I'm Home! (Wally Darling x reader)

19. Further Insight

05

He watched as you sat on the living room couch of a place he didn't recognize. You were drawing a boat that looked eerily familiar.

Every few minutes you'd look up to the screen just to watch empty static. What were you looking at? There was no way that you had every detail of this memory crystal clear except for what seemed to be the most important part.

All of a sudden you started scrambling to find a crayon. You couldn't get behind, he found you thinking. Behind on what? "Y/n, come on, we're getting the cake out!" He heard, who seemed to be, a relative urge.

"Mhm, I'm almost done, mom!" Y/n called back. Deciding to quit her search, she just scribbled it in dark blue. Peculiar.

You signed your name as well as you could before abandoning the drawing. It was no use to stay here now, the room disappeared as soon as you left it. Whatever happened afterwards wasn't in your line of sight, and therefore wasn't in your mind.

It was obvious you were watching the show, but he didn't recognize you. Not even the younger version of yourself. It was almost as if you'd wiped the memory from your recollection. And somehow, his too...

11

It was a gloomy day, the sky smeared in grey stratus clouds and light fog. You were sitting on a dull red bench, humming a tune. He barely recognized it as a frail remnant of that familiar theme.

In your hands rested a pen and notebook. But, rather than homework, you were doodling apples, and spirals, and eyes. You really did love the show, but where did it go? So far, it didn't exist in your mind scape.

"Hey, what's-yer-name!" Her head dropped in annoyance.

"It's y/n, actually," you mumbled.

"Gimme five bucks!" It was a boy, short and stocky. He looked beyond enraged for no particular reason. She seemed to remember the encounter as more of a simple annoyance rather than some sort of imminent threat. To contrast with that though, his skin was a pasty pale off-white, and reminded him of aged candle wax.

"What? I don't have any money!" You were a good lier, but obviously he knew that wasn't true. He was basically in your mind after all.

"Yeah, yeah. Gimme all your money right now, or we're gonna have some problems," the boy threatened. Apparently he could tell you were lying as well. Or maybe he was just stubborn. Perhaps a bit of both.

"I told you, I don't have- whoa!" She barely ducked as he went to throw a punch right at her face. Her instincts were surprisingly developed for someone so young.

"Hey!" He heard a new voice. Y/n turned to see a scrawny boy with a lot of hair. "Stop that!" He grabbed y/n by the arm and dragged her away from the bully before he could do anything about it. Surprisingly strong for someone who could've been mistaken for a twig.

"Um... hello," y/n meagerly started after they were alone.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, wh-who are you?"

"Oh, I'm Kaylus!" The boy answered excitedly.

"Y/n."

"Don't worry, I already know your name."

"You do?"

"Yeah, you're in my history class."

"Wait, you're the new kid!" She realized.

"Yup... do you have a lot of friends?" He mumbled.

"No," she muttered, looking at the ground solemnly.

"Me neither! Do you want to be friends?" His eager demeanor didn't falter a bit. She beamed, looking back up at the kid.

"I'd love to," her answer dusted the boy's face in pink. The interaction was cute, but he found himself a bit angered by it. Jealousy? It had been a very long while since he felt any sort of envy. Well, outside of revenge that is.

17

"And done!" So far, this was the closest thing to your delicate voice. You seemed a good bit older, and taller... it was strange seeing things from your perspective.

Setting a tea bag in a cup of boiling water, you left the kitchen for the dining room. Scones and cookies adorned the table. The aroma was mouth watering and you hadn't even gotten near the treats yet. He watched as the door swung open. "Oh, mother! I made you something." You gestured to the table.

Your mother looked a lot older, and more importantly, distressed. Her physical appearance seemed to reflect her mental struggles. There were bags underneath her eyes, and her thin hair was thrown every which way over her extremely pale skin. But what immediately caught his attention once he spotted it, was a firearm in her hands. Soon, you too saw it. The cup in your hands shattered on the floor as she held up the weapon, "M-mother?"

"Oh, y/n," her voice was raspy; as if it hadn't let out a word in years. She proceeded to lunge towards you. Soon enough, you were pinned to a wall. Your thoughts were spiraling, but you had to keep yourself together. He knew what you had to do, and so did you: buy time. Your father was in the other room, and you got a glimpse of him through the hallway.

"Mom... please, stop this madness," your eyes stung with tears and you were barely able to whisper what you expected to be a cry out to her.

"Y/n, you don't remember, do you?" Remember what? Both he and y/n were confused, but then something clicked. He wished to tell her, but he just couldn't. And the last thing he wanted was a tainted memory, so he just watched the scene play out in horror.

"Mother, please—" her voice trembled violently.

"NO!" She paused, "I will not stand idly by as my life's work is forgotten!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Trying to talk sense into her failed, as she shot at y/n's arm. It grazed her skin, but bled out immediately. "Ah!" She held onto her arm. He wanted so badly to break out, but he knew it wouldn't end well. She'd survive, she had to.

Just as she was about to break down, she heard sirens. In her mom's confusion she knocked the weapon out of her hands, a bullet flying towards a photo frame.

And then the woman was gone. They took her away.

~•~

1070 words

"What?"

- Coffee