A few months after the funeral, he appeared again on their doorstep. The faint scent of inlaid cigarette smoke like a wave of smog as the old man stood there on their porch.

A persistent look on the elder's face. The man looked up at his mother with a furrowed brow and just for a second, the old man's unrelenting gaze melted into that of a concerned father. Who can't sleep without the constant sounds of his grieving daughter and her son embedded into his mind.

"...Sorry I couldn't come through earlier Ab- "

"No...Dad, it's okay." Abilene retorted softly.

Rylan sighed as his mother looked down and silently let him in. The elder's eyes still watched her with a silent but gentle form of empathy. But the apprehension Abeline had was still clear, the air was still tense with it.

Rylan knew the old man and his mother had history. But the unease at those past memories that he never even knew of was so thick that it didn't take him much to realize those memories were still real.

They were still very much real and the presence of Grandpa Ethan only seemed to make things worse. As if his company was doing nothing but put salt on open wounds. Yet as he looked at his Grandfather, he didn't understand why.

He didn't understand why his mother rejected his presence, or remember why. He frustratingly couldn't recall the answer, but it was obvious his mother did. Even when she knew she had no choice but to accept it. They needed his help, even when he wasn't the best to turn to. She looked back at him and contemplated her emotions. Abeline barely uttered a word before her voice cut through like a knife through the silence.

"...I'm surprised you even came."

"Abeline..."

She held out her hand to halt him before he could even finish.

"No, like I said, it's okay."

With that, she looked over at Rylan and told him to go into the living room as they walked into the kitchen. So with that the young boy seated himself on the couch. His mind was in a state of pure confusion as father and daughter argued.

The conversation next door was mostly muffled by the living room wall. But it was clear from the tone and pure uncomfortable smog that drifted from the kitchen doorway. A sign that the conversation wasn't going well.

Their uneasy conversation dulled even further by the child's mind as he silently grew tired of trying to distinguish the words and reserved to his thoughts. His thoughts served as a diversion from the discussion to ease his confusion. At least until his thoughts turned into painful memories.

He started thinking about his father. The warm glow that once lit up the empty husk of a house. Something that would never happen again and the very notion of it was more than enough for the boy's eyes to well up.

A few minutes later, Ethan walked out of the kitchen. Ethan still very much concerned and very much frustrated.

"Besides...both of you need a home Abeline.
I know this isn't the best choice we have Abi but outside of losing this place it's the only one, and as much as we don't get along, I don't want to see you and that kid drowning in debt or rotting in some homeless shelter."

She sighed softly and leaned against the doorway. Abeline rubbing her temples nervously before she regarded Ethan again and n çodded, Even if he wasn't looking back at his daughter and merely acknowledging her.

Instead, he had paid attention to Rylan, his brow furrowed up a bit as he stared at the curled up bundle that was the nine year old boy. Though as if Abeline had noticed, she picked up the boy and held his head to her body in a protective embrace as if to hide his eyes away from the old man.

"Well, if that's the case , I'll do it then...but don't expect me to be asking for more help."

She responded.

"Good."

She heard him reply bluntly with a slight tinge of relief in his voice. But, as she gazed between him and her young son, she couldn't help but feel bitter. The tension she harboured towards him,boiling to the surface as she opened her mouth to speak.

"And, the more you stay away from Rylan the better."

Her words rang out in the living room harshly as it scratched at Ethan's ears like a knife, the stinging words met with further silence until he got over the unexpected slander. His sorrowful gaze erased from his face and instead replaced with his usual unrelenting glare.

"Abeline...I know you'd obviously realized this but, he's my grandson, my own grandchild, and if there's one thing that can't be prevented it's me taking care of him. Especially since Dennis isn't around anymore to take care of Rylan himself, as tragic as it is...he was an exceptional man, never could've asked for a better son in law, and the least I could do for him is take care of his boy for him. Help him grow into the type of man Dennis would've wanted him to become. I've lost enough already Abi...I don't want to lose you two too... "

"Besides, that was years ago. I'm a changed man Abeline, I've seen the face of the devil and turned my back on it. Not just for you, but for Rylan as well. For all three of you just so that I could see you again...even if, well, I never got to see my third son again."

He lamented coolly to her with his callused hands animated in exasperation. His dark eyes filled with a sorrowful sort of frustration as she looked on while sporting the same furrowed brow he had shown earlier. His call to make things right not going unnoticed by the boy in his mother's arms as he turned his head towards the unfamiliar elder.

Despite his mother's hand attempting to once again clutch his face to her body. Yet, despite her attempt to keep him away from the man, he couldn't help but feel a sort of unexplainable feeling in his chest. A sort of longing curiosity. The kind of feeling you get as you look at through your family photograph and wonder, if it all was real.

That curiosity you get when you want to find the truth between the dream that is your childhood memories. He knew that he was familiar with this man. In fact he knew he was even close to him at some point. Despite the fact he was too young to recall completely. One of his earliest and only memories of him was often nothing but cheerful.

Faint flickers of birthdays and christmases and even his father's hunting trips and despite barely rendering his presence, he could still remember the laughter. He could even remember the warmth, the faint smile. He could recall other faces along with him but, his memory of them was so little he could barely recall them. But, it was clear that the man he barely remembered wasn't the same man who stood before his mother. The man she saw before her was completely different.

The room was still filled with nothing but an uneasy fog until Abeline let out an inaudible murmur and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She walked up to Ethan and nodded gently. Her hand slowly moved away from the young boy's head to secure him more to her hip as she usually did.

" If that's the case then....well, don't screw it up."

She shrugged slightly at him as she hoisted Rylan up gently.

" Who knows, perhaps this could work. You've always been a man of your word after all."