a/n: so this is it. The final chapter of my story…thank you to all that reviewed it!! I think I'm gonna be starting a sequel soon so read that when it comes out!! I hope y'all enjoy this story and final chapter…I almost cried while I was writing it!! And I'm mastermind behind it all!!!

Ch 10- Rain

The rain pounded down in sheets as Matt opened his eyes and gazed around his dark room. Today was the day. Today was the day that it really was all over. He groaned as he turned over and buried his head in his covers. Then a thought crossed his mind…Happy Anniversary Mel he thought to his girlfriend bitterly silent.

"Miranda?" someone yelled as they pounded on her door. The brunette Latina dragged herself out of bed and unlatched her door.

"What do you want?" she asked automatically, her voice differing from the automated message that came first.

"Miranda…" she said softly, whimpering.

"I know, I know Kate," she said as she dragged her into her house and held her and cried for the first time since middle school.

Gordo wrapped the towel around himself and shook his curly mop of hair to rid of the residing water. He had a daughter. His would be/should be wife was dead. He literally had no one anymore. He gave Brooke up for adoption without even seeing her. He made the adoption agency swear that they wouldn't change her name and then signed on the dotted line. Some nice family somewhere was happy, that's all he knew.

"How can we let him do this?" Jo whispered to her husband that morning snuggled against his chest.

"Who do what?" he asked confused, half asleep half awake.

"Gordo! That's our grand daughter and she's gone because he didn't want her!!" she exclaimed swatting him.

"There's nothing we can do about it now sweetie," Sam said softly to his wife, knowing how sensitive the subject was. "I'm sure Brooke is with, or on the way, to some nice family somewhere," he said trying to reassure her.

"THIS is a nice family. WE'RE a nice family!! What the hell was he thinking?? No, you know what? He wasn't thinking. He's nineteen, he doesn't know what he's doing, who he's affecting or anything…"

"Shh…it's ok honey, it's ok…"

"No it's not Sam! It's not ok, it will never be ok with me!" she yelled as she got up and stalked to the bathroom.

Matt looked at his blonde girlfriend. She had to be crazy. Melina wanted to tell his parents today…today of all days!!!

"You have to be crazy," he muttered as he zipped up his trouser pants.

"Why? Because I'm tired of lying? Because I want a little more fucking support?" she said her voice rising slightly.

"No!! Because you have to do it today. That would be great…'Hey mom, I know that we're laying your only daughter in the ground today and you just got your grand-daughter taken from you, but Melina and I are pregnant.' Yeah, that would be swell," he said sarcastically.

"You know what would be swell? If you'd just start acting like a man instead of the twelve year old I once knew!" she yelled as she stalked out of his room. Matt sighed and ran his hand through his hair. This was going to be a great day, he could feel it.

"Mr. and Mrs. McGuire, I have something to tell you," Melina said as she walked into the kitchen. The couple looked up, looking tired and near exhaustion, but she couldn't turn back now. She had come this far and wasn't going to finish it with some corny line of how she knew it was hard for them today.

"I'm pregnant."

Sam and Jo just looked at her and looked at each other. "Whatever you do, keep it," Sam said. "Gordo gave Brooke up for adoption and it is killing us."

"Wait, you're not mad?" Matt said from behind.

"Mad? No, we're beyond mad. We're just glad that you told us so now we can help you. Melina, if you need anything…" Jo trailed off.

"Thank you Mrs. McGuire," she said hugging the women that was like her second mother. Matt just stood back surveying the scene until the doorbell rang a minute later.

"It's time," he said.

"Lizzie was always really good in math. I remember one day she helped me figure out some pre-cal question…she was only in algebra two!!" a girl exclaimed as she walked around Gordo, Miranda and Kate.

"That's how I want her to be remembered. By giving answers to homework," Kate retorted. Miranda just squeezed her hand in response.

"When did you two become best friends?" Gordo asked suddenly.

"When she showed up today crying and we figured out we had something in common. We both didn't want to come today," Miranda said in response. Gordo just nodded, pushing his hands into his suit pockets.

"Gordo, I think the service is about to start," Matt said as he came up behind him. The older boy just patted the younger on the shoulder and gathered up the two girls and headed into the sanctuary.

"Lizzie was always thinking of others. She always helped others, math problems or family problems, she would help," Miranda stated. She was slated as one of the talkers…after all Lizzie was her best friend right? There was no way in hell she was going to badmouth her in front of everyone and their mom. So she decided to tell of the old Lizzie…the one that few remembered or didn't know. She finished quickly and headed back to her seat next to Kate and just sobbed.

"Next David Gordon would like to say a few words," the pastor said quietly.

Gordo made his way up to the pulpit. He started to pull out some note cards that he had prepared for this, but then thought better of it. He wasn't going to lie like Miranda did.

"The Lizzie that Miranda spoke of existed many years ago. That Lizzie died somewhere between the summer before ninth grade and tenth grade. You all knew Lizzie. We all knew she partied, smoked up, got drunk and whatever else under the sun. Most of us called her a slut, myself included once or twice. Sure I tried to cut her out of my life several times. But I never could. I would see her, her blonde hair swirling in the breeze, her laughter floating across the courtyard. I could see her walking down the halls with us in middle school, smiling like she didn't have a care in the world. I would always come crawling back to her. She used me, yes. But I loved her, I still do. After she told me of our daughter…" he paused while his voice broke. Come on Gordon…get it together! He yelled at himself.

"After she told me of our daughter, I couldn't leave. From fifth grade, probably even before that, I knew I was going to marry Elizabeth McGuire, and now I would have the chance to. She always acted happy to everyone in these last months, but I saw what few got to besides Miranda and Kate. I had to see Lizzie crash and burn repeatedly for getting harassed by people that didn't understand her. Hell, I didn't understand her! But I loved her. I was going to propose you know?" he said suddenly going off on his own tangent.

"I had the ring in my pocket, tulips from down the street; I was ready and bursting with excitement. I went to her house and couldn't find her. It never dawned on me that she would do this. I thought her toilet overflowed again. How stupid is that? She was crying for months and I never saw this coming. Finding her that day was like finding myself. Lizzie was my other half, she was my love. She was the one that convinced me to stop smoking pot, she was the one who gave me hope for my future. I loved her and she couldn't let me know. She couldn't say something to me to let me know how much pain she felt…" he stopped there, not being able to continue. The whole room was silent as he made his way away from the pulpit; everyone was drying their eyes. They all watched him gather up his jacket and bolt from the building, his two friends behind him. They all heard him sobbing as he sat down on the stairs outside. They all felt what he felt right then. Whore or no whore. Bitch or no bitch. Lizzie must have been a real person for a person like Gordo to feel so much for her.

The pastor ended the ceremony after that and they all assembled in the graveyard. A few people walked around the coffin and placed a rose on it. Most people just kept their distance, too afraid to go over there because of how bad they felt after hearing her fiancé pour his heart out to a room full of people he didn't know. Finally it came time to lower the casket in the ground. Sam had to escort Jo away because she could not get a hold of herself. If it hadn't been for Sam, she would have jumped on top of the coffin and have been buried with it. The three friends stood directly in front of it and said their separate goodbyes. Kate's consisted of a letter for only Lizzie to see saying how sorry she was she wasn't there for her but she would try to find her daughter and do better for her. Miranda just looked at the shrine that encased her friend and mentally ran through everything her and Lizzie had been through in their lives. The two girls were crying silently within two minutes and had to walk away to wait for the boy. Gordo, like Miranda, looked at the coffin and then put the ring he bought, entwined with a rose, on the cover. He kissed the lid of it gently and whispered "I love you. Give them hell up there Liz," before walking away. As he did, it began to rain gently again. Tears mixed with the precipitation from everyone as they watched from a distance the three friends hold hands and walk away. They had their closure, it was everyone else that had no idea what to do. One by one, they all started to slowly depart until it was finally just the gravedigger. The gravedigger noticed Gordo's ring and picked up carefully to examine it. He shouldn't, he knew it was wrong, but he couldn't help himself. He pocketed the ring and tossed the rose back on the mystery person's casket. Whoever it was didn't need that ring right now, that's for sure. Slowly but surely he tossed the dirt on the lowered coffin until all that was left of Elizabeth Brooke McGuire was the headstone.

"Elizabeth Brooke McGuire
1988-2006
Beloved daughter, friend, and mother"

a/n (again): I know that it's kinda unrealistic to have the gravedigger do that, but just go with it…trust me. i was also guessing on lizzie's age but to me that kinda fits. she would have graduated and teh others would have started school by then....