I opened my eyes and looked around; I was in Adrian’s bedroom. I was stiff, and didn’t know how long I’d been out. I got out of bed quickly and stood up just as Adrian was walking in, and then got extremely dizzy.
“Whoa,” Adrian called; rushing over to me and helping me back down onto the bed. “Careful,”
“How long have I been out?” I asked
“A day and a half” he replied,
“Crap,” I replied, “I should get food in me.”
“I’m right ahead of you” He walked out of the room and came back a minute ago, carrying his famous French toast with chocolate milk.
“Thank you so much.” I said, grateful.
He sat on the edge of the bed and talked to me as I ate.
“So,” He said after a few minutes “What happened to Shay?”
“They took her…” I said
“Is that all?” He asked
“Yes…” I hesitated, unthinkingly moving my hair to the left side of my neck.
“What is that!” He exclaimed, moving closer and exaiming my neck closely.
“They did not…” He growled
He took his hand off my neck and hung his head in shame “I’m sorry,” he said “I’m sorry I let them do that to you; and
I’m sorry I let them take Shay.”
Tears started running down my face, I couldn’t lose Shay, me and her had been friends since grade 7, or 8. Adrian hugged me tightly “I’m sorry sweetheart”
“It’s not your fault babe,” I said, sniffing “We were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and those guys were huge. Even Eddie would have had trouble fighting them.”
“I know,” He replied “I still feel like crap that I wasn’t being smart, I let us go wandering in an alley in the darkness.”
“The fault would go to all three of us, none of us protested going in there.” I replied,
“Laura, I am going to rescue Shay. I will bring her home safe. I promise.”
“There is no way in hell you’re going alone.” I replied, grabbing his hand tightly “She’s pretty much my little sister, I’m coming with you. And we should bring any guardians that are free and willing to help.”
“Fine,” he replied, kissing me. “Now, we should probably get ready, the visitation and funeral are today…”
“Right,” I took a deep breath “I can do this” I said, out loud “Adam wouldn’t want me to be unhappy forever, he’d want me to try and be happy, for him, which is exactly what I was going to try my hardest to do.
After I showered, straightened my hair, and put make-up on, Adrian drove me to my apartment so I could get something appropriate to wear to the funeral. I put on a simple black dress I had.
As I walked out of my bedroom after changing into the dress, Adrian’s jaw dropped a little, which reminded me of the night I met him, when Shay had done the same thing after seeing me in the purple dress I wore.
“Wow…” Adrian said “You’re so beautiful.”
I blushed “Thanks honey” I kissed him on the cheek
“No problem,” He replied, kissing my forehead
“This isn’t going to be the best opportunity to meet my parents, but oh well.” I said, scowling a little
He laughed “It’ll be fine, darling,” he said, squeezing my hand reassuringly.
I don’t even know how long it took to get back to the town where I grew up, and it was strange being there again. I hadn’t been there in so long, I texted my mom before we left to let her know that I was on my way, and I mentioned that I was bringing my new boyfriend, as moral support. I asked her and dad not to embarrass me, and surprisingly she promised not to. I guessed it was because of what we had just dealt with. I asked her how Adam died, and she said she’d explain it in person.
We arrived at the Toronto airport a few hours later. My mother and father were waiting for us, they looked so unhappy, and it nearly tore me apart. The second we had locked eyes I was running towards them, I closed the distance between us quickly.
I hugged my mother first, and she stroked my hair. Even though we didn't get along very well, I had missed her. I could tell she was still coloring her hair to hide the grey. I looked into her sad brown eyes, the same color as my oldest brother, Brian, who I also wasn't close with. She looked pretty much the same as I remembered her, the brown eyes, the short, multicolored hair. Though she did have quite a few more lines than the last time I'd seen her.
I turned to my dad and hugged him just as tightly as I'd hugged my mom. His hair was a lot greyer than I remembered and he had many lines on his face, too. I looked into his, the striking eyes I inherited, the same ones that Adam used to have.
I broke down,
My parents held me, and cried with me. Looking in the mirror was painful for me, because even though my hair was dyed, I still looked so much like my brother. It was hard to deal with sometimes, knowing that he was gone; it was like a piece of me was gone too.
My parents pulled away as Adrian reached us. He shook hands with them both, and said he was sorry for their loss, and then he hugged me and whispered so my parents wouldn't hear
"I can't stand to see you so unhappy, so I'm going to try my hardest to make you happy, even if it means making a fool of myself.”
"Thank you Adrian." I replied, kissing him on the cheek then pulling away.
We walked with my parents to the car hand in hand. I fell asleep as soon as we left the airport.
