The House that Swallows Kids

Chapter 30. Alfred Jnr.

The two detectives gave up and crawled out of the house.

They let out a huge sigh and assessed the whole scene. More cop cars have pulled up outside, and the grief-stricken adults looked even sadder. He wasn't surprised that they were all out there, because only he and a few older police unit, and denizens who had been there for years, knew that once kids go missing in Brooksville, they were never found.

Whatever the result may be, the duo were prepared to face them, and they walked a little closer to the crowd.

Detective Harry walked a bit faster as he had reached the two adults.

He could see the unimaginable pain in her eyes, and his heart grew heavier as he stood before her. He hadn't uttered any word, and Edith's face had already gone wide, which in turn made Alfred's jaws dropped.

They were looking right behind Detective Harry as if he didn't matter.

"I'm so sorry, ma'am, but the truth is—" Detective Harry started.

"ALFRED!!!" Edith cried out and ran all the way back to the house.

Detective Harry turned around and was shocked to see Alfred alongside all the missing kids emerge from the same place he did.

Everyone was in absolute awe and shock, as clamors and chatters busted out.

"Mom!" Alfred screamed like a little child, as he ran to hug her.

"Alfred!" Claire and Clifford ran to their butler, with joy in their eyes, and relief in their hearts.

He hugged them tightly for about a minute, as he scanned through the other kids.

From where he knelt, they were all about two dozen of both young and mature. In no time, more cops came closer to attend to then, all shocked and surprised.

Edith still held on to her son, as tears began to pool in her eyes. She'd missed him so much. More than he could imagine. Alfred couldn't stop grinning back, and it was at that moment Edith felt she needed to let go of what had been on her mind.

"Look, I'm sorry for how things turned out. I know I'm not doing a good job at parenting, not the way dad would—"

"Mom. Mom, stop—"

"I mean think about it. I barely spend time with you. All I did was work. And if I hadn't taken the job the other day; I mean it was a Saturday for God's sake! Dad would still be here. And I'd probably have gotten better at parenting. Better enough to know that I gotta keep you safe at all costs, and not let you run off into some creepy—"

"Mom, mom. Please stop. Please." Alfred stopped her this time, holding onto her warm arms, and wiping away her tears. The thoughts of what might have happened to Alfred when he was in that house or even the thoughts of losing him was probably what scared his mom.

"It's not your fault dad died, okay. You work hard, and that day was no different, because you had to work. And you are doing a great job at parenting. We might not have spent much time together like we were supposed to, but you are literally, the best mother I could ever have." Alfred said calmly and with affirmation. Those words sunk into Edith's ears, even though muffled noises and chatters surrounded them. She was still crouched before Alfred, and all she could do was just sniff and smile.

"And you couldn't have stopped me from leaving, because I'd have sneaked out anyway." He added, and smirked too at what he just said.

"What?" She laughed, partly because she couldn't believe her ears.

"Remember when you saw those kids next door walking out of their house?" He reminded.

She nodded playfully, slightly looking around to find them.