Silent Secrets ||A Byler Story||

Chapter three

"Hey are you lost?"

William jumped around to see a boy standing in front of him. 

The boy had raven black hair a little bit covering his ears.  He was a little taller than William.  He had freckles that looked good with his brown eyes.  He wore a grey shirt with a navy blue sweatshirt over it.  He wore a pair of blue jeans that had grass stains on them.  He held a two person bike in his hand that had a light on the front.

William nodded to his question, embarrassed.  The boy only smiled in return.

"I haven't seen you around here.  Are you new around here?"  The boy asks.  William nodded again.  "Well I'm Mike.  Short for Michael.  My last name is Wheeler but that's not really important." 

William smiled to him.  He's never genuinely smiled to anyone apart from Jonathan or his mother.

"Uh...well where do you live?"  He takes a pause.  "Oh wait your lost."  Mike says stupidly.

William smiles more than before, almost a laugh.  He's never laughed before.  Most people would be surprised to hear that but it was so normal for him to feel nothing that he didn't really mind.

"Well we can just walk around the neighborhood until you can find your house."  Mike suggests with a shrug. 

We? William thinks to himself. 

"I've got to drop my bike off at my house first though.  It's just over here, you can wait here if you want."  Mike says, again stupidly.  He rides his bike down the road, turning into one of the driveways and putting the bike into the garage.  A few minutes later he came running back to William, who of course didn't move and inch.

"I'm back."  Mike says with joy.   "Alright, what way did you come from?" 

William pointed in the direction behind him.  Mike nodded.  "That's where we'll start then."

Although William was glad for the company, it made him a bit nervous.  What if his father was still out of control?  Would Mike run?  Would he ever talk to him again?  Would he tell everyone and would he get bullied for it? 

"So do you talk at all?  You haven't really said anything."  Mike points out.  William shakes his head 'no' silently. 

"Alright, that's fine!"  Mike says supportively.  "I'll just ask you yes or no questions."  He states.

"Are you going to Hawkins Middle?"  Was his first question.  William nodded 'yes'. 

"Eighth grade?"  Mike guesses.  William nodded. 

"So am I!  Maybe we'll get a few of the same classes!"  He says excitedly.  William smiles at this idea.

They approach a corner and look around.  They both stay silent for a minutes until Mike says something. 

"Do you know what way?"  He asks.  William nods and walks right.  Mike follows him. 

"So you moved here over the summer?"  Mike guesses.  William nods. 

"Just so you know, Hawkins middle isn't a bad school.  I'm not saying this to intimidate you or anything, but there are a lot of bullies.  Not a lot of them physically hurt people but there are a handful of them that do hurt people.  Just so you know."  Mike says looking at his feet.  He was to ashamed to admit that he was bullied for years.

Great.  Just what I was hoping for.  William thought to himself.  He nodded anyway with an apologetic smile across his face. 

"So do you have any siblings?"  Mike asks.  William nodded. 

"A sister?"  Mike guesses.  William shook his head with a smile.  He imagined what it would be like if he had a sister.  But stopped imagining it when he realized what his father would do to her.  He shuttered at the possibilities and continued to listen to Mike. 

"A brother."  He says confidently.  William nodded.

"Older?"  He guesses.  William nodded. 

They reached another corner and William recognized where he was.  Unfortunately, he noticed that there was as ambulance outside his house.  Along with three cop cars.

Jonathan.  Was all William could think about.

"Woah I wonder what happened ther-"  Mike was cut of suddenly.

"I know where I am."  William says quickly.  "Thank you for the help."  He says politely.  It felt weird to talk.  He hasn't talked in years.

Mike was taken aback but nodded.

"Yeah, no problem."  He says with a smile.  "Well I'll see you at school then."  He waves and walks down the road.  He suddenly wished he had kept his bike with him. 

William broke into a sprit to his house.  Joyce was standing, talking to someone outside the ambulance.  Lonnie was no where in sight.  Jonathan Willam could only assume was in the ambulance.

"Oh my God William!"  Joyce runs a little ways and wraps her youngest son into a tight hug.  She lets out a quiet sob. 

"William?"  They both heard Jonathan's voice from inside the ambulance.

"Sir, you have to stay in here."  Someone told him.

"No!  My brother is here!  I want to see him!"  He demands. 

"Get the boys brother, will you?"  Someone snapped at another man, who nodded and jumped out of the vehicle.  The cops were taking notes and whispering to each other. 

Joyce still had her son wrapped in a hug when someone tapped her on her shoulder, causing her to jump a little.

"Ma'am, Jonathan is requesting to see his brother."  The man says.

"Yes.  William, you're brothers been asking for you, come on."  His mother brings him into the ambulance.  Jonathan immediately perks up.

"William!  I was so worried I thought-"  He was cut off by the mean looking guy next to him.

"Okay kid, we get it.  Long story short.  You're son has a broken arm.  We put a cast on it, there isn't really much we can do about it.  Just keep the cast on it for two months, it should be healed.  If it doesn't feel healed then go up to the hospital."  He says in a hard voice.  Joyce nodded at him.

"Thanks for the help buddy."  Jonathan says sarcastically patting the guys head as he got up.  "Really changed my life."  He says with a grin

The man rolled his eyes as Jonathan jumped out of the ambulance, followed by Joyce and William.

The ambulance drove away as a police officer approached the three of them.

"Ma'am, we need to question you and you're sons about your husband."  The cop said.  "We need to go into the station due to protocol, is this alright with you?"

The man was tall with a dark brown mustache his uniform was a light tan which looked like a normal outfit on him.  He had brown eyes that were fixed on Joyce.  His badge on his uniform read: Jim Hopper.

Joyce nodded, "yes that is fine.  Can I just talk to my kids quickly?"  She asks.  The man nodded and walked back over to the other men and women.

"Okay guys, here's the deal.  You two are going to tell the truth about everything.  If we can get your father into prison then I can divorce him and he can't file for anything."  Joyce explains, panic rising in her voice as she explains her thinking.  Both boys nod and the three of them walk over to the cops. 

"Great.  Alice here will be transporting you to the station."  The man said. 

"Hi!  I'm Alice!"  The girl introduced herself kindly. 

"Joyce."  She shook the girls hand.  The other police cars had left by now.  Only the five of them remained there.

"Alright, let's get a move on."  Jim rushes them.

***

Word Count: 1,262
Date Published: 11/26/22