Chapter 52

So, what was happening to him right now? Did it mean that he needed help? Was it a sign that something might actually be wrong and that his mother could help him solve the problem? Although the question was unanswered, Jonathan decided that if it meant being able to stop feeling the horrible feelings he was experiencing, then he would choose to accept the situation as is, rather than refusing treatment. Yes, he would gladly go through this kind of torture if he had to, but he would also prefer it if the option wasn't there. For some reason, he just knew that he didn't need to face his fear alone and so he chose to go against his parents' wishes just so he could get rid of this awful pain.

He sighed heavily, feeling relieved that the worst case scenario wouldn't come to pass after all. That meant that at least he still had the possibility of escaping the nightmare he was currently living. However, it also seemed like he'd have a lot of explaining to do when he returned home later on that day, which made him shiver once again. He wondered how Will and his dad were going to react if he told them about what had happened and that it was something that his parents wouldn't want to know about. But even though the possibility of telling them seemed pretty slim to begin with, he figured that he might as well do it anyway. If his parents reacted the same way that Mrs. Kowalski had earlier on, then there was no point in waiting any longer. After a brief moment of hesitation, he nodded decisively to himself.

With that done, he started making his way towards his old house once more.

After a few minutes, Will and Jonathan reached the front door, where they opened it and climbed the steps inside. They were both covered head to toe in snow, despite being only five meters from the door, and both of them were shivering uncontrollably. Despite the heavy layer of snow covering them, they didn't bother to take off their shoes as it was still extremely cold inside the small house. Once they had made it inside and closed the door tightly behind them, both of their bodies shook in unison. Both boys then sat down on the sofa, leaning back with their backs pressed against the wall. Their clothes were covered in snow too and their faces flushed from the extreme cold. Will quickly removed the jacket that he wore, throwing it onto the floor, before grabbing onto Jonathan's hand. Jonathan felt the heat radiating off Will's hand, so he gave it a quick squeeze before pulling it gently away, trying to get as comfortable as he could within the cramped little space.

Will watched Jonathan closely. The boy looked completely miserable, but he couldn't tell whether or not it was because he was sick or just tired. Either way, he wasn't happy with the situation. Jonathan had looked so tense, so scared, when they first walked into the house earlier, it was hard to tell if the situation would get any better any minute. He knew that Jonathan loved his mom, so seeing his brother upset about something so trivial must have broken his heart to see him so unhappy. He knew that Jonathan didn't want to talk about what was troubling him, so he just hoped that they would get through this soon. He hoped Jonathan would start feeling better and would return to normal as quickly as possible.

Just a few seconds later, Will's hope was shattered as a loud bang came from downstairs. The two of them immediately snapped their heads towards the stairs which lead to the basement which was connected to the kitchen and dining room. They listened in silence until the noise finally faded out a few minutes later, and neither of the boys spoke. As a matter of fact neither of them moved at all. Both boys knew that this would be the best opportunity to get some answers as to what was wrong with Jonathan. The question was whether it was a wise idea to go down there, or should they wait till his dad went away to ask him about what had happened? Maybe they should wait until his father left and then confront him about whatever the problem was? Will considered that idea for about half a second before realizing it would be impossible to convince Jonathan that the conversation should be carried out without his father overhearing it.

Before he could decide what to do next, however, another noise suddenly caught his attention. It sounded similar to something hitting the wall with a soft sound, followed by the sound of glass breaking. Then, almost simultaneously, he heard the screams of someone in pain. The sound of glass shattering didn't belong to Jonathan, so it was probably something else, probably something that his parents had broken while practicing their swordplay or throwing knives, which led to some other unfortunate accident. With these thoughts running through his head, Will started looking around for a knife lying on the ground somewhere in the living room. When his eyes found the handle of his knife, Will grabbed it and stood up.

"Are you okay?" asked Jonathan softly, staring into Will's eyes with concern written on his features.

Will smiled sadly at him. "I'll explain later," he whispered to him before jumping over the couch and descending the staircase with silent steps. It seemed like he hadn't managed to escape Jonathan.

When he arrived at the bottom of the stairs, Will stopped and waited for a couple of seconds to make sure that nobody had noticed the pair of them. Once he was sure he could make his way unnoticed to Jonathan, he slowly walked closer to his brother who was sitting on the sofa, looking worriedly at him. "Jonathan..." he began to say before trailing off, unable to continue. Even though Will tried to put on a brave face, he knew that he had failed miserably to hide his nervousness as he gazed into Jonathan's dark brown eyes. Even with such a dark eye colour, he somehow managed to look absolutely beautiful, especially in the pale lighting of the room and the shadows caused by the lampshade.

"What is it? Is everything alright?" asked Jonathan, worry written across his forehead.

"Yes... I think so."

Will took a deep breath, deciding to tell Jonathan about everything that had happened before walking towards him once more. He placed his hands on Jonathan's shoulders before giving his brother's cheek a kiss. "I'm sorry," he apologized, "but I don't know if I can do this anymore."

Jonathan pulled him closer and held him close as well. Will closed his eyes, burying his face in the crook of Jonathan's neck. His body was shaking violently as he wrapped his arms around Jonathan's waist. "It's okay," said Jonathan quietly, placing an arm behind his back as he stroked his hair affectionately. "Everything will be fine. We can find some way to save her – she'll be perfectly fine."

"You really believe that? You're willing to believe anything about your mother? What if she doesn't come back?" asked Will in horror.

"She'll come back, don't worry," replied Jonathan reassuringly.