Mine *don't read: being rewritten*

Chapter Nine

(Riley's POV)

Sam already knows. I can tell by looking at her. Tears are already gathering in her eyes. I reach out to give her a hug, but she turns and runs up the stairs. "Sissy, what's going on? Why are you crying?" Bryce asks.

I scoop the little boy up into my arms, bringing him into the living room. I sit him on my lap, holding him tightly. "What's wrong, Riley?" he asks, quietly.

"Bryce, honey, you know that Mommy was very sick, right?" I talk slowly. He nods. "Well, today, she got too sick to keep going."

"Where is she now?"

"God called her home, baby," I whisper. Hunter's still in the kitchen, leaning against the counter, but I wish he would come over here.

Then Bryce starts crying, and it nearly tears me apart. He hasn't cried over something real-something like this-since my dad left, and it hurts. I hug the little boy closer to me. His sobs shake his whole body.

Now, Hunter does come over, wrapping his arms around me. I do my best to fight the tears so Bryce won't see me cry. Eventually, I stand and carry Bryce to his room, laying him in his bed.

"I can't face Sam," I whisper to Hunter. "I can't, so don't tell me that I can." He gathers me into his arms. "She needs someone, but I don't think it can be me. It should be, but I can't do it."

(Hunter's POV)

Riley cries into my shirt for a little bit. "I'll go talk to her, okay?" She nods, and I leave a kiss in her cheek.

I open the door to Sammie's room slowly. I walk into her room and see her lying on her bed, face down; it doesn't look, or sound, like she's crying. "Hey, Sam," I whisper.

She rolls over, hugging her knees to her chest, and looks at me. "Hi," she mutters. I sit down by her. "So, she's gone, huh?"

I nod slowly. "What's gonna happen to us? Bryce and I, I mean." Her voice sounds distant.

"Don't worry about it. We have it all figured out." She gives me a puzzled look. "Trust me, it's okay." She looks up at me and nods. "You okay?"

"Did you really just ask that?" she asks, narrowing her eyes at me.

I shake my head. "That was a dumb question," I say. She reaches over, wrapping her arms around my torso. I hug her, too, slowly rubbing her back. If she wasn't crying before, she is now.

I don't bother telling her that it's okay-she knows it isn't. She knows that her mom is dead and that she isn't coming back; there's no use in sugar coating it.

~

I pull the cover over Riley and turn to go. "No, stay, please." I expected this, so I just climb into the bed and lay next to her. She curls up into my chest. It hurts me to see her like this-to see her in so much pain. I think she's cried about all she can, and I hate it. She doesn't deserve this. She didn't deserve to be left by her dad, she didn't deserve to have her mom die either. I wrap my arms around her, and hold her tightly.

"I'll never leave you, you know," I whisper, kissing the top of her head. "You're stuck with me."

She laughs a little, which makes me smile because I love her laugh. "Good," she mutters, "because I don't know what I would do without you."

"You would be just fine," I tell her, "I know it, Riley." She looks up at me. "What?"

"Why won't you call me 'Riley Ann' anymore?" she asks in a whisper.

I look at her. "I figured at since your mom..." I stop and reword what I was about to say. "I just didn't want it to hurt more than it already does."