Something To Believe In

chapter twenty two

Picking up right where we left off bros 

Also possible trigger warning for death

"Josie? Is that you?" Pops asked, walking into the living room. 

"In the flesh!" 

"Well get over here and give me a hug!" I ran around the couch and to my grandfather, who hugged me tightly. "And you too Jeremy!" Jeremy did the same, and it seemed our little spat from earlier was over. "Ashley!" Pops was great about welcoming whoever we were with into the family immediately. "And this must be Ben. I've heard a lot about you, welcome to the family." Instead of shaking Ben's hand, he hugged him. Ben looked taken aback, but quickly returned the gesture. 

"So, Pops, how are you?" 

"I'm...okay. If it's Mary's time, it's Mary's time." he replied, nodding decidedly. Right. We were here because my grandmother, my Nana, is dying. "Now, you kids had a long flight. You're rooms haven't changed, so go rest up."  Dad had gotten our bags out of the car, so I led Ben to what we called 'The Jordan Room.' Two bunk beds for the four-well six, of us sat against the wall like they had since I was four. 

"Welcome to The Jordan Room. AKA, our home away from home as children." Jeremy said, throwing his bag on the top bunk of one of the bed. 

"You can't sleep on the top bunk with two people." I said, knowing a. the rules, and b. that the top was smaller than the bottom. 

"Oh. Yeah." He moved the bag down to the bottom, so Ben and I took the other one. 

"So this is where you grew up, huh?" Ben asked, sitting down on the bed. 

"Partially. I spent most of my time about five minutes from here at my parent's house. I hope you brought swim trunks, because I think we'll be back over there tomorrow." I sat down next to him, laying back all the way. He copied my actions, putting his arm around me. "This place will always be one of my favorites though. Nana used to make cookies every time we'd come over. She even made them at Christmas last year. This is literally the first time I've been here and not eaten one of her cookies." I said, tears filling my eyes again. They fell silently, landing on the bed and Ben's arm. Instead of saying anything, he just kissed the top of my head and held me a little tighter. "Thank you so much for coming with me." 

"I will go wherever you go. Especially when it's stuff like this." 

"You want to get into our PJ's and get to bed? We've had a long day." 

"Please." So, that's what we did. Jeremy and Ashley did the same, and not long after, Joey and Jess were climbing in bed above us. "I love you Jos." Ben whispered.

"I love you too." I kissed him softly, rolling over and going to sleep with his arm loosely wrapped around my waist. 

The Next Morning

When I woke up the next morning, Jess and Joey were in the top bunks of the room, and the house was silent. I laid there for a minute, taking in the peace before the door started opening. 

"Hey sweetie." 

"Hey Mom. Is everything okay?" I asked, sitting up. 

"I need to wake your siblings up before I say anything." she replied, reaching above my bed to shake Jess awake. I softly nudged Ben and he sat up, rubbing his eyes. 

"What's going on?" he whispered. I shrugged, watching Mom wake everyone else up. 

"Okay gang. We need to talk." Her face was tear stained, much like the rest of us. She sat down in the desk chair at the front of the room. "Nana passed away last night while all of us were asleep. We weren't expecting it until later today but.." I fell into Ben, sobbing heavily. My Nana was one of my best friends. He wrapped his arms around me, kissing the top of my head and rocking me back and forth slightly. I could hear Jess crying above me, and joey had left the room. Mom sat down next to me, and Ben let me go, knowing that she wanted to talk to me. "Oh honey, it's okay." Her voice was strained, and I could tell she was trying not to cry. She pulled me into a tight hug and I cried on her shoulder. 

"I didn't even get to say goodbye." I whispered. 

"None of us did. But before you got here, she was asking about you. She wanted to know all about 'Josie and her little boy-toy in the city.'" Mom replied, wiping a few tears from my face. 

"Really?" 

"Yes! She loved you so much. I'm going to check on everyone else, but Aunt Lisa made breakfast if you're hungry." I nodded, wiping my eyes again. 

"Baby, I'm so sorry." Ben said, pulling me into him again. "Do you want to go get something to eat?" 

"I'm not really hungry, but you can if you want to." 

"Will you be okay by yourself?" Everyone else had left to get food. 

"I'll be fine. Go meet my family, they'll love you. Just stay away from Aunt Lisa." He kissed my cheek one last time, leaving the room. I wrapped myself in the comforter, laying back down and staring at the wall. A few silent tears rolled slowly down my face, falling onto the pillow beneath my head, which was pounding. I closed my eyes, wishing to fall into a deep sleep, and wake up with my Nana back. 

So this is shorter than normal, but I'm still going to leave it here. I hope you guys like it. Idk, not really in the mood for exclamation points after that chapter lol. Have a great day guys.