My house felt different now. Colder. Like all the life in it had been sucked away. Every room, every object, reminded me of my dad, and brought on a fresh wave of sadness, so strong it felt like I was being pushed underwater, unable to breathe, drowning in grief.

My mum had tried to talk to me on the way home in the car, but I couldn't speak. It was beginning to sink in now, the dream like quality had gone, and it was cold and real. My dad was dead.

I went to my room and sat on my bed, staring at nothing. Memories played like a film inside my head. Memories I didn't even know I had were pushed to the surface- a Christmas when I was five, a baseball final when I was in primary school, a trip to my grandma's in Seattle. My dad, always there, always smiling. And now... gone.

My mom went to her own room, and I could hear her soft sobs through the wall.

I heard the phone ring, and my mom run to get it. I heard her quiet voice murmur to whoever had rung to give their condolences. I suddenly remembered Juniper- I had said I'd call her. But I couldn't move, couldn't get up and leave my room, go out the kitchen where my mom would be crying. It was too hard.

I went to my book shelf and found my old photo album. I hadn't put anything it in for years- it was full of old photos from when I was much younger. I opened it. On the first page was a picture of my parents, holding between them a tiny baby. Both of them weren't looking at the camera, instead looking at the baby with love. I felt fresh tears well up as I looked at my dads face.

I heard a soft knocking on my door. My mom again.

"Yes." I said. I could hardly tell her to go away, even though I wanted her to.

As the door opened, I closed the photo album and slid it under my bed. It would open upset my mom more.

"Hi,"

I looked around quickly. I wasn't my mom. It was Juniper. She stood in the doorway, reluctant to move closer. I looked away, frantically wiping away my tears.

"It's not really a good time." I said.

"Okay." Juniper replied, "I understand."

The words annoyed me more than they should have. I was angry. And I chose to take it out on Juniper, the only person nearby.

"No you don't." I said, turning to face her. "You don't understand at all. You have no idea how I feel." My voice was getting louder with the anger that had been building up inside me since the moment I had accepted that my dad was dead.

"Yes I do!" she surprised me by shouting back. "I've lost my parents, I know what it feels like. Don't you tell me I don't know how it feels to lose someone you love."

I froze, staring at her. Her eyes widened and she looked away.

"What?" I asked, my voice hoarse.

Juniper paused before replying.

"My parents are dead." she said finally, her voice quiet. "They died in a car crash before I moved to Forks."

She started to cry, tears running down her face and falling to the floor. She made no attempt to wipe them away. I just stared at her. The girl I thought I knew- I didn't know anything about Juniper. Nothing. And I had been stupid to think otherwise. And now I was angry again, angry at her, because she had kept something this big from me for so long.

"You lied to me." I said. My voice came out in a whisper.

"No!" she said immediately. "I mean, yes, I didn't tell you, but not because I don't trust you. Because, well, because..." She trailed off. She had no excuse. There was no excuse.

"Get out." I said. My voice was quiet and calm, hiding the anger I felt.

"What?" she said, her face disbelieving.

"I said get out!" I exploded. Angry tears began to run down my cheeks as I stood and yelled at her. "Get out of my house! Get out of my life! Just go!"

I took a step towards me and pushed her. She tripped and stumbled, and then picked herself up ran out of the room. I collapsed onto the floor again, and let the tears run.