Sunset in Paradise ✅

Part 58

Josh's POV

The next day at school, I noticed that Justen wasn't there. But, to my luck, I didn't notice until the end of the day.

"It's just like my dream," I whispered under my breath.

"What are you talking about?" Nathan asked.

"I have to go," I said as the bell rang signifying that school had ended.

When I got into my truck, my phone started ringing.

"Hello?" I asked, answering the phone.

"Can you pick Michael up from school? I'm not feeling very well and can't leave the house right now," my mom said.

"Yeah, I can pick him up," I said.

"Thank you so much," my mom said before she hung up.

I hung up the phone on my end and drove to Michael's elementary school. Without a word, Michael got into the truck and I drove him home.

"Hey," I said as Michael got out of the truck. "Can you let mom know that I'm going to be home later?"

"Are you going to hang out with Justen?" Michael asked.

"Yeah," I said.

"Okay," Michael said. "I'll see you later."

"See you later, little buddy," I said before Michael shut the door and walked inside the house.

I reversed out of the driveway and sped to my and Justen's special spot, praying that he was still alive.

When I got to the special spot, I saw Justen's bike.

"Please be alive, please, please, please," I silently begged.

I turned off my truck and got out. As soon as both of my feet were on the ground, I ran to the tree. That's when I saw it. Justen's backpack.

I shook my head.

"No," I said, not recognizing my own voice.

I looked up into the tree and saw Justen hanging off of one of the branches.

"No," I cried, feeling as if my heart had been torn from my chest. "Justen, no!"

By that time, I couldn't see anymore because my own tears had blinded me. I fell onto my knees and cried into my hands. The love of my life was gone. I spotted Justen's backpack and grabbed it. I held the bag to my chest and barely noticed when a plain white envelope slipped out.

I grabbed it and saw Justen's handwriting on the front. I opened the envelope and pulled out a letter and a keychain. I looked at the keychain and read the cursive letters that were embedded in it:

I held the keychain close to my heart and grabbed the letter. I knew I wasn't ready, but I had to read it. If I didn't, it would eat me from the inside out. I opened the letter and saw Justen's handwriting once again. It read:

Josh,

If you found this, that means I killed myself. And I probably had a perfectly good reason to. But the main point of this letter is to tell you that I love you. I am so sorry that I put you through everything that I did and what I did is unforgivable. So, I understand if you won't be able to forgive me. I just want you to know that I loved you so much. I loved you more than words can say and I am so sorry that things played out this way. But if I didn't do this, your dad would have.

The things I did since the day you read the paper were to protect you. I am so sorry that I ignored you and I didn't explain anything. But now I can fully explain.

Your dad came up to me and told me to avoid you again. As much as I didn't want to, I did. Your dad also asked me to do him a favor and gave me three and a half weeks to complete it. When I realized that the favor was to help him get out of trouble, I stopped. I couldn't tell anyone about the favor though because if I did, your dad would have killed me as soon as he found out. I am so sorry that I didn't tell you. I love you, but for your own safety, I couldn't tell you what was going on.

I love you so much more than words can explain and I hope you know that. I also want to tell you that just because I am dead, doesn't mean you can kill yourself too. You have so much more to live for. You have your brother, your mom, and all of your friends.

Can you let Michael know that he was like a little brother to me? And watch Holly and Nathan. Make sure they don't suck each other's faces off in the middle of the hallway. Watch Bridget and Cameron too. I don't want them doing things they shouldn't until they're out of high school.

Once again, I love you so much, but I have to say goodbye.

-Justen

By the time I had completed the letter, I was bawling my eyes out. I couldn't hold them in anymore so I just sat on the ground and cried. When I was done, I grabbed my phone and called the police to let them know what Justen had done. They said they'd be there shortly and I gathered the letter and keychain before grabbing Justen's backpack and walked to my truck.

When I walked passed Justen's bike, I grabbed that too. I placed Justen's bike in the bed of my truck and placed his bag, the letter, and the keychain inside of my truck. That's when I saw red and blue lights flashing out of the corner of my eye.

I flagged them down and the police stopped by my truck. They got out and everything was a blur. The police asked me to lead them to where Justen was and without a thought, I did so. When they saw Justen, they called an ambulance. However, both the police officers and I knew that there was nothing that could be done. The police asked me tons of questions and I answered every single one of them as the ambulance came and the paramedics jumped out to go get Justen.

Everything continued to be a blur until I saw Justen's dad walk over to me.

"What happened to him?" Justen's dad demanded.

"I... I don't know," I stuttered.

"Why don't you know?" Justen's dad asked.

"Because he wouldn't tell me, okay?!" I said before running to my truck, starting it up and driving away.

I felt so lost without Justen. Like, I was unstable and needed help. But I didn't help, I need Justen. Oh goodness, I need Justen. I need to see his smile, I need to hear his voice, I need him. Tears started forming in my eyes again and I knew it wasn't safe to drive how I was, so I pulled over. I leaned my head on the top of the steering wheel and cried.

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And there ends Sunset in Paradise! I hope you all enjoyed it because I sure like writing it. Anyway, please don't be too mad at me for the way I ended this beautiful story and make sure to vote, comment, and maybe even share. Thank you all for reading and I love you all so much!❤