Wish You Were Here

Arthur was curled up on his bed, tears soaking his sheets and still falling down his cheeks.
"Daddy?" a nervous voice asked. "Are you gonna lay there all day? I'm starting to get hungry."
He rolled over to face the little boy in the doorway.
"S-Sorry Alfred," he said quickly as he wiped tears of his face. "Th-There should be s-some food in the fridge. Ask M-Matthew to help you c-cook it. A-And pl-please be careful."
The boy nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him.
Curling back into himself, Arthur started crying again.
'Why did you have to go? I need you! All of us do! I can't support the boys without you!' His tears increased in pace. 'Please come back!'
All he wanted to do was go back in time and keep Francis in the house. Convince him that they could get groceries tomorrow when he wasn't working and they could take the whole family. He wished he could have kept him and let him cook dinner for them before they all watched a movie or two. But he didn't. He would have let him cook without fight or protest because he was, admittedly, the better cook and Arthur loved his meals.
The door opened again and soft footsteps were his warning before a small hand tugged at his sleeve.
Looking down, he saw his younger son with shiny eyes.
"Why is Papa so late? He said that he would be home soon but he's not!"
Arthur sat up and pulled the boy into his lap.
"He's not coming home, love."
Instantly the boy's eyes filled with tears and he started crying.
"B-But wh-why n-not?"
Arthur stroked his hair gently, trying to comfort him as best as possible.
"He's dead."
Matthew stared at him, tears seeming to freeze in his eyes out of pure shock.
"W-What?!"
Upon hearing the yell, Alfred ran in.
"Who's attacking?!" he demanded, taking a defensive position. "Is it aliens?! I bet it is!" Seeing his brother and father crying, he was confused. "What's goin' on?"
Arthur pat the spot next to him.
"Come here, dear. We need to talk."
The boy ran and jumped onto the spot.
"What's up?"
Putting an arm around his shoulders and pulling him close, he softly said, "Papa isn't coming home."
Alfred's eyes welled up but he held the tears back.
"W-Why not? Doesn't he love us?!"
He stroked the boy's back.
"Of course he does. It's not his fault he can't come home."
"What happened?"
Arthur took a deep breath to steady his voice.
"S-Someone hit his car on his way home. He was killed almost instantly."
Suddenly Alfred couldn't hold the tears back and he started crying into Arthur's arm.
Arthur pulled him into his lap with Matthew and hugged them tightly, crying his own tears into their hair.
The torn family stayed like that for a long time, just clutching onto each other to keep anyone else from leaving them, and crying until their throats were sore and their eyes were puffy.
"W-We're going to have to change a few things around here," Arthur said after such a long time of silence. "N-No more fancy meals. Desert only when we can afford. Less trips. I'm going to have to get a job so maybe until I can take care of you two you should go live with Uncle Antonio."
Both boys' heads whipped up to stare at him, shocked.
"No Daddy!" they both cried. "No! Please don't send us away!"
The clutched him tighter, hoping to change his mind.
"I think it would be for the best dears. I will be gone all day and you two can't stay home alone that long. It's illegal for one thing and I would be so worried about you. I don't want to have to do it but your uncle and I have always been prepared for this."
The little boys started crying again, soaking his shirt further.
He held them close and closed his eyes.
* * *
"Do not worry amigo," the Spaniard said with much less happiness in his voice. "We will watch them for you until you can take them back."
Arthur looked around him to make sure the boys were out of hearing before he said with no emotion in his voice, "To be honest, I don't know if I will be able to take them back. I might just end it tonight."
The other man's eyes widened.
"No! Don't do it! I know you are upset, we all are, but that is not the way to go about it!"
His head shot up to meet the other's gaze, showing hollow, desperate eyes.
"I can't take it! I need him! I am losing my mind!" He broke down. "I need to see him again…I can't bear this…Please just watch my boys for me. Raise them and teach them how to take care of themselves."
Antonio grabbed his arm as he started to walk away.
"No! Stay here with us! Just until you can get back on your feet!"
He shook his head.
"I can't. Make sure you take the best care of them you can and make sure they knew how much we both loved them." His tears increased. "A-And d-don't l-let th-them f-forget u-us!"
With that, he tore his arm away and ran back to his car.
Antonio tried to follow him but he sped away so he jumped into his own and gave chase.
By the time he caught up and had broken his way into the house, he found Arthur's body on the ground with blood still coming out of the back of his head. In his hand he held a note: 'Wish you were here'.
"Arthur…"