Monday came and the weather was back to more typical Forks weather- clouds and rain.

My dad was eating cereal in the kitchen when I went out.

"Morning," he said to me.

"Hey dad," I replied.

"You seeing Juniper today?"

I rolled my eyes. "Dad, we go to school together."

"I know. I mean, seeing her. After school or something."

I smiled. "No. Just at lunch, and in Gym."

He nodded.

"She's a nice girl, Andy. Really nice." he said, standing up and taking his cereal bowl to the sink.

"Yeah, she is." I said.

He put his bowl in the dishwasher.

"I've gotta get going then," he said.

"See you later." I replied.

He nodded, pulling his coat off the back of the one of the chairs. He paused before going down the hallway.

"Andy," he said. "I'm really proud of you."

I smiled. "Thanks dad."

My dad smiled back, and then turned. I heard his heavy footsteps walking down the hallway, and then I heard the front door close.

I finished my breakfast and then went to school.

Morning classes were fairly boring. I hadn't told Matt and Tom that I was inviting Juniper home to meet my parents, and so they didn't press me for information. I wasn't planning on telling them either- they wouldn't understand.

At lunchtime I walked into the cafeteria to see that Juniper was already there. She was talking to Steph. Kate was talking to Alex. I walked up behind Juniper and sat down next to her, giving her a quick kiss. We both lingered after the kiss, both wishing we could kiss more. But we were in a public place.

Lunch was fairly normal, although Kate ignored Juniper the whole hour, I noticed. I was worried that Juniper would be upset about this, but she didn't seem to mind to much.

I waited impatiently through fifth hour, and then went quickly to Gym. As always, I was there before Juniper. I pulled her into a hug and kissed her. She held onto me tightly.

"Hey," I said as I let her go.

"Hey." she grinned.

"We're playing baseball," I told her, "Going outside."

I was secretly a little excited. Baseball was my favourite sport- the only sport I could really beat everyone in. I knew that Ben and Daniel weren't half as good at baseball as I was.

Juniper and I followed the class outside to the oval. It had stopped raining but it was still cold. We were split into teams. I was with Juniper, which I was glad of. Ben and Daniel were both on the other team, I was glad to see.

The coach ordered us to 'practice' before we started playing. Juniper grabbed a ball and threw it to me. We threw it back and forth. Juniper's throws were a little loopy, but she was better than most of the girls. After a while I got a bat and she pitched it to me. I did small hits that she caught easily. I let her have a hit but she couldn't hit it to me- the ball always went to my left or right.

"Sorry!" she said apologetically. "I can't get it to go where I want."

I grinned. "That's okay. You're getting better." I told her.

Eventually we started playing a game. Our team was batting first. Mike Newton said he'd go first, so I sat with Juniper behind the base and watched. The skinny guy called Clive was pitching and he was terrible. His pitch was high and loopy and straight to Mike's bat. Mike hit it to the left outfield and then ran around to second base. Alicia Cunningham- a tall, red headed girl- batted next and got Mike home.

The fielding team- including Ben and Daniel- were terrible at throwing and catching, and couldn't get anyone out.

Juniper had her go. She stepped up to the base. I saw her grip tighten on the bat. The pitch was easy and she smashed it into the right outfield. Her blonde hair whipped around and then she was off, sprinting around the bases. She made it to third. I went next. I held the bat ready, concentrating on the ball. The loopy pitch came and I swung as hard as I could. It soared over the outfielders heads. They ran after it. I ran, watching Juniper take off towards home. I ran all the way around, slowing down on second to watch Juniper attempt to slide. She made a bit of a mess of it and got covered in mud. I laughed and sprinted it, showing off my own slide.

Juniper had mud all over her Gym outfit, and on her arms and face as well. I couldn't help laughing at her. She wiped some mud off her arm and threw it at me. It splattered all over my t-shirt. I gasped in surprise, but then I grinned and laughed. I bent down and scooped some mud off the ground, throwing it at her. She retaliated by grabbing my arm and smearing the mud all over it. We both fell to the ground, rolling around in the mud and throwing clumps of it at each other.

"Don't you love my tan?" she asked me, smearing the brown mud all over her arms and posing.

"And your wonderful brunette hair." I said, dumping a handful of mud on my head. She screamed and did the same to me. The mud dripped down my neck and inside my t-shirt, cold and wet.

"Andy Goldborne?"

I looked up. One of the receptionists was standing there, looking around at our gym class. I realized she was looking for me. I stood up, wiping my hands on my gym shorts to get the mud off them.

"Yeah?" I said.

"Your mothers at reception and says she needs to see you urgently. I think there has been an accident." the receptionist said.

I felt a sudden sickness in my stomach. My head felt heavy, with a dull pain that thudded in my ears.

"What? What's wrong? What accident? Is she okay? Is my dad okay?" I shot out the questions quickly, wanting the answers for all of them.

The receptionists made a face, her mouth twisting and forehead puckering. The thudding in my ears became louder.

I turned to Juniper. She was staring at me, her face a mixture of shock and worry.

"I'll see you later." I said to her quickly.

"Of course, go." she said, gesturing with her hand towards the receptionist.

I nodded, hardly hearing her, and turned towards the office. The receptionist had started walking back, looking behind to check that I was following. I sprinted after her. Once I started running, I couldn't make myself stop. I rushed past the receptionist and didn't slow down until I reached the office.

I burst through the glass doors. The heaters were on, but I was already warm from running and it felt to hot in there. I saw my mom sitting on one of the chairs opposite the desk, a steaming cup clutching in her hands. I saw they were trembling. She looked up as I entered. She was crying, a steady stream of tears running down her face. She made no effort to brush them away.

"Mom," I said, rushing to her. I put my arm around her. "What's happened? Is dad okay?"

My mom's face crumpled and her body shook with fresh sobs.

"No," she got out between her tears. "Andy, you're dad, he's... he's passed away."

The room started spinning. I grabbed the closest thing to me- the office chair next to my mom's. One of the receptionists came over, asking if I was alright. Her voice sounded very far away. The thudding in my ears had returned- so loud it was unbearable. My knees suddenly grew weak and I fell to the ground.

"No," I said, shaking my head. It wasn't true, I wouldn't believe it. My dad couldn't be gone, just like that. My dad, who had taught me to throw a baseball and drive a car. My dad who took me to the beach when I was a kid and showed me the rock pools. My dad who talked to me, cared for me, loved me... gone, forever.

"No," I said again. Suddenly soft hands were holding my head, stroking it. I found myself in my mom's lap, while her shaking hands ran through my hair.

"He can't be gone mom," I whispered, "He can't be."

"I know my darling," my mom whispered back. "I know."