Alex Gaskarth's POV:
"You know," Lisa said softly as she leaned her head on my shoulder on the couch. "We're gonna have to do something with it soon," she commented as she noticed me staring at the small green cloth suitcase hidden in the corner of the living room.
"Yeah," I whispered.
"Gotta do something with her stuff. How about we clean it out and bring it to Goodwill?"
I pressed my face into Lisa's shoulder and pressed a kiss into the crook of her neck. "Okay," I whispered back shakily. I began to slowly stand up, and I pulled the small suitcase from the corner across the room.
"You sure you want to do it now?"
"May as well," I replied quietly. "I'll take it upstairs and start organizing the things we can donate."
"You want help?"
"No... I'd rather do it myself," my quiet voice cracked at the end. I carried the surprisingly light suitcase up the stairs and down the hallway until I stood frozen in front of the closed door of what used to be Adelpha's room. I stared down at the bronze-coloured doorknob with a small sigh.
My eyes were foggy with tears, and it took me what seemed like an eternity to get the key in the keyhole because of my shaky hands. But I finally unlocked the door.
I burst through, and saw Adelpha in the corner. She was pulled into a little ball, a handful of white pills in one hand, a half empty bottle of Budweiser in the other. Both wrists were exposed and covered in blood.
"No, Adelpha, please!"
My hand was finally able to force itself to old onto the cold metal of the doorknob.
I knocked on Adelpha's cracked open door, and she gazed up from her laptop on her bed.
"Hey, kid, you doing okay?"
"Yeah, just finishing up a project for Physics."
"Well, we got your report card back..." I made a disappointed expression at the paper in my hand.
"Is it really that bad?" Alarm laced her voice and she stood up to wait in front of me in the doorway.
I made a small sigh and turned the paper to her. "All A's," I said with a quiet chuckle. Her shoulders relaxed, and she sighed in relief.
"I honestly don't know how you do it, kid. Whaddya say we go pick up some Tang Street for dinner?"
The doorknob creaked as I slowly turned it to open the door.
Hours passed, and Adelpha finally came out into the waiting room. She was propped against a nurse who helped her walk, and had a bit of a loopy look on her face. She wore the Pierce The Veil shirt and ripped skinny jeans she had on before.
We stood up straight as she slowly stumbled over, with the help of the nurse.
"You okay, kid?" I asked softly.
I finally brought myself to slowly swing the door open. Adelpha's room was exactly how she had always left it- clean, pristine, and her bed made. The bookshelves and desk and doorways now had a thin layer of dust on them. With another sigh, I lifted Adelpha's old suitcase on its side onto the black and white comforter set of the bed. I unzipped the small case, where her clothes lied folded neatly inside.
I began picking up each article into piles of what could probably be donated and what Goodwill probably wouldn't accept. Once I moved another pair of skinny jeans, a white piece of paper made itself shown in the middle of the clothes. I looked closer at the paper- an envelope- and saw Adelpha's distinct handwriting on it. Just one word- just one in the centre of the white paper.
Dad.
With fingers that were beginning to tremble, I tenderly picked up the envelope by its corners as if using the slightest amount of force would cause it to explode. I kept staring at the distinct copperplate font handwriting in the centre, until I brought myself to turn the envelope over and open it. Inside, was a blank piece of paper with handwriting. It was a letter. I sat on the bed and began reading the words.
Dad-
I don't know how this is going to work out. You told me it would be okay, that you would make sure everyone was safe, including me, but I know that not everything can be controlled. But I just want to thank you for protecting me and taking care of me.
You did everything you could, I know you did, and so do you. So if this doesn't go like either of us hopes, please don't blame yourself. I know you will, but please let it go. It'll be okay.
But thank you for everything you've done. You never had to adopt me. You never had to keep taking care of me. You never had to keep persisting to help me. But you did.
You could have just taken me back to the orphanage, and it would have been easier for you. You could have ignored my anxiety and depression problems. You could have just easily neglected me and not feel the need to help. But you did. And you helped me get better, and you helped me feel like for once I had a family. You never had to do that, but you did, and I can't thank you enough.You gave me a family, and friends, and people who cared about me. You gave me a life. So if this doesn't go as we hope, please don't blame yourself, and please know that if it weren't for you, I would be leaving with the thought that I didn't have a family. You let me feel happy and loved and safe and cared for the entire time I was with you. Nobody can put a price or a value on that, and it's the most important thing to me.
So if I don't get to see you again, because I have a feeling this won't go over well with the way things are going, please keep living your life, and tell Mom, Jack, Zack, Rian, Matt, and all the others thanks and that I love them.
I love you,
Adelpha.I brushed away a sudden wet spot that had hit the paper. I reached up with my trembling hand to wipe away the tears falling freely from my eyes. I couldn't even try to stop them as my breath made shaky inhales and exhales and the hot tears fell down my face. I held the piece of paper to me in almost a hug as soft sobs escaped my mouth.
As I tightly held onto the letter, it helped me calm down from the soft cries. It almost felt like I could finally hug Adelpha one last time before saying goodbye.

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Cognizant (Adopted By Alex Gaskarth: Book 2)✅
FanfictionCognizant: Alive; Aware. ~ "And in real life, endings aren't always neat, whether they're happy endings, or whether they're sad endings." -Stephen King ~ After Adelpha's tragic death, Alex fell into a terrible depression. Losing both your loved br...