Learning to be Strong Alone // Jeraphina Fanfiction

Chapter III: Left Side of the Forest

"I'm sorry I let you go;
I wish you to return.
I want to hold you so tight
till my world no longer burns."

...............

Sera's POV

"Excuse me, William?"

"Ah, Sera! Good to hear from you. What do you need?" William's cherry voice replied to my previous statement.

"It's about John," I said, implying in my tone that something had happened to his son.

William hesitated before I could hear a quiet sigh from the other end of the phone, "What did John do this time?" the cheeriness had cut out of his voice, leaving it bland and stale.

"He . . . that's a conversation for another day. Have you heard from John recently?" I asked him, hoping for a yes in reply.

"...No. Why?"

Shit.

Now I was vaguely alarmed, "It- uh . . . doesn't matter. Funny question, though: If John was coming to visit, would he call beforehand?"

"Yes . . . normally."

"O-oh, um, thank you, William. I'll talk to you later."

Just as I was about to hang up, I heard a yell come from the phone, "WAIT!"

"Mm? What is it?" I asked as I put my phone quickly back to the side of my head, brushing it through the magnets locks to reach my ear.

"Why are you asking where John is? He should be at school with you," William stated sceptically, picking up that something really wasn't right.

I sighed, preparing myself to tell him the truth. "...Yes, but he's not."

Panic was starting to arise in William's voice, "H-have you checked his dorm? The apartment? The bathrooms? Or that boba shop he likes to go to?"

"W-we have, yes. I'm sorry, but we don't . . . we don't know where he is," I spoke into the phone, growing scared at the alarm in his voice.

William thought for a little, "How long has he been missing?" He asked.

I remembered my previous conversation with Remi earlier, "Two days; I've heard."

A distorted sigh fell from his mouth, "I'm coming. I-I'll come to Wellston. Please search for my son, Sera. He's my w-whole life."

"Mm. I'll see what my friends and I can do," I stated, trying to give him some amount of hope to cling on to.

"Thanks..."

He hung up and I was left standing with the phone beside my ear.

I slowly placed the phone back in my pocket and turned to Remi, "Nothing. He says that John would normally tell him beforehand."

Remi grimaced as she placed both hands on her face, "What if . . . this isn't normally 'cause he's depressed?" she asked, searching for a reason that John could have to go missing.