~Dream About Me~ ~Lams~

33

Philip slowly walked home, as if started to rain. He held back his tears as he walked through the city, not even bothering to try and avoid the puddles.

He took in a deep breath and knocked on the door to his childhood home. It was opened almost immediately.

"Philip!" Eliza exclaimed, her eyes red. She hugged Philip so tight, as if he was about to disappear. "What were you thinking?! Theo told me what you did!" She said, pulling away.

"I-I don't know." Philip admitted, his voice shaky. "Theo's here?"

Eliza nodded and moved out of the way, revealing Theo, who was sitting on the couch. She stood up, and Philip ran to her, pulling her into his arms and hugging her.

And at that moment, he felt safe. He let the tears escape from his eyes as he broke into sobs. Theo's eyes widened. "Philip? Are you okay..?" She asked, hugging him tighter.

"H-he's dead." He stuttered, speaking through his sobs.

Her eyes widened. Did Philip win the duel? She was hoping that they would both raise their guns to the sky, but now she was starting to question if that's what happened. "Who's dead, Philip?" She asked, anxiety evident in her voice.

"J-John." Philip stuttered, making Theodosia gasp. "He's dead because of me."

"No.... it can't be..." Theo said, not believing her ears. John had always been there for her. Even after her father past away, and when her mother became ill, he helped her through all of it. He couldn't just be gone.

"He took the bullet for me." Philip said, sniffling.

Eliza looked at the two with sad eyes. "I'll leave you guys alone..." She said, although she was concerned and wanted to know what happened. She didn't know who John was. She knew Alexander had a friend in the military named John, and she knew Philip had an imaginary friend named John. That's what she thought, at least. The other children started talking about him, too. And when Alex spoke about him, she didn't know what to believe. She thought that her entire family had gone insane, but after awhile, she took notice of small things. Plates being placed in the dishwasher, clothes magically being washed, rooms magically being clean. Although she wasn't sure what John was, the idea of him being there didn't seem too foreign to her. And now, a weight hung to her chest, as if she had lost someone too. She left the room, leaving the two alone.

Theo felt tears running down her own cheeks. "It's okay. It's going to be okay."

She spoke to not only Philip, but herself, as the rain peppered the windows, and the moon hung in the sky above them. And they hugged each other, taking comfort in the embrace, sobbing into each other's shoulders, their only hope for this to all be over, and for John to be there with them.