PIPER'S POV:
"I don't know what we're meant to do now…" I admitted as Paige and I sat with Dad the day after Josh's funeral
"We start to move on." he informed me
"How?" I questioned
"By not pretending like Josh is still here and holding him in our hearts and our memories," he replied "we need to start clearing away his things."
"Do you not think we should wait a little longer?" I asked
"The longer we wait, the harder it'll be." he sighed "I know it'll be hard to do it now, but if we give it any longer, it'll only get harder."
"Okay." I replied "Should we go and make a start or…?"
He nodded his head… "You and Paige go, and I'll be over in a little while."
"You ready?" Paige inquired as we reached the top of the stairs, her hand entwining with mine
I nodded my head and opened Josh's bedroom door, both of us stepping into the room. Exhaling a breath I didn't know I'd been holding, I let go of her hand and ran my hands over my face…
"Where do we start?" I questioned
"What are you two doing?" Mum's voice asked from behind us "Get out of there!"
"Dad said…" I began
"I don't care what your father said. Get out of there, now!" she proclaimed
"Mum, please, just listen to me." I begged
"No," she replied "no I will not listen. That is Josh's room and it always will be. It's staying as it is for now."
"Dad said we need to start moving forward and remembering Josh in our hearts and memories." I informed her "The longer we wait to clear his things, the harder it'll be."
"I said I don't care what your father said!" she proclaimed
"Terese!" Paige shouted as Mum's hand connected with my cheek
"What's going on up here?" Dad asked as I held my hand against my burning skin
"Piper, I…" Mum began
Hurrying past her, Dad and Paige, I made my way down the stairs and out of the house, the door slamming shut behind me…
TYLER'S POV:
I stopped in my tracks as I came out of Grease Monkeys, watching as Aaron tried to comfort a distressed Piper. Hurrying over, he glanced at me and let her go and I took a hold of her, holding onto her shoulders, forcing her to face me…
"What's going on?" I asked "Piper, talk to me!"
"Mum went mental at me." she informed me "Dad said we needed to start clearing out Josh's things and she didn't want to. She hit me."
I swallowed a lump in my throat… "Are you okay?"
"I don't think she's coping." she admitted
"I didn't ask if your Mum was okay. I asked if you were." I informed her
"I'm fine." she replied "I'm just worried about her and everyone. What if Dad's wrong? What if it is too soon to be clearing out Josh's things?"
"There's no time on when you should do it. You have to do it when you feel ready, but your Dad should've talked to your Mum about it before he just went ahead and decided that's what was going to happen." I sighed "C'mon, let's get you something to eat and drink…"
PIPER'S POV:
Tyler and I were sat outside of Grease Monkeys when Mum's car pulled into the garage forecourt. Watching as she climbed out, her eyes spotted me and she made her way across…
"I'll leave you guys to it." Tyler informed us, rising to his feet as she reached us
"Thank you, Tyler." she replied
"I didn't expect you to come looking for me…" I admitted
"I couldn't wait till you came home to apologise for what I did." she informed me "I'm so sorry, darling. My emotions just got the better of me."
I nodded my head in understanding… "Dad shouldn't have given Paige and I permission to do what we were about to. It should've been yours and his decision, not just his."
"You're right." she replied "Still, it's no excuse for what I did. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." I informed her
"You and Tyler have been spending quite a bit of time together lately – anything you want to talk to me about?" she questioned
"We're friends and he's been great since, yeah…" I replied "And I always feel better after I talk to him."
"You know you can always talk to me and your father, right?" she inquired
"I know." I informed her "But you and Dad are too close to the situation, so if it's okay with you, I'm going to keep talking to Tyler."
"Of course it's okay with me." she replied, covering my hand with hers "I really am sorry, darling, you do believe me, don't you?"
I nodded my head… "Thank you."
She smiled at me warmly… "Are you coming home?"
"Do you mind if I hang out here for a bit?" I asked "What with been cooped up, everything's got a bit too stifling at home."
"Okay." she replied "I'll see you at home later then."
I nodded my head in agreement and rose to my feet as she did the same, the two of us exchanging a hug before making our way back across to the garage…