Slowtown

.:30:. (Tyler)

"Are you ready, JoJo?" I ask as I finish tying up his black bowtie with a sad smile. He nods slightly, gulping and blinking the tears out of his eyes while intertwining our fingers. "I love you." I kiss his knuckles as we walk into the chilly fall air, dress shoes clicking against the pavement as we climb into my car.

"I love you too." He whispers, so quiet that I almost didn't catch it.

We pull up to the location of the funeral and Josh's lip immediately begins quivering. I lean across the console of the car and place a gently kiss to his forehead, squeezing his hand reassuringly before climbing out. "Do you need a second?" I cautiously ask, hand hovering over the door handle so that I can close it once he responds.

He nods and scrunches his eyes closed again, resting his head against the window as I walk inside of the funeral home alone.

Josh appears a few minutes later, skin blotchy and eyes puffy, making it obvious that he had been crying. "You okay?" I quietly ask while pulling him in for a tight hug, letting him bury his face in my shoulder.

"S-She's gone." He says aloud as if it is just hitting him. "Thi-This is real life, not just some-some crazy messed up dream." He sobs into my suit and I rub circles on his back, alternating from large to small. He sucks in shallow breaths as I press a kiss to his forehead.

"Breathe." I instruct and he closes his eyes, taking deep breaths in through his mouth and out through his nose. "It'll be okay, alright? She's with Papa now." I sadly smile and kiss his forehead again as his breathing steadies again, tugging him towards the service.

He trails behind, breath hitching as he sees the casket. He silently slides out of (me) my grip and walks over, placing a hand over his mouth at the sight of her pale skin.

I leave him alone for a few minutes then slowly wander over next to him. He places his hand in mine without saying a word, eyes glossy with unshed tears.

"It's okay to cry." I whisper and he pulls me close.

"I love you." He wipes some of the tears that have started falling again and holds back a few sobs, resulting in his mouth turning into a frown as he nuzzles his face into the crook of my neck again.

"I love you too, JoJo." I pull away from the hug a bit, kissing his nose lightly.

"Remind me when we get home to tell you something." I nod and he leads us away from her, people patting him on the back and sending him sad smiles as we pass.

We take a seat in the front row, waiting for the pastor to start the service.

-- (wow i suck...heheeheheheh ;;;;;;;;;))

"What did you need to tell me?" I ask as we sit on the couch watching Disney movies, I was trying to keep his mind off of Mama. His happy expression immediately fades, being replaced with a frown.

"I-I just thought you might want to know more about my Papa." He pulls his knees up to his chest and I wrap my arm around his shoulders tighter, drawing him nearer.

"It's okay, take your time." I say as he tries to rush something out anxiously.

"W-W-When I was f-four," He stops for a moment, wiping his tears and taking deep breaths before continuing slowly. "Mama and I went to bring him lunch at the factory where he worked. I remember I helped Mama make his sandwich and picked out his chips and I felt so helpful and happy." He smiles at the memory. "P-Papa worked in the boiler room, I think. W-We pulled u-up in our car a-and right before we unbuckled we heard a huge explosion. People started pouring out of every door, smoke following them, a-and we waited and waited for Papa. Ri-Right before we left, h-he stumbled out, his face charred and bloody. We both ran over to him and he collapsed, Mama pulling him into her arms as-as-as he d-died." He sobs and I rub his back, silently willing him to continue. "Mama held him while I held onto his hand, both of us whispering things like, 'hang in there' and 'it's going to be okay.' I sobbed when his eyes starting glazing over and his breaths became more laboured than they already were. W-When he was gone we sat there and cried, Mama held me while I sobbed into her jacket. Once the realization that he was gone really set in we got up and wiped our eyes, going to ask another factory worker what had happened. He simply said, 'a boiler exploded and nobody from that area survived.' Mama curtly nodded, gripping my hand tighter and walking back to the car with me." He finishes and lays his head against my shoulder, going quiet as tears start to stream down his face.

"I'm sorry, sunshine." I reply while placing a kiss on his forehead, my eyes starting to water. He's been through so much today. "Do you want to go to bed?" I ask and he nods, wiping his eyes and shakily standing.

He takes my hand and leads me to the bedroom, crawling under the covers and giving me an expectant look. I quickly climb in next to him and he falls asleep against my chest, an occasional tear falling as he nods off.

a/n lainie: awww