I'm taking all the 'I HATE YOU' reviews as compliments...I guess...

On request, I've added Troy's telephone call where he gets informed. Hope you like it!

Chapter 19

The telephone rang right as Jack and Elaine walked into the house. They had just drove around all day trying to clear their minds, but it hadn't worked. "Hello," Jack said.

"Hey Dad, how you doing?"

Jack's face fell at the sound of Troy's voice. He looked over to Elaine, put his hand over the receiver and mouthed 'Troy' to her. Her eyes widened and she walked into the other room, telling Jack she wasn't going to be the one to tell him.

"Dad? You still there?"

"Yeah," Jack said. "Why are you calling now?"

"Is Mack ready to graduate?"

Jack sighed. "About that," he said. "Troy, are you alone?"

"No."

"Good," Jack said. The last thing he wanted to do was tell Troy his sister was dead and have him go into shock or something go wrong with his heart. "Are you sitting down?"

"Jeez, what's with all the questions? Yes I'm sitting down and no, I'm not alone."

"Troy, Mackwasinacaraccidentandshe'sdead."

"Huh," Troy said on the other end. "I didn't understand you. Talk a little slower please."

Jack took a deep breath. "Mack was in a car accident, her and Calum were, a drunk hit them. They're dead."

There was silence on the other end. "What," Troy croaked after a few minutes.

"Troy don't make me say it again."

"When?"

"Two this morning."

"And you didn't call me!" Troy exploded. "I think I have a right to know that my sister is dead as soon as you get a chance to tell me!"

"Troy-"

"Ugh," he groaned. "I can't believe you! That's what all the questions we're about. You didn't think I could handle it. Well guess what Dad I can! Were you going to tell me when the funeral is, or was I not invited?"

"Troy!"

"No, Dad. You should have called me..." Jack sighed as Troy broke down on the other side. "She's really gone," he asked. Jack could tell he was crying.

"Yes."

"I always thought it would be me first," Troy said. "I'm going to fly in for the funeral and stuff. Everything is pretty much wrapped up around here. Who have you called?"

"No one...well I think your mother tried calling Bailey, but she could handle it. That's why we didn't call you. Imagine having to tell your kid that their sibling is dead."

"Sorry about yelling," Troy said sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it."

"So Calum is too, huh."

Jack nodded, then he realized that Troy couldn't see him so he said, "yeah."

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

"In light of recent events," Principal Matsui told his students, "graduation will be postponed until Monday before the last day of school, which is a week from today."

He looked out into the crowd of the assembly. Most of the kids, almost all of the seniors, hadn't showed up. Only half the student body was there and they we're all there mentally. Mack and Calum's deaths had affected the entire community in one way or another. He had debated closing East High for one day just for that reason. But since it was so close to the end of school, he didn't want his kids to have to go one more day than the rest of the schools in Albuquerque.

Coach Bolton, obviously, wasn't there. Neither was Ms. Darbus and a few other teachers – especially the ones close to Boltons.

"Anyone not needing guidance counselors may go to the cafeteria. West High and a few other schools have graciously let us borrow theirs for anyone who needs them."

None of the students moved at first. Mack and Calum had touched a lot of lives. Not only were they popular, but they helped out the underclassmen when needed. They were good kids.

And not a single person could understand why they were dead. They didn't deserve it.

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

Adam walked into the funeral home with his parents behind him. He signed the guest books and looked at the pictures on the table beside them. Jack, Elaine and Karen had decided to have their children's funerals together and have them buried next to each other. Mike put a hand on his son's shoulder and looked at the senior pictures of the two kids he had known for what seemed like forever.

Adam's eyes lingered on Calum's picture. His brown eyes were twinkling and his white teeth were shining. His brown hair was perfect and he just looked so...cool, suave...

Not dead.

Collecting himself, he walked over to the open room. There, at the front, were two caskets, both open. Had Adam died in a car crash, he would have wanted to have a closed casket funeral. The main reason for their being open, was that Cam and Troy were flying in and this would be the first (and last) time they'd see their siblings before they were buried. This was the first since any of their friends had seen them since the accident as well.

He walked to Mack's first. He looked at her and frowned. If he was Troy, just looking at her would make him break down into tears. She wasn't the Mack who had been at his party. He could barely look at her.

Next came Calum.

He walked slow and looked away as he approached Calum's wooden casket. Before he looked in, he pinched himself to make sure this wasn't a dream. 'Ow,' he thought. Then he turned slowly and looked in. Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap was playing in the background.

Adam took one look at Calum's battered and lifeless body and fell. He cried into Calum's shirt, which he noticed matched Mack's. They were wearing their basketball jerseys, their away jerseys, the red ones. A figure pulled him away and sat him down in a chair. He looked up into the face of Cam.

"Adam," he said as he placed a hand on his shoulder. Seeing Cam just made the boy's tears fall faster down his face. With his vision blurry, a song hit his ears – View from Heaven by Yellowcard. Calum always said he wanted this played when he died.

That just made Adam sob more. He felt like an idiot. He was crying and Cam wasn't. "Adam let it all out," Cam instructed.

"I miss him," Adam said. "He was my best friend."

"I know."

"What am I going to do without him?"

Cam brought him into a hug and patted his back. "I don't know Adam. I don't think anyone knows. It's going to be different without him."

"Too different."

Across the room, Troy was talking to a person who claimed to know his sister. He smiled and nodded, but didn't listen to a word they said. His mind was focused on the letter his mother had found under Mack's bed.

Dear Whom Ever Opens This,

My name is Mackenzie Bolton and I'm a senior at East High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I'm writing this because I just found a letter my brother wrote. It was a 'just in case I die' letter.

So, just in case, I'm writing one too.

If I die, I want to be buried in my jersey, the red one because I'll always be a visitor in the plot I'm buried in. I want my senior picture to be the picture everyone sees when they walk in because that's the best picture I've ever taken.

I don't care what music plays. Let Calum pick, he knows what I like. Or Troy, he would pick some good songs too.

And If I die, I want an open casket funeral. No matter how ugly, gross or whatever I look like. That's what I want. I don't know why but having the casket shut longer than it needs to be, is giving me the creeps just thinking about it.

Also, I don't want to be kept alive on machines. I'm not really alive that way. And if I'm unable to make my own decisions, or if I'm a 'vegetable' no matter if there's a chance I could get better, kill me.

Oh, and if I do die...don't cry forever. I don't want to take away from everyone else's lives. Just because I'm dead doesn't mean you can't have fun.

Sincerely,

Mackenzie Lorraine Bolton

So...

Next chapter is the epilogue. This series had a good run and I'm glad everyone liked it. I'll be asking for advice for future stories in the epilogue, so keep a watch out.

Tell me what you think!

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