Through Heaven or Hell (William Macbeth X Female Reader)

Sickly and Pale

Please be okay, please be okay, Will begged silently. He didn't know what he'd do if his sister died. He didn't know what the world would do if his sister died.

In the back of his mind, he was vaguely aware of the sound of somebody else trying to keep up with him, but that was the extent of his knowledge. His fear for his sister overrode all other thoughts. He just needed to get to Mary and make sure that she was okay.

He didn't know how he managed to get to the hospital so quickly, but he burst in through the front doors of the hospital. He bolted past the front desk, ignoring the woman's cry to slow down and sign in!

He thought he heard somebody else apologize profusely. He wasn't certain, nor did he particularly care. All that mattered at the moment was his sister.

"White!" he cried in a panicked voice as he entered her familiar room.

In response, a faint voice said, "Black?"

Will rushed to her bedside, terrified to see her pale and weak appearance. There were dark circles underneath her eyes and a sickly sheen to her skin.

"Are you alright?" he asked worriedly, gently brushing her blonde hair from her pasty face.

His sister smiled weakly. "Yeah. I'm just... tired." Her voice sounded like it was broken glass that had been stomped on. It was painful for Will to listen to.

"Then rest. Don't let me keep you up," Will murmured, pulling away from her. He didn't really want to go, but if Mary needed him to...

Mary shook her head as much as she could without hurting herself too much. "No, Black, you don't understand. I'm tired. I'm tired of being like this, I'm sick of surviving." Tears welled up in her eyes. Her voice dropped even lower. "Why can't everything just go back to normal?"

Staring at her, Will felt sadness well up in his soul. She looked so pitiful, just laying there. He could see just how exhausted she felt just by her dejected appearance.

He understood how she felt. He also wanted the normality of their old lives - playing around their home, Mary taking pictures of almost everything she saw, their parents reading them stories every night... The nostalgia was so thick and painful that Will felt like he was choking on it.

But the Great Collapse had taken everything away from them. It had taken their lives and smashed them to pieces. It had killed his parents. It almost killed Mary - it was still killing her, with her condition and all.

And it left Will behind with a broken heart.

Sighing, he sat on the edge of her bed, giving her a sad look filled with a heavy guilt. "I don't know, White. I don't know." He felt like his heart was being crumpled up in his chest, leaving behind an empty and bloody pulp. "And I'm so sorry that I don't know."

Mary gazed at her brother. "Don't apologize," she told him firmly. "You can't control everything, Will."

He glanced up at the sound of his actual name. Again, a sad smile filled his face. "I know, I know."

Tilting his head, he noticed how tired the girl looked. He stood up, saying, "I'm going to let you go now. You look like you're about to pass out." He leaned down and gave Mary a light kiss on her forehead. "Now rest up - either I'll check on you tomorrow or Leo will. Get better, okay?"

A content smile spread across her face as her eyelids slowly drifted closed. "Okay. Will do. See you tomorrow, Black."

"See you tomorrow, White."

She was asleep within the few following seconds of silence.

Will left the room, a melancholy smile still lingering on his face. As he looked up, he saw (Y/N) talking to Leo down the hall, a concerned expression on her face. She was pulling at a thin silver necklace that Will hadn't noticed earlier.