. . .
"It's a silence that's different from the one left at funerals and wakes. The silence of the dead carries with it a sense of finality; it's a silence you know you must get used to.
But the silence of a missing child is not something you want to get used to; you refuse to accept it, and so it screams at you. The silence of the dead says, Goodbye. The silence of the missing says, Find me."
—Dennis Lehane
. . .
Proserpina smiles at Alastor's retreating back as he merrily heads off to the direction of the kitchen, no doubt checking on the muffins they had left to cool off before she lightly knocks on William's door.
No answer.
She frowns, "Will...?"
Her heart pounds, almost maddeningly in her ears, echoing the sharp rap of her knuckles against the wood with each second passing without a word from her brother before she phases straight inside his room.
Looking around, the goddess of shadows could feel the tendrils of dread creeping up on her as she stares at the guitar still lying almost innocently from where they had left it just this early morning, instantly reminding her of the fact that it's literally been hours since she had last seen and heard from her brother.
He's not here.
In fact, she can't even sense William's presence.
Not in his room, not in this building... no. No, that can't be right. William has no assigned missions for this particular date and if he has someplace to go to, he always tells her beforehand, especially if he's going to be out late, so why–?
Proserpina glances at the charger he had messily left lying on the bedside table before her gaze slides down to her pocket, her gloved hand already fishing for her cell phone.
Should she call him?
The time on the screen shows it's definitely late for him to be wandering around... but, if William has gone out much earlier then, shouldn't he already be back by now? Why was he even still out? It's not like this is the first time he'd been in Japan...
She should definitely call him.
Suddenly recalling the many times William has come home late with his cell phone battery dead or on 'Do Not Disturb' mode on purpose (because he had his earphones plugged on with music and doesn't want to be bothered), has Proserpina instantly stomping down on the irrational pangs of that sudden bout of restlessness before it drives her straight to paranoia.
She doesn't really want William (let alone Alastor) to call her out on being overprotective... or worse, that she's overreacting.
That'd be unnecessary.
It's fine, William will be back soon.
It's going to be fine...
Returning back to the hallway, Winters soon change course at the last minute and makes her way straight to the dining room where Alastor passes her by with a gentle grin and a quiet 'good night' before he heads off to his room.
And from there, she waits.
The snow has stopped falling by this point.
But William still has not stepped through the front door of the hotel, let alone anywhere near the building. In fact, she thinks he's not even in the area.
She can feel her stomach getting queasy at the thought, but instead of butterflies fluttering about in her stomach, it only feels like there's a bunch of angry, buzzing bees picking and prodding her insides, making her extremely uneasy as she shifts on her seat, glancing over at the time on her phone once more.
Her finger hovers indecisively.
One phone call won't hurt, right?
...Better safe than sorry.
Right?
Right...
With that thought in mind, Winters hurriedly dials his number... but much to her dismay, William does not even pick up the call.
What the hell?
She swallows, uneasily.
There are plenty of reasons why William couldn't answer his phone right now, let alone why he is even outside in such a late hour. It's not... shouldn't even be that much of a big deal, anyway.
This is nothing new: William's a hunter. And he has gone out for much longer and much later and in all different kinds of godforsaken hours (whenever he's out on a mission for sure, but not like this) ... besides, he's already an adult. He's turning 22 in a few days, too.
William can take care of himself.
He doesn't need his sister worrying over him.
Maybe his phone died again (but didn't he already charged his phone before he went to sleep last night?), maybe he had left his phone on silent and had forgotten all about it, maybe there's no signal where he is...
But where is he?
Proserpina gnaws at her lower lip to keep herself from groaning out loud, lest Alastor hears and comes running, propping her elbows up on the table to cradle her head. Look, just because she had lost William once (to Rei, even if it is all in good intentions...) before does not mean she will lose him again.
Because she will not.
Winters had promised to Warren Veil long ago that she would take care of her little brother. She would not lose her remaining family like that so easily again. Never again.
Being unavailable for a simple phone call does not easily equates that her little brother is missing or in danger, Proserpina firmly reminds herself, pointedly ignores the sinking feeling in her chest that makes the thought feels too much like an excuse, like pinpricks of needles.
She's more than aware that she can be such a pessimist to a fault, a paranoid one at worst but she cannot keep on jumping to worst case scenarios like this even though it sort of feels justified at most times.
It is not fair to William.
...and it is not sane or healthy.
Just because she had been through a whole lot of terrible things in life, it gives her the right to expect that the worst will happen, that the world will break on them again. Because it will not. It doesn't have to.
Surely Proserpina had already filled her quota of pain from the Fates to last them through a lifetime...?
So, she waits.
One hour, two hours, three, four, five, six...
She blinks, staring at the time.
It's been seven hours already.
And if she had been nervous earlier, now she's genuinely afraid. This time, Proserpina cannot think of a single reason to justify what her brother was doing out this late and for so long. It's literally past 12 now. It's already morning. Why hasn't William come back yet?
What's going on?
She swipes her thumb over the screen, her finger only moving on muscle memory as she dials his number again. Her heart was practically crawling up her throat as she anxiously waits for the call to connect. Please pick it up, Will.
Pick it up...
"The number you have dialed is either unattended or out of the coverage area. Please try your call later. The number you have dialed is either unattended or out of the coverage..."
No.
Her heart dropped all the way into her heels, her entire body going rigid as she stared at the too-bright screen, almost unseeing as she watches the glass slowly spider-webbing with cracks.
The phone case creaks under her fingers.
03:03 AM.
The moment the worst did, in fact, happen to her again.
