Hearts Need Love

Chapter 24

Will had rarely prayed before or had even believed in a higher power. But he found himself with his hands folded in bed that night, eyes closed, heart reaching to something, anything bigger than him, that everything would be okay. That it wouldn't take something as bad as what happened to Mary to convince his mother to leave Apollo.

Yeah, he wasn't calling that man dad anymore.

He didn't remember falling asleep, but before he knew it, his eyes were squinting open to the newly risen sun shining into their room. He could feel the warmth of Nico beside him, his husband's body pressed against his, the blankets and pillows and that cacoon of warmth and love that he never wanted to leave.

But the alarm had gone off. He had to go through with his plan. He had to save his mom.

The alarm kept beeping. He didn't want to reach an arm out, didn't want to leave Nico's side. But it soon woke his love and the sleep that had blessed him.

"Turn it off..." Nico groaned into his pillow. "I don't wanna go anywhere..."

Will planted a kiss on his husband's forehead. "You have to get ready for work."

"Don't wanna," Nico protested.

Will swept some hair out of Nico's face. "When you're pouting like that, you can see where Bianca gets it."

Nico huffed. "I hate mornings."

"I'm aware."

Nico groaned again before sitting up and yawning. "You're going over to your mom's?"

Will nodded. "As soon as Apollo's at work. He's usually gone by nine."

Nico pulled himself off the bed and yawned again. "I'll cook you some breakfast, you need to eat."

Will rubbed his face. "I can cook, you have to get ready."

"My cooking's better." Nico threw his hair into a ponytail before walking out of the room, leaving Will to stare after him and look back on how he had fallen so much in fucking love with him.

Because Nico di Angelo was his soulmate, and there was no denying it.

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Will sat in his car for a good ten minutes, staring at his parents' house and trying to decide if this was a good idea or not. Apollo's car was gone, thank god, but he had no idea how his mother was going to respond to this. This...what? Intervention? Invitation? Whatever the fuck you called it.

When he was sure he couldn't delay it any longer, he got out of the car and knocked on the front door.

Naomi opened it soon enough, her hair still messy from sleep and her makeup not too overdone. Her eyes widened when she saw Will before she took a step back.

They hadn't spoken since he had figured out.

Was she mad at him for bringing it up?

Was she scared he was going to get hurt?

Was she just in love with Apollo?

"Mom, can I come in?" Will asked. "I have a lot to talk to you about. Nico would be here if he could, but he needed to work."

That fake smile again. He hated it.

"Where's Bianca?" she asked.

"Staying with Hazel until I get something sorted," Will replied. "I..." He sighed. "Look, I'm going to be upfront with this. You're packing your stuff up, getting in my car, and moving in with me and Nico. I'm not going to take no for an answer."

Noami pulled him in the house before closing the door and locking it. "Will, you can't shout things like that where everyone can hear."

"Why not?" he demanded. "Apollo's getting arrested, mom, I'll make sure of it. He-"

"Will, please!" Naomi put her hands over her ears. "I don't want to hear any more of this. If this is the only reason you came to visit, I think it's time you leave."

"Remember what I said?" Will asked. "I'm not taking no for an answer."

"Yes, you are," she insisted. "This is too much, Will. You can't just march in here and expect me to change my life around."

"Yes, I can! I can if that life is a living hell because he beats you!" Will gestured around them. "Do you really love it here, huh? Do you feel safe here? Because it makes my skin crawl to even think about what happens in this house!"

She walked away from him and towards the kitchen without another word.

"Mom, don't walk away from me." Will followed close behind. "This is important."

"Why?" she demanded. "Why is it important, Will? It's not for me! I can deal with this, I have been for years! He's not hurting you, so why do you care?"

"Because you're my mom and I love you! And he's hurting you! He's beating you! What if Nico was beating me?" Will asked. "What if he was punching me every night?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Is he?"

Will rolled his eyes. "Mom, he would never. Because he actually fucking loves me. But what you just felt thinking that it was a possibility? I feel ten times worse now that I realize yours is a reality."

"He loves me, okay?" she insisted. "He loves me so much."

"If he loved you, he wouldn't want to see you in pain."

The kitchen was suddenly silent, and Will saw his mother break down for the first time in his life.

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Nico could still remember the first time he ever wanted to be a cop. He could remember when his brain went from "fuck cops" to "thank god for the good ones". Because the good ones would always be who he looked up to.

They saved his little girl when he couldn't.

They were the reason his pride and joy was alive.

And it was the day he took her to the mall for the first time. Build-a-Bear. Something he never expected to end up how it did.

He had looked away for five seconds, had let go of that little hand. By the time he looked back, she was gone.

Disappeared.

Lost.

It was like the whole world had come crashing down.

They looked for 24 hours. The whole time Nico had been a mess. Couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, couldn't do anything but sit with police officers and go and look and pray that she wasn't dead somewhere.

It was the worst 24 hours of his life. At some points, he really felt that they were going to find her body in some old creek.

But that police officer that found her alive and well had worked overtime, had gone out of her way, had helped put up pamphlets and shit, had searched through the streets with Nico. Not because it was her job, but because that's why she became a police officer. To help.

When she brought his little girl home to him, he never thought he'd be able to thank her enough. The relief he felt, the gratitude, he wanted to give that to others. He wanted to help find their Biancas before it was too late.

And so he went into that police academy, he trained, he graduated. He became one of the good ones.

But what he didn't expect was to see the bad cases more than the good. The kids found dead more than alive. The abuse victims only free by death. The kids joining gangs younger and younger. The rapes and the murders and the beatings.

But every time he found a kid alive, could take them back to their parents, it made up for the sleepless nights.

He wanted to save everyone he could, but some people couldn't be saved.

And his next case reminded him of that.