Seeing is Believing, Right?

4) Four calling birds

After a while, Dad and Mom were getting nervous, it's been almost four hours, and Bev isn't back yet. I trust she's fine, but with this freak storm coming out of no where... I'm not so certain we would all be ok in the end. Everything was getting colder, everyone was now wearing thick clothing and snow jackets. Even Lizzie was in a snow suit as Amal cuddled around the fire to keep warm.

I wrapped a dark red scarf around Max's neck and ears, seeing his nose was getting red and slightly getting the sniffles. He smiled at me as I helped him, seeming to glow like a Christmas topper on our tree. Everything was so cold, Omi was keeping the fire lit and warm for us all.

Max and I walked up to our parents as they spoke, it's been a few hours and there was no sign of Beth. "Mom, dad. It's already dark out and Beth isn't back yet." Max said, making them both look at each other and worry.

"Hey, Howard. Do you think your Hummer could get through this mess?" Dad asked our uncle, hugging mom by her side as he looked worried and terrified for his only daughter. "Lucinda? I could point her due east, hit the gas and she'd be storming the beaches at normandy by sunrise. What's on your mind, t?" He asked.

"Well, it's-it's Beth. She went to her boyfriend's earlier and she hasn't come back yet." Our mother said and began to panic more and more, scared out of her mind along with us. "See? Let them out of your sight for one second, and boom, shotgun wedding." Spoke our Great Aunt Dorothy, sitting on her rump with a glass of alcohol in hand and a cigarette in the other.

"Aunt Dorothy, please." Said aunt Linda "Well, you ought to know." She retorted back at Linda, making me snicker as Howard looked at his wife funnily. It was no secret she ran away to go see him when they were younger, lying to him saying her parents were fine with it. 'A skank.' I thought to myself.

"It's probably nothing. But I thought we'd go pick her up, take a quick swing around town, see what's going on out there." Said dad as his anxiety grew and grew, looking out the window to see how bad the storm has gotten over the past few hours.

"A little recon mission, huh? Thought you'd never ask." He said, handing off the baby to her mom, looked at our dad and grabbed a few things, including his gun and some ammunition with a flashlight.

"Thomas. Thomas." Said Omi and began to talk to him in a hurried German I could barely keep up. "What? Why?" Asked dad, hugging her and holding onto her shoulders to try and get her to calm down.

"What the hell is she so riled up about?" Aunt Dorothy said, furrowing her brows and sipping her drink in a drunken stupor. "She says not to go. That it's too dangerous, and that we should wait until the storm's over." Max spoke before I did, making me proud of how far he's gotten in his German at such a young age.

"Hey, mom, we have to go pick up Beth, but Max and Sarah will take care of you while I'm gone, okay?" Dad spoke to his mother, instantly worrying her and causing her to speak back to him afraid of his sake and her granddaughter's.

"Mom. Hey, mom, listen. Everything's gonna be okay." He said and kissed her forehead, then leaving out the door to go with Howard and find his missing daughter. I watched them leave and looked at Omi, wondering what she meant by 'She's gone, we must stay here.'

-_-_-_-Time skip-_-_-_-

Mom and Aunt Linda were talking about an Angel their mother had when they were younger, how Linda fought dirty to get it and place it. I wasn't focused on that, I was focused on the loud thumping I heard on our roof. Amal stood up and growled, ears pulled back as he snarled and barked at the ceiling. Something was wrong, he's never barked before.

"Mom?" Max and I said at once, holding onto each other as I looked at Amalgamous as he barked up a storm, starting to worry me. "Probably just squirrels." Mom said and shrugged, not seeming to know or not care about it.

"In this weather?" Asked aunt Dorothy, now a little more sober but still reeked of alcohol and nicotine. I hated to say it, but I sided with her on this one.

"See? Squirrels." Mom said again, making me roll my eyes. "Right." I said and sighed, stood up and went to go grab more firewood for our chimney to keep smoking.

"Probably playing with their nuts." Aunt Dorothy said, making me chuckle softly to myself. I hummed and Christmas tune and swayed my head to it, gathering a few bundles and putting them beside Omi, who had yet to leave the fire. All that was left to do, was wait.