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CHASING CARS
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twenty-three. harry
▬▬ HOW DO YOU TELLa three-year-old that her parents are gone? Cassie and Emily had been talking about it for a while, mostly during Claire's nap. Was it a rip the band-aid off kinda deal? Or did you slowly ease her into? Neither had an answer, and they were shaken up when Claire asked what both were hoping she wouldn't.
"Where are mommy and daddy?" It wasn't unusual for her to spend the night with Emily, but it was getting late in the afternoon and her parents usually picked her up by then.
"Um, well, Claire-bear," Cassie started, squatting down in front of the girl ― she had change from Paul's sweats to a pair of Emily's jeans. "they . . ." Words escaped her and Emily sat quietly, she didn't have it in her to tell her neice. "Okay, Claire, can you be a big girl for me?"
"Yes." She nodded.
"Good. Come here." Claire stepped closer to the teenager. "Your mommy and daddy love you so much, you know that right?" She nodded. "Good. Now, what I'm about to tell you maybe a little scary but-" The phone rang cutting her off and Emily jumped to answer it.
"Hello. . . Sam? . . . Harry's what? . . . Okay. . . Okay. . . Okay." She hung up and looked over at the teenager we was looking at her. "Harry's, uh, he had a heart attack . . . in the woods. He didn't make it."
Cassie fell, her butt on the floor and Claire shuffled closer to her. She couldn't stop the tears that spilled from her eyes, there had been so much that had happened already, now Harry? Her dad's best friend. One of her favorite people on the Reservation. The guy who helped raise her and the one that was there when she needed to talk about the wolves. He had been such a huge part of her life that the news of his passing broke her heart.
After that call, things got hectic, the timer went off and Emily had to pull out the lasagna she had more for the guys. Cassie was a crying mess as she got herself and Claire dressed, Emily insisted she take the lasagna because food always helps.
