Throughout It All

22 | We Thought We Were Okay | September 12, 1918

Yeah, not a happy title :(

Yeah, not as much fluff as the last chapter :(

But together, they'll stand tall and face it all.

Enjoy! :)

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All their hearts stop as those three words came out of Race's mouth. I got drafted.

They all know what this means. 

Race is going to have to fight in the war.

He's going to have to go to Europe.

And if he's unlucky, he might not come back.

Spot backs away and turns around, hand cupped over his mouth, blinking, trying not to cry, trying not to show how emotional he is right now.

Mush, Jack, and David look at Race, devastated.

Race just stays there, frozen, feelings so many things at once, yet also nothing at all.

"How..." he croaks, voice suddenly hoarse, "how did this happen?"

No one says anything.

"How did this happen?" Race repeats, voice stronger, but still raw with emotion. "The circus ... they protected personal information for all their members ... and all us in this house, unrecorded ... I shouldn't have records for the government to find, they shouldn't know I'm here, I thought I was safe..."

Suddenly, Spot wraps Race in a tight embrace, hugging him as close to his body as he can.

"And it'll be worse if you stay here instead of going where they tell you to," Mush says quietly. He doesn't want this to happen.

This wasn't supposed to happen. 

They were all supposed to live happily together, no more problems. They weren't supposed to have more weight on their shoulders than they could handle.

This is a living nightmare.

And the real nightmare hasn't even started yet. It'll only get worse once Race actually has to go to Europe.

"Maybe ... maybe I'll see him..." Race murmurs, trying to be brave. "We might reunite in Italy or Ireland or something,"

Trust Race to try to find some light amidst the darkness, even if he is only dreaming. 

For his sake, they hope that the army does send him wherever they sent his brother, so they can reunite.

"Does it say when you have to leave?" Spot asks.

Race shakes his head and pushes the letter away. "I don't want to know. I don't want to think about any of it."

Spot hugs him tighter. "We don't have to think about it any longer than you have to."

Race closes his eyes as a tear slides down the left side of his face.

"Hey," Jack strokes Race's face with his thumb, wiping away the tear. "We're here for you. You know that, right?" He joins their hug.

Mush joins the hug next. "We all are."

David joins the hug too. "Always have been, always will be."

And so they all hug each other, like they're each other's whole world, which they are, with Race in the center, feeling truly loved.

If only he could stay here.

If only he could stay here in this house. If only he could stay here in this embrace. Here, he feels safe. The outside world can't get him when he's here. He's surrounded by his favorite people in the world. Nothing can hurt him. Here, he has safety, love, and happiness.