Good Things Never Last

Chapter 82

Staring at the boy with glowing golden hair, I stepped forward, making my way onto the small bridge he was standing on.

"Tommy? What are you doing?"
He turned to face the glowing pool of death hundreds of feet below once again, shaking his head rapidly.
"You're dead. You aren't here. You died at L'manburg. You die with Will"
I froze, my eyes widening in horror at my young brother's words. Wilbur wasn't dead. He couldn't be. I didn't get to say goodbye. I didn't get to tell him how much he meant to everyone, how much he meant to me.

Tears started to well in my eyes as I watched the boy before me take a step forward, lowering the space he had left until the ground beneath him stopped completely.
"What are you doing Tommy?"
He turned to lock eyes with me once again as he shook his head, tears silently rolling down his cheeks.
"I have no one left. No one visited me. No one cared. No one ever did"
I took a step forward as he did the opposite. I watched as small rocks from underneath him crumbled away and fell into the lava many metres below, yet the boy before me didn't even flinch.

He didn't care.

"Tommy I'm here now. Look just come away from the edge and tell me what happened"
He just shook his head in response once again, turning away to let the glow illuminate his face.
"You're dead. Nothing can change that"
He took yet another step towards the cliff's edge as I rushed forward, my hand outstretched.

"Remember the time you wanted to climb the tallest tree in the forest when you were five? You said you could do it because you were a big man and you did do it. But when you got to the top, you decided to do a victory dance and you just let go of the tree and fell to the bottom, only for me to catch you?"
I stopped moving as he turned to face me again, still not uttering a word.
"Or when me and Wilbur got into a fight and you smuggled his guitar into my room so just to give him an excuse to come talk to me so we could make up?"
I watched as the boy's facial expression softened, his tired eyes meeting my own once again as his breathing quickened.
"Remember when I came back from my trip. And you didn't say a word, you just hugged me. You can do it again Tommy. Just get the fuck away from that ledge"

And that's what he does.
He ran towards me but it was as if he was in slow motion, tears streaming down his face as I spread my arms wide to accept his worn body in an embrace. His sobs echoed all around as he wrapped his arms around my torso, managing to squeeze all the air out of my lungs as we both sobbed into each other's shoulders. But then he backed away, his gaze staying on mine as he shook in my grip.

"You're not real, are you?"
I shook my head while gently gripping his hands, still attempting to keep a weak smile on my face.
"I felt like I'm not, trapped in a world I couldn't remember. Seeing faces that seemed so familiar but the memories of them stayed locked away in my head, just out of reach. I've been trapped in my own mind for months, fighting to remember, but he wouldn't let me. He didn't want me to"
The blond's eyes widened in realisation as he squeezed my hands while I subconsciously drew us further away from the cliff.

"Who?"
I shifted my gaze to the netherrack above us, swallowing any remorse I once had for the masked madman.
"Clay... I mean Dream. Every time I thought I remembered something, he'd shut me down Tommy, but it seems like he's been doing something a lot worse to you"
He just nodded in response and looked away in an attempt to avoid the topic, attempting to forget about the torment he'd endured. I simply tugged on his hand and smiled before heading back towards the portal, dragging him along behind me as he followed along as happily as he could.