thinking about how charlie and grizz both said that their characters would call tide every night, so when he stopped answering, they were devastated.
will stepping out of the winebago, dressed in his skeleton pajamas with his hoodie over the top and slippers on his feet, telling the boys he'd be back inside before bed and sitting on the curb facing the rv. tide didnt pick up last night, but surely he was just busy right? he would never willingly miss a call from them, he's their self proclaimed fish dad.
he takes a big breath and looks at the contact with tide's face; it's a photo of the two of them, bright smiles and crinkled eyes, with their arms around each other. will is so scared that he'll hit that button and it will go straight to voicemail again. he's been distant with vyn and kota all day because he was just thinking about how, and most importantly why, tide didn't pick up the phone. but it was too upsetting to trigger the mystery solving part of his brain.
will closes his eyes tight and presses the call button. it barely rings enough for him to put it to his ear before he hears tide's voicemail message. he doesn't wait for it to finish, just hangs up and closes his phone, a single tear sliding it's way down his face. he wipes it away with his sleeve and stands, taking another deep breath before entering the winebago again. the other two are physically strong for him, but he has to be mentally and emotionally strong for them.
dakota begging to stop somewhere while they're on the road the next day, just after they had set off for the morning. he claims he needs to grab something from a convenience store that is very important, but he's lying through his teeth; he's going to call tide again. will and vyn don't question it tho, as will pulls up to a gas station and tops up the gas tank while they're stopped.
once inside, he bolts for the bathroom with his phone already in hand. maybe he was just asleep last time he tried to call. tide always picked up before the second ring, so he must have just had a long day and went to sleep early. or maybe it was super hero stuff! he would ask about it when he called today.
shutting the lid to the toilet, he sits down and looks at his phone. the contact photo is one that dakota took of tide in his pink "world's greatest mom" apron while he was making beef stroganoff one night. a sad smile crosses his face as he remembers staying in the hall of elements with tide and the boys.
fuck it. he presses the call button and holds it to his ear. "i'm sorry, but the number you are trying to contact has disconnected or is no longer in serv-" dakota hangs up as angry tears burst from his eyes. one more time, surely this is a mistake! with clouded vision, he taps the button again, but the same message plays. he throws his phone at the ground and it shatters, the screen is nearly failing off at this point anyway. he crosses his arms, pulling his knees up to his chest and cries it out before returning to the winebago with red rimmed eyes.
vyncent is confused, but will gives him a knowing look and gestures him inside, telling vyn to just give dakota some space for the day.
