The Sun is Gone

Splintered

A/N: I know things are going kind of slow right now. I have a plan for this story and some of the details are important for later on. I hope you enjoy reading. More action will be coming soon.

We were still resting on my bed when I heard the doorbell ring downstairs.

"Who do you think that is?" Kurt asked.

"No idea," I answered. Aunt Patricia was supposed to be spending the day working from her hotel room so she could get caught up. And I didn't know who else was supposed to come by. The doorbell rang again.

"Do you want me to check it out?" asked Kurt, rubbing my back.

"No, it's okay. I'll go."

"Should I come with you?" Kurt asked, sounding slightly concerned.

"It'll be fine," I answered, figuring I'd probably find a complaining neighbor or something.

Instead, on the other side of the door, stood the one person I had missed more than anything in the last few months.

"Lisa!" I shouted, taking in the tired, fragile appearance of my beautiful, tall blonde friend.

"Oh my God, you're actually here, Liz!" She embraced me in a crushing hug. "I had no idea where you were. You scared me half to death. I thought maybe you'd never come back." We stood in the entryway while she clung to me. Her familiar presence was a relief.

"I'm sorry I did that to you," I spoke carefully. "Things were so hard. After Danny... I just fell apart, Lisa. I needed to be away from here for a while. And it has helped me a lot. I thought about you every single day." I felt my eyes start to well up with tears.

"Things have been so hard here. I understand why you left, I really do. At first I was really upset that you didn't tell me where you went. But I realized that if I had known where you were I would have come after you." I nodded.

"That's exactly why I told no one. And I'm sorry. But I needed to do it." Lisa's tired blue eyes settled on me with intensity.

"The aftermath of everything... the whole town talking about everything--it was hell. Danny's stepdad got sent to jail for a long time. Mrs. Madler is a wreck still. I visit her as often as I can."

"God, I feel so awful about that," I said, motioning for Lisa to take a seat on the sofa. "The last time I saw her was when she told me what happened to Danny. And I just ran away."

"Everyone knew how devastated you were, Liz. I mean, you and Danny were so in love. You were the perfect couple. We thought you guys would get married." I gulped nervously as Lisa said those words. She didn't notice my facial expression as she kept talking. "The funerals were really tough. I think everyone understood why you couldn't do it. They all just asked how you were holding up." There was an awkward pause.

"I went to his grave the other night," I blurted out. "I'm finally facing these things, but I needed some time to process."

"I get it. It's just been tough. We all tried to check on your dad since you weren't around. Henry's family too." Henry was Lisa's on-again off-again boyfriend.

"Well, thanks for trying to look out for him. I'm glad he wasn't all alone. I hated having to leave him."

"We all understand that you did what you had to do. You've had the hardest of all of this to deal with. I'm really sorry we couldn't do more for your dad. He just wouldn't even try to give up the drinking. Not at all. But he did understand why you left, Liz. We would tell him you were doing alright so that he wouldn't worry." Tears welled in my eyes again.