when you lose something you can't replace

Willa and Wes sat there for a while, just enjoying each other's presence. It was silent, but neither minded. They missed each other, and it was more than obvious by the way they sat together.

"I can skip out on my run if you want," Wes offered. "Get to know Oliver a little more, spend some time with you. You were alone all night, there's no need for you to be alone now."

"No need," Willa softly smiled at Wes. "You've done more than enough. Just listening and being here. Plus there's always when you get back."

"Yes. When I get back," Wes said as he stood. "So nobody knows about it? Are you sure you don't want to tell anyone?"

Willa thought about it for a moment before responding. "I don't think I could handle it. I'd rather ignore it."

"That's not healthy, Will." Wes shook his head with a frown, "Your well-being is important and I care about you. I love you."

"I know. I love you too." Willa nodded, "But it's still so fresh. I'm not ready. I'll say something when I'm ready."

"And I'll be right there with you." Wes gave her another quick hug.

"You and Oliver are the only ones that know," Willa mumbled. "I didn't even tell Oliver the details I told you."

"No worries about it getting out, Will. I would never tell a soul." Wes sent her an assuring smile. "You know, as crazy as it sounds, I always thought you and Chad were going to get together."

"What?" Willa asked, looking at him in shock. "What makes you say that?"

"I just... saw it." He told her with a shrug, "I know a lot of brothers would be like... pissed if their best friend went for their sister. But I don't think I would be. I think Chad would be the only guy I'd truly trust with you. Well, maybe Oliver as well but truly I don't know him all too well. Plus he gives me more brotherly vibes so when I see you guys together I think of our relationship then it grosses me out-"

"Okay, okay." Willa giggled, shoving Wes to the side. "I get it."

"Do you?" Wes tilted his head, "'Cause I can continue. I mean, seriously, Willa, I don't think I've ever seen people look at each other the way you and Chad do which sounds weird because I should be grossed out but weirdly enough, I'm not. I think you guys should give it a try."

Willa shook her head, "He loves Liv."

"He likes Liv because she's enough to fill the void that is you." Wes slowly spoke, looking over at Willa. "It's not the same with her. Plus, wasn't she like your friend or something?"

"Something like that," Willa muttered. "Seems I'm losing lots of people these days." 

"It'll get better," Wes spoke with a sigh, standing from his spot.

Willa followed, wiping the back of her pants off out of habit. "Why do you think that?"

"'Cause if Mindy, Christian, and Alice are right in any way - then we're safe." Wes spoke with a shrug, "Plus we have the world's most paranoid mom. She went through this stuff, she knows what she's talking about."

"Yeah, right. I still have a bad feeling though." Willa wrapped her arms around her stomach.

"That happens when everything in the world feels like it's going to shit. But I promise, Will, it's not. I'm going to go ahead and go on my run though, and as soon as I get back and shower we'll all eat with mom then maybe me, you, and Oliver can watch something and hang out." Wes told the girl as he pulled some running clothes from his dresser.

"Yeah. Yeah, that sounds good." Willa smiled - a real smile - for the first time in a long time. "We'll just hang out in my room until then."

"Okay. I love you, Willa. It's going to be okay, okay?" Wes asked just as Willa was about to walk out of the bedroom.

"I love you too, Wes." She smiled before exiting.

By the time Willa walked into her bedroom, Wes had already changed and made his way down the stairs. She bit her lip as she opened her bedroom door, surprised to see how different it looked.

She wasn't sure how long she was in Wes' bedroom, but she knew that it was for quite a while. Part of her felt bad for leaving Oliver with such a chaotic room, but at the same time, she felt a huge weight lifted from her shoulders for just spending that little bit of time with her twin. She knew eventually with Wes and Oliver to help her she'd get better - time was just going to have to be a huge factor in helping her.

Oliver had cleaned her room. He pushed the dresser back to where it previously sat before Willa moved it in front of the window, all of the clothes were either put away or in the dirty clothes basket. Everything was done - down to her bed being made and the pillows fluffed. 

"You didn't have to do this," She slowly said, shutting and locking her bedroom door.

Oliver shrugged, laying back on her bed. He continued to play whatever game he'd been busy with before she walked in, a small smile resting on his face.

"Thank you, Ollie." She spoke once he looked at her again. 

"You're welcome," He told her, sitting up. "Did you-" He stopped, seeming to be almost afraid to finish the question.

She nodded, sitting down next to him on the bed. "That's what took so long," She mumbled.

"That's okay." Oliver nodded in assurance. "You need it."

Willa half-smiled, "Let's do something."

'Like what?' Oliver signed. This was a common occurrence with Oliver - he often switched from speaking to sign language. He mostly only spoke when needed for people who didn't understand sign language, but with Willa it was different.

If he felt too lazy to sign, he spoke carefully and slowly and softly. And Willa ate up all of it. She loved his voice, she could listen to it often. But then he switched to signing just as fast, and Willa never questioned it. She assumed it was a rare occurrence for Oliver to use his voice when it wasn't needed, and she'd be grateful for any little bit she got.

"Hmm," Willa commented. "Do you like to color?"

Oliver shrugged, 'Yes and no.'

She nodded, standing from her spot. She went over to her desk and pulled out two coloring books - a princess one and a superhero one. She then grabbed her colored pencils and a sharpener before going to the bed again, climbing on next to Oliver.

Willa held both of them out, and Oliver smiled as he grabbed the superhero one. She smiled as she sat the princess one down in front of her and turned to the first page that hadn't been colored, pressing the left side down to make it more flat. She then grabbed her remote from the nightstand before turning the TV on and putting cartoons on for the background. She made sure captions were turned on before putting the remote down, grabbing the first color she could get her hands on.

Oliver slowly flipped through the pages of his book, looking for one he wanted to color. He finally landed on one of Superman, one that had already been colored.

He looked at the letters in the bottom right corner, his thumb running over the messy handwriting.

Chad.

Willa's eyes caught sight of the page he was looking at. It was from one of the last few times she got to hang out with Chad before he started dating Liv and she started dating Marcus. They colored together - something they did often - and he had colored that page.

She cleared her throat, looking down at her page. Oliver hadn't noticed her attention was on him, but before he looked suspicious staring at it too long he decided to turn to the next available page to color.

It went like that for a while. They colored - Oliver even decided to take over the princess coloring book. Willa didn't care, Oliver was managing to get her mind off of stuff.

Her phone dinged after a while with a text from Wes saying he was almost back and then he was going to shower. Her phone had been on do not disturb, but there were only three people she had it turned off for - Oliver, Wes, and Chad. She responded before putting her attention back on Oliver, basking in the quality time she was getting to spend with him.

Of course, Oliver wasn't solving all of her problems. He couldn't get her mind off of everything completely, and even with the much-needed talk she had with Wes - it didn't change the heartache she felt inside. But it was distracting, which was everything she needed at the moment.

It wasn't long before there was a knock on the door. Willa jumped up quickly and opened it, revealing a slightly sweaty Wes on the other side. "Hey," He commented. He glanced in the room to see Oliver on the bed coloring still, focusing his hardest to not color outside of the lines.

Wes slightly smiled before looking back at Willa. "I'm back. Mom almost pulled a knife on me."

"What?" Willa asked, her dark brows scrunching together in confusion. "Why would she do that?"

"Because she's mom and she's paranoid." Wes rolled his eyes, I just wanted to let you know she's going out to get dinner for us. I told her Oliver was staying as well so she's getting enough for him as well. Also was making sure we're being safe and ready for anything with everything going on."

"What's for dinner?" Willa asked, ignoring the last part of his statement. It was usual for Judy Hicks to grill the kids about being safe. She did it so much that she even would say stuff to the other kids if available, simply because with the way Woodsboro was and with everything going on, it was safer to make sure the kids had weapons that they would find useful if need be.

"Sushi," Wes answered. "You wanna set the table or should I?"

"I think I'll let you do it this time, I did it last time," Willa mumbled.

"You're right. My turn." Wes smiled, "No worries. I'm gonna shower first though."

"Good, 'cause you're stinky." Willa joked.

"Nuh uh, think you're smelling your breath or something," Wes muttered, rolling his eyes. "Okay, seriously I'll be back. I love you."

It threw Willa off how in the short time it had been since they got back from Chad and Mindy's house Wes had told Willa he loved her. She wasn't complaining, because usually she was the one saying it to any and everybody. The more she thought about it, she couldn't remember the last time she told someone she loved them first.

"I love you too, Wessy." She mumbled with a smile.

By now, Oliver finally looked up to acknowledge Wes. He smiled with a small wave, causing Wes to wave in return.

"Love you too, Ollie." Wes jokingly spoke, waving.

Oliver laughed, blowing a kiss in Wes' direction. Willa felt content in that moment, enjoying how well they all worked together. It was like Oliver was their third sibling - as if he belonged in their family. 

"Okay, see you soon. Love you." He said again as he crossed the hall in the direction of his room.

Despite continuing on with whatever had been going on, Willa couldn't help but get an odd feeling in her stomach. Something felt off, the same feeling she felt when she talked to Wes earlier. Part of her was tempted to call in and check on her mom, but she knew she was just being dramatic.

Then there was the sound of a police car. Willa stopped coloring with the bright orange colored pencil, snatching the remote to quickly pause the TV.

Nothing. No sound, nothing was able to be heard but the faint sound of the shower Wes was taking.

"Everything okay?" Oliver asked, having picked up on her sudden change in behavior.

She shook her head, laughing it off. She hit play again, the sound of the cartoons filling the room. "N-no yeah, everything's okay."

Oliver was hesitant but listened. He watched as she went back to coloring, her movements slow and messy compared to moments before.

Then, she heard something else. What sounded like a faint scream - something that wouldn't be playing on children's cartoons. She hesitated and hovered over the remote before deciding she was just imagining things - that nothing was wrong.

Hearing another noise, Willa didn't hesitate to shut the TV off completely. Her nerves were soon calmed as she realized it was just Wes walking down the stairs - presumably to set the table for dinner.

"Willie," Oliver softly spoke, catching the blonde's attention.

She glanced over to see him already looking at her, the coloring book long gone. "Everything will be-"

Whatever Oliver was saying didn't matter. Before the end of his statement, Willa had shot up from the bed, cutting him off from anything he planned on telling her to ease her nerves. The sound that had come from down the stairs confirmed her suspicions that something was wrong.

That sound was Wes. He screamed, then a loud sound as if he'd hit something. It was enough to almost make Willa throw up, and she hesitated before looking at Oliver.

"Something is wrong. Stay here, please."

Oliver obliged despite how much he didn't want to. He watched as Willa grabbed her taser and left the room, the same bad feeling she'd been feeling quickly settling into his own stomach.

Willa was careful and quiet as she walked out of her room. She held her breath as she held the taser in her hand, ignoring the shaky feeling she got.

She'd never had to actually use her taser before. She'd never really had to use an actual weapon or defend herself up until what happened with Marcus. But now with everything going on with Ghostface, everyone was on edge. She knew there might come a day she'd need to use the skills her mother taught her - despite how against violence she usually was.

Just as she got to the stairs, she froze. She watched as her brother struggled against Ghostface, fighting as the person attempted to stab him.

Everything happened in slow motion. She didn't hesitate to keep her steps light as she stepped forward, clicking the button to tase the person behind a mask.

However, just as she got within reach to do so, the person in the black cloak threw their elbow back, hitting her directly in the nose. 

She didn't hear a crack, but it was with enough force that blood began to trickle down to her lips. It tasted gross and hurt, but Willa ignored her. Instead, she went for Ghostface again - anything to get them away from Wes.

Wes watched in fear as he caught his breath. Ghostface was no longer interested in Wes it seemed, and now put their focus on Willa.

They twirled the shiny knife around in their hand a few times as Willa took a few steps backward, breathing heavily. They tilted their head, looking between Wes and Willa - almost as if they were choosing which would they'd kill first.

When Ghostface turned to look at Wes again, Willa took her shot. She ran at them again only to get struck again by the butt of the knife, knocking the taser out of her hand somewhere she couldn't see. 

She fell to the ground with a thud, her head pounding. Groaning, she sat up to see Ghostface standing directly above her. They held their knife in a taunting way, almost teasing her as she struggled to balance herself.

There was wet blood on her hands from when she touched her bloody nose. Not to mention she was beginning to sweat, her socks slipping on the hardwood floor.

Tears clouded her vision, causing the masked figure to grow blurry. She watched as they brought the knife up above their head, but before they could do anything to her, Wes took action.

First, he charged at the masked person. Then he barely dodged the knife they swiped at him, remembering the way their mother taught him. They fought back and forth as Willa struggled to find her footing, pain coursing through her from where the butt of the knife hit her temple and the blow to her nose.

But she tried. She tried and and tried and tried until she stood up, then just as she found herself up, she saw as Ghostface pinned Wes to the front door.

"Fuck... you!" Wes shouted at Ghostface, his voice cracking as he used all of his strength to fight the figure off.

But it wasn't enough, and Willa realized this. "W-Wes." She breathed out, beginning to stumble in that direction. She glanced around for the taser, unable to find it. 

Her vision was blurry but she didn't let that stop her as she grabbed something she could nearby - something that could and would be used as a weapon. She needed to save Wes. Wes was her best friend. She'd lost far too many people to lose someone else, especially someone such as Wes. She'd rather be the one to die than him, considering he had so much to live for.

He was much smarter than Willa and had much more going for him. He had so much love in his heart and cared for his friends, not to mention Willa. He'd always protected Willa, and now it was her turn to protect him. She needed to protect her best friend, even if it meant risking her life.

The sound hit her ears first. Just as she grabbed a vase the sound of a knife digging into skin was heard through the empty house. Then, the choking of blood. Wes choking on blood.

She looked to see him looking at Ghostface with wide eyes, blood gushing from a deep open wound on the left side of his neck. Ghostface slowly moved down with Wes as he fell, blood spilling from his mouth and the straight cut on the side of his neck from Ghostface. Anger coursed through her.

NotWesNotWesNotWesNotWes-

The two words repeated in her head as she moved without thinking, hitting the vase as hard as she could over Ghostface's head.

It was more than enough to get the figure to pull back, the sound of the knife moving from Wes' throat echoing in Willa's ears.

As soon as Ghostface was affected by the vase breaking on their head, they moved enough so that Willa slid across the floor toward where Wes' body sat.

"W-Wes it's- it's going to be okay," She mumbled. She took the flannel she'd been wearing off, pressing it to Wes' bleeding wound.

Blood was everywhere. It was so bad, she didn't care that she was basically bathing in it. She continued to press to the wound, watching as he struggled to stay awake.

"S-stay awake please." She begged, tears falling from her face onto his cheek.

"I-I'm s-sorry," He breathed out, the sound coming out jagged and broken. "I'm s-suppose-sed to p-ro-" The rest of the sentence didn't get out, as he began to choke on his own blood.

Willa let out a struggled cry as she lifted his head, letting the blood fall from his mouth so he wouldn't choke completely on it. She could feel the blood seeping into her jeans and the bottom of her shirt, but she didn't care.

"D-don't please." She begged, unaware of the figure watching the interaction.

Ghostface was entertaining it, and she knew this. She didn't care that they were now unaffected by the vase hitting their head, ready to use the same knife they used on Wes, on her. She knew her time was coming, but she needed to help Wes. She needed to save Wes.

WesWesWesWesWesWes-

"I'm-m s-sorry for not p-prot-t-ecting y-you." Wes finally managed out.

"You did all you could, Wessy." She mumbled, "I love so you much."

"I l-lo-" The words didn't get finished. The struggling breaths stopped, Wes' eyes no longer looking at Willa.

He was gone. Wes was dead.

WesWesWesWesWesWes-

Willa sobbed. She let out a frustrated ugly scream cry, one that would be embarrassing for anyone to hear. She realized that Wes was gone, and no matter how hard she pressed her flannel to his neck, that he was dead. 

Then, her fight or flight kicked in. No matter how much she wanted to sit and hold Wes hoping he'd pop up and say it was some sick joke - she couldn't. She shut Wes' eyelids, letting out another pained cry as she did it. She struggled but managed to stand to her feet, looking at the masked figure before her.

They just tilted their head at her, assessing her. They then grabbed the knife and swiped Wes' blood on it, Willa carefully watching every move.

But then she moved. She quickly turned and unlocked the door, swinging it open to make a run for it. If she could run out in the open to the public, she'd not only get Ghostface away from Oliver but she would also manage to hopefully get them caught and end this torture.

As soon as Willa opened the door, another struggled cry left her lips. Bile rose in her throat as she fell to the ground, her eyes stuck on the scene in front of her.

Her mother lay dead in front of the porch. Everyone around her was dead or dying. Her family was gone. She was alone.

AloneAloneAloneAlone-

Her panicked thoughts were dissolved because Ghostface was over entertaining her at this point. It was as if they knew they were on borrowed time, and if everything was going to go as planned - they needed to kill Willa and get out of there before they were caught.

Ghostface grabbed her by the hair, earning another cry of pain. They pulled her back into the house and slammed the door shut, tossing her onto the ground next to Wes' body. She looked over at Wes' lifeless body, tears spilling as Ghostface wrapped their large hand around her throat, tightening it to where she couldn't breathe.

She attempted to slip out from under the figure, but couldn't. She was covered in hers and Wes' blood. She wasn't wearing shoes only causing her to slip and slide all over the bloody floor. Her body ached and she didn't know how she'd emotionally deal with any of this - if she were to survive.

Ghostface wrapped their fingers around her throat tighter, lifting her to stand. They put their face extremely close to hers, but she didn't say anything. She didn't fight as hard as Wes had, almost at a point to where she didn't find any reason to. If she and Wes weren't able to fight Ghostface together with the two of them, what made her think she was any match for this masked figure?

It was obviously someone humanely stronger than her. Although the hands were gloved, they almost felt manly.

She then looked back down at Wes' body again, taking note of the wound. The wound. It was the same exact wound she saw in Magnolia's neck, in the same spot. "Y-you killed Noli." She managed out, tears falling down her face.

Ghostface didn't respond, but she didn't expect them to. Instead, they just began to lift her up until she couldn't reach the ground anymore, even if she were to point her toes downward.

She choked, and Ghostface watched, slowly bringing the knife up to her chest. Right where her heart is. "G-go ahead," She spat weakly. "You just took everything from me."

Ghostface pressed the blade down lightly, breaking into her skin in the slightest. She winced but didn't move to fight against the blade, instead just struggled to breathe.

Then, movement in the background caught her attention. her eyes quickly darted to where Oliver stood at the bottom of the steps, taking in the scene. Tears clouded his eyes almost immediately and the weakness and hopelessness that Willa felt was gone. She would not let them take Oliver too.

She weakly moved her hand, thankful that Ghostface hadn't noticed Oliver. Oliver was quick to look at her hand, watching as she shakily moved them in the correct positions.

'RUN.'

Oliver listened. Willa watched with a faint smile as Oliver booked it in the direction of the back door and out of sight, completely soundless. Her eyes then went back to Ghostface. At least if she were to die, she could die knowing she at least managed to do something useful.

She was completely useless in saving Wes. Who knows how long her mother had been dead outside? She was useless in saving two important people, she wouldn't let Oliver be another victim.

Ghostface pulled the tip of the blade from Willa's skin, holding it back. She braced herself for the worst pain she ever felt, choking for air as the person's hand shook only slightly.

Just as the knife plunged downward, Willa cried out. Ghostface didn't hit her in the middle of the chest as they planned but instead lodged the blade into her shoulder, simply because something had stopped them from doing so.

Oliver jumped on Ghostface's back, choking the person with all his might. He grunted as he held his arm around the figure tightly.

Willa fell to the ground with a thud, landing right next to Wes. "N-no. No!" She exclaimed, the adrenaline coursing through her body giving her more than enough strength to bring herself to her feet.

She stumbled back to the ground as she watched Ghostface struggle against Oliver. She could hear struggled breaths from underneath the cloak.

No fucking way.

Oliver was successfully choking the shit out of Ghostface.

But then it ended when Ghostface slammed their back against the wall, knocking Oliver off with ease. 

Ghostface popped their neck a few times, but just before they could react or even attempt to kill Oliver - sirens were heard.

Oliver was quick to move, crawling over to Willa despite the blood. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, not paying any mind to Ghostface. He pressed his hand against the wound in her shoulder, causing her to wince.

When Willa looked back up from Oliver, Ghostface was gone. They booked it, moving to get away from the scene before other officials got there.

Willa turned from her spot, looking at Wes. She grabbed his hand, hating how cold it felt. She hated it. She felt as if she were the reason for this. She should've come down sooner. She could have prevented this.

"I'm s-sorry Wessy." She cried, sitting next to him. "I saved Ollie but I-I couldn't save you."

Oliver leaned his head on Willa comfortingly. At some point he'd removed the T-shirt he wore over a long-sleeved shirt, pressing it into Willa to stop the bleeding. She was losing a lot of it, and although he was worried he knew that this was the best he could do.

Willa's lip trembled, "Ollie." She mumbled, "You were supposed to run."

Oliver had no idea what she said, simply because she faced Wes instead of him. "You were supposed to leave me."

Sirens were right outside the house. Willa could hear them talk about how they'd found a body outside of her address, and how this was now considered a crime scene. She heard them talk about how they needed to get back up and how they were going to look in the house for other possible casualties.

Willa didn't move - she couldn't. Although Oliver had the urge to get up and go get help, he couldn't leave Willa. He just stayed and applied pressure to her shoulder, pressing his cheek against her back while he held her. They probably looked crazy, but they didn't care.

"Willa!" A familiar voice outside shouted, "I swear to god if you don't let us through-" The rest was mumbled, preventing Willa from hearing.

"H-he can't see this." Willa quickly mumbled, moving to catch Oliver's attention. "You need to go out there and stop Chad from coming in here. He can't see this."

Oliver hesitated. He was usually quick to listen to Willa, but he knew leaving her wasn't good. But then he saw the look on her face and knew he had to. He grabbed her left hand and pressed it against the shirt he'd been holding against her shoulder, slowly moving to stand up.

The boy slowly stepped around Wes and Willa, sparing numerous glances before finally opening the door.

Guns were immediately aimed at Oliver, and the boy immediately threw his hands up in defense.

"Oliver?" Chad breathlessly asked. He was standing outside with Christian and Alice, who were quick to come with him to the Hicks' residence when he'd asked.

"Well, now our suspicions were right, about something being wrong" Alice mumbled to Christian. "Why would Ghostface call Chad?"

"To taunt him with the fact that Willa might be dead. Mrs. Hicks is dead, and Oliver's covered in blood... I don't want to be the one to admit it but Oliver and Willa were-"

"Shut up, Christian." Chad snapped, "She's not-" He stopped, breathing deeply. "She can't be."

Christian sighed, looking back to where an officer walked past Oliver in the house. Oliver was starting to get led further away from the house but he refused, looking at Chad.

"He's trying to say something," Alice muttered, tapping Chad's arm.

Chad didn't hesitate before walking up to Oliver. "Oliver, they won't let me in. Is- is Willa dead?"

Oliver paused. He didn't know what Willa wanted him to say, she just knew she didn't want Chad to see Wes' body.

"We have another body!" The sound of the officer shouted from inside.

Christian and Alice looked at each other nervously. Chad's blood ran cold as he looked at Oliver. "She's gone?"

"We need an ambulance, stat!" The same officer from inside shouted, "We have an injured teen!"

"Who is it, Oliver?" Chad asked, but as he asked the question Oliver was already being questioned further away from the three.

"Dude, we can't be here. It's a crime scene." Christian reached out to grab Chad.

"No!" He exclaimed, moving back. He didn't know what was worse - the fact that only one of them survived. Wes is his best friend and Willa- Willa is different. She's his everything and more and it took him far too long to realize. She didn't even get to know how Chad truly felt - and he didn't know if she felt the same. He was too late as he always was, all because he didn't want to admit that his friends were right.

"Chad!" Christian said. He was suddenly in front of the boy, Alice standing a bit of a distance away as she watched the scene in heartbreak. She felt for him but didn't know what to do about the situation. "Look-" The curly-headed boy turned his head back toward the house.

Chad didn't want to. But he did. He slowly turned to see the officer coming out, holding onto a bloody arm tightly in support. 

It wasn't long before the second body emerged, the familiar blonde stepping out from behind the door. She was covered in blood from head to toe, her hair matted a dark color. She walked slowly, her head repeatedly looking back.

Chad's world slowed. He felt relief and heartbreak at once because this meant that the only other body in the house was Wes'.

He didn't listen as Christian and Alice tried to hold him back. He made his way past the officers and detectives, stepping around the black bag covering Judy Hicks' body. He didn't stop until he got directly in front of the porch, getting a glimpse of Willa up close.

"P-please tell me you'll be gentle with him," Willa begged the officer, "He was in so much pain."

Chad didn't even realize he was crying until that moment. He just watched as tears stained Willa's cheeks, causing streaks to part the blood. He didn't say anything, too speechless to even attempt speaking to her.

"We will be as gentle as possible," The officer promised.

"Good, please do." She asked again, "I tr-tried so hard." 

The officer solemnly glanced at Chad, causing Willa to finally notice him.

"Chad," She breathed out, her chin beginning to wobble as another sob escaped.

"Willa," Chad breathed out in return. He wasted no time in pulling her to him, his movements gentle to not hurt the wound on her arm. He could get in trouble for trespassing on a crime scene - he knew this. But did Chad care? No. He only cared for Willa and Wes at that moment.

"Chad," She repeated, pulling her head away from him. "He did it." Chad didn't say anything, and instead just inspected her face.

"The bad man finally got my mom, and Wes too."

++

Over 5,000 words just to break everyone's hearts IM SORRY !

Not me listening to 'Holding Out for a Hero' While writing the part where Oliver saves Willa LMAO anyways yeah I cried writing this whoops RIP Wes, you would've loved Wallows LMFAO