“Marry!? Marry!? Where did you go? You promised you wouldn’t leave! Marry I need you! Marry please! Please answer me!” He called through the silent phone. Virgil could feel his heart crack even further the original spider webbing out until the whole thing looked like it would crumble. 
   
Virgil who had thought he had no more tears left to cry was once again sobbing as he curled in on himself on the dingey street corner. He didn’t know what to do or where to go. He sat there alone for several hours just alone. Eventually the sun began to set. He didn’t care. He wanted to be enveloped in the darkness that was surrounding him. 
   
“Virgil? Virgil are you there?” Virgil heard his name being called through the fog in his head. 
   
He lifted his head to see where the voice was coming from, but it was too dark and his eyes were too blurry with tears to see. So he just shook his head and lowered it back down into his knees. “Yeah, I’m here” He said weekly.
   
“Oh, thank God I found you.” The person stated. It was a woman, but his head was to fogged to think clearly. “Virgil, it’s Anne. I am here to take you home.” Oh it’s Anne one of the matrons. Why was she here? Marry was supposed to come pick him up.
   
“Where’s Marry?” He asked quietly. 
   
“Oh, Virgil I-I… I am so sorry.” Anne said softly. Tears pricking her eyes. 
   
Why was she sorry? Where was Marry? 
   
“Virgil, please just let me take you home.” She stepped closer and tried to grab his arm and pull him up off the ground. 
   
“No!” Virgil screamed pulling his arm away from her with more strength than even he expected causing him to fall backwards, but he quickly righted himself. “I’m not going anywhere until I see her! She is supposed to get me. She promised! She promised she would get me! Not you! Where is she? Why isn’t she here?” Virgil demanded. 
   
Anne sighed, oh how she wished she didn’t have to tell him.
   
“Virgil… Marry she is… Dead.” 
   
And with just that word everything in Virgil shattered into dust, being blown away by a harsh wind scattering him across a dark abyss. Virgil couldn’t feel anything anymore. He was numb. 
   
He let her pull him to her car. He didn’t say a word the entire car ride back to the orphanage. Anne might have said things to him, but if she did, he didn’t hear her. Once he got back he immediately ran to her room. Despite the calls of other people around him. She had to be there. She couldn’t be gone. She promised him that she wouldn’t leave. 

She promised! Once he had gotten to the room he flung her door open and ran inside. “Marry! Where are you? Marry this isn’t funny! Please come out! Please…” Virgil cried as he collapsed to the floor. Where he stayed for the rest of the night. Hoping that she would walk in the door telling him it was all some cruel joke. She never came, and she never would. 

Virgil later learned what had happened. When she was on her way to come pick him up she had been too distracted as she had pulled onto the highway. Not paying attention she had been hit by a semi truck. The medics had been on sight within minutes,  but she had been killed on impact. 

When Virgil had heard what had happened his tears came back with a vengeance. It was his fault. If he had never called her. She wouldn’t have been driving. If he had just let her hang up, she wouldn’t have been distracted while she was driving. If Virgil didn’t exist he wouldn’t have ever called her. She would be alive, if it wasn’t for him. 

Life was cruel. Life was unfair. Virgil had never done anything wrong in his life. Yet in a matter of a day he lost everything that mattered to him. Everyone who mattered to him left him, abandoned him. He didn’t want to be alone, but being left hurt more than isolation. So, he was never letting anyone else in. Then he could never be left again. 

___________

   
After that Virgil stopped going to school. The matrons couldn’t get him to do anything. They decided since school was almost done for the year they wouldn’t push him. He never left his room, he would barely ate, and he didn’t talk to anyone. 

The other kids who had always looked up to Virgil, because he was like a big brother to them, tried everything they could to cheer him up. Nothing worked. Somewhere along the way they just gave up trying. Sure they missed their big brother, but kids have good sense about things and they could feel that even though he was there. He wasn’t the boy they so admired anymore. He was nothing more than a thin pale sickly looking boy who never left his room nor smiled.

After Mary’s passing Virgil started wearing his necklace he had been given when he was abandoned. He never would wear it before because it was a remnant of the people who had left him, but Marry had always felt that he should wear it. Virgil had never understood her reasoning, but now he felt a strange obligation to wear it. He never took it off. 

Summer passed on by with Virgil never once stepping outside of the orphanage. He didn’t take on any summer activities like he had planned. There was no point. Doing that would mean he would have to talk to people. People always left. He couldn’t get attached. 

Leaving his room would mean walking the halls that she used to walk. That she would never walk again. 

Seeing the other kids would remind him that she would never get to see them again. She loved all the children. She loved watching them grow, and get adopted. So often kids who had been adopted and grew up would come visit her. Everyone loved her, and she loved everyone, and Virgil had robbed the world of that. 

He was selfish.

He was a monster. 

He couldn’t walk into the dinning room ever. The last place they had talked in person. The last place he had seen her. Why had he not given her a hug goodbye? Like he used to when he was little. He had rushed out so quickly that morning. 

Eventually, school started back up. Virgil’s senior year was now almost done with its first semester. He wouldn’t go. He refused every attempt the matrons made. He couldn’t go back to that school. That was the place where everything went wrong. Even though he knew he didn’t want to go back, he knew he was worrying the matrons and he hated being a burden on them so he had to do something. 

Since he still refused to speak he wrote out his idea and left it where someone would find it. He made his handwriting messy so it looked like a kid had wrote down their ideas, like they were trying to help. He couldn’t go back to that school, but maybe he could do this. 

‘Put Virgil in a different school. Gives him a place to start new. It might help.’

Apparently his plan worked because later that week the new head matron came in to ask if he would go to school in one last ditch attempt to get him to go back to the same one. When he shook his head no and glared at the matron she sighed. “Okay if you won’t go back there would you consider going to another school.” 

Virgil paused, he really didn’t want to go anywhere, but when he saw the desperate plea in her eyes he took mercy on her, and nodded. 

She was ecstatic to hear that he would finally go to school. She started getting everything ready immediately. He would be starting in a new school as soon as possible. 

Apparently as soon as possible was two weeks, and to Virgil those two weeks were far too short. Before he knew it the matrons were packing his backpack and bringing him to his new school. It was a lot further away than his old school. In fact, it was actually an hour drive to get there, and there was no bus to take him. So he had to get up at an ungodly hour to even get there on time. 

When he did finally get there the matron who had driven him there walked him as far as the office before leaving. 

“Name please?” A kind lady asked kindly from behind her computer. 

Virgil still hadn’t talked since… the accident, and he wasn’t about to start now. He quickly grabbed a sticky note from her desk ignoring her strange look he pulled out a black pen and wrote it down. 

‘Virgil Miller’

“Can’t you talk hun?”

He nodded before he could really think about the question.

“Then why don’t you?”

He thought for a moment on how to explain. He really didn’t want to be forced into talking.

‘Complicated’ He wrote hoping it would suffice as an explanation. 

She looked at him quizzically before seeing his dull eyes and sorrowful grimace. Her eyes softened in a sort of understanding. She didn’t know what, but she could tell he had been through a lot. 

“Okay, that's fine.” Virgil let out a sigh of relief that she didn’t press him into speaking. “Would you like me to write a noted to you teachers explaining your-” She paused trying to think of what to call it. “Your circumstances.” 

Virgil almost smiled at how kind this woman was being to him. Enfasis on almost. He wasn’t sure if he could ever really smile again. He nodded in response to her question.

“Okay deary. Oh, My name is Mrs. Heart. Please, feel free to come to me if you ever need anything. Here is your schedule, your locker number and combination is here at the top of it for you, a map of the school it’s a really simple layout, and here is that note for you.” She handed Virgil his papers and smiled kindly at him. However, the bell rang right as she did so. “Oh, I guess that’s your cue to get going. Don’t worry about a pass they’ll understand since you’re new. That goes for all your teachers for today.” 

Virgil nodded and headed for his first class. He glanced back over his shoulder at Mrs. Heart to see her waving at him with a soft smile. He gave a curt nod before darting out of the door. 

Lets see here what classes did he have. First period: AP Chemistry, second period: Weight Training, third period: Calculus, fourth period: Art, fifth period: U.S. History, sixth period: English. 

Well guess he is heading to chemistry. He first went to his locker which he found easily. He was pleased when his locker opened on the first try. His last locker was a pain in the ass and never opened properly. He tossed everything inside except his schedule, one notebook, a mechanical pencil, and the note Mrs. Heart had given him. 

Finally, he found his classroom, and walked in. While the class was in the middle of a lecture where everyone was being quite with their attention at the front of the room. Which is where the door is located. 

Perfect. All heads turned to him as he walked in. Oh God everyone is staring at him. Nope! Is it too late to turn around and run back to his room? 

“Oh, you must be the new student, correct?” Shoot he had been spotted by the teacher. Can’t escape now. 

Virgil nodded, keeping his eyes glued to the ground. 

“Well, are you gonna come in or are you gonna keep standing in the doorway?” Virgil quickly stepped forward finally looking up at the teacher. He was a young man probably in his early 30’s. He had long blonde hair that almost looked like Thor’s from Marvel. He was tall and had a 5 o'clock shadow gracing his face. He almost looked like he belonged in a modern 80’s band if that makes any sense. 

“I’m Mr. Watkins. Who are you?” He asked Virgil. Virgil panicked for a second before he remembered the note he had been given. Virgil fished it out of his pocket and handed the crinkled paper to him. 

Mr. Watkins was confused for a minute until he read the paper. 

‘Virgil Miller currently is unable to speak at this time due to complicated circumstances. However, he is able to write -Mrs. Heart’ 

Mr. Watkins nodded in understanding. “Okay, Mr. Miller I understand. Know that I will not push you into anything you are uncomfortable with.” Mr. Watkins said nicely. Virgil nodded but couldn't help but cringe at his last name. 

Her last name.

He didn’t deserve it.

“Let’s see here,” Mr. Watkins said as he lifted up his attendance sheet, “It seems that there is a free seat in the back, but if you have any trouble seeing the board or anything just let me know, and I can switch up the seating chart.” Virgil nodded before he darted to the back of the room where the teacher had pointed. Finally behind the prying eyes of the other students. 

Except for two pairs, while everyone else had turned back to the front as the lecture continued. There were two people who were staring at him. No, not starring.  Glaring. 

One had short black hair that was gelled and styled to perfection. He was dressed in a simple dark blue, almost black, polo with crisp blue jeans that almost looked new. He was tall and lean built. He had high cheekbones that looked like they could cut through glass. His blue grey eyes were staring coldly at Virgil through a pair of thick rimmed black glasses. 

The other was sitting next to grey eyes. This one had short brown hair, but unlike the other it was messy, but a good looking kind of messy. He was wearing a powder blue shirt with a heart decal on the front. He had on a pair of cargo shorts and sandals. Seriously dude how are you not cold. He was slightly smaller than the other guy, but still clearly worked out. He had a light array of freckles on his cheeks, and despite his currently serious face, obvious smile lines appeared on his face. A small dimple was present on his left cheek. Honey brown eyes were looking uneasily at Virgil through a pair of thick rimmed of light blue glasses.

 For some reason just the two pairs of eyes made him even more uneasy than the whole class staring at him. He decided he would just ignore the looks and stared at the front of the room hopelessly trying to follow the lecture he was far behind in. When the bell dismissed the class he waited until the heard of other students filed out of the room. Only then did he grab his things and start heading out of the room. 

Just as he was exiting the room his arm was grabbed harshly and he was pulled into what seemed to be a janitor's closet. 

Welp this was it. He wasn’t sure what he had done, but he was now going to be murdered in some dark closet where no one could hear is screams. Yes, Virgil was being over dramatic, but forgive him for being scared that someone had dragged him into a dark room with no explanation.

“Logan, can we please turn on some lights, I hate the dark.” He heard a voice call through the void.

“I’m trying to find the switch Patton, just bear with it for a second… Ahha!” With that the lights flickered on. Revealing the two guys who had been staring at Virgil in class. 

Virgil looked between the two of them uneasily, what did they want from him. The one who he assumed was Logan because he had seen him run away from the light switch adjusted his black glasses, a glare clear on his face. 

“What are you doing on our land?” He asked simply. 

Okay, Virgil didn’t know what to expect, but if he had it definitely hadn’t been that question. Virgil looked at him confused. He grabbed his note book and wrote on the first clean page. 

‘What are you talking about?’ He showed it to the two and Logan growled. Like physically growled. It was deep and terrifying, and it made Virgil flinch. 

“Don’t play dumb!” He roared. 

Virgil was really scared at this point and his nerves were shot anyways from all his anxiety from coming to a new school. The stress was too much and he could feel the tears start to form in his eyes. He tried to blink them away, but it didn’t help much.

‘I really don’t know what you’re talking about. If I did something wrong I’m sorry.’ Virgil quickly showed his notebook to the two. Logan still looked furious, but Patton’s eyes softened looking at the distressed kid. 

“Kiddo, can’t you talk?” He said gently, but Virgil could still see a hint of caution in his eyes, that told him Patton didn’t trust him at all. 

Virgil shook his head. ‘I can I just really don’t like to, cause of reasons’ 

He hoped this would be enough of an explanation for them. Patton seemed okay with the answer only frowning a little when he saw it, but Logan did not looked pleased. “So what do you have selective mutism?” Virgil shook his head. It wasn’t that Virgil was incapable of speech in certain situations he just didn’t want to speak. “Then why don’t you speak? If you are capable of speech it is illogical to do this back and forth nonsense!” Logan huffed. 

Virgil could see the anger in his eyes, and thought it would be best not to make things worse. 

So he spoke.

“I’m sorry…” He said his voice quiet and raw from not being used in months. It hurt for Virgil to hear it. He hadn’t heard it since The Accident, and this was enough to put him over the edge. The tears flowed freely now down his face. His body wracked with sobs. He curled in on himself and sank to the floor, burying himself in his knees. 

Patton whined a bit and went to comfort the poor kid. Logan growled when Patton touched Virgil. Patton just glared back at Logan. Logan looked hurt, but didn’t say anything. 

“Shh, it’s okay kiddo. Sorry, we freaked you out.” Patton cooed gently as he rubbed Virgil back. 

“I’m sorry, I'm sorry, I don’t know what I did to make you guys mad. I’m sorry I didn't understand his question about land or something. I’m sorry I didn’t talk.” Virgil sobbed still extremely distraught. 

Patton’s eyebrows furrowed, “You really don’t know?” He asked gently.

“Know what?” Virgil asked pulling his head up to look at Patton. Tears still cascading down his cheeks. Patton looked over at Logan and it almost seemed like they were having a conversation without any words.  Logan still looked pissed and his frown only seemed to deepen the longer they sat there in silence. 

Towards the end of their staring contest Logan rolled his eyes and Patton smiled brightly. He turned back to Virgil and offered him his hand to help him up. Virgil reluctantly took it. 

“Okay, sorry about that ruff start, but let’s start over. My names Patton, and the sour puss over there is Logan my ma- boyfriend. Ya boyfriend is what I meant.” Virgil furrowed his brow at Patton’s weird line of dialogue, but opted to ignore it. “Now that you know are names, mind telling us yours?” He asked, but clearly wasn’t going to push if Virgil refused. 

“I’m…” Virgil choked on his own words still shaky from crying. 

“I’m Virgil.”