011. a day of goodbyes

ONE MONTH PRE APOCALYPSE
AUGUST 21ST

For somebody who absolutely despised the idea of seeing her ex-partner, Elizabeth has been very thorough when it comes to finding out what he's been up to. It's a little silly, she knows that, to obsess about whether or not he's going to turn up at her front doorstep. She has fully custody of her little girl, and she has for months, there's no way he can just stroll in here and take Aurora away.

Unfortunately, it doesn't mean he won't try.

Admittedly, his parents have always been the more pushy of the bunch, almost desperate to gain custody of Elizabeth and Harrison's daughter so they could raise her on their own. With how Harrison turned out, there is no way they could be seen as the best option for Aurora's guardian. He's an asshole with a superiority complex and a serious lack of awareness when it comes to his actions.

Up until she'd left, Elizabeth is unsure about whether or not he'd ever actually been told no.

"Glaring at a photo of him isn't going to make him spontaneously combust,"

Elizabeth rolls her eyes as Tommy sits down across from her, a beer in his hand as he watches her. It's no surprise to her that he knew where to find her, he always has since they were little kids. She's convinced that he knows her better than she knows herself.

"No harm in trying, right?" Elizabeth comments with a frown, throwing the frame back onto the desk and sighing. "Lily said she saw him around the hospital the other day,"

"And you think he'll come back here?" Tommy questions, his eyebrows scrunching together.

"Yeah. He has a habit of showing up in places he's not wanted. The last time he came here, I thought Joel was going to kill him,"

Tommy makes a face, one that shows he's agreeing with her previous statement. Joel had never liked Harrison anyway, Tommy is almost sure he would've attacked him before he walked out on Elizabeth. Not that he can really blame him, Tommy wasn't too fond either — there was just a certain arrogance around the man he couldn't stand.

"You have full custody, Liz, he shouldn't be coming anywhere near either of you. Now, I'm pretty sure you have a shift soon so maybe you should stop stressing, and get ready," Tommy pats her on the shoulder, a teasing tone making its way into his voice.

"Don't corrupt my child whilst I'm gone, you two together have always been trouble," Elizabeth smiles with a roll of her eyes.

"She's two years old, Lizzie. It's not like we're going to steal a car and get wasted,"

Elizabeth slaps his shoulder gently, pushing herself up to her feet. Aurora is so much like her mother in the fact she seems to gravitate towards the youngest of Elizabeth's brothers, she'd been the exact same way when she was a little girl. However, Aurora also clings to Joel as if he's the only person in the world sometimes — it's cute.

"I'll have to ask Sarah to keep an eye on the two of you," Elizabeth comments casually as she leaves the room, scaling down the stairs to see the girl in question playing dolls with Aurora. "Sarah, keep watch of your uncle, will you? Don't want my daughter to grow up a delinquent,"

The woman can hear Tommy's scoff from upstairs, Sarah giggling lightly at the conversation. Elizabeth picks up her bag from the couch, leaning down to softly kiss Aurora's forehead and bidding her niece goodbye before heading out the front door.

The trip to the hospital is longer than usual, traffic backed up in the main roads of the town. Really, she should've left earlier, it would've saved her this headache. Thankfully, her shift doesn't start for another half hour, so she has more than enough time to report her attendance for the day.

The hospital seems to be even busier than the road, people sitting in the hallways and getting patched up rather than in a bed. It's been like this a lot recently, a sudden influx of patients that they just don't have the staff to treat.

"Miss Miller?"

Elizabeth stops in her tracks to see the receptionist, Taylah, looking at her. The two have never really had much conversation outside of work, so it's Elizabeth's assumption that this must be about their jobs. How wrong she is.

"There's a man here who's been pretty insistent on seeing you. He said he won't leave until you speak with him,"

Elizabeth knows exactly who it is and it must be visible to Taylah how uncomfortable the brunette woman is. "I can call the police instead if–"

"No, no. I'll uh I'll speak with him," Elizabeth sighs, wanting nothing more than for this man to finally leave her be.

"If you're sure. He's in the office,"

Taylah nods her head towards a small room and Elizabeth makes her way over. She doesn't know what he could possibly have to say, they'd settled this matter in front of the court — she has full custody, he will have nothing to do with Aurora. Opening the door, she's met instantly with his usual harsh gaze.

"You can't keep doing this, Harrison. This is my place of work, I can't have you coming here and disrupting things," Elizabeth hisses out in a quiet tone, not wanting everybody outside to hear what they're saying.

"I'll be quick, I promise. I didn't come here to start a fight," He says, holding his hands up defensively.

"Yeah? Then why the fuck are you here, Harrison?"

"To tell you that I'm leaving. I got a job across the state, good pay and even better living. I want to offer you and Rory one last chance to come with me. You won't have to work crazy hours or—"

The audacity of this man.

"Let me stop you right there. We're not going anywhere with you. Nothing you offer could make me want to go with you, or put my daughter through the same bullshit you put me through. It's over Harrison, take your shit and stay away from us," Elizabeth glares at him.

"Okay. Okay. I'll go. Just know when the opportunity arises again, and it will, Aurora will be going home with me. You aren't fit to be her mother and your brothers are the furthest thing from good role models," Harrison replies angrily.

"Coming from the biggest dickhead I've ever come across in my life. She might be your kid by blood, but she is not your daughter. She is not your anything, and she never will be. So, I will repeat myself, leave us the fuck alone!"

Harrison watches her for a few moments before shaking his head with a chuckle. "Alright, but you can't keep me away from my daughter forever. You won't always be around,"

"Is that a threat?"

"No, simply just common sense,"

Harrison pushes passed her, bumping shoulders rather aggressively. It takes everything in her not to smack him as harshly as she can, knowing she'd likely be fired for unprofessionalism.

Hopefully, that's the last time she'll ever see him. He's always had a habit of promising things and never fulfilling them. Aurora doesn't need him in her life, and for as long as Elizabeth is around, he won't be.

NOTE!

I know these flashbacks are a little boring, but they're more important to the story later! This is probably the last we'll see of Elizabeth for now as I want to delve further into Aurora's life when she was away for those years.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed :)