The Ways of Patching Up | ?

Twenty Seventh

He remembered how Dad paid attention and hugged him during dinner last Friday, tearfully apologizing for all his wrongful deeds. On the following weekends, Dad allowed Elliot to accompany him during work, where he ruffled his hair and even smiled at him. Even if they didn't communicate a lot, all these precious memories they have together... boosted up Elliot's optimism.

I can see Dad trying his best, and I know he's not giving up! The boy reassured himself. I'm gonna show Ms. Fairchild that he's just doing fine and he's not drinking those beers. In that way, she didn't have to worry about me anymore.

Sure there were still some uncertainties like the time where he caught him with the beers, nearly drinking them... but that was only one time, and that was all. The next thing they knew, everything went back to normal, and during the night... Dad was sound asleep and wasn't acting weirdly anymore.

No matter what, I've still gotta trust him on this one...

"Well, sweetie, you probably need to go to the cafeteria now. Don't want your friends to worry and get mad at you for taking so long," joked Ms. Fairchild, "especially Shanice."

"Hehe, yeah! Thank you, Ms. Fairchild! See you after school, then!" Elliot stepped back, and his figure quickly retreated to the distance, not wanting Shanice and Andrew to wait for him for too long. Beforehand, he waved his hand up high and grinned, and the purple-head obviously returned the favor.

Wait for a second... As soon as Elliot was out of sight, Ms. Fairchild's grin dissipated as soon as there was something not settling in. It was like there was something depositing on her stomach... and obviously, it didn't sit right at all. Why do I get a bad feeling about this?

What's going on...?

***

When the bell signalling dismissal played its first notes, children instantly poured into the hallway. Most of them were heading for their lockers, and most stayed behind to talk with their friends. For Elliot, though, he strode and slipped through the sea of kids, and finally came across the teacher's room. Standing in front of the doors, he suited himself, gripping his bag straps as tight as he could.

Okay Elliot... you gotta calm down...

It's all gonna be okay... Dad's gonna be fine when we're seeing him later...

Back during lunch time, when he came back from his time with Ms. Fairchild, Shanice and Andrew instantly interrogated him. However, the child stayed silent about his counsellor visiting his home... and instead, he decided to tell them about how she had been helping him deal with his father. Much to his relief, none of them suspected the real reasons.

After all, both Shanice and Andrew were busy taking care of the science project... well with Elliot too, but at least it provided some sort of distraction.

After some moments, a glimpse of distinct but strange purple hair was seen as Ms. Fairchild popped out of the doors. She had a tote bag dangling over her shoulder, filled with papers and other personal stuff. When they made eye contact with each other, the two instantly beamed in unison.

"Are you ready?" asked Ms. Fairchild, as she dug into her bag, pulling out a pair of keys... Car keys, perhaps? Like the one Dad used when he's turning on his car.

"Yeah," Elliot agreed, bobbing his head.

Without any more questions, both of them headed to her car, which was parked pretty close to the school. When he got into the car, Ms. Fairchild helped him by opening and closing the door for him, even though he had insisted on going on by himself. Geez, she's just too worried about me.

"So, do you know what's your home address?" She asked as she slammed the driver's door closed.

"Okay wait, let me try to remember..." Elliot shut his eyes, searching for the memory inside his brain, before eventually, he jolted up, "it's 2399 Mo... umm... Mowat Street!"

"Whoa, you're really such a smart boy. Not every kids know their address," Ms. Fairchild complimented as she started the car, its machine roaring into life, "thank you, Elliot."

"It's nothing really..." Elliot giggled sheepishly as he scratched his head, but on the other side, his mind was completely on a different topic overall... which was of course, Dad. Please be fine, Dad... and also Mr. Zheng's gonna be there too, so I think it's all gonna be good, I hope.

On the way home, Elliot leaned against the window and found himself drifting off to sleep. Finally, he got his chance to take a brief nap after all of that hard work of staying awake at school. On the other side, the counsellor decided to lower the volume of the radio as she had her full concentration on the snowy road.

The young woman didn't know what to expect to see later, but the gut feeling she had been harboring from this noon still haunted her for no reason. She tried shrugging it off by focusing herself on other tasks, but... nothing seemed working. Why is that so...? Why am I feeling like this...? Elliot seems to be just doing fine... but there's always something behind the scenes...

It was a 20-minute ride, until finally they reached their destination. Ms. Fairchild stopped and parked the car in the driveway. After everything was done, she then gently shook the child's shoulders, whispering, "wake up, Elliot. We're finally here.

"Mmm..." the boy grunted, as he fluttered his heavy eyes open and rubbed them with his hands, "I'm still so sleepy..."

"Haha, you can rest later, sweetie," she laughed, "for now, let's get inside and see your daddy."

That one statement, for no reason, it snapped Elliot's drowsiness in a blink of an eye. He then shot up from his seat and abruptly peered at his home... his pulse instantly skyrocketed and thumped against his eardrums when he noticed that... there was not even a sight of Dad or Mr. Zheng on the porch. To add more, the door of his home was dangled open, which caused Elliot's mind to get even more chaotic.

Oh no... where's... where's Dad...?

Why isn't he there...?!

Where did he go?

He... He's supposed to be there!

"Dad!" Elliot yelled his breath as he hastily flung the door of the car and hopped off despite all the calls and harsh warnings from Ms. Fairchild.

"Elliot! Wait, where are you going?! It's really dangerous to run like that!"

At this moment, he didn't even care about his safety anymore. He didn't care about losing his footing, he didn't care about slipping in the snow. All he wanted to see was Dad, and Dad only. Nothing else mattered for him right now. I just wanna see Dad!

"Da... Dad...?" Elliot called out, swallowing his saliva as he snuck into the house. His breaths started to quicken as he still couldn't find any signs of Dad, as chills were constantly running through his spine. Where are you, Dad? Maybe... he really does, but... Mr. Zheng's not here too...

As Elliot inched deeper into the house, he finally noticed a strange-looking lump on the floor. It wasn't really visible enough, but dread quickly filled him in no time. Who... who's that...?

"Dad...?" He called out once more, but no answer was given. He gathered his courage to draw himself near the mysterious bulge, as it started to get more recognizable. Come on Dad...? Please... answer me!

The moment the child noticed the unmistakable lab coat Dad always wore during work, that was when the whole world around him stopped moving. Elliot lost every control of his small body, that he couldn't even prevent his backpack from falling off his shoulders, making a loud thud as it collided against the ground.

Dad was there, lying motionless on the floor with his limbs sprawled, and on his left hand, were three empty beer bottles.