A Life Rewritten

Jake - Coffee Shop

Jake watched Josie as they left the house, her skirt swaying with each step. She glowed with a radiance of beauty as he reminisced on their past. She'd been through so much, but Jake was so happy to have been able to watch her survive it, even if she wasn't fully healed yet.

Still, there was a muted tone to her glow, a sadness in her eyes, even when she smiled. Jake so desperately wished he could protect her from the world that had hurt her, but he wasn't well enough acquainted with the troubles life had thrown at Josie. Her pain was greater than anything he had ever felt before.

"Josie," he whispered, and she paused, looking over her shoulder at him. "Were you remembering the funeral? You know everything will be okay, right?"

Josie's eyes appeared to widen in shock. "H-how did you know?" She asked him.

"You looked the same as you did back then," he answered. "Like you'd just had everything you loved taken away from you."

Josie looked away as she slid into the passenger seat of the car. Jake opened the door to the driver's side and took his seat. He started the car with a sigh, and began to pull out of the driveway.

"Danielle loves you, you know?" He told her, "she's always talking about how you helped her ease the pain when you sat beside her at the funeral."

Josie's cheeks grew fiery red. "That was so wrong of me," she told him. "What kind of a... cousin, would try to make a girl missing her boyfriend forget her pain? I probably made her disrespect Josh's memory, you know."

Jake smiled, "Danielle doesn't see it that way, Josie. You always feel like she should hate you, but you really helped her, and she feels indebted to you, I'm sure."

As Josie turned to look out the window, Jake's mind turned to the funeral. He'd been Josh's best friend, and his death had certainly hurt, but he couldn't let himself feel too sorry for himself. If he did, he would feel like he was neglecting the memory of his friend, who just wanted people to laugh.

Josie wouldn't agree with that, of course. She would say that if Danielle was happy then maybe she had turned the girl from her boyfriend. Even though it was a good thing if Josie and Danielle could get past this and work together towards healing, Josie would consider it a bad thing, he knew. Josie didn't want anything to do with Danielle, despite the older girl's high opinion of her.

Jake could see the conflict in his wife's eyes as she stared through the window. She wasn't ready to believe that she deserved happiness, and- despite their wedding- love. He knew her well enough to tell that she felt guilty for what she did to Danielle, but he could tell she was overthinking her past actions. he hoped that Danielle would play a key role in Josie's healing in the coming weeks.

"Josie," he told her, "you did nothing wrong, all those years ago. You saw someone who was hurting, and you simply did your best to help a friend feel better. That doesn't make you a bad person. It makes you compassionate."

Josie sighed, but remained quiet. Her head hung in hopelessness, and Jake's worry began to magnify. She had been told all of these things before, and rejected them every time.

"It's okay if you're not ready to believe it, dear." He told her, "but you know that meeting with Danielle is the most important step you can take right now, right?"

"I do," Josie whispered, "but that doesn't mean that I'm looking forward to it."

"I know. Don't worry. I'll be there."

**Later**

As Jake entered the coffee shop, tailed by a nervous Josie, he noticed a young girl sitting in the corner, alone. Ever the introvert, and with a face damp from tears, she looked up shyly, waving at the two newcomers. Danielle was punctual as always, though Jake felt as though maybe she could afford herself the luxury of being late thanks to her heartache.

Even after five years, Danielle hadn't gotten over the death of Josh. Jake knew that Josie felt responsible, though Jake felt an equal share in the guilt. After all, he and Josie were some of the only few to actually know what had happened in the moments before Josh's death. Not that they had been a part of the event, of course. Josh had been all alone when the time came for death to knock at his door, hungry to collect the debt all men owed him.

"Hey Jake," Danielle said, her eyes looking hollow and empty. Her face lit up, however, once she set those eyes on Josie. 

"Josie!" she called to the trailing girl who had followed Jake inside. "What's been going on with you, girl?"

Josie's face lit up at the kindness and familiarity in Danielle's voice, and she tread over to the table, standing, not quite ready to sit down, however.

"Not a lot, really," Josie answered shyly. "Just trying my best to survive this crazy world, you know?"

"Oh boy, do I?" Danielle told them, "it feels like someone hit the fast forward button or something. Just yesterday I was 14, now I'm a grown woman with bills to pay. Where did the time go?"

"Right, right," Josie answered, brushing a strand of hair from her face. She seemed to be sweating, and her feet shuffled as she spoke- a nervous habit of hers. It was something that Jake had not expected to see, even though it was common for Josie. Josh had shared the same nervous practice, after all.

"So," Jake cut in, taking a seat at the table, and prompting Josie to do likewise. "We're all aware of how rough life has gotten now that we're adults, I presume. Does... does anyone still think of... back then?"

A shadow seemed to pass over Danielle's face as Josie's eyes began to widen. They wouldn't be honest, but Jake knew that they had both been deeply affected. In life, Josh had unified them, and in death he had become the dividing topic.

Jake sighed, preparing himself for a long morning.