There are days Kick thinks he can't overcome the heartache. Days where all he wants is to lie in bed and sleep as the world continues to spin without him. Gunther is the only one who understands, the only one who gives him space. He appreciates it, because sometimes the sight of his best friend is just too much. Still, he gets up every morning and pushes through his grief.
He owes her that much.
Slowly days become weeks become months, and before he knows it three years have passed. He still leaves flowers at the beach once a year, because she's too precious to forget, but he's getting better. He can go out and enjoy a good adrenalin rush without scaring his family; he can say her name without feeling like he's choking; he can even smile at her family without much guilt.
And then Brianna says she saw Kendall and it feels like someone reached into his chest and tore out his still-healing heart.
For a moment, he thinks his sister still blames him, thinks she wants to punish him, but then he sees her tears and the hope shining in her eyes and he suddenly doesn't know what to think anymore.
That same evening, he starts going to beach right before sunset, waiting until long after the stars appear in the sky before going home and recovering his energy for the next night.
Two weeks pass, and he feels what little faith he managed to find slowly shattering.