A Crack in Time

It was a cold, damp fall friday night when Abigail realized her father still was not home. Initially, it made sense since he had usually spent his evenings after work at a local bar drinking his head off and crashing in a nearby booth. At least, that was his reputation, and it wasn’t helping Abby’s social status. People viewed her as a daughter of a drunk, and her friends’ parents often weren’t fond of her. So the fact that he still hadn’t returned wasn’t overly surprising. As a result, she continued on with her normal night and did a little bit of homework, (but she was distracted by the youtube videos playing on her phone), made some pizza rolls and chicken nuggets, watched her favorite Netflix show Stranger Things, and Facetimed her best friend Tracie, who she knew since grade school, about the cute boy she had a crush on in homeroom.

Around two in the morning, her dad still hadn’t returned from the bar. Not like he would drive anyway, the local sheriff who her dad was friends with would drop him off. But no, nothing. In a sense, she almost felt sorry for her dad, especially since her mom got up and left them without any sort of goodbye note. Instead, she just packed up and left for Florida, with a man she met at the bar. Of course, the circumstances at home weren’t the best (with her dad being laid off and all), but it couldn’t have been that bad to book at the first sign of trouble without saying goodbye. Maybe that’s why she disliked her dad as much as she wanted to love him, she felt he indirectly caused her to leave. She loved him as a father, but not as a father figure. Regardless, his absence raised an initial suspicion, she thought nothing of it and was about to go back to sleep after going to get a glass of water. However, when she went to throw the paper cup away, she realized the trash still had never been taken out. “Oh F***”, she said under her breath. “He is going to kill me”. And it’s not as if she was wrong, if her dad saw the chore had not been done upon his return home in his drunken state, she definitely would have gotten the belt. Without a second thought, she quickly grabbed up and trash back and proceeded to move it out the the trash can, stored in the garage. However, upon opening the garage door, she was greeted with a sight that shook her to the core.

Her dad’s car was STILL here. He never went out after all, because she surely would have heard the garage open as it was an old antique and had a clanky motor. But if he was home, where the hell is he, she thought to herself.  As she closed the garage door, her head began buzzing with questions. “Where was he”, “ How did I never notice this?” and “ Why is he here” were the first questions that ran through her head. Red lights were flashing in her mind, as she knew this could only mean something bad. “Dad?” she tried to shout upstairs, but her voice was trembling so it only came out as a whisper. She began to walk up the stairs, to the dark hallway abyss that laid ahead of her.

Abby reached the top of the stairs when she finally turned on the hall light. Nothing seemed out of place, her family portraits still on the wall and the Art Van boxes folded up against them. Hell, even her clothes basket of dirty clothes was still outside her door as she was GOING to wash them, but ended up procrastinating. However upon further inspection, she noticed that there was a faint light beaming underneath her father’s closed door. As she approached the door, she tried to reach for the doorknob. It was LOCKED. Something like this was very strange, as regardless of what was happening in the house, her parents NEVER locked their door. Horrid things began flooding her mind as she could only guess what was behind that barricade between her and the truth.

One Hour Later-
Police ruled it a suicide. They said he probably struggled for 5 mins before his body and heart finally gave up. But what left them all wondering was why. Especially for Abby. After all she was the one that found her dad, or rather, her dad’s body hanging from the ceiling fan. A makeshift noose made by one of his old belts that he used to hit her with. A ghastly white skin complexion that looked so much like a ghost, one would have a hard time telling if it was indeed once a living, breathing person. She sat there for what felt like hours before finally accepting what had happened. She immediately called Tracie, who in suit called the cops.

Shortly after she arrived and the police showed up, she took Abby back to her house. See, Abby and Tracie went way back, to the point when they were both five years old. They met on the playground, after Abby fell off the monkey bars and sprained her wrist. It was Tracie who ran to tell the teacher and who rode with her in the ambulance to the hospital. She was the one who promised they would be friends forever, and it held true. Ever since then, regardless of circumstance, they have remained the closest and best of friends. It was nice to have a friend as close as Tracie, in case anything terrible ever happened.

Back at Tracie’s they sat up in her room, where she comforted her while she cried into her shoulder.

“Why would my dad do something like this?” Sobbed Abby.

“ I don’t know Abby. I truly don’t know..” responded Tracie.

“Like I understand the situation at home wasn’t the best, but was it really that bad where he couldn’t deal with it?”

“ Abby, there is nothing that can cause someone to do what he did to themselves”

“Was this all my fault? Was I not good enough for him to want to live?”

“ Abby, none of this is your fault. You don’t need to feel guilty about a poor decision ur dad made. He was just soft, and couldn’t play the cards dealt to him… b*tch” Tracie Muttered under her breath.

“ You know, you’re really NOT f*cking helping. I’m crying here!” Replied Abby.

“ I’m sorry, I just don’t know what to say. None of us predicted this.”

“Yeah…”

“But if it helps, your dad left a note. Not that you would really want to read it right now”

“No, let me see it. I need to know why he did this”

“Okay..” Tracie said as she handed her the note from her father.  On the front of the note it said “To my Beautiful daughter Abby”. Abby choked back a sob, and proceed to open the letter. On the inside it read:

Dear Abby,

If you’re reading this, then I’m sure you know what’s happened. But what you may still be wondering is why. I know it may not make much sense to you right now, but I promise one day you’ll understand . After your mother left me, I was distraught and quite frankly, broken or shattered. I didn’t know what to do with my life. And instead of turning to a counselor for guidance, alcohol became my coping device. And after the years, I realized how bad of a choice that was. Coming home every other day at two in the morning, getting dropped off in a police car, stumbling to the front door reeking of alcohol and falling asleep on the couch . I was being completely selfish, disregarding how it would affect you in terms of how you were known around town. Instead of being recognized for your accomplishments, you were instead known as the daughter of the alcoholic father. In the end, I decided it wasn’t right to do this to you, and I couldn’t bare to deal with the truth. I’m sorry that it has come to this, but I couldn’t go another day knowing that this is what i’ve become. Abigail Grace Fischer, I Love you so very much and will always love you. I’m proud to see what you have accomplished in your short life, and as your father I am nothing more than filled with pride. I’m sure wherever you end up going, you’ll exceed beyond everyone’s expectations, as you always do. It may be hard at times, times where you want to quit or drop out but just remember, I’ll always be here for you, just on a different level. I’ll always be watching over you, as your guardian angel. I truly am so sorry it had to come to this, but just understand how much I love you.

Sincerely,

Your father