“Wake up!” two voices chorused as my world begun shaking.
I jumped off of the couch and fell over the coffee table, landing on my back on the hard ground. My breath was momentarily knocked out of me.
Zane and Finn stood on either side of the couch, looking at me lying on the ground. Both seemed to be suppressing laughter.
“You shit heads.” I groaned, slightly annoyed with their rude awakening.
“Guys, I said you could wake her up, not petrify her.” Aria stood in the doorway of the room, shaking her head at them, smiling ruefully. “The least you could do is help her up.”
Zane came to my side and offered me a hand. “You okay?”
“You two are irritating as hell.” I stood up, without assistance. I was surprised at how much my back ached, but I was too annoyed to accept help. “I’m going to get dressed.”
I decided to wear a pair of jeans and a red flannel shirt.
As I was brushing my hair, there was a knock on my door.
“Come in,” I called.
Zane entered, closed the door behind him and sat down next to me on my bed.
“I’m sorry.” He said. “I didn’t know you would fall.”
“It’s alright.” I sighed as I realized how childish I was being. “I guess I’m just a bit on edge.”
“I understand that feeling.” He nodded.
“What time is it?”
“Quarter past eleven.”
“You guys are that eager to see me?” I joked, slightly confused as to why they were here nearly five hours early.
“I think Finn wanted to offer to take you somewhere…”
“What? Where?” I questioned. “Is he allowed to take me anywhere?”
“He is not taking you in to the city, so I do not see any issue with it.”
“Where is he taking me?” I asked again.
“River’s gravesite.”
The brush froze in my hair once I heard his words.
I had never been to her grave. Hell, no one had ever offered to take me, and I never thought to ask. I never considered being able to go to her grave.
What would it look like? Would it be a huge tombstone with her name engraved on the stone? Would I be able to tell exactly where her body was buried? Would there even be anything marking where she was?
How would I even react to whatever was there?
“Honey, you do not have to go.” Zane said, taking the brush and beginning to run it through my hair for me.
“I want to.” I told him. “I just was not expecting to be able to go there.”
He did not speak as he brushed my hair. It felt good to have someone else play with it, and the sensations gave me something to focus on. I used it to relax me once again.
“Have you and Finn been there a lot before?” I asked him.
“No. I haven’t gone, and Finn went once a few days after her death.” He replied. “He said it didn’t feel right to go without you.”
“I see.”
He finished with my hair and set the brush onto the dresser.
“I was going to wait here with the girls while you and Finn went to the site. I assumed you would not want them to go with you on your first time.” He told me, I saw a hint of sadness in his turquoise eyes. “I also assumed that you would not need me.”
