Never Give Up, Never Surrender
He stumbled through the park, pain shooting through his legs and a chill running through his whole body. He kept telling himself to keep going, that he needed to get somewhere safe. The question was where? A few months ago, he would say it would be wherever his husband was, but that ended. The divorce had been final for three weeks, and the pain had still not lessened. He knew he deserved what happened after what he did, but it didn't make it any better.
Tripping over a rock, Will Horton collapsed on the ground. All the air rushed out of body as he hit the ground. His bruised ribs cried out in pain, causing Will to actually cry out. Tears ran down his face as he began to cry. His body could no longer take the pain it had been through the past several hours. The beating, the violation, and the loss of anything he felt that was good. The darkness began to come in, and for the first time that night, he welcomed it. He wished that it would stay with him forever.
Two hours later, Marlena Evans and John Black walked through the park. Marlena was talking to John about her concerns regarding Will and Sonny. She was so disappointed that they were divorced, and wished she could do something to help them. But while she was able to talk to Sonny, Will was pushing her away. Will was pushing everyone away. The only person Will seemed remotely happy around was his daughter, Arianna Grace. She was the only one who could bring a smile to his face, and while Marlena was glad about that, she was concerned about Will closing himself off to everyone around him. John reminded her that there was only so much she could do. Will had to deal with the fact that Sonny couldn't forgive Will for cheating, and so he filed for divorce.
Will had begged Sonny for weeks for another chance, but Sonny couldn't let go of his anger and pain. Will lost hope, and agreed to give Sonny his freedom. Sonny offered to let Will keep the apartment, but Will declined and moved into the apartment above the Brady Pub. He claimed he couldn't live in the same place that reminded him so much of his failed marriage. Arianna split her time between her two daddies, going back and forth. It broke Will's heart to see his daughter have his childhood, but he knew it was his fault.
Marlena stopped and turned to John, stating how she wished she had done something sooner, when they heard a quiet moan. John stopped her, putting his finger to his lips and indicating she should listen. They looked around and John called out, "Hello?"
John searched around, then stopped when he saw a body on the ground. He knelt down to check if the person was okay, when he suddenly cried out.
"Doc!"
Marlena came rushing over. "What?"
John looked at her. "It's Will."
Marlena gasped and dropped next to Will's body, calling out to him. But he didn't answer or move. John immediately called for an ambulance. He looked around to see if there was any evidence of a fight or anyone was around to tell them what happened. Marlena looked over Will to see if she could see any open wounds or injuries that could tell them what happened. His clothes were dirty and torn, and any exposed skin that Marlena could see was bruised. It was obvious that Will had been attacked, but when? And the better question was, why?
Meanwhile…
Sonny smiled over at Arianna, who was sitting on the floor in front him at the Kiriakis Mansion playing with her toys. He loved spending the night in with Ari, spending time with her and playing with her. He honestly just loved having her in his life.
Unfortunately, his family was broken. After the revelation of Will cheating, Sonny couldn't find it in him to forgive Will and try to make their marriage work. A part of him thought that, with time, it would be easier and the pain would lessen, but it didn't. He eventually decided to ask Will for a divorce. Will was devastated, and begged Sonny to reconsider, but he couldn't. Will eventually gave in, and even left the apartment they shared together.
Will didn't keep Ari away from Sonny, however, immediately asking Justin to create a joint custody agreement and asking Sonny to create a schedule for who would have Ari when. Sonny was grateful for that, and they both tried hard to keep the stress away from Ari. It was difficult, but Ari seemed to be able to adjust. For now anyway.
Sonny had also been dealing with Paul. After knowing that Paul was the one Will cheated with, Sonny had a really hard time being able to be around him. Paul had tried to approach Sonny several times, but Sonny told Paul he needed time. He wanted to focus on making sure Ari was okay, and try to rebuild his life. He was still in love with Will, and a part of him wanted to try and fix their relationship. But his anger and pride refused to let him try to work it out with Will. It hurt to see Will, and only be able to see Will sleeping with Paul.
But the part that still wanted Will was also worried about Will. He knew that Will was taking the divorce badly, and barely saw anyone outside his immediate family. He now lived above the Brady Pub, and had been helping his Caroline around the Pub. As far as Sonny knew, Will didn't write anymore for Sonix. Sonny hated that Will wasn't writing anymore, but again, there was nothing he could do. He wanted to talk to Marlena or someone about how he felt, but he also just wanted some time to get over what happened.
Most people knew why Will and Sonny had split, and almost everyone sided with Sonny. Will's family supported him, but it was obvious they were all disappointed. Even most of their friends were obvious in their support of Sonny. T was the only one who stood by Will, not because he blamed Sonny, but because T felt he couldn't abandon Will. Sonny told T that it was okay, and he wouldn't hold it against T at work or personally. He couldn't. Will needed someone to be there for him, and if Sonny couldn't, he was glad someone like T was.
He looked back at Ari playing. She looked so happy and content, and she was what kept both Will and Sonny going. Sonny felt a little bit of sadness and guilt that he couldn't keep their family together, and he had to constantly remind himself that it wasn't his fault. Will was the one who cheated, and threw away their vows. But if that was true, why was it so hard for Sonny to let go?