Will lay on his bed absent mindedly twirling his football between his hands. He was thinking about his last interaction with Wade Cole. He still couldn't believe that Wade had turned out to be gay and had even made a pass at him. Looking at Wade had been like seeing a mirror image of himself twenty years into the future. If he had stayed on his previous path and not come out publicly, he would have become Wade. On the one hand, Wade was a big country star with money, prestige, fame, fans around the world. He had it all, the same way Will could have if he had just stayed the course. But when Will looked at Wade, he didn't see all that. He had seen the truth, a man living a life that was hollow and empty and a complete lie.

Will wondered about Wade's wife. Was it possible that she didn't know about Wade? Was she oblivious or living the lie right along with Wade? How could either of them find happiness in that kind of relationship? Will thought about his marriage to Layla and everything he had put her through because of his secret. He hated himself for the lies he had told her, using her the way that he had. Layla had nearly died because of him. If he had never come clean with Layla, could he have kept up the lie? Could he have lied to her for years? Could he even go so far as to father her children and then lie to them too? From the outside, Wade looked like he had the perfect American family. Nobody knew that it was all based on a foundation of lies, deceit, and manipulation.

Will's life could have been the same. But what kind of life was it? The truth was that it wasn't a life at all. Wade had spent his entire life never knowing what true love was. Well, at least Will could say that he did. Despite the pain of not being with Kevin any more, he wouldn't trade it for anything. The happiest moments of his life had been the time that he spent with Kevin. Will was glad that he had found out about Wade. Seeing the hard, cold, ugly truth staring straight at him had put things into clearer perspective for Will. Since breaking up with Kevin, Will had wished that he could go back in time and take back coming out. Now he was positive that if he was given the choice between openly loving Kevin even knowing how brief it would be and wiping it all out and going back to the time before coming out, he wouldn't change it. He didn't want to end up like Wade.

Will stopped twirling his football as the weight of those words sunk deeper into his consciousness. He didn't want to end up like Wade. Will realized that this was something of an epiphany for him. All his life he thought he wanted to be like Wade. This was the first time that he understood that it wasn't. Okay, so if he no longer wanted to be Wade Cole, then what did he want? Did he want to continue to be a songwriter? Kevin was certainly happy being a songwriter and was successful at it. Nobody seemed to care that he was gay.

The more Will mulled that over the more he realized that songwriting wasn't the key to his happiness. It was fine for Kevin, but he was being honest when he told Kevin that it would feel like settling. Of course, he hadn't meant it the way it had come out. He hadn't meant to insult Kevin's career choice. He had only meant that it wasn't the right choice for him. Deep down he knew that performing was what he wanted to do more than anything else in the world. But he had tried that, and it had failed miserably. Then again, maybe Kevin was right. Maybe he was overreacting. Those girls were enjoying his performance. Yes, they pushed their gay friend to the front but was that such a big deal? He had certainly thought so at the time, but now he could look at it a little more objectively. Maybe he should give performing another shot.

Will sighed as he put his football down on the bed then rubbed his eyes. There were too many heavy thoughts rolling through his mind, and he was developing a headache. He was considering taking a break from his thoughts when his phone rang. With his eyes closed, he answered it without looking to see who it was. "Hello?"

"Will? Will Lexington?"

Will opened his eyes and furrowed his brow. The voice on the other end was an older male that he didn't recognize. "Yes, this is Will. Who's this?"

"You probably won't remember me. It's been a very long time. My name is Tom Harding. I'm a friend of your father's."

Will blinked as he thought back. Tom Harding, Tom Harding? That name did sound vaguely familiar. "I'm sorry…"

The man on the other end of the phone sighed slightly. "I didn't expect you to remember. As I said, it's been a very long time."

Will felt a trickle of uneasiness run down his spine, "Why are you calling me?"

There was a long hesitation from the other end of the phone before Tom finally spoke. "I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this son. Your mother's in no condition, and I thought you should know. Just because you and your father have been on bad terms doesn't mean you don't have the right."

Will sat up in bed as the uneasy feeling grew inside him. "What are you talking about? What do I need to know?"

There was another long pause. "There's no easy way to say this. Your dad passed away yesterday afternoon. It was a heart attack. Very sudden. I'm so sorry."

Will's hand gripped the phone harder as he waited for a tidal wave of emotions to rush over him. A minute or two ticked past. He heard Tom say, "Son? Are you alright?" Will waited another minute. He felt…nothing. "Will? Are you still there?"

Will swallowed hard before replying, "Yes, I'm still here."

"Are you okay? I know I blindsided you with this." Tom said sympathetically.

Will cleared his throat, "Yes, I'm fine."

Will put down the phone a few minutes later after obtaining all the details regarding the funeral arrangements from Tom. He stared down at his hands for a long time without moving. Why didn't he feel anything? He hadn't spoken to his father since the day he came out. He hadn't expected to. It was understood with that last parting look between them that there was nothing left to say. Will had chosen his path, and it was not a decision that his father approved of.

Will slowly got up from the bed and went downstairs. He stood at the bottom of the staircase as he watched Gunnar cooking dinner at the stove while Avery was sitting on the couch bouncing Cadence on his knee. "Hey Will. Dinner won't be ready for a while. I just started it. I'm trying out something new. I hope you like…" Gunnar started before glancing over at Will and seeing the dazed expression on his face. "Everything okay?"

Will just looked at Gunnar blankly. "My father died."

Gunnar's eyes widened in shock. "Wait, what…when…how…ouch, dammit!"

Will watched Gunnar drop the pan he was holding back onto the stove then frantically turned the knobs to off as he sucked on his burned finger. By this time, Avery was standing in front of him with Cadence in his arms. "What happened?"

Will answered in a flat tone. "Heart attack. Yesterday afternoon."

"Oh Will." Gunnar said as he flung his arms around Will and hugged him.

Avery reached out and squeezed Will's shoulder. "I'm sorry Will."

Gunnar pulled back and said, "Are you okay?"

Will shook his head. "I don't feel anything."

To Will's infinite relief, Gunnar nodded his head understandingly. "That's not surprising."

"It isn't?" Will asked hopefully as he turned to Avery to see him nodding as well.

"You're just in shock. I mean, this was a surprise right? Your dad wasn't sick at all?" Avery questioned.

"Not that I knew of. I haven't spoken to him since I came out. It wasn't like he approved."

"Avery's right. You're just in shock. Trust me. There will be plenty of emotions to sort through before this is all said and done."