The Neighbor's New Kid

Chapter 22

Whispers echoed as a group of people waited for the meeting to start. Phil was among them. He looked around the room, and found Dream sitting near the front of the room. For someone whose child is missing, he looked fairly content, smiling even. That smile gives Phil an uneasy feeling he can't quite pinpoint. His thoughts were interrupted as a man walked in and sat in front of them.

"Now that everyone's here," Sam, Tommy's  social worker, started,  "I'd like to ask you all a few questions about Tommy. Hopefully it'll help us find him." He went through the folder he was holding, "I'll be reading out what the officers have gathered. Feel free to say something if things don't add up."

"Tommy was last seen on his way to school," Sam started, immediately getting cut off by Dream. 

"That is true, which I find quite odd actually," Dream said. 

"Would you elaborate on that?" Sam asked. 

"I've heard that Tommy doesn't walk alone to school. That he's always accompanied by two other people," Dream said. 

Phil glared at the other, "What are you implying, Dream?" 

Dream shrugged, "I'm just laying out facts Phil. Facts that seem a bit…suspicious." 

"How is that suspicious? The reason why my boys started walking Tommy to school is 'cause you didn't even bother to show him the way," Phil said.

Dream smirked, "Hey, no need to be so defensive. Again, just putting it out there. And for the record, I was running late because Tommy's a heavy sleeper—which I didn't expect—which threw me off schedule. He agreed to go to school on his own, even said that he could familiarize himself with the surroundings."

Phil scoffed, "Unlikely. That boy would wake up the moment a door opens." 

"And how would you know that, Phil? Oh right, you brainwashed him into staying at your place—" 

"—he was sick—" 

"—easy target huh? Who's to say this isn't a ploy for your little kidnap—" 

"—what the fuck are you on about—" 

"Alright, alright!" Sam exclaimed, standing in between the two men, slowly inching closer to each other, most likely ready to tear each others' heads off. "Both of you, calm." 

Whispers filled the room once again…

"Phil would never!" 

"Well when you put it that way…" 

"His sons did see him last." 

"They had loads of chances to do anything but they didn't!" 

"I don't know...it is the only lead we have." 

As if to save him from these treacherous accusations, a loud ringing interrupted them. Phil fished his phone out of his pocket and found Wilbur calling.

***

Techno followed Wilbur out of the house after his twin yelled something about Tommy. He didn't understand much, but all he knew was that he's breaking Dream's front door open. 

"Tommy!" Wilbur yelled, stepping on the door that was now knocked down to the floor.

"Do you smell smoke?" Techno asked, his eyes scanning the area for fire. He can see Wilbur in the corner of his eye going straight to the kitchen.

"Tommy?" Wilbur yelled again. Techno was right it did smell like smoke...where was it coming from...

His eyes wandered over to a door down a couple of stairs. The basement. 

"Techno! I found the smoke!" Wilbur yelled as he rushed down the stairs. He attempted to open the door, but pulled his hand back at the burning temperature of the door. 

"Move," Technoblade said, two fire extinguishers in hand. He kicked the door open, revealing a horrible sight. 

The room was mostly covered in flames, including the little amount of furniture  in it. The only space not yet burning was near the middle where a body laid.

"TOMMY!" 

Techno sprayed down the fire, creating a small path for them to get to the boy. Wilbur dropped down and held Tommy, pulling him in his arms before lifting him up. Techno let them get out first while he emptied out the fire extinguishers, trying to keep the fire at bay while Wilbur called the authorities.

Luckily, their street wasn't too far from the main area and they were able to get help fast—evident through the loud sounds of sirens steadily approaching.

Techno was escorted out of the house by a fireman who was asking him about the situation. He spotted Wilbur with a police officer, while Tommy was getting loaded into an ambulance. "Are either of you two family?" The police officer asked. 

They shook their heads, "His foster parent, Dream, is at the precinct right now, having a meeting about Tommy 'going missing'," Wilbur said, eyes glaring at the ground. 

The officer nodded, and just as the ambulance left, "Come on, you two are riding with me, I'm guessing you wanna go to the hospital?" 

Techno and Wilbur nodded. They have to tell Phil.

***

"Hello?" Phil answered

"We found Tommy." 

Phil's eyes widened, "You found Tommy?" He asked, catching everyone's attention. Sam gestured for him to put it in speaker mode, which he did so. 

"Where are you right now?" Phil asked as he scanned the room, attention landing on Dream whose eyes were darting around the room as if in a state of panic. 

"Police car…following an ambulance. We're heading to the hospital… Tommy's—he—I—" Wilbur's voice got caught in a sob. 

Phil brought his attention back to the call and hushed him, "Shhhh, it's okay Wil, just breathe okay. Breathe in…and out." 

They can hear a faint whisper before the voice is replaced by another, "Phil?" 

"Techno, what's going on?! Are you two alright? You said you found Tommy?" Phil questioned. 

"Yeah, we found him in Dream's basement surrounded by fire." 

Everyone's heads snapped towards where Dream stood. 

Only to find him gone. 

+++++

Your comments on 'Hey Hi!' about wanting an update makes me wanna cry /pos. Don't worry, I'm back with the milk now T_T

LMAO on a serious note though. Thank you so much for sticking around, I really appreciate it!! 

Sorry for the unannounced break (and short chapter), I didn't expect to be gone for so long, but the last month was so busy with finals coming up and having to pack 'cause my family's moving then the unpacking and everything and just when I was gonna get back to writing I got sick, so yeah, no time to write at all. 

But I'm back!! We're nearing comfort, but we're not quite there yet! So I hope you stick around! 

Thank you for reading! Comments and suggestions are appreciated. 

-LuminaStarCrest