Naia's POV

It's funny how when you want a day to come, it seems to take forever, but when you don't want a day to come, it comes faster than you can blink.

Saturday came like the latter, which is ridiculously quick.

I had woken up early. Around 5:30. I never woke up that early, even on a school day. I didn't get out of bed though, I just laid there, staring at the ceiling. At some point, I heard a knock on the door and I looked over at the clock on my desk.

9:35

"Come in," I called out and the doorknob turned before Gabby came in.

"How long have you been up?" Gabby asked, coming in to take a seat on the bed.

I shrugged, "A few hours."

"You didn't have to wake up so early," Gabby told me and I nodded.

"I didn't mean to," I explained, "It just kind of happened."

Gabby nodded to show she understood and then she scooted closer towards me. "You ready for some breakfast?"

I wasn't hungry. Not one bit. But I still got up and followed Gabby out of my room and into the kitchen where Matt was making pancakes. Something about the way the pancakes smelled made me want to throw up.

That was a lie.

I would have felt like throwing up without the pancakes. I just needed to blame it on something other than the actual reason, and I knew that.

As I sat down, Matt slid a plate with a pancake on it in front of me and I numbly drowned it in maple syrup. I then stabbed my fork into the pancake but didn't make a move to eat it.

"You gonna eat that?" Gabby asked me, an eyebrow raised.

I jumped a little, startled, "Huh?"

"I mean if you want something other than pancakes it's okay. I can make you something else," Matt said but I shook my head.

"No, it's okay. I like pancakes, I'm just...I don't know, caught up in my head I guess," I said and tore off a little piece of the pancake before shoving it in my mouth.

Gabby nodded and started eating her pancake.

I'm not sure how long it took but by the time I finished my pancake, Matt and Gabby were already done eating breakfast and were sitting, waiting for me. Slowly, I pushed the plate away from me, keeping my eyes trained on it as if it was going to perform some kind of stupid magic trick.

"Are you done?" Matt asked, reaching out to take my plate. I nodded and Matt took the plate, bringing it over to the sink.

"Thanks," I mumbled and looked over at the clock.

10:00

"When's the funeral?" I asked, even though I knew the answer.

"2:00 this afternoon," Gabby responded.

I nodded and stood up, "I'm going to lay down for a while."

"Do you feel okay?" Gabby asked me, getting up as well. She was concerned, and I knew it.

"Yeah," I replied and gave her a quick smile before heading back to my room.

Just like I said I would, I went over to my bed and crawled back under the covers, pulling them over my head. A little bit of me wanted to sleep. It was the side that was tired from waking up at 5:30 in the morning. Regretting not trying to go back to sleep.

The other part of me didn't want to go to sleep. Like today, sleeping wasn't something I should be doing. Like I should be doing something productive.

Strange.

Sighing, I sat up and swung my leg over the side of the bed before getting up and heading to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and threw my hair up into a ponytail for now. I could hear Matt and Gabby talking in the kitchen as I returned to my bedroom. Instead of going back to bed, my feet walked me over to the window and I pulled the curtains aside so I could rest my forehead against the cool glass.

"You're alright."

"You're so brave Jane, so brave."

"Everything is going to be alright."

"Naia?"

"I'm sorry."

"It should have been me."

"Naia."

"An ambulance is here to take you to Med."

"I'm fine."

"Naia."

"Jane."

"GSW to the back of the head. She died a few moments ago. She was bleeding out, wouldn't have made it."

"Naia?"

With a frustrated growl and pounded both my fists against the window before slumping down the wall.

"You okay in there Naia?" I heard Gabby ask from behind the door. She must have come to check on me and had heard the loud thump I made against the glass with my fists. When I didn't answer, the doorknob turned and she hesitantly came in to see me leaning against the wall, staring into space.

"Is everything okay?" Gabby slowly sat down next to me.

I nodded, even though things weren't okay. Jane was dead, and that wasn't okay.

"You're a terrible liar," Gabby joked.

"You think you can just lie to me like that?" Mr. Samual screamed and Ellie and me before throwing us down the basement stairs.

"Naia?"

I looked up at Gabby, tears in my eyes.

"She's dead," I whispered and quickly blinked the tears away. "She's dead and she's never coming back."

Gabby nodded. "You're right," She said gently and I let a round of sobs wrack my body.

"Shhh," Gabby soothed as she pulled me closer to her as if she was protecting me from reality. "It's okay to cry."

"Why didn't I die?" I asked through my crying, "Why?"

Gabby didn't answer right away, instead, she continued to comfort me while I cried my eyes out.

"Remember when you told me that everything happens because it's supposed to happen?" Gabby reminded me and I nodded.

"But how is an eight-year-old girl dying supposed to happen. She was murdered!" I replied, becoming hysterical at this point.

Gabby nodded and pulled me even closer, letting me cry on her.

"I wonder the same thing."