Chapter Nine

Rhys and Josh had finally been managing to put their differences aside for the evening. It was difficult to know what they should've been doing in this situation, so they'd just spend hours sat around doing next-to-nothing.

"So what's happening about the funeral?" Josh asked, suddenly realising no one had mentioned it yet. It had been almost a week since the event had taken place now and so much had happened since that they hadn't had a whole lot of time to think about it.

"Ya should talk ta Jack 'n' Frankie. Doubt they'd want us gettin' involved," Rhys answered him, scrunching his nose up at the thought of them.

"But that's not right. We knew him better than they did." He looked at Rhys briefly and corrected his words. "Well, I did." Despite thinking this, Josh had been pleased when he'd found out that at least Jack and Frankie hadn't believed Gilly was a rapist. It seemed they were the only ones who'd been thinking clearly.

"Josh is right. We were his family," Suzanne agreed, walking over to them. After a second of thought Josh got up off the couch and headed for the door.

"Oi, where'd ya think you're rushing off ta?" Rhys asked.

"To the Osbornes, where d'ya think?"

"Hand on, let me come with ya," Rhys insisted, quickly throwing himself up off the couch and following Josh. He had no time to reject, he just sighed loudly knowing Rhys going too was a bad idea.

Rhys and Josh were greeted at the door by a surprised-looking Ruby. The last people she'd expected to see at the door were the Ashworths.

"Hey Josh," she beamed, twirling her hair around her finger, ignoring Rhys. The house was mad. There was the noise of the TV coming from the lounge, loud music coming from upstairs, Nancy squealing as she and Darren ran up the stairs. There were just people wondering everywhere as if it was some kind of drop-in centre.

"Havin' a party or somethin'?" Josh asked as he poked his head in the door.

"Oh no, we just have a packed full house."

"No kiddin'. How many people live here?" Josh asked in disbelief, getting distracted from the reason he and Rhys were actually there for.

"Well there's me… obviously. Frankie, Jack, Darren, Nancy, Charlie, Esther, Tom, Barry the dog and now the band too," she replied quickly without taking any breaths in her sentence.

"Weird t'think we used to live 'ere, 'ent it, Josh," Rhys said with a smile as he nudged Josh's shoulder.

"Yeah. Us and Gilly," Josh replied, solemnly, keeping a straight face and refusing to look at his brother. At this point Ruby was beginning to feel the tension between the brothers and awkwardly moved out of the way to let them in. Josh walked in first, with Rhys trailing just steps behind him. As they walked into the doorway of the front room they saw Jack, Frankie and Tom sat on the sofa with their eyes fixated on the television. Because it was almost a year since Steph's death and because of the recent tragedy with Gilly, they'd put the video on that Steph had made them all before she'd died. It had just reached the part she'd done for Gilly. He'd been the only one who'd seen the whole of it before now. Having not seen it themselves, Josh and Rhys stood there silently, as they watched it too. 'I love you Gilly, always have, always will.' As it reached the end of the video a tear ran down Josh's face. Rhys noticed and put his hand on his brother's shoulder, but Josh immediately brushed it off. Seeing this video just made it even more evident how much Gilly was loved and how he didn't deserve any of this. Josh cleared his throat before he spoke.

"Jack…Frankie…Tom," he said. They all turned round in turn, seeing the two boys stood there.

"What is he doing in my house?" Frankie asked sternly, referring to Rhys. Frustrated but unsurprised by Frankie's reaction, Rhys shook his head and wondered into the kitchen, giving his brother the ability to talk to them without the distraction of him being there.

"Steph loved him. And he loved her..so much. She was all he'd ever talk about, even before they were even together," Josh thought out-loud, smiling to himself but looking downwards at the ground as he remembered these memories. All of a sudden, he looked back upwards again. After a quick nudge from Jack, Tom escaped to the kitchen too. "Mum and I came back once we'd heard the news. Still can't get my head round it. But, anyway, I was wondering about funeral plans?"

"We haven't decided on them yet. Didn't know if it was our place," Jack replied, in a serious yet friendly voice.

"You lot daren't show your faces though," Frankie snapped immediately after Jack had said his final word. Jack put his arm around her, trying to calm her down. She sighed and re-corrected herself. "Rhys anyway. How dare he take a McQueen's side through all of this?"

"We were-" Josh took a deep breath and walked a few steps closer to them. "We were his family. Us…And you guys. And Rhys will realise he's made a mistake, just give him time."

Back in the kitchen Rhys was just staring around, taking note of what had changed since it was his home. It still looked the same, not much had changed at all. They'd had a lot of memories in that house, a lot of bad ones, it brought them all back. Everything that went on between him and Sarah; who was also now dead, when he'd found out his dad was his uncle and his uncle was his dad, everything with Beth, Hannah's eating disorder. And so much had gone on with Josh as well during that time. There were so many bad memories. But they got through it all, all of it, as a family. Noticing Rhys' gazing eyes, Tom walked closely up to him, looking up and watching his every move.

"I know you miss him," Tom said in his cute little voice.

"How'd ya know that then, Tom?" Rhys asked, with a sigh.

"Because he loved you and you loved him, like best friends should. He was my best friend too, so I know how it words. I know what you've done for him. You were amazing when Steph died, he told me that, he did. Plus I saw it with me own eyes, dint I. His wedding, Steph's funeral, the lot. You were always there. I remember it, all of it."

"Will you stop it, Tom?" Rhys said frustratedly as his eyes started to swell up with fluid and his voice began to crack. He knew the boy was onto something and more annoyingly, he knew he was right. He always was. Tom had been through so much in his life, more than a lot of people despite not even being a teenager yet.

"-And I know he did the same for you. And even though you think he did a bad thing, you love him really, because that feeling won't just go away you know," Tom continued, ignoring what Rhys wanted. "Look at you now, staring around, remembering all this stuff you shared with him. Gilly was amazing. And I've 'ad Max die and then Steph and now Gilly. You've got to remember the good times though, haven't you. Like when Max took me to see the elephants and stuff like that; even just the small things. It makes you happy, to remember all the good stuff. Well-and a bit sad, but mostly happy." Beginning to sob but trying to keep his emotions intact, Rhys walked back over to the doorway leading from the kitchen to the lounge in hope that Josh would've finished finding out what he needed to know by now. He walked over to him, whispering in his ear.

"I need to get outta this place," he whispered, wiping his eyes. He noticed Jack and Frankie staring at him and knew he couldn't just say nothing. "I've done nothing. And neither has Jacqui. You've gotta believe us 'cos everythin's fallin' apart and we can't go on like this. I'm beggin' ya. And I need to go to this funeral, yeah? I need'ta say goodbye to me best mate." Josh tilted his head to look a Rhys, in shock by his words. For once he didn't add 'ex' whilst he spoke about Gilly being his best friend. Noticing the emotion on his face, Jack and Frankie looked at one another before Frankie replied to him.

"I can see that now," she replied, a little unwillingly but forcing her lips to curve upwards into a very slight smile. "And we'll think about it." Rhys nodded at her as if to say thank you, before letting himself out and waiting for Josh outside the door.