My One Night: An On My Own Novel, Carrie Ryan [reading comprehension books TXT] 📗

I sat in the back of Cameron’s SUV as he drove most of my roommates and me towards the place where the wake was being held. My brothers had come to carpool for us so we didn’t have to drive. They seemed to know that we were all a little lost and not sure what to do. I would be forever grateful that I had them. Miles’ parents had shown up for the funeral, as well, for a girl they hadn’t known. Still, they had wanted to be there to support their son. There were so many connections, so many people trying to help their kids who might not be minors in the eyes of the law any longer. We’d always be children to them, though. All of us were a little lost, and I didn’t know how we’d ever be found again.

“She’s going to need you,” Violet said from the front seat. Her hand rested on the baby bump that got larger by the day. “She may push you away, may act as if she needs space and can’t focus, that you’re too much. But she’ll need you.”

I swallowed hard. “I’ll do what I can, but I don’t want to push her. I already almost pushed too much before, and it ended with our first fight. I don’t want to do it again.”

“You’ll find a way. Just do what she needs, make sure she’s hydrated and fed, even if she doesn’t want to eat.”

“How are they supposed to go back to that house?” Miles asked, his voice low.

“We’ll see what happens when they’re ready. Until then, we’ll let the girls sleep at ours,” Pacey said, and I was grateful that Nessa and the girls weren’t in the car with us. They were going with Corinne’s family, leaving mine to help us get to the next phase of saying goodbye. “We’ll make room for them,” Pacey added, and Tanner cleared his throat. “Yeah, we will. I don’t know what they’re going to do after...well, after. But we’ll find a way to make it work.”

“You guys are good people,” Violet said as she turned to us, her eyes full of tears. “I’m so sorry, but you’ll be there for each other. You have each other. Never forget that.”

I nodded, and we each got out of the car, making our way inside. People were somber. A light so young shouldn’t be extinguished like this, with no one to blame but God himself. At least that’s what someone had muttered under their breath when we walked in. Really, there was no one to blame. It hadn’t been a prolonged illness that we could come to terms with. It hadn’t been an accident where we could blame a stop sign or a drunk driver. It had been a moment in time, something that had taken her so quickly that nobody even had time to breathe.

I tried to find Elise, but I couldn’t. I didn’t know where she was or what I was supposed to do. But I would give her the space she needed. I wouldn’t forget that she might need the space, but she needed someone, as well.

Finding that balance nearly broke me, but I had no idea what to do. I barely knew Corinne, but I had liked her. She had been the one to dare Elise, to set us on this path, and now she was gone. I couldn’t change that. I couldn’t bring her back.

“What are we supposed to say?” Miles asked softly.

“Nothing,” Pacey said, his voice low. “There’s nothing you can say. But from the way it looks, people will soon want to tell stories and remember her. So you’ll tell a happy story about the girl who’s no longer here.”

He cleared his throat. “And you’ll make sure that people remember her happy and alive, not only the feelings they have now. You have to do everything you can to make sure others remember her.”

I looked at the other man, trying to understand what I had missed. Maybe I hadn’t missed anything. Perhaps they had just been friends, and this was how Pacey dealt with things. I wasn’t sure, but I wished there was something more I could do. All of my friends were in so much pain, and there was nothing I could do about it.

I let out a breath, and we moved around the room. My family was wonderful, and Aiden had brought food. It was what we did, we found a hole for what was needed, and we filled it.

Corinne’s parents were in the corner, speaking with Aiden as I walked up.

“Dillon,” Corinne’s mother said softly. “Thank you again for offering your brother’s services,” she said, her eyes shiny but her tears not falling yet. “We truly appreciate it. We had some of it covered but having Corinne’s friends take care of the details has been wonderful. I wish we had been able to get to know you before this,” she said, holding out her hand.

I swallowed hard and nodded. “Corinne was great. She was nice and made me laugh and introduced me to Elise. I’m just so sorry.”

This time, her mother let her tears fall, and her father squeezed her around the shoulders.

“She was always doing that, setting people up so they got with the people they needed to. We love Elise like our own daughter.” There was something there, but I knew I wasn’t going to get into it now. “We love her. So, you be there for her. This will be just as hard on her as it is for us. She’s so good about closing people off. So, make sure she doesn’t do that.”

Corinne’s parents knew Elise pretty damn well for them to say that. And the fact that they were worried about their daughter’s best friend when they were so mired in their own emotions meant the world to me. I nodded, said my condolences once more, and walked away to look for Elise.