He's... dead...?

What is that supposed to mean?

He promised he'd come back!

"No! He can't be dead! He promised he'd come back, he promised!" I scream.

Everyone has tears running down their cheeks, even Zane. Well, Vylad just looks confused. I'm not going to say he's a stupid six year old, but he's never had anyone close to him die before, so I can understand that. Plus, dad promised.

"D-Daddy's not coming back?" He asks, looking at mom with his deep emerald eyes.

Mom walks over to him and puts a hand on the back of his head. She shakes her head and looks down.

"N-No, Vylad, your dad's not coming back," she pulls him into a hug. Vylad sobs loudly as I just sit there, feeling nothing.

Uncle Tobin comes over to me, "Hey, G." He wipes away a forming tear and whispers to me, "Are you okay?"

"I just found out my dad died! The only man who could ever make me feel better, and now he's gone!" I scream. He pulls me into a hug, and I hug him back.

"I know, I know it's hard. But we're all in this together. We'll never let each other down," he says.

I look around the room and realize someone's missing. Uncle Theo, dad's younger brother. He was never around much but as a kid, dad adored him.

"Where's Theo?" Mom asks. Tobin looks down.

"I don't know. He's... He hasn't really been around the family for a while," he says.

I look at everyone, tears flooding down their cheeks. Mom's still holding Vylad, barely able to contain himself. Zane just stays over with Grandma and Grandpa.

~•~

I hear a knock on the door. Mom, Tobin, and my grandparents had left the room with Zane a while back, so I know it can't be them. And it can't be Vylad, considering he's right next to me. Then, Aphmau comes in.

"Hey... I saw your entire family crying. Is everything okay?" She awkwardly walks in.

I shake my head, "Dad... He was shot. He died on the battlefield, and we just found out a few hours ago."

I look back over to Vylad. Two or three years slowly slide down his face as he sniffles. He hasn't said a word for about two hours. He stays close to me, clingy like a baby or small child.

"O-Oh God, Garroth, I'm so, so sorry," she stuttered, hands flying over her mouth.

I nod, "Yeah, me too. Me too."

"Garroth?" Vylad says something for the first time in a while, "Can I stay here tonight?"

"Sure, Vylad. Stay here for as long as you like," I nod. He nods back and slowly closes his eyes, causing him to go to sleep.

I look at Aphmau. Her eyes awkwardly trail the room and they show sympathy. I look away, trying to focus on Vylad. But, it's kind of hard to focus on anything right now.

"I... didn't know him well, but he was a great guy," Aphmau says.

I nod, "Yeah, he... he really was."

"D-Do you wanna talk about it or anything?" She comes over to me. I shake my head.

"I know this is going to come off as rude but I was kinda hoping to be alone for a few minutes?"

Jeez, that sounded a lot better in my head.

"Of course. Just tell me if you need anything," she says as she walks out of the room.

I can't believe this happened right after I got out of a coma. Sure, not a long one, but still. But I do guess there's never any good time to tell everyone that a close family member died.

Mom walks into the room, slowly turning the knob and trying to close the door as quietly as possible. But, Vylad is a light sleeper, so of course he woke up. He sits up and looks at mom. She walks over to him.

"Did I wake you boys up? I'm sorry," she says, putting a hand on the back of Vylad's head.

"No, just Vylad," I say.

Vylad reaches for mom and she pulls him into a hug. He's been clingy for the past couple hours. Can you blame him, though? He's never going to really remember dad. Sure, faint memories, but nothing Zane and I will have.

Mom sits down in a chair, still holding Vylad. He holds onto her tight. You can tell he never wants to let go, or at least until it's better.

Mom smiles sadly, "You know, Garroth, you used to do this to your dad."

"I did?" I ask quietly.

"Yeah. You almost never let him go," a few new tears form in her eyes, which she wipes away.

"Mom?" Vylad asks looking up at her.

"Yeah, buddy?" She looks back down at him.

"Why did they want to hurt daddy? He's a good guy," he says. Mom and I freeze, looking at each other in shock.

"W-Well, Vylad, you know there's bad guys where he was, right?" She asks. Vylad nods. "Well, those bad guys don't like our army. They try and kill as many of them as possible and, well... they won with daddy."

Vylad's eyes go to fear, "B-But what if they come here?!"

"They won't, Vylad. See, your dad told all of the army to fight them and win before he died," she explains. She chokes up on the word "died", trying to hold in all of her sadness.

Vylad nods. I can't believe how accepting he is as a six year old. He's such a sensitive kid most of the time, this surprises me. Maybe he's cried all he can cry. Maybe he'll get through it faster than the rest of us.

~•~

I wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of faint crying. I roll over and check the time.

3:51.

I rub my eyes and try to focus them in the dark. Which is a stupid idea. It's dark, all the lights are off.

Then, a light comes on.

My eyes immediately shut. After a few minutes, I slightly open them to see mom walking over to Vylad. Zane does the same thing as me and we both sit up, still rubbing our eyes.

"Hey... What was that about?" Zane asks with a tone. He's not a morning person.

"Sorry, boys, I heard him crying and I couldn't see anything," she says, trying to calm Vylad down. His sobs eventually turn into silence.

Before Zane can say anything, I interrupt him, "It's fine."

"Hey, mom, before we were born, what was dad like?" Zane asks.

Mom sits down next to Vylad. He climbs onto her lap and rests his head on her shoulder. She smiles down at him.

"He was the funniest guy you'd ever meet. But, he was also a troublemaker, too." She says.

"How so?" I ask.

"He'd always cause trouble for his brothers. It was funny to watch, especially when his brothers got mad at him," she strokes Vylad's hair.

"What was uncle Theo like? He's never around," Zane says.

"Theo was a quiet guy. But he was talented, could play almost every instrument you gave him, just like your dad. Your father called him 'Teddy' or 'Theodore' several times to annoy him," she says.

"He didn't like those names?" Vylad asks.

Mom shakes her head, "He didn't like his name at all, but he liked the nickname Theo best."

We all nod. Did talking about dad make me feel better? Eh, kind of. This is going to take a long time to get through, but I'm sure I can do it.

Love you, dad.

••••••••
Is it weird that Pillow Talk and Mama Said were playing while I was writing this?

No?

Okay.

Thanks for reading! Bai!
••••••••