Thank you to: MoonlitSerenity (I adore the song as well, and I just couldn't resist putting it in there!), Halloween29, I LOVE JACK ATLAS, xBadxRomancesx, freakyfriday and Severen18 (I imagine Amy as AnnaSophia Robb, especially her in The Bridge To Teribithia!)

Chapter Four

"No," I choked out, the word sticking in my throat. "No, their not."

"Mrs Hope, I know this may come as a shock, but –"

"How, though?" I demanded. "Who killed them? Is there any evidence?"

"Well…" The younger man finally spoke, looking shifty under the spotlight now turned to him. "There was no sign of forced entry, nor was a weapon found…but the forensic science team are currently trying to find DNA."

"You don't know who did it."

"No. There are no witnesses or CCTV footage we can use to identify the killer. Do you know of anyone that might bear a grudge to your father and husband?"

I shook my head, unable to speak. Next to me, Amy was crying silently. On the other side of the room, Nellie was staring at me incredulously, as if she couldn't register what was happening.

I couldn't register what was happening.

Dad and Ant…dead?

No, it wasn't possible.

Sure, Dad was old, but he was a fighter. That's where I got my ability to survive every single accident I had from!

And Ant…

These past few years, he had never seemed more alive. He was my Ant, the Ant I fell in love with. And now he was…

Dead…

"The undertakers should be in touch soon. I'm very sorry, Mrs Hope," The older policeman told me. "We'll see ourselves out."

I nodded and watched with unseeing eyes as they left the room.

"Oh Mum!" Amy suddenly wailed, flinging her arms around me and burying her face in my shoulder. After a moment, Nellie took the same position on my other side. I wrapped my arms around both of them, also crying.

"They're dead…" Nellie murmured.

"I have to call Ben…" I announced suddenly.

"No!" Amy whispered, looking horrified at the thought of me leaving her desperate embrace.

"He has to know." I said faintly. Manoeuvring myself out of her surprisingly strong grip, I walked out of the living room and into the hallway in somewhat of a daze.

Ben took the news well, promising he would be down as soon as possible.

Once he arrived, we simply sat in silence until the late hours, when we finally retired to our beds.

Dead…

I sat on my bed, it suddenly seeming to go on for miles without Ant sat next to me, interrupting me while I read my book, playing with my hair or kissing me suggestively.

I couldn't cry.

I wanted to. I wanted to so much. I wanted to be like my children, and collapse into floods of hysterics. I wanted to curl up in a fetal position and cry myself to sleep, never to wake up again.

But I couldn't.

I don't know what it was…I just simply couldn't conjure up the tears to roll down my face as I had done so many times before.

It was like when I killed Linda.

A soft knock at the door broke me from my depressing thoughts, and I looked up in time to see it open.

"We couldn't sleep." Ben explained sheepishly.

With a forced smile, I nodded. They immediately rushed forwards, taking up the space that Ant used to sleep in.

Suddenly, the bed didn't seem so big.

None of us slept that night. Amy, bless her, drifted in and out of sleep, but kept waking up in tears and sweat, claiming she had a nightmare.

The funerals…

Oh, the funerals were awful. With only a week between them, it was the worst fortnight of my life.

Everyone turned up for Dad's funeral. Friends, family and work colleagues all came to pay their respects. I managed to keep it together until I watched the coffin slowly being lowered down, which was when I burst into tears.

"Ssh, it's ok," Grace murmured, her arms around me. "It's ok, Jojo. It's all over."

It was over for her, but not for me.

The week passed too quickly, and most of it I spent simply walking around the house in a daze. It was suddenly so empty.

I could only think of one person that slit throats...

No, Sweeney couldn't. He wouldn't.

Would he?

Ant's funeral was horrific.

Through the whole thing, his Mother, Ann, kept giving me the evils. I knew what she was thinking.

Why not you?

Ant's father was ever so lovely to me, hugging me and staying by my side during the ceremony while his wife flitted about.

I watched as the coffin was slowly lowered, descending into the earth, never to come out again. Soon after it was gone, people began fading away.

"Mum?" Amy whispered tearfully.

"Come on, girls, your mum needs a moment." Terry, Ant's father, said. I forced out a grateful smile.

"Thanks." I choked out.

"Take as much time as you need, pet."

As soon as everyone was gone, I fell to my knees and cried.

"I'm not hungry."

"Mum, you've got to eat." Ben insisted. When he was fifteen, I would've never thought that Ben would become an excellent chef and own a restaurant, but now at twenty two, that was his job.

"I'm not hungry." I insisted.

"Mum."

"Ben, I am fine!" I snapped. If it were Nellie or Amy, they'd have burst into tears and rushed from the room, but not Ben.

"Ok, but I'm leaving it here." He said softly, placing the tray on our – my bedside table and leaving the room.

"You should eat, Joey."

"ANT!"

Ant smiled. He was sitting next to me, as he usually did, dressed in the suit he left in. I stared at him incredulously. He was paler, almost transparent, but sat right next to me!

"Oh Ant, I've missed you!" I cried, flinging my arms around him. Though he was transparent, he felt so solid.

"Ssh, Joey, it's ok," He murmured, gently rocking me. "I miss you too, babe. And Ben, and the girls. I miss you all so much!"

"Where are you?" I whispered, staring up at him through teary eyes. Slowly, he started fading.

"I'm going, Joey…"

"No!" I cried. "No, you can't!" He couldn't go! Not when I had finally found him!

"Bye bye, Joey…"

"NO! ANT!" I screamed, but he stood up, backing away from me until he disappeared through the mirror.

Tears streaming down my face, I ran forwards, staring desperately into the mirror.

"ANT!" I screamed again, punching the mirror with such force it broke, the bits of glass tearing at my skin. I felt the pain but didn't register it. All I wanted was Ant.

"ANT, COME BACK!"

"Mum?"

"ANT! ANT, I LOVE YOU! COME BACK!"

"MUM!"

A pair of strong arms went around my waist. I screamed and struggled, but they kept hold of me, dragging me out of the room and down the stairs.

"Mum?" I heard Amy whimper.

"It's ok, Amz."

"No it's not! Where are you taking her?"

"Hospital."

"NO!" I screamed. No! They couldn't take me back to hospital! Not now! I wasn't crazy! I wanted Ant!

I told Ben this. I pleaded with him, tears trickling down my cheeks, as he bundled me into the back seat of the car, wrapped in a blanket. He ignored me, telling me to calm down and soothing me with his deep voice that sounded so much like Ant's.

The last thing I heard before everything went black was one line of a song.

"I feel you, Johanna, I feel you…"

Ok, I PROMISE that Sweeney Todd and co. will be brought in from chater six onwards. I just need one more chapter for Amy before bringing them in, so bear with me and please review!