Chapter 53

"How can you say that?" questioned Will in frustration. "I thought we had agreed that we were going to protect your mother at all cost?"

"I don't remember agreeing to anything of the sort," answered Jonathan truthfully, as he ran his fingers through Will's hair.

"But-" began Will before he realised that Jonathan had interrupted him, and frowned as he saw Jonathan's expression turn slightly annoyed.

"No," interrupted the raven-haired boy firmly, as he leaned back, holding Will's shoulders firmly so that he was forced to look up at him. "Don't you dare saying something like that again, Will!" he warned him sternly.

"Do you really think I want to stay here, knowing that my mother's life is on the line, that there's a very high probability that she may never recover from whatever has taken place? I don't think I want to live like this, knowing that it' s our fault. She could have escaped from this house on her own, but she stayed here because of us and because she didn't want you to leave either! Do you know how much I regret this? I hate myself for even thinking that way, but I don't want to keep staying in that horrible house. I hate being here, I hate this world, and most importantly, I hate this situation I'm currently in. Don't you understand? I wish that we could change this and get her back, but now that it looks as if we might have already lost her, I can't bring myself to try. So please, Will, help me. Help me figure something out. Just give me one last chance to help us get her back."

Silently, Will stared at Jonathan, noticing the desperation and desperation in his brother's voice. He wanted to help him, but he wasn't quite sure if he should or not. If he did help, they would likely lose their chances at getting their mum back. Even if his father was convinced that their mum's death had been due to an unknown disease, Will doubted that he'd listen to him if he insisted on saving Jonathan's mom. Besides, Jonathan was right. If they kept refusing to help his father, the chances were low that they'd ever be able to get their mom back. Still, Will knew deep down that he couldn't just stand idly while his brother lost hope forever. He knew that he had to help him, whether Jonathan liked it or not. He was his brother and he needed him. However, he hesitated as well. Jonathan would undoubtedly notice his uneasiness and try to ask what was bothering him. If that happened, it wouldn't end well for him; Will could feel his anger rising inside his veins whenever his brothers stubbornness resurfaced. Will knew that Jonathan could be incredibly persistent when he wanted something, whether it was solving a case, fixing things at the office or fighting a fight with somebody. This time though, Will knew that it wouldn't just be a simple fight. He also had a bad feeling that Jonathan was gonna push him to do something he wouldn't necessarily agree to.

Will sighed deeply as he continued to ponder over his decision. Eventually, after what felt like hours but was really only just less than 10 minutes, he decided to nod his head in defeat. After he nodded in consent, he saw Jonathan smile lightly before letting go of him to stand up from the couch. As soon as he did, however, Will grabbed his arm tightly and glared at him angrily. "Don't think that I will forgive you for this, no matter what happens," he muttered as he tightened his grip on Jonathan's arm. "There must be something more important for me to do instead. If you're really so concerned for your mother's safety that you'll let this go, then I promise to try my hardest and see if it'll work out somehow. Okay?"

Jonathan grinned. "Thank you," he replied as he gave Will another hug. He then turned his gaze to the door where his sister was still standing. "Where's Georgie?" he asked curiously. "Why isn't she helping with this stuff?"

"Oh yeah," replied Will. "Well, apparently she decided to follow her boyfriend to school today. Since she got herself suspended yesterday afternoon for breaking into her boyfriend's house, and her suspension was longer than everyone else's, her class got sent home for two weeks so she could catch a couple more hours of sleep or something. Anyway, when I woke up earlier today, she told me that she was gonna take a little nap first to clear her mind before helping out here. I guess that's why she hasn't been in touch yet. She was probably too tired. By the way, did you know she's actually coming back tomorrow?"

Jonathan shrugged. "Yeah, she mentioned it to me a little while ago. But I didn't think too much about it. Although it is nice to see her. And I guess she won' t get suspended anymore since she broke out into his house. Now, where are those glasses I lent her yesterday?"

Will chuckled lightly and shook his head at his brother. "They are in your jacket pocket."

"Thank you."

Before Will could say anything else, his cellphone suddenly went off loudly in Jonathan's pocket. The older boy quickly reached inside his pockets and took his cellphone out of one of the pockets and answered it without checking whose call it was. After he spoke a few words, he put the phone against his ear again and turned his gaze back to Will, smiling widely. "Hey, Dad. Yes, dad, everything is fine. Yeah, dad, Will's here as well. No, we didn't break anything. Well, I guess there was that coffee mug that fell over, but he's pretty clumsy so I guess that's okay."

Will laughed as he remembered the incident from yesterday. He knew his younger self wouldn't have done anything like that, but he was glad that his younger self was doing better. Maybe he could start trying to mend the relationship with his family too.

Jonathan listened to his father's response before answering him with another question. "Okay, I understand. Sure thing, dad. Bye. See you tomorrow, I love you."

He ended the call and looked at Will, grinning mischievously. "Guess what dad wants," he said excitedly before turning towards Georgie. "Tell me that we didn't forget anything, you idiot, or I'm telling him that you stole half of my food."

Georgie rolled her eyes at the comment before handing Will his jacket once again. "Your breakfast and lunch are inside this jacket," she explained.

The two boys both smiled at her before looking back at each other again. "We should get going. There's a bus that leaves from outside about ten minutes from now. Come on, hurry up, before I decide to lock you guys in one of the spare rooms again," said Georgie as she made her way towards the front entrance.