When You Go, Just Know That I Will Remember You

Chapter Five

When You Go, Just Know That I Will Remember You

Sorry for any spelling/grammar issues!

CHAPTER FIVE

Ray's POV

Saying goodbye is hard. But moving on is going to be harder. It's been just over a week since the funeral, and life has been quiet. It almost seems strange not sneaking out at night to see Christa, not worrying about baby things. Everyone has given me my space and allowed me to keep to myself. I've hardly done anything for a week now, and enough is enough. I need to be strong for Christa and Sasha. Sasha will never get to see a weak daddy when she looks down on me. She'll see the man her mommy wanted to be around, the one that smiles and laughs and enjoys himself. The one that is strong. I'm going to make the most of what I've got. I sat up and walked out of my bedroom and went downstairs to the living room. I wasn't suprised to see everyone sitting having a coffee. They've all been here almost non stop incase I need them for anything.

No one noticed my presence, so I went to the kitchen and grabbed my own coffee. I returned to the living room and sat down beside LynZ. The kids were nowhere to be seen. They must be at someone's parents house. Everyone turned and smiled at me, saying nothing. I smiled back and said "Enough is enough. It's time for me to stop sulking and staying holed up in my room. They would have wanted me to be strong and move on. I want to watch a movie. Outside, at the theatre. Something scary, like we used to do all the time." They all grinned at my request, nodding to eachother. LynZ wrapped her arms around me and said loud enough for everyone to hear "Ray is back." I stood up and put on my shoes. "Enough sitting around. Let's go right now. I want to have fun."

We all jumped into the big van. "Paranormal Activity 3" Jamia requested, glancing at me for permission. I nodded, feeling a light heartedness I haven't felt in a long time. We all joked and goofed around in the car like the good old days. We put our problems behind us and smiled. I felt a genuine smile play on my lips, and I smiled wider at the thought of it.

We arrived at the theatre and ordered five large popcorns and an extra large soft drink for each of us. The clerk looked at us like we were crazy. The girls giggled like small children at the funny looks people were giving us. We sat down in one of the back rows, starting with Gerard, followed by LynZ, Jamia, Frank, myself, Alicia and Mikey. Jamia screamed and clutched Frank's hand every time something even remotely scary happened. LynZ laughed with glee. Gee laughed at LynZ. Alicia hid her face in Mikey's chest when she got scared. Mikey's eyes got really wide and he froze. Frank just looked bored, not scared in the least. He just jiggled his knees and laughed at anything scary. I laughed at everyone, the light hearted feeling remaining. We left the theatre into the bright sunlight, Jamia and Alicia jumping at every little noise. LynZ still looked thrilled. Frank complained about being hungry. Gee complained about Jamia and Alicia being so jumpy. I complained about everyone's complaining. LynZ rolled her eyes at us and led us towards a small Wendy's just outside the theatre. We ate, laughing at eachother and causing a scene.

We were interupted once by a group of girls coming up to us. "Excuse me? Do you mind if we interupt you for a moment?" one girl asked tentatively. "Not at all" Gee said happily. The girls grinned, joy filling their faces. The same girl spoke again. "Thank you so much. My name is Julia. This is Rebecca, Carlee, Brianna, Britanny, and Jessica" she said, introducing the girls with her. "First of all, Mr. Toro, I'm so so so sorry about your wife. We all are." I smiled at them. "Thank you. It's tough, but we're all doing okay. And just Ray. Ray is good." She looked thrilled that I answered her. "Do you think we could get your autograph's?" one girl,Jessica, asked softly. "Of course" Frank answered. They each had a piece of paper and took turns getting all of our autographs, including LynZ, Jamia and Alicia's. Before they left, Julia handed me a thin white envelope. "Thank you again, so much!" they called as they walked away, broad grins taking over their faces.

I opened the envelope carefully. Inside was a photograph of all the girls at one of our concerts. We were all visible in the background. They each had enormous grins and made heart shapes with their hands. Julia's heart was surrounding my face. I'm not sure why it made me smile, but it did. I flipped the picture over and saw it had a message on the back. It read:

MCR Concert

Best Day of my Life

Julia, Rebecca, Carlee, Brianna, Britanny and Jessica

Ray, I sent you a letter. I was wondering if you got it? Please let me know. My email is juliastevenson@hotmail.com

I smiled at the girly handwriting. I passed the photo to Gee, who passed it around to everyone. We finished our meals and drove him, laughing like little kids the whole time. We spent the rest of the evening watching TV and acting like we did before anything bad happened. We were the carefree family we used to be, even if just for one night. I fell asleep that night with a smile on my face, thinking about how nice it was to feel good again. Christa would be proud of me.

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Please note: I have no idea if that email is actually real, so please don't send anything to it. Aha.

Hey guys! I'm not even going to begin to give you my excuses, but I'm going to tell you that I'm so so so so so sorry! I can't believe I haven't updated for a week! Ahh! Thank you for staying patient, but honestly, if you send me a strongly worded message or two demanding an update I will try my best. Aha. Thanks for reading guys! Love you all xxxx

-Cass