heaven- byler 🤍

7.

family line- conan gray

after will and the losers hung out at the quarry for about half an hour longer, they all decided to go home. everyone said their goodbyes and headed their separate ways.

will arrived home about 20 minutes later. he unlocked the door and walked inside. immediately, he wanted to walk back out again. he heard his mother crying and there was muffled yelling coming from jonathan's room, but will couldn't quite make out what they were saying.

all he knew was that it probably wasn't good.

he cautiously put his bag on the floor and crept over to his older brothers door, preparing himself to eavesdrop on their conversation. will had done that a lot when his parents still lived together. they would argue over ridiculous things and will would be trapped in his room, not wanting to get yelled at.

or worse.

even with his ear pressed against the door, he couldn't hear anything. he decided to knock and find out what was going on.

knock knock

the door creaked open and will saw his mums eyes, desperate and red with tears. his brother was crying, too. what the hell happened? mum and jonathan never argued..

"will, sweetie, can you... give us a minute?" joyce said between sniffles. will nodded and left the room. he decided that what was going on was probably quite serious and that it was probably best not to eavesdrop. he went to sit on the sofa and watch some television.

***

about 15 minutes later, jonathan opens his door and storms past will, a bag in his hand. jonathan's bedroom door slammed as joyce ran out. "where are you going?" she cried.

"to nancy. she'll know what to do." he said before opening the front door. "bye, will. i love you and good luck."

with that, jonathan slammed the door and jumped into his car, speeding out of the front garden as fast as he could.

before will could even comprehend what had just happened, his mother broke down in tears and walked to her room. will followed her, throwing the television remote on the sofa. as his mother wept, he desperately tried to comfort her, despite not even knowing what had happened. "it's okay, mum, he'll come back in a bit." he said as he hugged his mum. she rested her head on his shoulder and tried to calm herself down. after she had stopped crying, the phone rang. she rushed to pick it up.

"hello?"

a man's voice spoke on the other end.

"um.. okay.. 10 minutes?" joyce asked, her eyes wide. "i thought you'd be here tomorrow. what about the..?"

the man spoke again. will couldn't tell who it was or what he was saying though.

"okay. goodbye." joyce said, putting down the phone and rolling her eyes.

"you okay, mum?" will asked.

"yeah.." she took a deep breath. "honey, you need to leave the house. just for today. maybe you can sleep over at mike's or someones?"

will was confused. "what?"

his mother sighed. "look, honey, it's not your fault, it's just.. the conversation i had on the phone.. you need to go, sweetie."

"who was on the phone?" will asked.

"oh, that doesn't matter. do you wanna walk to mike's?" she asked.

it was like she was stressed.

stressing about him being in the house.

"no! no, who was on the phone with you?" will asked another question, trying not to get angry.

joyce exhaled. "will, i promise that i'll explain it to you another time. for now, you just need to get out of the house."

will started to panic. his mind was whirring with thoughts. what if i'm in trouble? what if i'm getting kicked out? what if i have to stay with mike? that would be so awkward.. what if mum is pregnant?

wait, how would mum be pregnant?

okay, cross that off the list.

"will?" joyce snapped her fingers, snapping will out of his thoughts. "are you okay?"

"yeah. can you tell me what's going on, though? it's worrying me."

"i told you already, honey. it's a long story. i'll explain it when i can. i promise. okay?" she smiled.

"mum, please? i just wanna know the story in short."

the door bell rang.

"will! okay, uh, go to your room!" his mother spoke, clearly tense.

"what?" will almost shouted.

"you're not in trouble! just go!"

will rolled his eyes and walked into his room, slamming the door behind him. when he heard the front door open, he decided to see if he could hear anything, like he had done when his mum was talking to jonathan.

unfortunately, he couldn't hear anything.

and that just made him more scared.

***

after 20 minutes had passed, will decided to go into the living room. he opened his bedroom door and stepped into the hallway. he saw his mother standing by the front door and she saw him, too. she gave him a look- a look that said: go back into your room.

he didn't listen.

his mothers eyes widened as he stepped closer and closer into the living room. when will was finally in the room, he saw a man sitting on the sofa, his back turned to will. "who's that?" will asked his mother.

"oh, nobody!" she said quickly, smiling.

but will could see right through her.

she was upset, scared, on edge. something was bothering her. and she wasn't telling him anything.

"it's fine, honey, go back." she said, noticing the confusion and pointing to will's door.

"no, don't let him go so soon." the older man spoke. "i've been wanting to talk to him for a while, if i'm honest with you.."

will looked up at his mum. his mum nodded at him and he almost fainted. he had to grip onto the wall for support.

his stomach was filled with worry. his head was filled with doubts. his eyes filled with tears.

will had never been so scared.

not even when he was arguing with mike.

he tried to get his breath back.

when he could finally breathe, he spoke:

"dad?"

"i'm not your dad, william." lonnie said as he turned around.

1034 words