Beneath The Blackwood Sky | ✓

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Aftermath Of A Storm

IT'S BEEN TWO WEEKS SINCE GEORGE WILSON DIED. They didn't believe it when they were told by the young officer. They didn't believe it until they saw George's lifeless body, the same grey eyes were fixed blankly above him. The same grey eyes as Anthony, the same black hair as Anthony. Will had personally talked to them minutes before their deaths, and couldn't do anything about it.

But George's death wasn't like Anthony's. Will didn't know Anthony that well, and his emotions revolved around sadness, shock and guilt. Especially guilt. But it was different with George's. They had become attached to George, and it was very difficult to process. There was a tremendous amount of sadness and guilt, shock and pain.

His emotions were all over the place, reminding him of his darkest days. But those days had been the worst. What was the first image that flashed through Will's mind when he was first told that George was dead?

George banging his head on the table repeatedly? George chuckling at Rose's enthusiasm? George's face glowing when Will handed him ice cream? George shipping Kai and Rose? George attacking them with lame jokes? George helping them with their studies? George giving us the recipes to his mouthwatering dishes? George helping Shay? George opening up to us about his past? The first time we met George?

The answer was nothing. His mind went blank, not really acknowledging the fact that George might be dead despite the conversation he had with them. The funeral reminded him of his mother's and Tyler's, and Will not only cried for his dead friend but for his mom and a fatherly figure.

It was hard for Will to accept the hard truth that George was no more. It still was. It broke their hearts. Will went through the feeling of losing someone all over again, and he couldn't hold all those feelings on him. All the citizens of Blackwood attended George's funeral, just as they did for Will's mother's and Tyler's. George's last words had been ringing in his mind when he was attending his funeral: There's no way in hell I'm losing you guys too. But they ended up losing him.

The funeral had been hard for Will's dad and Jessica too. Jessica had gone out of the funeral for a brief period of time as it reminded her of her husband's, her parents' and her best friend's funerals. She had apologized profusely afterwards, for leaving her daughter and Will when they needed her the most. That night, he heard the conversation Jessica had with Shay. Jessica had called herself 'a bad mother' for not being present with Shay, and Shay had reassured Jessica that Shay wasn't angry or sad with her mother. The next morning, Jessica had apologized to Will too. He simply hugged her in response, telling her that it wasn't her fault and he wasn't angry with her.

Leo too had been sad since then, as he understood something was wrong with George, but he couldn't figure out what. Since then, he was trying his best to make them smile, just once. And when one of them would smile for Leo, he would understand it wasn't a genuine smile but a fake one to make Leo feel better, he would still try.

All of them stuck together since then, but all they did was spend the time in silence. They would just speak a few words and then dive headfirst into the everlasting silence. Leo would take turns sitting in everyone's laps, spending some more time when he sat in Shay's or Will's lap as he could sense that they were not only reminded of George, but even Will's mom and Tyler, and Shay's grandparents.

He wrapped his arms around himself as if to contain all the feelings going through him.

If only they had reached earlier, George would be alive right now. Cooking for them, helping them study, joking with them. All of it destroyed in a matter of minutes.

Nearly two years back too, if only Will had hugged his mom back when she kissed his forehead instead of pushing her away. She probably would've jumped up with excitement after realizing Will forgave her. She would immediately make something to eat, take him to the hall, and they both would end up binge-watching some series, and the day would end with her final apology. She would ask her boss to excuse her for the day and spend the day with him.