Pain - A TommyInnit Angst

Chapter 12

The pair sat in silence, staring at the TV screen, gawping as more and more images showed up and more and more reporters speculated on what may have happened. Tommy was so shocked that he was unable to feel upset; instead, a strange numbness set over him like a trance. However, this was cruelly broken when an image of his parents flashed onto the screen; it was a pair of mugshots. Tommy flinched and felt a horrific sense of guilt wash over him, pervading every thought, every emotion.

'Wil, I did that to them.' He whispered, breathing quickly, his eyes darting around and filling with tears. 'I did that to my own fucking parents, this is all my fault, they're gonna go to fucking jail Wil.'

Wilbur turned around suddenly. 'Look at me Tommy. Look at me.'

Tommy shakily turned around to face him.

'It is human instinct for a parent to protect and love their child at all costs. If someone goes out of their way to hurt their child, they are not human. They're a monster. Your parents are monsters, and you need to stop feeling obligated to protect them. They did this to you, not the other way around.'

Tommy sat in silence for a second before quickly wrapping his arms around Wilbur and sobbing into his shoulder. He didn't know how else to show how grateful he was for everything he was doing. Wilbur gently hugged back.

'You know we're gonna have to go to the police station, right Toms?'

'Please not today. Please Wil.'

'We have to, Tommy. You're a missing person, and I'm technically a kidnapper. This has gotten too big to keep to ourselves. I'm so sorry, I know you didn't want this to happen.'

Tommy squeezed his eyes shut tightly and slowly nodded; deep down, he knew that Wilbur was right.

• • •

The two of them walked out into the street and clambered into Wilbur's car. Tommy was shaking like a leaf, his heart pounding. He knew they would send him to the hospital and they would have to inspect him and see all his injuries; what he didn't know was if he was ready for that. What if he had more flashbacks? It was one thing Wilbur seeing his injuries when he was patching them up, but he didn't know if he could handle it with someone he didn't know.

They sat in silence, the air thick with tension, for the duration of the car ride. Tommy could see that Wilbur was anxiously biting his lip, clutching the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles were bright white. Eventually, Wilbur pulled into a deserted carpark. They had arrived.

Tommy's legs almost buckled beneath him as they walked towards the entrance. The dread he felt was almost as bad as it had been every Wednesday prior, only this time it was a different type of torture. As they walked into the police station, they were greeted by a receptionist who at first was smiley, but took one look at Tommy and her eyes widened. She quickly typed something on her keyboard and kept them engaged in small talk until Tommy heard footsteps behind them. He turned around in alarm to see several police officers. Trepidation filled him like never before, and he allowed his tears to flow freely. He reached out and grabbed Wilbur's arm, trying to manoeuvre him in front of him, as if he would somehow be able to hide. Wilbur just turned around and hugged him.

'It's going to be okay. I promise.' He whispered. He released Tommy from the hug and they both turned to face the officers.

'Hey son, would you mind coming with me?' A female one said to Tommy. She smiled at him, and Tommy felt slightly calmer and hesitantly walked towards her. He stood there for a second, waiting. Why wasn't Wilbur walking with them?

'Wil?'

'He's gonna have to come with us for a moment. Don't worry kid, you'll see him in a moment we just need to ask him a few questions first.' The male police officer replied, also giving Tommy a sympathetic but sad smile.

'N-no. No, Wilbur, please, you have to come! Wilbur!'

The female police officer gently took hold of Tommy's arm and led him towards the door of the police station, and the male one lead Wilbur in the other direction. His mouth felt dry, and his veins were infused with adrenaline.

'Wilbur... Wil, please come... WILBUR!' He began to get more and more frantic; he didn't want to resist the police officer; he knew she was only doing her job, but seeing Wilbur get further and further away was terrifying.

'You're gonna be okay. It's just protocol. We need to find out who he is and why he was with you.'

'He's... H-he's my... my brother.' Tommy stammered.

'We know you don't have siblings Thomas. But I know he's probably a really good friend, and it's nice that you had someone to help you out. I'm Sarah by the way. I'll be staying with you throughout this whole process; it's going to be really hard, but you'll get through it.'

There was something calming about her voice, and Tommy nodded, closing his eyes as they walked out of the police station. There was already an ambulance waiting, and they climbed into the back. He began to panic slightly at the enclosed space and the load sounds of the sirens, but he kept his eyes closed and pictured Wilbur's face, letting the image wrap around him like a comforting blanket.