T/W minor character death (not Tommy or other cc's), hinted depression, violence, brief description of injury.
Tommy's P.O.V
It was a day like any other. School had been boring and I was excited to get home and lie down with my dogs. Maybe watch TV and relax before streaming later that night. My parents were supposed to be coming home from a long business trip and I couldn't wait to see them. I wasn't someone that would necessarily admit it out loud but I missed my parents when they went away especially for that long. I got changed into some comfortable clothes, made myself a hot chocolate and then settled on the sofa with Betty and Walter. I sent Wilbur a couple of random memes that I found while scrolling through my Reddit and then put on some random series on Netflix.
I'll admit. The series was pretty addicting. I found myself watching episode after episode after episode until around 7 pm, 30 minutes before I had to stream. My parents were supposed to have gotten home at 5 pm so the fact that they weren't home made me both upset and concerned. Still, there was always the possibility that they had gotten caught in traffic so I headed up to my room and set up to start the stream.
Everything was going smoothly. I was in a discord call with Wilbur, Phil, Corpse, Sykkuno, Nikki, Quackity, Karl, Sapnap and Eret. We were playing among us - proximity chat. It was during a meeting that my phone rang. There was no contact ID and I didn't recognise the number but (as my parents weren't home) I figured it could be them calling from a hotel or something. "Guys, I have to answer the phone real quick, I'll be back in a minute."
I muted my mic and turned off my camera before pressing accept on the incoming call.
"Hello?" I said.
"Hello, is this Mr Thomas Rivers?"
"Yes, it is."
"My name is Annabelle Hastings and I work at Carickstowe hospital. I'm afraid that I bring bad news. Your parents were hit by a truck on the motorway at 4:39 pm today. They were brought into the hospital and we did everything we could but their injuries were too extensive. I'm sorry but...they didn't make it."
Shock hit me like a tidal wave and I moved from my chair, going downstairs so that I could sit with my dogs. Your file says that you are 16 so you are legally allowed to live by yourself. It would be a lot better if you could find somebody to stay with or have somebody come and stay with you but the decision is yours to make. All expenses on your current home have been paid so all that you would need to worry about was bills and food. If you do not have a steady source of income then I would not advise you to live by yourself."
"R-right." I replied shakily, "I, uh, I think I will c-continue to live here. Most likely b-by myself."
"Alright. You will be emailed about what send-off you would like to provide for your parents and someone will come by in the near future-"
She began to go on about places I could contact for help and other things of the sort but I wasn't really listening. Instead, only one thing was going through my mind.
My parents are dead.
My parents are dead.
My parents are dead.
My parents are dead.
My parents are dead.
When the call finally ended, it had been about 7 minutes since I had left the stream. Screw that. I couldn't do it. I still hadn't fully come to terms with the fact that my parents had just died and I couldn't stop the constant flow of tears that trickled down my cheeks. I made my way back up to my bedroom sitting down on my gaming chair. There was no way that I could turn my camera on and I was very wary of turning on my mic as I didn't know if my voice would be strong enough to make a sound that wasn't a sob. I took a couple of deep breaths before mustering up the bravery to unmute.
"Uh, I'm g-gonna have to g-go guys. It was f-fun playing with you all. S-see ya." I couldn't keep my voice from trembling.
"Bye Tommy!"
"It was good talking to you."
"We'll play again soon."
"Bye!"
All the responses blurred in with each other as ended stream and then ended the call. I sank back in my chair, sobbing, chest heaving with every breath.
They were gone.
I was alone.
In my parents' will, they had left me the house and a quarter of their money. So I wasn't going to go bankrupt anytime soon. I was able to pay the bills each month. Getting food, however, was much harder. I found it so difficult to get up each morning let alone leave the house. Going grocery shopping took a lot of energy as I hated being out in public. Every waking hour, I felt sad. Empty? I just knew that something was missing. My parents I guess.
Because of my inability to leave the house, I got went hungry most nights and got sick more and more often.
The holidays didn't last long. Before I knew it, it was time to go back to school. I hated school with a burning passion. It was awful. The kids there picked on me a lot and the teachers hated me for no apparent reason. I wasn't loud in school, or the class clown. I was just quiet. Didn't have any friends there as I had only been going for a year. We had moved to Brighton meaning I exchanged schools and had to leave Freddie and Eryn behind. I liked living close to my online friends but I did miss the two friends that I had made when I was 4.
A problem soon occurred. This one kid, who picked on me a lot, Ben, was very violent. He liked to fight. A lot. So it wasn't too surprising when only a week into the term, we got into a fight. He said something messed up, I defended myself and boom, there was a fist in my face. This was the first time that I had ever retaliated though. Normally, I'd take the beating and let it go but this time I was angry. Like...furious. He had said something about my parents, unaware that they were 6 feet under and I just snapped, punching back. Two teachers separated us and Ben played the victim. Of course, the teachers believed him because his nose was visibly broken and although I was certain that I had broken my wrist from hitting his thick fucking skull too hard, the teachers ignored me. I got in trouble. Ben got away scot-free. I had a 2-week suspension followed by 2 weeks of after-school detentions that I was definitely going to...not. I got escorted to the office and given an ice pack to hold against my bruises. "Thomas we need you to call your parents. You're going home." The receptionist told me.
I froze. How was I supposed to say it?
"I don't exactly have parents, miss," I murmured.
"Sorry? I've met them, Thomas, stop playing around.
I pulled up the news article that covered the crash and slid it over to her. "They're dead. Can I walk home by myself?"
"Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry! Uh, I'm afraid we're not allowed to let you leave without a trusted adult. Do you have someone you can call?"
Who could I- no. I didn't want to call him. If he found out then I would be screwed. But then again he was the best option.
I dialled Wilbur's number.
"Hey Tommy," He said cheerfully, "Shouldn't you be in school right now?"
"Yeah, uh, that's the thing. I need someone to come and pick me up. My parents are really busy at home so they can't make it and you're the only other option, I'm sorry for bothering you." The receptionist flashed me a sympathetic smile at my excuse.
"You're not a bother sunshine, why do you need picking up?"
"I...sort of got into a fight."
"You what?! Why?!"
"I really don't wanna talk about that right now."
"Okay, I'm on my way, I'll be there in 10 minutes."
I leaned back in the seat rehearsing what I was going to say in my head.
Hey Wilbur, yeah, I punched a kid in the face cause he was talking about my dead parents. Yeah, that wasn't gonna go down well.
The 10 minutes flew by and I soon saw Wilbur walking up the ramp and into the doors. His eyes widened when he saw my bruised face but he walked straight to the counter. "I'm here to take Tom," He said, "Do I need to sign him out?"
The receptionist handed him the form which he quickly filled out before he came and knelt in front of me. "You ready to go?" I nodded. He took my hand and lead me to the car.
"Are you gonna tell me what happened?"
"Some kid always bullies me and hits me and normally I just take it but I was mad. I hit back." I said quickly, looking out the window so I wouldn't have to see the disappointment on Wilbur's face.
"I hope you beat the shit out of him."
Wait, what? I turned to see a small smirk on Wilbur's lips. "What? You think I'd side with your teachers?" He asked, "No way. I hope you broke his face."
"Well...I broke his nose."
"Hell yeah!"
I laughed, sitting back in my chair.
When we finally arrived at my house I got out of the car preparing to thank Wilbur and watch him leave but to my surprise, he to got out of the car. "Tommy, you said your parents are home. I'm gonna have to explain to them what happened." He said.
"I can do that Wilbur, it's no problem."
"Toms, just let me do it. It'll be a lot easier I promise."
"Don't."
"Why? They won't be mad or anything, love, if that's what you're worried about."
"No, you can't talk to them."
"Why?!"
"Cause they're dead!"
"What?" Wilbur took a step back confusion clear on his face. Tears obscured my vision and I hastily began wiping my eyes trying to clear them but it didn't stop.
"Th-they died Wilbur. I can take you to their graves if you want proof. I go there every night anyway, it's the only time I can l-leave the house."
"When?"
"Remember the among us stream a couple of weeks ago when I left after getting a call. That was the hospital telling me they were in a car crash and didn't survive."
"Who've you been living with?"
"Myself."
"You've been alone through all this?!" I nodded. "Oh sunshine, c'mere."
Wilbur opened his arms and I sank into them sobbing against his chest. "I'm so sorry, bubba, I'm sorry, I'm here now." He whispered against the top of my head, "Let's get inside and sat down okay?"
With Wilbur there, it didn't take me long to calm down. Plus, Betty and Walter were licking at my hand and trying to get the tears off of my face so I guess that helped.
"Who are you okay with knowing about this? The whole SMP? SBI only? Just me?"
"I should probably tell the whole SMP. I want a break from acting."
"Okay sunshine, do you want me to message the group chat for you and then you can proofread it before I send it?"
"Yeah, that'd be good."
The message read:
<WilburSoot> Okay, this is a serious message. Two weeks ago, Tommy's parents passed away in a car accident. He's been pushing himself way too hard and I've only just found out. He's given me permission to tell you all. We need to take a break from lore streams for a while because stressful enough as it is without any outside stimulus making it worse. Try not to act too different but at the same time, be nice. Thank you!
I gave him the okay to send it and then just curled up against his side. He turned on the TV putting on some random film and then began to thread his fingers through my hair. It wasn't long before I fell asleep.
Wilbur's P.O.V
It was 2 weeks later and I was living with Tommy. I could tell he wasn't ready to leave the house and I was looking for somewhere else to move to anyway. I wanted to make sure Tommy was safe. The fact that he's been suffering alone for two whole weeks without telling anyone made me feel ill. If I hadn't been so stubborn I might not have found out for years. Tommy was my little brother and I wanted to help him heal. I would there with him every single step of the way. He didn't have to be alone anymore.
I wrote this in one day and I'm tired. My WiFi kept turning off and deleting my work but I kept rewriting. I haven't gone back and checked this so I'm hoping it's okay.
I have a question and you're not allowed to freak out. I mean it! What counts as sexual assault? Not R@pe but...you know.
2190 words
love you guys
take care
- Ace O :((