year

Most of them he recognized as family members he had not seen in a while. The others were close friends of Shane and Kane. They were also

ou have been a man of infinite accomplishments, but I did look forward to watching you reach the pinnacle of success. I wanted to be there

he bolted away from the scene. Mrs. Jane Griffin, his mother, wanted to go after him, but

ie said, half smiling. "Don't b

house. Before the burial, she had never spoken to any of them, save for Shane. She had seen Kane as he acted aloof an

w it offered. She lived her life with barely any emotional attachment. She had one friend, no pet, and a job as a school psychologist. As a psychologist, she tried not t

wn beside him. She felt the urge for a second to give him a comfo

pered. "It's goin

ce and just stared at

ing his fingers through his

h, I

bers the dead! Where were they when the doc had said his cancer was inoperable? He had only

. Wh

ove. Girls took him for granted, and that was a pain in the ass. I always told him he was

n properly?" Stephanie said, barely able to control her tone. "I love your brother! And we

p and lef

more often than usual. He had seen him with a charming girl. He thought he

elt Shane should have her! Then he thought, but of what use? Sympathy was only what stopped him from making his move, not guilt. When he asked Shane about her, he would always respond cord

hidden feelings too, which, when he thought about it, he considered would be too embarrassing. Shane also k

shed giving her eulogy. He felt bummed out for missing it. They were rounding up. The crowd had less

and figured we'd still see you later. It's such a sad day. He meant so much to us, too, but I know you fee

her arm for

e said, leaning into

love that could simply erupt in these dying moments. He prepared himself mentally and emotionall

r just thinking about what Stephanie had told him earlier on. The wind chimes were ringing. Shane's cat meowing startled him. That's strange, he thought

e door. No response. He hit harder,

do you prefer I stand under

ephanie, rolling her eyes

oise blue, but the wall on which a flat-screen TV rested on was a floral wallpaper design of turquoise blue, ash, and black. It had three single-seater chairs and one double-seate

d and sat down on one

seater chair, staring at the white pop ceiling. She knew the cutting edge o

r nonchalance. The chandelier that hung on the ceilin

apologize,"

nie sc

o

e said quickly

on between the both of you. Have you

ich

onger, though. I'm going to be working as an architect. So since we're moving out, we've sold the beach to the government. It's no longer a private property for the Griffins. Refunds have been made to tho

ed in. She already knew about the hair and artificial dye, and they just loved

ell, yes, my break wi

uld have chosen to be an author. He had a substantial amount of passion for telling stori

o from here,

arry memories of other people with me. Everything ends here! It's get

remote on the stool,

ell me what your prof

ly spent five minutes. She had just asked him to take hi

sigh

a School ps

not. She did not offer any goodbye either. He reassured himself he would see her on the beach within the week before she traveled. He told himself he would check in on her once more. He tried

t he did not need her. He would not check on her.

he had forgotten his umbrella at the corner where he sat. He would no