Colette called a taxi for Will. All though the journey home, Will thought about what Jem had told him. He could not imagine how Jem could have endured all that horror and yet still turn out the person he was.
He got home and sat on the stairs in his house. It was true that he had lost a sister, but he still had family. He had never thought of himself as lucky before. He had always felt his family was a burden, and he often wished he was alone. But when he remembered Jem and how the boy had nothing left of his family but a photo to cry over, he realised that he was indeed lucky.
So, he sat and waited for his parents to come home. It occurred to him that Jem had probably done that too at some point – sitting, staring at doors and willing his parents to return. In Jem's case, they never would walk through the door again. Will felt sad for his friend.
It was late by the time Will's parents returned home from the charity dinner they had been attending. Will had fallen asleep leaning on the banister and was woken by his father gently shaking him.
Will woke and threw himself at his parents, flinging his arms around them. His parents were shocked. "What's this, Will?" his mother asked. "What did you do?"
"Nothing," Will said. "Can't I just be happy to see you, Mam?"
His mother smiled uncertainly and returned his hug. She kissed him and then said: "Alright, enough of this. It's late; you have school tomorrow. Go on, go to bed now, cariad."
"Goodnight, Mam. Goodnight, Dad," Will said. His father also gave him a kiss before sending him upstairs.
Cecily was watching him from the landing. "What's up with that?" she asked as he passed her. "You trying to get out of trouble?"
"I love you too, you annoying bach ddiafol," Will told her affectionately.
Cecily eyed him suspiciously. "Who are you and what have you done with Will?" she demanded.
"Oh, go away," Will snapped.
"There's my stupid big brother," she concluded with satisfaction. "Please don't do that again. It was terrifying."
Will stuck his tongue out at her, a gesture she happily returned. The two siblings pulled faces at each other until Will reached his attic room and closed the door.
He changed into his pyjamas and lay down on his bed. He was not tired yet, so he pulled out his phone text Jem. "I hope you're feeling better," he wrote. He then got up and proceeded to play video games for a few hours on his Xbox. After finally losing the game, he decided he should try and get to sleep.
As he got into bed, he looked at his phone again. There was no reply from Jem. He had not expected any. He knew he should not bother Jem but he could not help sending another text: "You're not alone in this world, you know? You've got me. I can be your brother. I'd like to be your family. You can be my brother."
He sent off the text and settled down to sleep. Just as he was drifting off to sleep, the phone lit up. It was Jem: "Thanks Will, I'd like that."
Will grabbed the phone and started texting. "There you are! For a minute there, I thought you'd shuffled off your mortal coil and left us."
Jem: "You can't get rid of me so easily."
Will: "Shouldn't you be resting?"
Jem: "I probably should. I don't want to though."
Will: "Why not? You must be exhausted."
Jem: "I have bad dreams."
Will then sent his friend a photo of a teddy bear wielding a sword and holding off a monster that was looming over a sleeping boy. "Teddy will protect you. :)"
Jem: "Thanks for coming today, Will. It meant a lot."
Will: "That's what friends are for. I meant it, you know, about you being my brother. Me being your brother. Whatever. That. You know what I mean. I'm a good brother, most of the time."
Jem: "You can be my brother. As long as you don't unleash an army of ducks on me when I'm sleeping."
Will: "Excuse me, I should be saying that to you. You know my greatest weakness! I'm vulnerable to midnight attacks from legions of demonic ducks."
Jem: "Why are you scared of ducks anyway?"
Will: "One of the creatures bit me once. I was doing nothing to offend it but it swam right up to me and chomped down on my leg. It took Ella and Cecily both to scare it off and make it let go. And I once dropped a duck pie into the pond at Hyde Park; the ducks ate it. They ate it! A duck pie! Bloody cannibals!"
Jem: "Haha!"
Will: "Are you going to be okay tomorrow?"
Jem: "Tomorrow? Try next week. Right now, I feel like I might have to stay in bed forever."
Will: "I sometimes wish I didn't have to get up in the mornings."
Jem: "Yeah, sure, sometimes it's nice. But it's not nice having to stay in bed because you're sick."
Will: "You really should rest."
Jem: "I should let you go to sleep. You're the one with school tomorrow. But you cheer me up so much that I don't want you to stop talking to me."
Will: "I should make a recording. So my dulcet tones can always be on hand. Jester on demand."
Jem: "Will you come again tomorrow? Please say you will. It's so boring at home all day by myself. You saw I don't have a TV in my room. I just stare at the walls."
Will: "Your wish is my command, O my master. I'll bring my best jokes."
There was a very long pause in the conversation. Then, Jem sent: "I'm truly grateful you came today, Will. And I'm sorry you had to see all that. I wish I were healthy like you, and don't have to be laid up all the time and scare people. Thank you for still wanting to be my brother after all of that."
Will smiled at the message. "Go to sleep, Jem. Big brother will see you tomorrow."
Jem: "I believe you're younger than me by a few months. That'll make you 'little brother'. ;)"
Will: "No! I want to be the big brother. Life is unfair. How can an accident of birth deprive me of being the big brother? I'd be an excellent big brother."
Jem; "You already are a big brother. To Cecily. What I've seen of your performance is not a high recommendation of your ability for the role."
Will: "I'll have you know, today, I told her I loved her."
Jem: "Really?"
Will: "Of course, immediately after that I called her an annoying little devil. But that's the job of a big brother."
Jem: "Insulting their little siblings?"
Will: "Yes! It's good training for life."
Jem: "Goodnight, Will. Don't be so mean to Cecily tomorrow."
Will: "For you, my little brother, anything. Tomorrow, I shall be the best of brothers to that little terror."
Jem: "And the next day and the next too."
Will: "Damn, you've seen right through me."
Jem: "Haha! Goodnight, Will. You need to sleep. I'll wait for you to come tomorrow."
Will: "Goodnight, Jem. I'll see you!"
I hope that was a nice little spark of happiness in a very bleak weekend for the world. Please review! :)
