The Fall of the Aftons

150: Elizabeth Afton

A few weeks passed since Evan died, and everything had changed. Daddy had barely been home, and Michael had been acting off. Elizabeth felt bad for both of them. Sure, she missed Evan, too, but they both took his death a lot harder than anyone could anticipate.

A drop of rain on Beth's forehead startled her out of her thoughts. She looked up, immediately noticing the thick gray clouds stalking through the sky at a snail's pace. Little flicks of water started to fall from the sky, leaving tiny drops all over the playground.

"Beth! Let's go home now," Michael called from his spot on the bench near the end of the park. He stood up as Beth ran over to him, grinning at him. He chuckled, ruffling her hair. "You ready?"

"Ready!" she said happily, then ran off, skipping down the side of the street. There weren't any sidewalks in this part of the neighborhood, so she and Michael always had to walk on the sides of the street.

"Do you think Daddy will be home when we get there?" she asked once they hit the halfway point, using her hands to protect her hair from the rain. If her hair got too wet from the rain, her sort of curly hair would get frizzy and out of control, and it was always a mess to get it back under control.

Michael hesitated, handing Beth the book he had brought to read so she could better protect her hair. "I doubt it," he said, sighing. "He hasn't been coming home on time for the past few months. Haven't you noticed?"

She frowned. "I have. I don't like it."

He chuckled sadly, sympathetically rubbing her shoulder. "I know you don't. I don't fully understand why he's been avoiding coming home so much."

"Me, either," she mumbled.

~ ~ ~

When Elizabeth woke up the next morning, she went straight downstairs as soon as she got dressed, hoping that Daddy would be there. He usually made breakfast for her and Michael on the weekends, and since he hadn't returned home when she was still awake last night, she was hopeful he would be there.

But, surprisingly, he wasn't.

Michael, on the other hand, was, sitting on the floor, his back against the cabinets.

"Where's Daddy?" she asked, frowning.

Michael flinched, looking up at her in surprise, then smiled slightly. "He's probably at Henry's. He didn't come last night."

She frowned deeper. "Is he okay?"

"I'm sure he's fine. I'll call Henry later."

"Why not now?"

"Beth, it's just past six in the morning!" he exclaimed, laughing. "I don't need to call him this early in the morning. I'm sure we'll see him tonight—he comes home early on the weekends, remember?"

"Okay..." she mumbled disappointedly.