Without Him [Victuuri Fanfic]

Chapter 3

Knock. Knock.

It was the same as every morning.

"Yuri, sweetheart, time to get up." I heard my mom's voice from the other side of the door.

Only this time, I didn't have to wake up. I never fell back asleep after Victor called me, or rather after all of my attempts to call him back. He didn't pick up.

"Yuri?" My mom asked, and I heard the door creak open slightly.

"He called me," I answered without looking at her.

"What?" She asked. I tore my eyes away from the ceiling to meet her gaze.

"He called me last night."

I knew I didn't have to say the name. My mother had realized what I said, and she was frozen.

"Who... who called you, sweetheart?" She asked cautiously. Her widened eyes stared into my red ones — I had been crying throughout the night. "Who called you?"

"Victor..." my response was weak. I felt like crying again, but I had no tears left. My eyes just stung instead.

My mother stepped fully into my room and sat down next to me. She grabbed my hand and held it between both of hers.

"Is he okay? What did he say, Yuri?" She asked. I could see tears collecting in her eyes.

"He was crying," I revealed, sitting up to talk to her properly. "I don't know if he's okay, mom. He broke down and asked if I was home, and he told me to stay home."

My mother's fair features twisted in confusion. "Why would he..." She inspected my eyes as if she would find an answer there. I just shook my head.

"I don't know, mom. It sounded like he was in a car, he never told me where he was or where he was going..." I replied. I didn't have an answer. My mom looked away from me, staring blankly into the corner for a moment.

"Do you think he might be coming here?" She asked, meeting my eyes again. "I-I mean I just... I don't understand..."

Once again, I was frozen. I hadn't even considered that possibility. Was he coming here? Why would he do it so out of the blue? I was so baffled by the fact that he called me, I didn't take the time to consider what it meant.

My mother squeezed my hand, bringing my attention back to her. She must have noticed that something was wrong.

"Yuri, why don't you come down and eat breakfast?" She asked, pleading me with her eyes. "We need to be ready for whatever happens, okay? Maybe spend the day downstairs with everyone else."

She rubbed my back with one hand, comforting me like a child. I couldn't just ignore her. She was worried about me. She was in pain because of me.

"Okay," I muttered, nodding my head in agreement. She already had enough to worry about.

"You will?" She asked incredulously. I nodded once more.

That was the first time that month I'd seen her smile.

My mom didn't force me to eat a lot as I feared she would. I hadn't been eating much, and I knew she noticed the weight loss. Just as I expected, I got remarks of surprise as I walked into the living area. I hadn't been out of my room for a few weeks.

My older sister hugged me tightly after hearing the news, and I embraced her back. My father, although he had a more difficult time understanding my relationship with Victor, comforted me between greeting occasional guests.