They must have been horrible. He had tried to comfort his son, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. Not after what happened the day Will found out about it.
It had been one of the biggest days of his life. The first night he slept in his own room instead of sharing a bed with his father and mom. The first day he woke up with bruises around his wrists, which his father had explained was from falling. The first time he ate real food in a real restaurant for the very first time since the accident. Then there was the day where his dad told him that he was gay, but refused to give any specifics about who his boyfriend was. Everything changed that day. From that moment forward, every memory that his father had associated with his relationship with his mother was tainted, tainted by something that he would never be able to forgive. The scars would remain forever.
Suddenly Will couldn't bear it any longer. All the emotions welled up inside him and all of them became too much. Tears spilled out of his eyes, blurring his vision slightly. He closed his eyes tightly shut in hopes that if he ignored it for a few seconds more, it would fade away.
It didn't work.
He heard footsteps approaching him and felt someone placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.
He flinched. "Don't touch me!"
His voice broke and he started sobbing. After a while of crying he stopped and wiped at his eyes, hoping that the tears would disappear. When he raised his hands to his eyes, however, he saw that his fingers were stained crimson. He quickly pulled them away. He had never been able to control his powers.
"I'm sorry, I-" His father started to say, sounding worried and upset.
Will shook his head. He didn't care. He wanted to forget what had just happened. The memories were already starting to fade away, slowly leaving his subconscious and he wished desperately that he could chase after them.
But he could no longer remember. He could no longer see. The images, which used to haunt him every now and then, had gone completely unnoticed by his conscious mind. They had been replaced by other images, things that no longer mattered.
Things that scared him, things that hurt him, things that haunted him whenever he let his guard down just enough to relax his senses. Things that threatened his life and threatened to take it away.
He couldn't afford to feel anything. Not after what had happened to him. Not after everything had fallen apart. He shouldn't need anything. He didn't deserve anything. But he needed someone and for the first time in his life it seemed like he wasn't going to be alone. So why was he still living? Why was he still existing? What made him worthy of being alive? What was holding him here?
The questions wouldn't stop coming. They wouldn't leave him alone no matter what he did or what he thought or said. The more he tried to make peace with it, the more confused and upset he became. It was impossible to think clearly. Sometimes he was certain that they were actually talking to him. That they wanted him to pay attention to them. To listen to them.
And other times he didn't think they were talking at all. There were moments where they spoke to each other as though he was not even there. He didn't understand. He didn't understand what their voices meant. But somehow he was convinced that they wanted him to know more about this strange world. More about what he was supposed to be doing and thinking about. More about the fact that he might be important.
Important. Important in what way? What does that mean?
Will's head was spinning. He didn't know. He didn't know whether to accept his new reality as he knew it or to fight against the idea. To believe it was true but reject it at the same time.
"Come on! You promised!"
The voice snapped him out of his daze. Slowly he turned around