𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐍// 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟑𝟐

Will stirred, then opened his eyes with a groan. He tried to sit up, but a pair of hands gently pushed him back down.

"Easy, child," said a voice that was just faintly familiar.

Will blinked at the voice, and a face came into focus. Long blonde hair and tanned skin. Sunglasses covered their eyes, but Will knew they were a pale blue, just like his.

Apollo.

Will stared up at him. "What...?"

"Hush." Apollo lightly touched Will's head and spoke an incantation. The pain in his back faded. "You will be fine in a few minutes."

Will's temper flared. "Oh," he growled. "Now you help me?" Shoving his father back, he got to his feet.

Confusion washed over Apollo's face. He removed his sunglasses, which vanished. "Will..."

"You were speaking to me in my head." Will restlessly clawed his hands through his hair.

Apollo nodded. "What of it?"

"Why didn't you just appear and help me?" Anger made his voice rise. "I almost died. Yet you did nothing more
than watch me from the sidelines and whisper in my mind, as though I was some entertainment--"

"I--"

"No." The shock and adrenaline from the fight gripped him, amplifying his emotions until Will wanted to scream at the top of his lungs. "And you think you can just swoop in when it's all over and heal me, and I'll be eternally grateful. Well, I am not so easily manipulated." He turned to walk away.

Apollo lunged forward and grabbed his arm, pulling him back. "I--Son--"

Whipping around, Will yanked his arm back. "Don't call me that. Ne--" His temper erupted, and he snapped. "NEVER CALL ME YOUR SON."

Every inch of distance between them went taut.

Silence.

Will's whole body shook with emotion, chest heaving with each breath. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he let them fall.

When he spoke again, his voice trembled. "Where were you?" A shuddering breath, but his voice strengthened. "Where were you when she hurt me, when she drunk herself to ruin and beat me like a dog? Where were you when she burned me with a lighter, when I screamed and pleaded for help?"

Apollo only stared at him, as though stunned.

"You have no right to call me your son." Tears burned Will's eyes. "You are not my father. If you truly care for me, you would have saved me." He took a step back. "I am an orphan. I have no true parents."

And with that, Will turned his back on his father and walked away.

He was nearly to the end of the hall when Apollo spoke at last.

"She was raped."

Will stopped dead. "What."

He heard the god take a few steps forward. "Your mother, Naomi... she was kidnapped and held hostage for three months. Her kidnappers raped her nearly every day."

The world stopped.

"It happened a few years after you were born. You wouldn't remember any of it." He paused. "She... she was never the same afterwards."

Silence for a few moments. Then Will snorted. "Can you blame her?" But his words were choked.

His mind raced as the world spinned, madly connecting the dots. No wonder Naomi had started drinking. No wonder she had been so distrustful of people, especially men. No wonder--

Will's knees buckled. Apollo rushed forward and caught him before he kissed tile, cursing under his breath. "I'm sorry," he said to his son, over and over again. "I'm so, so sorry."

"Leave," Will whispered. He felt as though he was crafted from porcelain, cracking and fracturing, about to shatter into little pieces. "Just... leave. Please."

Without another word, Apollo disappeared in a flash of light. Will fell to his knees and put his face in his hands.

He was not ashamed of crying, was not ashamed of weeping as he came to terms with how his whole world has changed.