Pieces of the Past

Chapter 38- Piper

Emily's POV

"Debra, I understand he's your son, and I understand you feel you need to celebrate his life so he can move on, but I really think you should wait to have the funeral until after Riley comes back. Trust me, she won't want to miss it. She loves him so much, she should get to say goodbye like the rest of us." I told James's mom.
"Ugh, I suppose you're right, but what about James? What if we wait too long, or, or-" I cut her off before she could finish.
"James will be fine. He knows how much you loved him, and he doesn't need a funeral right away. He'll understand. Plus, I'm sure if he were here he'd agree with me about waiting for Riley. She was his last love." I explained. She nodded.
"You're right." She said dabbing her eyes with a tissue. "I'm sorry. It's just hard." She explained, shaking as she let tears fall. She wiped them away, and sniffled, standing up. "Let me go get something to eat. I don't know where my manners have gone." Debra said as she disappeared into the kitchen. I heard a creak on the stairs, and turned to see Piper looking down on us.
"What's going on?" She asked shakily. "And hasn't James come home in a week? Why is mom crying all the time? Why won't someone tell me?" She continued to question as she slowly came down the stairs. I almost couldn't believe it. Debra hadn't told Piper about James. I didn't understand, when my uncle passed away, mom told me as soon as she heard. But I guess Debra just couldn't go through the pain of telling the story to Piper. Then Debra came back in. She looked at Piper, worriedly and back at me.
"May I?" I asked. I didn't mean to be rude or anything, but someone had to tell Piper. Debra nodded, turning away, as if she wouldn't hear it that way. "Piper." I said taking her hand and pulling her to sit beside me on the couch. "The day he went missing, he died sweetie. James was a burn victim." I told her. Her eyes widened as tears formed.
"No!" She shouted. "No! I don't believe it! He didn't die!" She cried. She turned her attention away from me to her mom. "How could you not tell me?!" She asked angrily as tears streamed down her face. "How could you!" She shouted, turning back around and burying her face in my chest. She shook violently as she cried into my shirt. I rubbed her back, trying to calm her down. She pulled away to look at me. "Where's Riley?" She asked quietly.
"She had to leave for a little while, just so she can wrap her head around things." I explained.
"You can't do it. You can't have the funeral without her mom! It wouldn't be right!" She exclaimed, at a normal volume now though.
"I won't sweetie." Debra assured her, as she went back to crying into my chest.