Captive Scales

5

Phil shook his head as the Aquatic center patrol left. How could they loose a saltwater creature? The nearest ocean was an hour away. The father started walking back to the kitchen.

"Wil we gotta save him!" Tommys hushed voice drifted from the kitchen.

"Save who?" Phil crossed his arms.

The boys jumped. Wilbur held his phone close to his chest.

Tommy looked between them, "um, it's a, um-"

Phil sighed, "Wil, don't make your brother cover for you."

"I'm not covering for him!" Tommy shouted, stomping his foot.

"You're hiding something." Phil said, ignoring Tommy, "now what is it?"

Wilbur gripped his phone tighter. He took a deep breath and started typing. Phil raised an eyebrow as he read what his son wrote.

"You found a mermaid and put him in the lake?" Phil sighed, "Wil, that's ridiculous."

"It's true!" Tommy yelled, "he has pink hair and red scales and-and he talked to me!"

"Pink hair?" Phil looked at his youngest.

Tommy nodded, "he's real! I swear!"

"No, it can't-" Phil sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"He's real!" Tommy was near tears at this point.

"It was just a figment of your imagination!" Phil snapped, "you saw a fishing net or something! Mermaids aren't real!"

Tommy burst into sobs, running up to his room. Phil shook his head, turning to Wilbur. The brunette was clutching his phone so tightly his hands were shaking. He glared at his father, who looked back at him with a mix of emotions.

Phil sighed, "Wil, I know you're- you can't drag Tommy into your delusions. I know it's been hard after the accident-"

Wilbur rolled his eyes.

"-But it happened." Phil continued, "and I know survivors guilt is hard, but there was nothing you could have done to save your mother. The current pushed you to shore, and her further out to sea. It's not your fault."

Wilbur grit his teeth, pushing past Phil. He knew it wasn't his fault. He knew no one could have prevented what happened. So Wilbur ignored his dad, instead heading upstairs to check on his brother.

The brunette knocked on Tommy's door. It was unsettling how quiet it was. Tommy had never been a silent crier, even at his mom's funeral he gave loud hiccuping sobs. But inside his room came no noise at all.

Wilbur knocked again, a bit louder this time. He tried to quell the panic rising in his chest. The fourteen year old pushed open Tommy's door.

The room was empty. Minecraft themed curtains fluttered from the breeze flowing through the open window. Tommy's red and white schoolbag was gone, with next year's supplies, that were once carefully packed away, scattered all over the floor.

Wilbur sprinted back down the stairs to the front door. He threw open the door, leaving Phil trailing behind in confusion.

"Wil!? Where are you going!?" Phil called after him.

Wilbur didn't have time to answer. Tommy was about to do something stupid, he knew it. And he had a feeling his little brother was about to get hurt because of it.

A car pulled in front of him, making him come to a screeching halt. Phil rolled down the window.

"What the fuck is going on?" Phil asked, "where is Tommy?"