We’re not going to last this winter. They are going to either freeze or starve. I don’t know what I’m doing.
Grant picked up the bottle again.
It just feels right in my hand. I can just take a little drink to get my mind right. Just a glass to help get my strength back and then I can go back out and cut enough wood to last through the winter.
Grant could feel his arm shaking.
I know it’s going to happen sooner or later, why fight it? Alec hates you, he will always hate you.
Alec was expecting this to happen. Ever since he had returned Alec knew this moment was going to happen. He knew that Grant was going to fight this battle and end up on the losing end.
I left her there to die alone. I left my kids alone to deal with the grief all by themselves. I failed her.
Grant grabbed the bottle and with his last bit of strength he threw it into the sink. The bottle shattered and he watched as the last of the alcohol disappeared in the drain. She had always been there for him, the very least he owed her was to do the same for their children.
Grant collapsed on the floor and put his head in his hands. He won this battle but he knew the war would never end. His thoughts turned to his children and some of his strength returned. He was willing to continue fighting this fight for them. When Grant finally took his head out of his hands he saw Alec standing at the doorway. He didn’t know how long the boy had been standing there and his face was blank. For a few seconds their eyes locked then Alec turned around and walked outside.
Grant rested his back against the cabinets. “Not today Alec,” he let out a long breath and tried to calm the shaking in his hands. “Not today.”
Ben
Winter had arrived.
As the cold wind bit into his skin Ben hunched down behind a tree for cover. Flecks of snow fell all around him slowly changing the color of the landscape. He glanced behind him and could just barely make out Trent hiding in the bushes. The man gave him a thumbs up and Ben couldn’t help but smile. He had learned a lot from Trent. He could travel through the woods while barely making a sound, and he had nearly snuck up on a rabbit the other day. Trent showed him a patch of blackberries hidden in the woods and was starting to teach him what plants were edible and which were dangerous. Yet the thing Ben wanted to learn most of all was how to shoot a gun and how to hunt. That was why he was on his current mission.
His father always kept the ammo for their gun in the glass cabinet near the living room. Trent was low on ammo so they couldn’t target practice with his, but if Ben could get some ammo from his father’s gun then Trent agreed to go target practicing with him. Ben knew his father probably wouldn’t be happy about him taking the ammo, but he would appreciate it when he realized Ben could help him hunt.
He bounded around the tree towards their house like he didn’t have a care in the world. If he acted like everything was normal then no one would think anything was up. Trent told him that and he had to agree it made perfect sense. Ben walked through the house as casual as possible, past Jack stacking wood in the mud room, past Joseph playing with toy cars in the kitchen, and past Alya and Alec sitting next to the wood furnace in the sitting room. He paused for a moment as he realized there was someone missing but quickly tossed that concern to the side as his father was probably just hunting.
Ben slipped into the hallway quietly and stood next to the case holding the ammo. No sounds. No Jack asking him to lend a hand, no Joseph asking if he would play with him, and no Alya trying to tackle him to the ground. He wasn’t expecting Alec to say much, ever since they moved to this place he had been keeping to himself. After a few beats of silence
Grant picked up the bottle again.
It just feels right in my hand. I can just take a little drink to get my mind right. Just a glass to help get my strength back and then I can go back out and cut enough wood to last through the winter.
Grant could feel his arm shaking.
I know it’s going to happen sooner or later, why fight it? Alec hates you, he will always hate you.
Alec was expecting this to happen. Ever since he had returned Alec knew this moment was going to happen. He knew that Grant was going to fight this battle and end up on the losing end.
I left her there to die alone. I left my kids alone to deal with the grief all by themselves. I failed her.
Grant grabbed the bottle and with his last bit of strength he threw it into the sink. The bottle shattered and he watched as the last of the alcohol disappeared in the drain. She had always been there for him, the very least he owed her was to do the same for their children.
Grant collapsed on the floor and put his head in his hands. He won this battle but he knew the war would never end. His thoughts turned to his children and some of his strength returned. He was willing to continue fighting this fight for them. When Grant finally took his head out of his hands he saw Alec standing at the doorway. He didn’t know how long the boy had been standing there and his face was blank. For a few seconds their eyes locked then Alec turned around and walked outside.
Grant rested his back against the cabinets. “Not today Alec,” he let out a long breath and tried to calm the shaking in his hands. “Not today.”
Ben
Winter had arrived.
As the cold wind bit into his skin Ben hunched down behind a tree for cover. Flecks of snow fell all around him slowly changing the color of the landscape. He glanced behind him and could just barely make out Trent hiding in the bushes. The man gave him a thumbs up and Ben couldn’t help but smile. He had learned a lot from Trent. He could travel through the woods while barely making a sound, and he had nearly snuck up on a rabbit the other day. Trent showed him a patch of blackberries hidden in the woods and was starting to teach him what plants were edible and which were dangerous. Yet the thing Ben wanted to learn most of all was how to shoot a gun and how to hunt. That was why he was on his current mission.
His father always kept the ammo for their gun in the glass cabinet near the living room. Trent was low on ammo so they couldn’t target practice with his, but if Ben could get some ammo from his father’s gun then Trent agreed to go target practicing with him. Ben knew his father probably wouldn’t be happy about him taking the ammo, but he would appreciate it when he realized Ben could help him hunt.
He bounded around the tree towards their house like he didn’t have a care in the world. If he acted like everything was normal then no one would think anything was up. Trent told him that and he had to agree it made perfect sense. Ben walked through the house as casual as possible, past Jack stacking wood in the mud room, past Joseph playing with toy cars in the kitchen, and past Alya and Alec sitting next to the wood furnace in the sitting room. He paused for a moment as he realized there was someone missing but quickly tossed that concern to the side as his father was probably just hunting.
Ben slipped into the hallway quietly and stood next to the case holding the ammo. No sounds. No Jack asking him to lend a hand, no Joseph asking if he would play with him, and no Alya trying to tackle him to the ground. He wasn’t expecting Alec to say much, ever since they moved to this place he had been keeping to himself. After a few beats of silence
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