Y'all thought the last chapter was the ending? Hell nah, we got two more to go after this
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♢♡Craig♡♢

He didn't come home the first month. He didn't come home the second month. He didn't come home the third month. I gave up hope in the forth month.

He's supposed to be back by now, right? I mean, how long would the army hold onto him after the war? And if he died they wouldn't send a telegram, there was no possible way! He wouldn't have any relatives listed, so he'd be buried in the field. Oh my god, Tyler is buried somewhere in Europe, being eaten away by worms, all alone.

"Craig?" Brian murmurs, pushing the door opens. "You have visitors..." He sighs. I roll over and turn my back to him, looking at the shadow my bed casts on the wall from the light in the hallway. "Craig..." Brian's shadow lurches forwards, walking towards me. "Leave me alone" I growl, stuffing the blanket under my chin. "Yes sir" Brian whispers, and the door shuts. I stiffen at that, Brian rarely calls me sir now. In fact, that may have been the first time he's ever called me sir in the past year.

The door opens again and I sigh, curling into a tighter ball. "You just left him 'ere to rot?" Evan. "Oh my, oh just isn't good" Small footsteps approach my bed and Marcel grabs my shoulder. "Craig, c'mon now" He whispers, his hand leaves my shoulder and he sits on the bed, trying to console me. "You know what I think you have? Broken heart syndrome. You're worried about him, aren't you?" Marcel asks. I want to die.

"Marcel-" Apparently Luke is here too, trying to draw his boyfriend out of my room. "Shush, Luke. He's grieving" Marcel tuts, walking to the other side of my bed. He lifts me up by the shoulders so I'm sitting before encasing me in a hug. Marcel is smaller then me, but he does his best. I sigh hard before squeezing back, choking on tears. "Tyler will come back, Craig. Just you wait. He wouldn't leave you for a second more then he had to, y'hear?"

I nod against Marcel's shoulder again, wheezing in a breath and nearly suffocating him. I don't want Luke without a lover too, though. "Alright, there we go. Now get out of bed, we'll have you cleaned up and I'll make you a nice meal. It will be alright" Marcel murmurs, literally dragging me out of bed. "Nice to see you in the land of the living" Jonathan half-grins, oh so everyone is here now.

Evan elbows him and Jonathan raises his hands, but I do laugh a little. "I suppose" I wheeze out, coughing to correct my voice before thanking Marcel. I rub my eye and let Marcel buzz me about the house, fixing me up. He'd make a good dad, I'll tell Luke they should adopt a little boy. Marcel steps away from me and hums lowly, in disapproval.

"Now I've dressed you up, and I've fed you, but you still don't look like you. You know why?" Marcel asks, grabbing my hand and dragging me to the front door. "No" I murmur, rubbing my eye again. Marcel bats my hand away from my face and wipes my eyes. "Because you won't smile" He frowns, flicking hair out of my face. "Good luck with that one" I scoff, in no mood to make jokes or wear a fake smile.

"Well, I think I have just the thing to make you smile" Marcel sighs, smiling a little. I snort and look away, there's only one thing that'd make me happy right now and he's across the seas and in the ground. Marcel rolls his eyes when I make no plans to move, grabbing my hand and dragging me through the door. "Look up, dopey" Marcel snickers, but I don't want to face the sun.

I squint and look towards the cotton fields, but then my eyes are widening. The sun burns and my head hearts and I feel tears all over again and my heart is beating out of my chest, but there he is. Right there, between two rows of cotton. Tyler Wilde smiles at me, a single bag by his feet and his hair trimmed short. I break out into a run, nearly knocking him over when I lunge into a hug.