A/N: It's AU because after the first episodes of the season, after explaining Flashpoint, the rest of the season doesn't happen, because I want it to fit my plot with Barry and his god sister helping each other heal. However, that might change in the future.

The next chapter will be longer, I promise.

The face-claim to Maybelle Summerton is Nikki Hahn.

The face-claim to Mateo Ricci is Blake Michael.

"Swimming through the ashes of another life, (another life)
No real reason to accept the way; things have changed."
45 – Shinedown

Prologue: Maybelle Summerton

It was a very sunny spring day when thirteen-year-old Maybelle Summerton had the funeral service for her parents and Maybelle felt numb.

She sat with her hands clasped in the first pew of the church. Her crutch were leaning against her left leg, since her leg had previously been broken. She wore a brace on her right arm. She wore a black strapped dress with a pleated skirt and a ribbon around the waist with a black rose on it. She stared at the blown up picture of her parents on their wedding day and she still didn't shed a tear for them. She couldn't…she just felt so empty.

She didn't have any immediate family, if one considered a god-brother immediate family, or someone who was like another brother, as immediate family.

Maybelle felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked to see that it was the hand of a teenage boy, around seventeen years of age. He had shoulder-length brown hair and he looked concerned. "Are you okay, May?" He removed his hand from Maybelle's shoulder.

Maybelle shook her head once. What did he think? Her parents had died in the car accident that had orphaned her!

Mateo Ricci was the one person that Maybelle allowed to get away with calling her May. Matt was Maybelle's childhood friend and now former next door neighbor. Sure there was a three year, five-month age difference between them, but it didn't matter to them. They had known each other since Maybelle was four. Besides, Maybelle always thought of Matt as an older brother and she knew that he considered her his younger sister that was born to a different set of parents.

Matt sat down next to Maybelle. "How's your arm and leg doing?"

Maybelle stared straight ahead. In false cheerfulness, she said, "They're doing splendidly. I still have to use the crutch though. Don't get me wrong, at least I can use my left hand to write now." She held up her left hand for emphasis. "And at least I don't need the cast anymore, so that's a bonus."

"I suppose that's a good thing that came out of this," said Matt. He gave a forced chuckle.

Now that Maybelle listened a bit more closely, she noticed that it sounded like Matt was upset, not that she blamed him; every once and a while, when Matt was over at her house, he had accidentally called Maybelle's parents, Mom and Dad. She thought it was nice that he thought of her parents as family.

Maybelle nodded, "Yeah, yeah, I suppose."

"Mateo!" a voice hissed.

"That's Mom," said Matt. "I've got to go."

Maybelle nodded and Matt gave her a one-armed hug. Maybelle actually felt a little better. Matt left and Maybelle moved her gaze from the picture to the minister.

Another person sat down next to Maybelle and she looked to see that it was her god brother, Barry Allen.

"Hey, sorry I'm late," whispered Barry.

"You're not that late," whispered Maybelle. She paused and added, "Okay, you're actually ten minutes late." They stared ahead at the wall in front of them.

Barry turned to look at Maybelle. He whispered, "Sorry I couldn't take you in."

Maybelle cringed at the memory of Barry trying to fight for custody over her. She still remembered how bad she cried when Barry was told that he couldn't adopt her. "Its okay. I doubt that they would've allowed it anyway considering double-standards and all."

Barry cringed at that. "Yeah, that's true." He would've taken her in, but since Maybelle's parents were only children and Maybelle's grandparents on both sides had died and her parents hadn't updated their will stating that Maybelle would go over to Barry, or even go to the Riccis' since they were also close family friends, she ended up going into foster care. She didn't have any other relatives.

Maybelle shrugged, "That's life."

"I'm still looking into how to get custody of you," Barry said quickly.

Maybelle nodded in acknowledgement, "Okay."

"I will get custody of you," Barry promised sounding sincere.

Maybelle nodded once more. "I hope that you do." She knew that he really wouldn't get custody of her since it was far too late for that. She realized that lately she had been pessimistic and she figured that maybe she needed to try to be a bit more optimistic. "I really hope that you do, Barry."

"Me too, Belle," said Barry. "Me too."

Barry, Matt's, Matt's parents, and a few friends of Maybelle's parents were the pallbearers. Maybelle would've been a pallbearer, but since her arm and leg were broken, she couldn't be one. It was upsetting to her. They made it to the grave site and the pallbearers set the caskets, side-by-side, onto the metal lowering frames.

A few people had gone up and said a few things about Maybelle's parents, some gave Maybelle their condolences, some had heartfelt goodbyes, and some went up to lay flowers on the caskets.

"Rest in peace, Mom and Dad," whispered Maybelle laying a amsonia each on the caskets, feeling like if she spoke louder than that, she would actually fall apart and start crying. She went back to the crowd, forcing back her emotions as a few more people got up to say their final goodbyes.

Barry and Matt had said some nice things about how they were like second parents to them, and that they were going to make sure that Maybelle would be fine.

It was slightly embarrassing and a bit heartbreaking, considering that she was going into foster care and there was no way that she could somehow keep in touch with them, other than writing letters to them.

Maybelle allowed Barry and Matt to hug her, but she did hug them back. She stood by and watched as her parents coffins was lowered into the ground. She still didn't shed a single tear for her parents.

"Keep these feelings, no one knows.
Whatever happened to the young girl's heart?
Swallowed by pain as she slowly fell apart."
45 – Shinedown