

“Who- who’s there?” Unlike his own, this voice had been unsuccessful at hiding the fear in it, or maybe the owner wasn’t even trying.

“Where are you?” Junior called out a little louder, still on edge but more determined now.

“In the cage- under the sheet in the back of the room.”

Junior’s eyes instantly landed on a faded sheet covering something that, at first glance, he would have never guessed to be a cage. The shape seemed too big and an unusual size for something similar to the kind of animal cages he had seen in the past but also too small for a human to fit, except maybe a small child. Oh gods, please not a child!

Junior steadied his trembling hand as it wrapped around the sheet in front of him, and drew in one more deep breath before pulling it clean away.

For a moment, he was frozen by the dozens of questions racing through his head, trying to settle on which one he should ask first. It was a cage, a huge, shining gold, old-fashioned bird cage and, somehow, that was the most normal thing that was unveiled. Sitting inside, on a lining of newspaper with a small desk behind her littered with letters and a cheque book was a doll. Another goddamn living doll, but this one seemed different, she looked almost the same as the lookalike Tiffany doll that human Tiffany had placed in the truck with the Good Guys last November. Except this one had a large wound on the side of her head with stitches holding it closed and an unmistakable look of fear in her eyes, the kind that could not be faked. Besides all those dolls from the truck burned up, fried by the explosion after Andy Barclay drove the vehicle off of Hackensack Gorge, taking himself with it.

Junior couldn’t ignore the pang of guilt that took over, he had tried to warn him, and he should have listened.

“Wh- who are you?” Junior asked, desperately trying to push through the regrets that were filling his head. The doll’s eyes hadn’t left him once, still wide and afraid as ever.

“I’m Jennifer, Jennifer Tilly!” She rushed on with her explanation before Junior could respond, “I know how that sounds but the woman keeping me here, she’s an imposter! Her name is-”

“Tiffany Valentine.”

“Yes! It’s the truth, I swear it!”

Junior held his hands up in mock surrender, “I know, I believe you. She’s trapped me here too.” With that, Jennifer finally began to calm down, at least temporarily, before some mix of a sob and a laugh escaped her plastic lips, “You know who she is. You believe me and you found me!”

Junior gave a sheepish grin as he lowered himself to sit by the cage, hesitantly placing the fingers of his right hand through the gaps.

“I’m Junior, by the way. How long have you been down here?” Jennifer took a moment to think as she reached a small plastic hand to hold his fingers as a substitute for a handshake.

“Oh, I couldn’t tell you exactly. Since my babies were born, that's when she switched our souls. Do you know anything about them? My babies? Are they safe?”

“Glen and Glenda? The twins? I think so, I haven’t met them but they visit once a month. I think they’re doing well…”

There it was, the first smile Jennifer had given it what felt like years, maybe it had really been that long. There was so much more they both wanted to ask but they were interrupted by a distant crash, no doubt Tiffany knocking her wine glass to the ground in her sleep. Both prisoners tensed up, “Kid, you have to get out of here. If she finds you-”

“I know, but I'll come back later, when she’s asleep I promise. I still have a lot of questions.”

“Okay, be careful!”

“I will.” Junior gave her one last apologetic smile before draping the sheet back over the cage.

Breathe, in and out. Nica had to keep reminding herself of that, to focus on that and the birds moving back and forth, taunting her from the other side of the glass. Somehow that was more bearable than her hunger, the fog around her brain from the drugs and the unbearable itching of the dress she was forced to wear. Luckily, in Tiffany’s obviously still tipsy state, she had forgotten to draw the curtains over one of the windows, so once again watching the world go by became Nica’s source of entertainment as she waited for Junior to pick the lock.

Anything to distract her from thinking about things that should have happened on this day, including spoiling her niece rotten- No! Focus on the birds, she could just about watch them from this distance as they hop around under the glow of the outside lights. It was nice in a way, being able to see once again that there is life outside of the cage she is currently trapped in, it helps to remind her to keep going, that Junior could have a future still-

Speaking of, the familiar sound of the lock being pried open started once again. Except Junior did not confidently burst in as he had begun doing, in fact he lingered just outside of the room, almost as if he was hiding behind the door. A brief flash of terror struck through Nica as the idea came to her that maybe Tiffany had found them out and was threatening Junior from the shadows.

However, that fear quickly evaporated as Junior gave his signature half smile,

“Sorry i’m later than usual, I uh-” He slowly entered the room carrying an unopened box of brownies with him, “I was trying to see if there were any kind of cakes in the kitchen but these were the closest thing that I could find. I just thought that, even if Alice isn’t with us, it is still her birthday. I thought you might still want to celebrate her…”

Nica couldn’t stop a few tears from overflowing at Junior’s explanation, she hadn’t celebrated her niece’s birthday since the last time she spent one with her. She didn’t allow herself to celebrate it when she was in Lochmoor, the hypnosis had started taking effect and she told herself she didn’t deserve to be involved in any way. Not that she would have been allowed to do much.

“Yeah, I would like that…” It was barely more than a whisper, “I think she would have wanted us to as well, not to mention how happy she would have been. She preferred brownies over cake anyway.”

Junior allowed his smile to spread a little further across his face as she pulled two brownies out of the box. The whole experience was bittersweet but Nica couldn’t have been more grateful for it, Junior even had them quietly sing happy birthday and yet, something was still so clearly on Junior’s mind.

“Is everything okay, Junbug?”

“Yeah, mom. Uh- look. I know it’s kinda shitty timing, and I don’t want to ruin Alice’s day or anything but it’s pretty urgent…”

“Don’t worry about that, honey. What’s the matter? Are you sick?” She instinctively placed a hand over his forehead.

“No, I’m fine but, remember when we were trying to figure out why Tiffany and Jennifer don’t switch like you and Chucky do?”

“Yeah..?”

“I’ve found out why.”

#chucky #chucky 2021 #child's play #chucky syfy #nica pierce #junior wheeler #tiffany valentine #jennifer tilly #breaking the dollhouse #barclaypierce #andy x nica #andy barclay

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