It felt haunted and full of ghosts. Which he supposed was fitting considering all the graves around them, but that just made it more creepy. He’d freely admit he’d never come here if he wasn’t forced to (except to pay respect to deceased loved ones, of course). Especially not when there was lightning striking in the distance.

  He was just gd it hadn’t yet started pouring. For many reasons, the least of which being they would be soaked.

  Aneeirysilence had fell on them the moment they’d passed through the cemetery gates. Their steps moving through patches of grass and cobbled stone with light feet, not wanting to disturb the spirits thatdwelledwithin. Names engraved on nearby headstones only added to the creepiness.

  Phrases such as ‘do not weep, I’m merely resting here’ seeming more foreboding than the comfort they were probably trying to provide. To him. He wasn’t sure it was the same for the others, but he thought it might be.

  Or that might be the nervousness that had built on the drive here since they discovered who she really was and got used to it. Tyler felt the same. If he hadn’t had to drive the car, he felt like he might have passed out from the bundle of nerves in his stomach. He didn’t know what to say her.

  Didn’t know what could possibly make it okay. Nothing, he knew, would fix the sorrow she felt. That was out of his hands. But he still wanted to do something to comfort her.

  More than that, he didn’t know why it took him so long torealise. Even without wanting to consciously admit what his heart knew, he should have remembered why this date was important. They’d left flowers on the grave just the other week for god’s sake!

  He huffed, eyes wandering to the side as another rumble of thunder interrupted their creaking steps. A quick gnce back showed the others looking just as concerned as he felt. Please don’t let it rain just yet.

  Tyler motioned to the side, unwilling to break the silence. At the nods, they followed the familiar trail to where they were buried. And sure enough as they approached closer to the headstones reading “Renee and Caleb Jones”, a murmuring voice grew louder.

  It was her. Tyler muffled a sigh, feeling the tension leave his shoulders in a heave. Thank fuck. They’d found her. And by the looks of it, she looked unharmed. His eyes scrunched close as he crouched down, hands going to his face as he let the worry ebb away.

  “We found her,” he whispered to the others.

  “Yeah,” Nina sighed as she sat down beside him.

  Zach tilted his head to the side but moved to kneel down as well. “Why are we sitting down instead of going over there, then?”

  “She’s busy right now,” Tyler answers automatically. “And don’t be so loud, she needs this.”

  “You just don’t know what to say,” his friend bites back.

  “Maybe,” Tyler says with a shrug, “but the point still stands. We don’t even know if this is the first time she’s visited their graves.”

  “I doubt it,” Lia whispers as she crouches down behind the stone benches as well. “Knowing her, she probably visited them the first day she got here.”

  “This is different,Lia,” Nina replies, “it wasn’t the anniversary of their deaths. Ty is right, she needs this.”

  “Fine,” Lia huffs, “But the first sign of rain, and we get her out of here, agreed?”

  “Agreed.”

  Tyler is gd they’re far enough away that she can’t hear them if they whisper. And that the benches are positioned so that she won’t see them unless she moves closer. He’s also thankful that she isn’t whispering, so they can hear her clearly.

  But evidently, that’s not good enough for Zach. Tyler throws him a gre and silently motions for him to sit back down. Of course that goes ignored, and the idiot takes advantage of another thunderous rumble to take cover behind a rge headstone. Tyler huffs a frustrated sigh.

  The idiot’s lucky he hasn’t been caught. But…Tyler squints at the head of blonde sitting on the grass in front of a single headstone. There are fresh flowers resting at base along with withered roses that have yet to be cleaned. He can’t hear what she’s saying from here.

  Should he…No…But. He deliberates it for a few seconds until Nina makes the call for him by moving to joinZachat his post.Liafollowing close at her heels. Tyler frowns. Zach looks focused on every word Vicky -Tori- is saying.

  Ah fuck it. Tyler throws a gnce upwards before moving to join his nosy ass friends. Not that he’s any better, but he bmes that on them as well. He gives them a gre for good measure before leaning forward to focus on the conversation floating through the air.

  “…that’s why I’ll never eat tomatoes again. Jade says I can’t drop something because of one bad experience but she hasn’t had to deal with the horror of seeing a worm crawl out of one, so what does she know?” That’s good to know. But, why was Zach-

  “Anyway, about the boys. And I suppose the rest of my ‘little friends’ as you called them. They’re still a little stupid.” Tyler’s nose scrunches up at that. What have they done to deserve that description?

  “I mean,” she brushes away the withered flowers, putting the fresh ones in their pces. “They haven’t changed much at all, but sometimes I really wonder how they haven’t gotten in more trouble.”

  A wet ugh leaves her and he realises she’s been crying. It’s a stab to the heart, his mind torturing him further by bringing the image of her teary eyes to the forefront. Shit. His hands curl within, feet twitching to move forward.

  Tyler doesn’t give them the chance.

  “I was half expecting to…” She inhales deeply, releasing it in a shaky huff. “Do you know they didn’t even recognise me? I mean, I’ve had blonde hair and blue eyes all my life, and they didn’t even consider it? And yes, I know what you’d say. A lot of people have that, but my face hasn’t changed that much either.”

  She points a accusing finger at the headstone, which would amuse him if he wasn’t currently being stabbed by her words. A hand tightens on his shoulder, almost painful in its grip as he feelsLiamove forward. He knows it’s her by the length of the nails.

  They jab into his skin, creating creases on his shirt. He welcomes the discomfort. It’s grounding in a way the dirt floor could never be.

  “…Then I basically got kidnapped to sit with them.” Ah. She sighs. “It went fine. It would have been better if I didn’t have to find out I was the subject of a bet.”

  Tyler’s eyes widen, head snapping to meet his friends’ eyes. Zach’s mouth has dropped open. How does she know? He can hear the unsaid question in their gaze as it alternatives between her and his.

  A question he’d like the answer to as well. She knew it was a bet? Is that why she started to avoid them right after? How much did she know? Tyler allows his body to slump against the stone he’s leaning on, moving out of view. His hand moving to rub at his eyes.

  It makes more sense now. This is why she was so hesitant. He should have known it wasn’t for no reason. Then he frowns, hand dropping to his side. Why didn’t she say anything?

  “Really though,” he hears her say, “do they think I wouldn’t know? Nina figured out it was me weeks ago and even she hasn’t thought of it. I’m a little offended she thought I wouldn’t know.”

  She giggles. It has just a touch of hysteria. “I’m pretty sure Zach came up with it.” She shakes her head. “It’s so cliche, so it has to be something like that.” Another sigh. “Honestly, I’m the one who chose the damn code word to begin with!”

  A fond chuckle. “I was a little happy though. Even if they didn’t remember what I looked like…It’s nice to know I haven’t been erased like a bad memory.”

  Of course she wasn’t. He wants to tell her as much, that she isn’t someone who could be forgotten so easily. Mostly he just wants to apologise. And he will. Right after she gets everything off her chest.

  He also makes sure to send Zach a gre before tuning back in. Him and his big mouth. The heat vanishes at the look on his face, amusement taking its pce. He looks like he’s seen a ghost, eyes blown wide and paled skin.

  “I got him back for it though,” Tori says with a ugh. “It was so easy. I’m not sure he realised though.” What? Tyler doesn’t know what she’s talking about, but Zach does if the way he scowls at her back is any indication.

  Huh? The colour rushes back into his face with a blooming red. What…He shakes his head. His brain is too fried for this right now. He can just ask ter, granting she talks to them again.

  She spends the next few minutes recapping everything else that has happened, pausing to gush about Raine and how cute she was. Tyler listens to it all in silence, occasionally throwing a gnce upwards as storm clouds continue to roll in. He’s fully leaning against the stone now, uncaring of the wet grass.

  It starts to sprinkle as she finishes recapping up to present day. Tyler thinks she might step away, having to hold back his surprise when instead she sits down and turns her face upwards.

  “I…” She gulps. “I’ve been trying so hard to keep going. To pretend everything is going to be okay, but it’s so…so hard.” She pauses and he can see her shoulders heave. “How do I keep going?”

  The silence lingers to the beat of the rain. “I can’t do this anymore,” she says on an exhale. “I miss you so much,” she sniffles. “I…I know that I have Jade now…that I haveRaine…but I’m just so…” Another sniffle breaks into a sobbed cry. He has to force his legs to stay in pce.

  “How am I supposed to keep living in a world without you? How could you possibly expect me to think this is worth it!?” She sobs again, angrily going to her feet. “It’s not fair! You should be here! You should be with me when I graduate! You should…” She sniffs, releasing a shuddered breath. It doesn’t help, the tears slip free in time with the rain.

  “It hurts so much,” she whispers to the graves, “I feel like I can’t breathe. Even after all these years, it hasn’t gotten any better. I still go to call you when I have a bad time. Look for you around every corner of this town. I keep expecting to wake up and see you walk in the doors. Every time, I have to remind myself that you’re gone.” The st word is said on a sob.

  “Jade’s great. She does everything right. She looks after me and you’d love her, it’s true, but…” Sometime during the painful confession, his feet have moved them closer and he can see the pained smile on her face. “She’s not you. I wish…I wish I could…” She inhales. “I…” A shuddered breath and a sniff. The rain keeps falling. “I just want you back!”

  “Does that make me a bad person? That even after all they do for me, I’m clinging on to the past? Do I even deserve to feel happy when you’re gone? When you’re not here to see it?” She shakes her head, still not looking his way though Tyler is sure she’s noticed them now. “It doesn’t feel like I do.”

  “And I know. I know you’d want me to be happy. That neither of you would want me to be sad forever. But that doesn’t matter! Not when…” Sob. “Not when it’s my fault! If I hadn’t asked you to get me that neckce, you’d still be here! It’s my fault you’re dead!”

  Tyler can’t take any more of this. Enough talking. He’s not about to stand here and let her bme herself for things out of her control.

  “It’s not your fault,” he tells her, pulling her into a hug as she sobs. “How could it ever be your fault?” He holds her even as she tries to protest his words. “If it’s anyone’s fault, it would be the driver who hit them.”

  Had she been holding on to these thoughts the whole time? Is that why she’d looked so guilty at that gods be damned funeral her aunt had accompanied her to? His arms tighten around her, pulling her closer.

  “Just let it all out,” he tells her, “I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.” She stops struggling, her hands scrunching up his shirt and he loosens his grasp just a little as she sobs into his shoulder. His hands running comforting motions over her back.

  Thunder rumbles in the distance and lightning strikes nearby, but Tyler pays that no mind. He has no doubt he’s going to be drenched by the storm hitting them in full. But that doesn’t matter either.

  All that does is the girl in his arms. The one he used to know better than he knew himself. Who he has grown to know again. Who he might just be falling in love with all over again. Her pain is all that matters.

  It’s far more important than his clothes or staying dry. So, he’ll stand underneath the torrent for as long as she needs him to.

  His eyes flicker back for just a second and he notices the others standing only a few steps behind them. He feels his lips twitch into a smile at the determination on their faces. They’re not going anywhere either.

  He can feel her loneliness in the force of her sobs. The way she’s clinging onto him with heartbreaking sobs. Tyler supposes he should have noticed it long before in the way she tried to keep her distance. The way she wouldn’t ask them for help even while she was sick.

  But that didn’t matter either. She would never be or feel alone again. He’d make sure of it.

  “They’re gone,” he hears her sob. “I’ll never hear their voice or be able to hug them ever again.”

  “I know.”

  “It hurts so much. It’s not fair!”

  Tyler feels his heart twinge. “I know.”

  “Why did they have to go and die!? Didn’t they know I still need them!?” Her grip on his shirt tightens.“What am I going to do without them?”

  His lips thin and he has to take a settling breath. Right. His eyes scrunch closed, the pain in her voice hitting him anew. Right. He gulps, mouth feeling dry despite the storm around them.

  Right, he’s pretty sure this may be the first time she’s allowed herself to cry this out loud. So he has to try not fuck it up, lest she decided to keep everything bottled up until it explodes. Like she did today.

  In a moment of panic, he lets his eyes wander back again. He sees the same panic reflected in Zach’s eyes and the scrunching of Nina’s mouth. And Lia is currently sobbing into her hands, so that’s no help either.

  “Ty?” She brings him back to her, pulling back with teary blue eyes and tear-stained cheeks. “What do I do? Tell me.”

  Tell me.

  “Live,” he says on a breath, flickers of memory coming back. It’s not his words that leave him now, it’s theirs.

  “You live. And you make it count so that wherever they might be watching, they can be content to know you didn’t give up. Anyone who loves you would only ever want you to be happy.” I want you to be happy. “It would break their hearts to see you in such pain.” It’s already breaking mine.

  “So, Tori please,” he leans against her forehead with his, “Please don’t stop trying. Make this a life that counts. One that you can look back at some day and say every challenge you overcome was worth it.”

  “I don’t know if I can,” she whispers back. “I have tried that for six years and it has gotten me nowhere.” It’s so hard, goes unsaid.

  “Then let me help you,” he says, “don’t shut us out.”

  There is a beat, while they stand at thecentreof the storm, that he thinks she might move away and do just that. A beat where he feels his heart sink, thinking she has already given up. And nothing he could do or say would change that.

  But then she gives him a tentative smile, a mere hairsbreadth in size yet hitting him with a force stronger than a bull. She smiles and breathes a quiet “okay” and he feels hope spark anew.

  Maybe they’ll be able to fix this after all.