Beneath The Blackwood Sky | ✓

Chapter Twenty-Three: A Plunge Into Pastime

THE SUN WAS SETTING AND HAD LIT THEIR surroundings in a golden blaze. Will turned the doorknob to make sure they had locked it and turned on his heels, only to find Theo pouting at him. "Have some faith in me, Will. You can't trust me to lock a door?" Will rolled his eyes, pushing Theo by his shoulders.

Theo stumbled past the gate dramatically when Will pushed him slightly, putting a hand on his heart and feeling it beat. He looked up, his brown eyes were wide behind his spectacles, "I swear my life flashed by my eyes!"

Will sneaked a glance at Shay whose eyes were focused on the path in front of her. She had a soft smile playing on her lips, her eyes held a faraway look. A wisp of fair hair whipped across her cheek and his hand itched to push it back for her.

Once in a while, she'd touch the ring she had on her necklace. Brush her fingers absent-mindedly as she looked up at the sky, smiling up at her father. While Will would have his head down, his head always down because of the guilt. He knew his mother was always watching over him and would forgive him in a heartbeat, but it wasn't that. He had to forgive himself first but accepting his mother's forgiveness. He knew it wouldn't happen forever. So, he kept his head down and kept walking. Ashamed of himself.

He let his mother down. He should've hugged her tightly then, let her kiss his forehead. Instead, he listened to music as she died. Mostly because she had been thinking about Will and wasn't paying attention to the road, resulting in her death. His mother, who loved him so much. His mother who would read books to him so that he would fall asleep, who would hug him to protect him from the rest of the world, who would muss his hair to annoy him, who would splash his white shirt with paint.

Oh, mom.

A warm touch on his hand snapped him out of his thoughts. Will looked at Shay, whose soft smile was replaced by her lips tugging downward in sadness. She interlinked her fingers with his, brushing her thumb against his hand, knowing what was going on in his mind.

Shay was the only one who knew that Will blamed himself for his mother's death, even though he didn't voice his thoughts to her. His friends suspected something but couldn't exactly pinpoint what, but he knew Shay knew.

She was looking at him worriedly, just as he had been the before night. Last night, Shay had collapsed into Will's arms suddenly, and he panicked. It was after a soft snore that came out of Shay's mouth he had relaxed, carrying her into George's car, then carrying her to her room to gently lay her on her bed. He knew she was dreading the prospect of sleeping, scared of the nightmares that might come next. Will had been too.

So Will sat by her bed the entire night, holding her hand as she slept. Ready to comfort her if she woke up with gasping breaths. She hadn't. Will could see what one night of good sleep did to her, and he was happy for her. His lips titled upward to reassure her that he was fine, even though both of them knew that he wasn't.

A downward tug at his shirt made him tore his eyes from Shay, setting them on his world's favourite four-legged creature. Will knelt by Leo's side, looking into his rich brown eyes. "What is it, buddy?" Will asked, patting his head. Leo barked once, looked behind him and barked again.

"No chasing cats," Will said sternly, but Leo let out what seemed like a sigh. With one final tug on Will's shirt, Leo ran in the direction, looking back at Will pleadingly. He looked at Shay and smiled, "I'll get him. You guys continue walking to George's house. He urged us to come quickly, didn't he?"

Will ran without a reply because he would lose Leo in that case. He thought he had seen Leo take a sharp left turn and ran there, and sure enough, he saw Leo.