Sheila Roth's Story

Sheila shuck her bottle of whiskey and attempted getting the last drops. I'm all out again, aren't I? Sheila got up off the floor and slammed the empty bottle on the island along with all of the other empty bottles. Michael hasn't been home for weeks.. He hasn't even stopped in to say hello to his own daughter. God dammit! That man just pisses me off!! Sheila then picked up the empty bottle and smashed it against the wall and broke down into tears. "Oh sweet, baby girl..." She prayed out loud. "You know your mama loves and adores you with all heart..." She whispered. "Why won't you come back to me?!" She was now yelling and lying on the floor surrounded in glass. "I love you, Amelia... I love you..." Sheila shut her eyes and fell asleep on a piece of glass.

Sheila woke up a couple hours later sitting up with some scratches and glass falling to the floor, once she sat up. She heard a car pulling into the driveway and she seemed instantly shocked. Is somebody here?? She thought to herself. Sheila got up and rushed over the window, seeing Michael's car. She stood there for a couple minutes, expecting him to walk towards the house... He didn't. I can't blame him for not comin' in. It's only natural that he wouldn't wanna see us. Sheila left the window and cleaned up a little bit. First she went into the kitchen and piled all of the alcohol bottles in a garbage bag and set them out back. Then, she swept up all the shattered glass in the kitchen and dumped it in the garbage. She then began doing the dishes... Which took a good, 20 minutes... Only to get quarter of them done. When she checked out the window once again, he was still there... Staring at that lemon tree. Sheila covered her mouth with her hand and felt warm, tears rolling down her face. She then stormed into the living room and paced. She threw a pile of things off of the couch and slouched down, wiping her tears away with her sleeve. "That's it. I have to get this place cleared up." She started throwing things in the living room into different piles. "Okay. Garbage... Keep. Garbage... Garbage.. Keep... Garbage..." She stepped on a dirty plate with her dirty socks and crinkled up her nose. "Oh, yuck. That's just nasty.." She picked up all the dirty dishes and brought them into the kitchen. All of the dirty clothes, she put into the laundry room. All of the garbage, she put into garbage bags in the back. She was about to keep going when she stopped and peeked out of the window seeming him with his face in his hands. What has happened to our family...

Michael looked up from his hands, and opened the car door "Fuck" he grunted as he pulled his leg out of the car, his bad leg the one that he hurt so many years ago. He looked up at the house, and sow Sheila standing in the window.

Baby Girl, I couldn't even look your mom in the eye when I sow her. I just lowered my head and shut the damn car door and headed to the porch. I feel like I betrayed her, your sister, and your memory. God I wish I could turn back time and change things differently.

He stepped into the house and set his keys in the small glass bowl on the table, it "clicked" loudly. The place looked a mess, but not as bad as he thought it would. It seemed like she was cleaning, he looked towards where Shelia was standing. "Hey She." he said in a low tired voice.

Sheila looked at Michael and walked closer to him. "Are you alright..? Where have you been?? You know, your daughter's been worried sick about you. Thank god she's at school.. It'd be terrible for her to see her father like this." Sheila took a good look at him and he looked very tired and worn out. "But, you don't need me tellin' you this. Why don't you go get some rest and I'll... See if I can cook something up." Sheila was kind of babbling and fidgeting. She had a habit of doing these things when she was nervous.

Mike chuckled gently, it was so adorable how she obsessed about such trivial things. "I'm fine She, but I need to talk to you." he said taking a deep breath. It wasn't an easy thing to say, but he felt like he had to say it she deserved to know after all. "I umm..." he hesitated. "I quite my job, today." He looked at her blankly, "I just can't do that work anymore, James even offered me a raise and everything, new house, new location, he told me to think about it but I think I've made my mind." he paused knowing it wasn't something you typically hear everyday, and a part of him wanted to talk about the affair but he couldn't do that to her, not after seeing her so happy.
"If you want me to take this job, i'll take I mean I know we could use the money."

Sheila looked a bit shocked when he chuckled so she just stood there waiting for him to speak again. It's good to see him smiling... She thought to herself. When he told her about his job, she just stood there silently listening and nodding. "If you want me to take this job, i'll take I mean I know we could use the money." Sheila knew, deep inside that she wanted him to take this job but on the outside... "No. It's okay.. I think it'll be best if I started working again. And anyways, you need a break too... Right?" Sheila hadn't smiled in months. She'd just worried about everything. It was hard when she was alone since her daughter didn't understand these adult things.

Before Michael could utter another word to her, when Abby came running in. Mike just smiled and hugged her back unable to answer the questions she asked. It wasn't the time to go into those things, and it probably never will be the right time, Ignorance is bliss for a reason after all and as much as he knew they deserved to know the truth, he would not be the one to break that happiness. "Hey Half-Pint, you got out pretty early didn't ya?" he asked gently.

Ah baby girl, your sister is growing up to look just like your mother.

Sheila and Michael were now sitting down talking. And just as he was about to say something she heard a backpack dropping on the ground and she looked over to see Abigail. When she started running towards her dad, Sheila just sat silently for a couple of seconds then burst into tears and held onto both of them tightly.

"I'm so glad your safe, Mike! I don't know what I would've done if something happened!" Amelia... I hope your watching us... I hope you know that we are a family and we will never forget what it was like, being in our care...

It felt like they were a family again, for a brief second everything was the way things were before then Abby broke from the embrace and the realization came crashing down, one hug does not make a happy family. "Well I don't know" he said answering Abby's question as he looked to Sheila, "It all depends if your mom will have me back." he spoke pretty sure she would say yes, but didn't want to assume anything.

"In any case, we do need to talk to you." he said wanting to give her as much information as he could about his job situation.

Sheila stopped hugging the group when Abby slipped away. When Abby lied about school, Sheila instantly knew that she wasn't telling the truth. Somtimes, Sheila would hear her slipping inside the house, thinking that Sheila didn't know. Well, Sheila did want to stop her from doing that but she knew what Abby was going through. "So are you back... or are you just gonna get up and leave again?" Sheila looked a little shocked when Abby said those words. Even though Sheila wanted to ask the same thing, she just didn't want to rush things. Sheila turned to Mike. "I've been asking myself the same thing, Mike." Sheila wiped her tears away and sniffled then crossed her arms as well. "Well I don't know."

He doesn't know? Is this some sort of joke? "It all depends if your mom will have me back." Sheila exhaled in relief. For a second there, I thought he was just being an ass hole... Turns out, he just wants the best for everyone. That's just like him. Well, was like him. When Michael said to Abby that he needed to talk to her Sheila turned her attention to Abby. "I'm going to start working again." She turned to Michael. "Now you daddy here has the reason why." Sheila turned to Michael, expecting him to start talking.

Michael looked at Abby a little shocked, "Half-Pint you're sixteen years old you need to start doing things for yourself, now I won't be working for a bit but I'm not planning to stay that way for long, and you need to take some responsibilities." A part of him hoped she was doing something around the house while he was gone but the other part felt like it wasn't so.

"Can you do that Abby?" he asked placing his arm around Sheila's shoulder.

When Abby asked about being alone Sheila raised an eyebrow at her. "Abby, sweetie... I know this past year has been hard for you.. But your going to have to start taking care of yourself again." Sheila held her hands together in a shape as if she was holding a cup. "Can you do that Abby?" Sheila was still looking at Abby when Michael wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Sheila grabbed onto Michael's hand with her left hand and had a serious look on her face... Like she always did.

Mike looked the Sheila and flinched as he heard the door slam. He knew the sound but it seemed to be louder then he remembered. "what do you think She? should we go after her?" he asked taking his arm away from her shoulder.

Ahh Baby girl If only you could talk some sense into her, I know you could cheer her up in a matter of seconds.

Sheila watched as Abby stormed to her room then exhaled. When Mike pulled his arm away from Sheila she leaned up against the table with her arms holding her body up. "What do you think She? should we go after her?" Sheila looked at him wide eyed then looked away. "No." She simply said and stood up. "I have some things to do." Sheila walked out the back door and into the bushes behind their house. She was wearing a house coat with big pockets big enough to fit a pack of cigarettes, a lighter, a medium sized bottle of alcohol and... Pills. She made sure she was near the creek which was almost a kilometer away from the house. It was far into the woods and took quite a while to get there.

Once Sheila arrived, she hopped across some rocks that were sitting in the middle of the water onto the other side. She then rolled up her pajama pants, took off her slippers and dipped her feet into the creek while she took out all of things that were in her pockets. She popped off the cap on the pill bottle and sat it down so she could take off the cap that was on the alcohol bottle and the pill bottle fell over and some pills went into the creek. Sheila looked over and caught it in time for there to be 5 out of 11 pills left. "Shit..." She stuck one pill in her mouth and chugged her whiskey so the pill could go down. She then lit up a smoke and relaxed.

You know, Amelia... I've been thinking that maybe it wasn't such a good idea that your daddy came back. Now I won't be able to do this as often.

I watched as your mom left the room as well, I could tell I came home at the wrong time but when is the right time to return to a dead homestead anyway? I wandered into the kitchen to maybe find a beer, something to take the edge of this but there wasn't a drop left in the fridge. Maybe your mom drank it, maybe she threw it away I don't have the right to judge her, nor do I have the right to tell her how to live her life. We're drifting away from eachother Baby Girl me with Cheryl, and your mom with whatever she is hiding from me. Yeah, I know she is hiding something you think after all these years of being married I don't know her tells, she knows mine too I'm sure of it, but as I said I lost the right to tell her what's right and wrong when I cheated on her.

I walked upstairs and knocked on Abby's door, "Half Pint?" I called. "You know I... erhh we didn't mean any harm, right?"

Sheila had already been gone for a while and she was pretty messed up from the pills and alcohol. She stumbled across the rocks onto the other side of the creek. She was so dizzy and she was sweating like a pig. Sheila was now surrounded by trees and a cold breeze. She lifted her head up and watched as the trees gently swayed in rhythm with the wind. Sheila then began to laugh. She wasn't really laughing at anything in particular, she was just laughing like an idiot. She made her way slowly through the forest and tripped a couple of times along the way. When she finally got home a long time later, she head towards the hammock and passed out.

Sheila dreamed about Amelia. She was dreaming about memories of her baby. About them, lying on the hammock together, about her first day at school, about their secret base at the creek and then, it ended with the bicycle incident. All the screaming... Crying... Blood... Horror.

Mike stepped away from the door not sure how to prouceed, he didn't hear her muffled apologie but a part of him knew she didn't mean what she was saying. "All right Half Pint, talk to me when your feeling better." he said and started down stairs. The stairecase creaked as he stepped quietly on the floorboards. Walking down stairs he noticed Shelia though the windowstill laying on the hammock.

He walked to the back door and watched her for a few short moments, he loved her so much but still felt this tarrible guilt hanging over him like a low baring cloud.

"those are called stratus clouds, Daddy." he herd his daughters voice ringing in his memories.

"Yep" he took a gulp, and opened the door walking towards Shelia just now noticing something way off about her. "Sheila?" he called her name trying to peice the puzzle togather.

Sheila was just lying on the hammock. Dreaming, Having Nightmares... She didn't know and it didn't matter. "Sheila?" Those words were echoing through her head and it hit her even harder when she fell to the ground and smacked her forehead on the rough grass. Even thought Sheila could feel the pain, hear the wind blowing in her ears... It was like she was sleeping, but she wasn't. All she could see were scenes from her life and things that had happened in her life.

Mike sow her smack against the ground and quickly ran to her side. "Shelia" he clasped her in his arms, not knowing what to so. "Oh God, She I'm sorry. Fuck!" He started feeling more guilty of not telling her his secret.

"She," he said picking up the faint smell of alcohol on her breath. "Lord..." he sighed and tried to think what to do. He couldn't lift her, that would be a nightmare if her dropped her from exhaustion.

Look at this baby girl, I can't do any thing right. Your mom is shit faced drunk, and your sister is mad at me. Maybe I should just leave them, there better of without me anyway.