In the Shadows of the Past (MXM)

Few Words... Deep Feelings

Chapter 8 - Present - Callum

"L-Liam... William..." Callum's voice sounded weak, with no confidence calling his son...

His eyes couldn't deceive him, but even so, it was hard for him to believe that this young man, who should be in his early twenties, was the same little boy who appeared in his last memories.

William was already tall at that time compared to other boys his age, and his older brother who was already at puberty, yet the light-eyed figure in front of him should be taller than Callum now, that was easy to say, even if he was just observing him from the bed, as he compared the young man to the doorframe.

... Which reminded him that not even Justin, who was already in high school back then, had the same height as him...

"Are you ... Are you really William?" Unable to stop himself, those words ended up leaving Callum's mouth while the young Werewolf was still surprised to see his father awake, although he already knew it could happen at any time with him there as his stepfather had warned him about that happy news.

Perhaps this was the consequence of years and more years when he was waiting for this day uselessly that now made him not know what to do when his father finally woke up...

And so, any phrase the young man could think to say to him seemed to get stuck in his throat as he continued to look at the figure laying on the bed.

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"How old are you now?" The more I looked at his figure, the more I realized that time had not been kind enough to wait for me, allowing me to understand why Ray hadn't been able to answer my simple question.

"Twenty... Twenty-two." And in a blink of an eye, as if he were returning from his thoughts, Liam answered me, coming to bed, easily removing each of the chains that held me there while I could see the whole picture more clearly now.

"I see... So, Justin must have twenty-five now, and Caleb... Nineteen? Gosh, not even my little boy is a little boy anymore." Like a strange nostalgia was running through my mind, I ended up commenting. "You're all grown up now."

The tiredness and pain, which I felt before, no longer bothering me while I thought that I had enough energy to run a marathon at this very moment if I wanted to.

"... Yeah... They would be..." The air of his words was sad, and the tone of his voice so low that I couldn't believe I had been able to understand him so clearly.

... It shocked me so much that it took me a few more seconds before I could fully understand what he had just said... Before I could fully understand the whole meaning of the simple sentence, he had just said to me...

"They... would..." Almost as if I was too afraid of my own voice, I ended up repeating his words out loud. "Liam... What happened to your brothers?"

Sadness now appeared in his gaze as I seemed to have lost the ability to breathe as I felt my heart freeze and my eyes fill with tears, even though he had yet said any other word.

... Almost as if my son wanted to spare me from the pain I already felt, which was a sad truth that perhaps no one would ever be able to accept in their lifetime...

"... They are gone, Dad..." And like one of the coldest breezes I had ever felt, he finally spoke to me the most dreadful words. "Mom too, Dad... She, Justin, Caleb... They all passed away eleven years ago."