I stepped out of the shower and dried myself off. I pulled my robe back on and the wrapped my hair up in my towel. I let out a quiet sigh as I walked out of the bathroom and went to my closet to pick out some clothes to wear. I grabbed some undergarments first and put those on before letting my hair out of the towel. I finished drying it and then grabbed some clothes from my closet. I picked out a pair of leggings and a shirt that I'm pretty sure belongs to Nicole, and put them on. I walked over to my bag and pulled out my hairbrush. There was a soft knock on the door.

"Come in." I said, sitting down on my bed as I began brushing my hair.
Gus walked in and looked at me. Her expression was... sad.
I stopped brushing my hair and looked at her, worried. "What happened?" I asked.
She walked over and sat next to me. "Um. Sheriff Nedley called. He told me who the victims were," she told me.
"Victims?" I repeated. When we'd seen him earlier, he made it sound like there was only one of them...
Gus nodded. "It was the Gardners."
The Gardners? "The whole family?"
She shook her head. "Just the parents."
I sighed heavily and cleared my throat. "Oh. W-wow. That means... that Beth and Tucker are alone..."
She nodded. "Yeah... Nedley called Mercedes. I think she'll be coming home soon."
"Oh, wow. Mercedes is coming back to Purgatory... Wynonna's in for a surprise, then."
Gus scoffed. "That's for damn sure," she said. She sighed and looked away. "Well, dinner's ready. Come on," she told me. She nudged me gently and I nodded.

I stood up and followed Gus out of the room. Partially down the hallway, Gus stopped and looked at me.

"Just letting you know. Nicole did a good job helpin'. That girl's a keeper," she muttered. She winked at me and then smiled.

I smiled in response and we continued walking downstairs. When we got down, Nicole was finishing setting the table. I smiled at her as she set down the last plate down and walked over to me. She smiled and gave me a kiss. After she pulled away, I looked at the table. The meal was simple. Spaghetti. No wonder it was so quick.

"Wow, you two did all this?" I asked, looking at Nicole.
Nicole nodded. "Yeah. I know it's not much," she said.
I shook my head. "No, no, it's fine. It looks amazing," I told her.

Curtis walked in and gave Gus a kiss before sitting down at the table. The rest of us joined him and we all served ourselves some food. The food, of course, was amazing. We ate in silence, which I didn't mind. After the day we've all had, I would rather sit in silence. I just wanted to think about something other than the fact that my oldest sister killed two people while driving drunk. Nicole reached over at some point during dinner and took my hand under the table. She gave it a gentle squeeze and I smiled a bit.

When we were all done eating, I helped Gus wash the dishes.

"You're coming with me to see Beth and Tucker tomorrow, okay?" Gus told me.
I sighed. "Okay," I agreed. I didn't want to, though. Tucker Gardner made me kind of uncomfortable. He was just... weird. I didn't know what it was about him... It kinda seemed like he had a crush on me.

I went upstairs with Nicole after finishing up the dishes and we sat on my bed. Nicole was quiet and I wasn't sure what to say. I felt bad about the Gardners. I couldn't believe Willa had been driving drunk. Actually, I could believe it. She's done it before, but she was never that drunk... I sighed and ran my hand through my hair.

Nicole put her hand on my shoulder. "You okay, baby?" She asked quietly.
I nodded, leaning against her. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just... I can't believe this is happening," I responded. I looked down at my hands as Nicole put her arm around my shoulders.
She sighed and rubbed my shoulder in a comforting manner. "I know... It's so crazy."
"I just- God, how could Willa be so careless? I mean, I know how Daddy can get. I was on the receiving end of his bullshit since I was four years old, but she was DRUNK. How could she be so... so... STUPID!" I finally exploded. I didn't realize that I'd yelled until I looked at Nicole. She was surprised. I sighed again for like the fifth time tonight, and shook my head. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled."
Nicole shrugged. "It's not like you were yelling at me... And you have a right to be upset with your sister."
I shook my head again. "I- I don't. I mean, for all I know, Daddy could've been trying to hurt her or something..."
"Well, yeah, he could've been. But that doesn't excuse Willa's actions. She was drunk and got into a vehicle. She chose to drive. She could've called the police if it was that bad," Nicole said. She spoke sternly, very serious about what she was saying. I knew she was right. Willa should have just called the police.
"Yeah, you're right." I told her, shaking my head again and leaning my head against her.

I rested my head on her shoulder for a few seconds before lifting my head and kissing her cheek. She smiled and turned her head to look at me. She tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and caressed my cheek. She looked into my eyes and it was almost like I could see how much she loved me. Nicole wiped a tear away from my cheek with her thumb, and I sniffed, closing my eyes.

I chuckled quietly. "I'm sorry," I muttered.
"Don't be," Nicole spoke gently. "Hey." I opened my eyes and looked at her. "It's okay to be upset. You can cry if you need to. I'm right here, baby." She told me, her eyes looking right into mine, and I knew she meant it.

Just knowing that made me burst into tears. Nicole immediately wrapped her arms around me and I buried my face into her shoulder, holding onto her as tightly as I could. Daddy was gone, Willa was in the hospital and probably going to prison. But it was nothing compared to what happened to the Gardners. It felt wrong for me to be sad. Like I shouldn't be allowed to cry. I sighed, shaking my head.

I pulled away from Nicole and wiped my tears away. "I shouldn't be crying," I grumbled. I knew what she was going to say: that I have every right to be upset. But it didn't feel like it.
"Of course you should, Waves. You have every right to be upset right now. Just as much right as anyone else," Nicole told me.
Called it. I shook my head. "No, I don't. Look, can we just go to sleep?" I asked her. My tone sounded kind of snappy.
Nicole sighed. "Yeah, sure. Whatever you want, Waverly."

She sounded upset... Was it because of me?

No, no. Don't think about it, Waverly. It's fine.

I got up and turned off the light before getting into bed with Nicole. Nicole turned over onto her side, her back facing me. The second she turned away, I knew that it was because of me. But instead making me sad, it pissed me off.

Fine. If she wants to act like that, well, two can play at that game.

I turned over as well, so that my back was facing hers. We were separated, not touching at all. After a while, it kind of started to feel like she wasn't even there, which made it hard to fall asleep. I'd gotten so used to cuddling with her. I closed my eyes and tried my best to fall asleep. I'm not sure when I finally managed to fall asleep, but when I woke up the next morning, Gus was standing next to my bed, and Nicole was gone.

I yawned and rubbed my eyes before looking at Gus. "Wh-where's Nicole?" I asked her.
"She left. Said she was gonna go see if Nedley needed help at the Sheriff's Department," Gus answered. She sighed. "She seemed upset. There any reason for that?"
I frowned. "Um. Maybe... We- we didn't really get into an argument... But I- I kinda snapped at her last night. I think she's avoiding me," I explained.
Gus sat down on the edge of my bed and looked at me. "Yeah, she definitely might be," she responded. She stayed quiet for a minute and then spoke again. "You know, Waverly. I can't tell you what to do. It's your relationship, it's your life, it's your decision. But can I make a suggestion?"
I nodded. "Yeah, sure. What is it?"
"Apologize. As soon as you get the chance. Life is too short to let these little things affect your relationship. That's just my opinion, though. It's your choice. Now come on. We have to get to the Gardners' place. Get dressed." Gus stood up and left the room, leaving me to think about what she'd said.

I stood up and walked to my closet, thinking as I opened the door and began to pick out clothes to wear. I wasn't sure if I needed to apologize for anything, really. I mean, sure I was snappy with Nicole but is that really something to apologize for? I shook my head.

Just get dressed so you can go with Gus. No more thinking.

I picked up a pair of high-waisted jeans and a long sleeved shirt. I took my pajamas off and then pulled the jeans on before pulling the shirt over my head and slipping my arms into the sleeves. I tucked the shirt in and walked into the bathroom to brush my teeth and hair. I left my hair down when I was finished brushing it and put a little bit of makeup on. I walked back into my room to put my shoes on and went back to the closet to grab a jacket. I looked at a jacket that belonged to Nicole and immediately grabbed it, slipping it on and sighing. It just seemed so much warmer than my own, simply because it was hers. I left my room and went downstairs, where Gus was waiting. She had a Tupperware container with cookies in it... A lot of cookies. She handed it to me before grabbing a bag that probably had more food in it.

"Well, come on. Let's get goin'," she told me.

I nodded and followed her out of the door. We got in her truck and buckled our seat belts. Gus started driving, and I stayed silent. I couldn't stop thinking about Nicole and what had happened last night. I felt so bad for snapping at her... She was just trying to be a good girlfriend and help me feel better. She wasn't just a good girlfriend for that. She was an amazing girlfriend.

And I didn't deserve her.

I turned my head slightly and sniffed the jacket. It smelled like her... I sighed and shook my head, looking forward again, not paying attention to Gus, who had been glancing at me. I closed my eyes, thoughts of last night flooding into my mind. But not the bad part. The good part. The very, very good part. I opened my eyes again and sighed as I tried to stop thinking about it.

My cheeks heated up and Gus looked at me. "What're you thinkin' about?" She asked, turning back to look at the road.
I shook my head. "N-nothing. Just... Nothing," I lied. I cleared my throat and looked out the window.
"Is it Nicole?" Gus asked.
I looked at her and she was grinning. The look on her face made me break out into a guilty smile. "Yeah..." I admitted. My smile faded. "I just- I miss her, you know? Even though I know I shouldn't... It is kinda my fault she left."
Gus shook her head. "Oh, honey, don't you blame yourself for that. Believe me, you have a right to miss your sweetheart."
My smile came back a bit. "Thanks, Gus."

Gus simply smiled back as we pulled up to the Gardners' house. She parked and we got out, holding the food in our hands. She walked up to the front door and knocked on it. I stood next to her, looking down a bit. Beth answered the door and smiled at us. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying.

"Oh, hello, Mrs. McCready. Waverly," Beth greeted us. She sniffled, dabbing her tears with a tissue.
"Hi, honey." Gus replied, smiling at her. She held her arm out and Beth stepped forward, giving Gus a hug.
Beth moved away and I simply waved at her. "Hi, Beth." I said, smiling a bit.
She nodded and stepped aside. "Come on in," she told us.

Gus walked in first and I trailed behind her, looking around. The house was pretty big and nice... It was very clean and well organized. Tucker stood in the doorway of the den, his arms crossed. He seemed angry at first, but his expression softened when he saw me. He immediately walked over as Beth led Gus to the kitchen. I guess Gus had planned to cook food for them.

"Waverly," he said.
"Oh. H-hi, Tucker." I greeted, flashing a smile. I held up the container. "Gus made you and Beth some cookies."
Tucker grabbed the container but didn't look at them. He kept his eyes on me. "Thank you," he told me. He stepped closer and I tensed up but stood still.
"I-I'm sorry about your parents." I said quietly, looking up at him.
He shrugged. "It's okay. I'm just glad you're here," he told me. He reached up and caressed a part of my hair. "You're so pretty, Waverly."
I stepped back a bit, moving away so that he wasn't touching my hair anymore, and cleared my throat. "Tha-thanks, Tucker."
Tucker looked at me and smiled a bit. "I wanna show you something. Will you come to my room?" He asked.

Say no. Say no, Waverly!

"Um. Sure. Okay," I agreed.

Tucker smiled widely and turned around, leading me towards his bedroom. I frowned. I didn't want to be alone with him... I mean, it's not like he'd try anything... Especially not with my aunt and his sister here, but I didn't know that for sure...

Tucker opened his bedroom door and stood aside, waiting for me to enter the room first. I looked at him, flashing an awkward smile as I walked through the door and into his room. He followed me, thankfully leaving the door open.

I let out a sigh of relief and looked at Tucker. "So, what did you wanna show me?" I asked him.

Tucker walked over to his bed and knelt down, pulling out a box from underneath. He stood up and sat down on the bed. He opened the box and gestured for me to sit next to him. I walked over and sat down on his bed, my back straight, my hands in my lap. I sat a good distance away from him, not wanting to get any closer. I was afraid of sending him the wrong signals.

He handed me the box and I looked at it. It was... my school pictures... It looked like they were cut out from yearbooks. I began to look through them. Some of them were other pictures. One was from cheer practice. The group picture we took. Pictures of me with my friends... I felt kind of uncomfortable...

"Oh, wow. This... This is-" I shook my head. I didn't know what to say... I didn't want to hurt his feelings, but this was really creepy and weird.
"You don't have to say anything. I just wanted you to know how I felt about you," Tucker said. "Now that you and Champ aren't together anymore." He added, putting his hand on mine. He was completely calm and serious.
I looked up. He didn't know about me and Nicole. I closed the box and looked at him. "Oh, Tucker, I-"
He interrupted me. "You feel the same way, don't you?"
I opened my mouth to respond but then closed it. I didn't know what to tell him. "Tucker, I- I have to focus on school right now... I don't really have time for a relationship." I was lying... But he didn't know that.
"Sure you do. You were with Champ not too long ago," Tucker protested.
"I- I know, but- School's almost over, Tucker. I really need to... ya know... buckle down."
"I won't distract you. I promise."
I shook my head, opening my mouth to speak again.

Beth walked in, interrupting. "Tucker- Oh. Am I interrupting?"
I shook my head before Tucker could say anything. "Not at all," I told her.
"Oh, okay. Well, the food is almost done, so you two should come to the kitchen." Beth told us, nodding before leaving the room.
I looked at Tucker, a sad expression on my face. "Tucker, I'm really sorry... But I can't."
Tucker sighed. "Will you at least go to prom with me? It's in a few months," he asked me.
I looked down. Prom... I wanted to go to prom with Nicole... But we couldn't go together... Could we? "I-... I'll think about it. For sure. Okay?" I looked at him.
He shrugged. "I guess so."
"Come on. Let's go eat."

I looked at his... creepy box and stood up, slipping it back under his bed. I flashed a smile at him and grabbed the container of cookies from him. I walked out of the room before heading to the kitchen.

"Waverly, come help me with this." Gus said, finishing up what she was cooking.

I set the cookies down and walked over to her. She handed me some plates and told me to put them on the table. I walked into the dining room and over to the table, where Beth was sitting, and set the plates down in their places. Tucker walked over to the table slowly and sat down across from Beth. His eyes were on me and I tried to avoid eye contact. I walked back into the kitchen and stood next to Gus, helping her get the food together.

"Gus," I whispered.
She looked at me. "What?" She asked.
"Tucker asked me to go to prom with him," I told her. I was speaking quietly, worried that Tucker might hear and get upset.
"Prom? That's months away," Gus responded. She was talking quietly as well.
"I know," I replied.
"What did you say?"
"I- I told him I'd think about it."
"You'd think about it? Waverly, what about Nicole?"
"I can't go with Nicole."
"Why not?"
"They'd say something about it... The school, or the kids. I just- I'm not ready for that."
"Since when have you cared what people think?" Gus asked me. She raised an eyebrow at me as she grabbed the casserole she'd made. "Grab that salad, will ya?"

I nodded and grabbed the bowl of salad and followed Gus into the dining room. She set the casserole down in the center of the table before taking the salad from me and setting it down beside it. She gestured for me to sit down before taking Tucker's plate and serving him. She set the plate back down in front of him and then went on to Beth. My phone went off in my pocket, and I pulled it out as Gus finished serving Beth's plate. Wynonna was calling me.

I stood up. "Um. Wynonna's calling me. I- I should take this," I said.
Gus looked at me. "Well, do you want some-"
I shook my head. "No, thank you."

I left the room and walked into an empty room. I answered the phone and sighed.

"Thank God, I was dying to get out of there," I said.
"Where are you, anyway?"Wynonna questioned.
"Visiting Beth and Tucker Gardner."
"Ugh, that sounds like a drag."
"It is. What's up?"
"Oh, I was just calling to ask if you'd come with me to visit Willa today, but clearly you're busy."
"Oh, I'm not. I- I mean, I'd really rather be literally anywhere else."
"Oh. Well, good. I'll come pick you up."
"Thank you so so much, Wynonna."
"No problem, but you've gotta tell Gus."

She hung up! I sighed. I walked back into the dining room and frowned.

"Ummm. So, Wynonna's on her way to get me," I told Gus. I flashed an apologetic smile at her.
"For what?" Tucker asked, sounding upset.
I looked at him. "Uh- um. She wants to go visit Willa... A-and she doesn't wanna go alone..." I admitted guiltily. She looked down sheepishly as Beth's eyes began to water.
"You mean the girl who killed our parents?" Beth asked, putting emphasis on the word "killed".
I looked up at her. "I'm sorry about your parents, Beth... But Willa's still our sister." The sound of a car horn honking came from outside. I looked towards the front door and then back at Beth and Tucker. "I'm sorry... I really am."
Gus sighed and shook her head. "Just go, Waverly."

I took that as a hint and nodded. I turned around and walked to the front door quickly, opening it and leaving the house. I closed the door behind me and ran to Wynonna's truck. I opened the passenger side door and hopped in, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Was it that bad?" Wynonna asked, an amused smirk on her face.
I rolled my eyes. "Yes, now can we please go?" I asked her. I needed to get away from this house. It wasn't that I didn't like Beth and Tucker... It was just Tucker, really. The feeling of him staring at me constantly was very stifling and I really didn't want to sit through that any longer.
Wynonna nodded and drove away from the house. She glanced at me, still making sure to keep an eye on the road. "Nicole's jacket?" She asked.
I sighed again and nodded. "Yeah. It smells like her."
"How cute," Wynonna commented. She made a fake gagging sound and I rolled my eyes one more time.
"Wynonna, please, I'm really not in the mood."
"What happened in there? You okay?" She sounded concerned.
"Besides Tucker being a total creep? Not really."
"Gross. What did he do?"
"He has this box of pictures of me. Like pictures he cut out from the yearbook and stuff and like pictures of the cheerleaders and just- ugh. It was so weird... And then he tried to tell me that he liked me because I'm not with Champ anymore... And he wants me to go to prom with him."
"That's on, like, a whole different level of stalker. You're not going to, though, right?"
"I don't know... I can't exactly say no to him, can I?" I asked her. It seemed so rude to say no. Especially after my sister just killed his parents.

Wynonna made a turn, heading towards the hospital. "Of course you can say no, Waves. You don't have to do anything you don't wanna do." She told me, focusing on the road.
I shrugged. "I just- I dunno. I feel kinda bad, ya know? Like, my sister just killed his parents, the least I can do is go to stupid prom with him."
Wynonna shook her head. "That- Look, just because Willa made a mistake doesn't mean you have to make up for it. I mean, seriously. It was Willa, not you."
"I know it was Willa, but-"
"Baby girl, this is not something you can make right. Especially not you. This isn't your situation. And it definitely is not your fault."

She was right... I shouldn't be thinking like this. No one can make things right. Their parents are gone, and there's nothing we can do about it.

"Did Gus tell you that Mercedes is coming back?" I asked Wynonna as she came to a stoplight.
She turned her head and looked at me, eyes wide. "Um. No?! Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
I shrugged. "I thought you knew."
"Well, I didn't!"

The light turned green and Wynonna started driving again. She shook her head slowly, sighing.

"God... Mercedes is gonna hate Willa." She grumbled, her eyes on the road, her hand gripping the steering wheel so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
"More than Beth already does?" I muttered, looking out the window.
"Probably not, but enough to where it might make things awkward between us."
"You haven't seen Mercedes since graduation anyways, I think things are gonna be well past awkward for you two."

Wynonna pulled up into the hospital parking lot and drove around for a bit, looking for a parking space. Once she'd found one, she parked and looked at me.

"Look, you go inside, go sit with Willa. I'll be right there. Okay?" Wynonna asked.
I nodded, though I really didn't want to go in there alone. I sighed and got out of the truck. "Don't be long. Alright?"
Wynonna nodded and flashed a small smile at me. "Sure."

I closed the door and headed into the hospital.

A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger! I was working on this chapter for wayy too long. Figured you guys had been waiting for long enough. Sorry for the slow updates, I have a lot going on. And by that, I mean a lot of writing :)

Thanks for all the support, and also I liked that you guys were either picking Champ or Tucker, but I wanted it to be a surprise! I hope you guys liked this chapter!

(Also the title of this part is a reference to a Tegan and Sara song called "Fix You Up". I put "(Can't)" at the beginning because the situation in the chapter is something that Waverly can't fix.)