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I didn't immediately answer, and I'm sure that's why I heard his door open just seconds after he asked the question.

I looked back down at my feet as I heard his footsteps. He moved around his car, until finally he stood before me.

"Indie?" Brock asked again, his voice hesitant. "Are you okay?"

I let out a short sigh, still attempting to hide my face from him. I didn't particularly welcome the chance of Brock being able to read it, at this very moment.

"I'm fine," I muttered, my chin digging into my knee. "I'm fine."

"Well," Brock said the word slowly, "are you sure? It doesn't really look like you're fine. You're sitting on the side of the street at 7:30 in the morning on a Saturday."

"Is it against the rules to be outside at 7:30?" I let out, hearing the edge to my voice. "You're out."

"I had lacrosse practice," Brock answered instantly.

When I didn't answer, he let out a breath, before I heard him begin to lower his body onto the ground. He sat beside me, I could feel the heat from his body next to me.

"I thought we were suppose to be friends now," he tried to coax me into speaking. "You can tell me."

I looked up, turning my head towards him. He looked like he was telling the truth about just coming from practice. He had a matching grey tracksuit on, his hair wet like he had just taken a shower. Brock was looking down at me with concern in his eyes, and I actually didn't mind seeing that concern.

"My parents," I told him finally, feeling my mouth form a pout. "They're assholes."

"Oh," Brock nodded, the corners of his mouth turning downwards. "You want to talk about it?"

I chewed on the side of my lip, trying to iron out the thoughts in my head before I said them. "It feels like they don't care about me at all."

"Why does it feel like that?" Brock asked me quickly.

"They're never here. They're too busy with their own lives to care about mine. They've always been that way, but I thought after Isla..." I cut my own sentence off, it wasn't as natural talking to Brock about Isla as it was with Bella or Chase.

"You thought they would be more inclined to stick around and make some time for you?" Brock didn't seem to notice my hesitancy.

"Yeah," I answered. "That was the hope."

"I won't say I know how that feels, with... your friend or anything, but I can relate. I felt like that when we first moved here, I thought we would have more family time, especially since I didn't know anyone or have any friends. It was hard, but do you want to know what I came up with?" Brock asked me.

"What?"

"Our parents don't have everything figured out," he explained, leaning back on his hands. "I don't think they can see the flaws in their own behaviour while they're doing it, just like we can't. Just because you become a parent, you don't suddenly become a perfect person."

I didn't speak as I listened to his words, I simply nodded my head.

"So," he continued when it was clear I wasn't going to answer. "You still haven't answered why you're sitting here on the side of the street."

"Right," I said, as if I had suddenly remembered where we were. "I wanted to take a drive, I forgot my car isn't here."

"Where is it?" He asked me.

"On the outskirts of town," I told him. "We went to a party last night and... someone else drove me home."

"A party without me?" Brock joked, "do you want a ride there so you can get your car?"

I smiled, thankful that he had offered. "Thanks Brock, that would be really nice, actually."

Brock stood up first, he dusted the dirt off his pants, before he stuck his hand out towards me. I only hesitated for a second, before I placed my hand in his. He pulled me off the ground, smiling at  me while he did it.

Once we were in his car, with his music on, and my directions relayed to him, I sat back in the leather seat. I closed my eyes as we drove, trying to fight with my mind as it replayed the argument with my parents. I didn't want to replay it, so I pushed it back further.

I replayed my memories with Chase instead. I remembered his song he sang to me, I remembered how I felt when I heard it, the butterflies that flew from my stomach into my heart. I remembered his hands on my skin, his lips against mine. I remembered his sweet words, and how they intoxicated me like they were made of wine.

I felt my body relax at the memories, a smile forming on my lips again like the last hour hadn't happened. I tried to imagine it that way, like my parents hadn't come home and Chase and I stayed in bed all day.

"What's got you smiling like that?" Brock's voice interrupted my daydreams. I forced my eyes back open, seeing that we were already pulled into the small parking lot, we were parked beside my car.

"Oh," I tried to shake him off, "it's nothing."

"Indie," Brock pushed, "friends, remember?"

I sighed, trying once again to fight the smile on my lips. "I was just thinking about someone."

"Oh?" Brock's lips turned into a smile, "who?"

"Just someone," I shrugged.

"The person who you maybe liked?" Brock asked, it took me a minute to realize he was repeating my words from his party, from the game of truth and dare.

I bit down on my lip, blushing as I remembered how confused I was about Chase back then. "That's the one."

"Really?" Brock raised his eyebrow. "So, it's not a maybe anymore."

"Definitely not a maybe," I answered. It was the furthest thing from a maybe. It was concrete, permanent.

"Do they know?" He asked me. "That it's not a maybe anymore."

"I think so," I pursed my lips. "I've made it pretty obvious."

"But you haven't told them?"

I thought back to my interactions with Chase, I guess I hadn't. I shook my head, wondering if I had made a mistake by not telling him exactly how I felt.

"Why not?" Brock asked me.

"I don't know," I said slowly. "I guess, maybe I'm scared of rejection. What if my feelings are stronger than his?"

After all, Chase had just been head over heels for some other girl just a few months ago.

"Well," Brock started, "what would you say? If he was here right now, what would you tell him?"

I glanced at Brock, wondering if he was teasing me. He looked serious though, like he was urging me to do as he said. I let out a breath, looking in front of me, trying to scrape the insides of my brains for the right words.

"I would say..." I began, taking a pause so I could get the words just right.

"You make me feel lighter, you make me feel better. You take my pain away and replace it with butterflies. The time I spend with you is my favourite time, because you make me nervous in the best way. I don't think I've ever had feelings as strong as the feelings that I have for you. I don't want anyone else, I don't even look at anyone else. The feelings that you give me, no one has ever given me feelings like these before."

I let my voice trail off, a silence filling the car as if we were both processing my words. After a minute, I turned back to Brock. "Too cheesy?"

Brock shook his head, "not at all."

I laughed, "thank you, Brock. Thanks for the ride and for the pep talk, I really needed it."

"It's nothing Indie," he said, his voice dropping down to almost a whisper. "And... you should tell him. He wants to hear it."

"I think I will," I smiled as him, opening the door to his car.

I gave him a final wave as I walked towards my own car, climbing into the drivers seat. I waited until Brock pulled away, before I did the same thing.

I didn't have anywhere in particular to drive, I wanted to get lost in the empty streets. However, I left my phone at my house in the heat of the moment. I didn't want to get so lost I couldn't find my way out, so I drove to a particular spot instead.

The beach was fairly empty as I pulled in, no doubt due to the temperature that was turning colder by passing each day. I tried not to think too much about it as I climbed out of my car. I walked towards the sand, stopping just before the pavement turned into white shores.

I looked out at the beach, trying to calm my mind and my soul. I watched as the waves turned on themselves, I smelled the air and the water that was mingled into it. It smelled of her.

"Isla," I said softly into the wind. "Isla... I don't know if you can hear me. I don't know where you are, but I miss you. I miss you so much. I miss you when I'm sad, and I miss you when I'm happy. I miss you every second. I wish you could be here so I could tell you about Chase. I wish you were here so we could watch movies every Friday night. I just wish... I wish for you, every day."

I nodded my head along to my own words, my eyes growing wet.

"And I wanted to tell you that even though it seems like we're moving on, Bella and I, we'll never move on from you. You'll always be with us, Isla. You're in our hearts, in our dreams and in our souls. And I think you know that, because I think we're in your soul too. Wherever you are, I think you still have a part of us."

The wind picked up as I finished, blowing louder around the beach. I smiled as I heard it, imagining it was her who was speaking back to me through it. She was telling me that she understood, and she missed me too.

I stayed for a minute longer, before turning back and climbing into my car. I didn't feel sad, I realized as I began to drive to my house. I didn't feel sad, for the first time as I thought of her.

And as I drove, I remembered the words from one of our first visits to our grief therapist. She looked at us, pity on her face, and she said one day you'll say her name, and you won't be sad when you say it. You'll say it as if it was the most natural thing in the world, and you'll think of her without pain, with only remembrance.

I wondered if I had made it that far in my grief as I pulled into my driveway. I walked quickly into the house, and up the stairs. I didn't linger, I didn't want to see my parents again at all today if I could manage it.

I could hear my phone ringing as I approached my room, I figured it was Bella. I didn't make it in time to answer, as I reached where I had left it on my nightstand. I blinked as I looked at the screen, seeing the numerous missed calls and messages.

I was about to look through them, when my phone began ringing again, this time in my hands. Again, I expected Bella, but was surprised to see Asher's name flashing on the screen.

"Hey Asher," I answered, "what's going on? Is Bella..."

"Indie, I told him I wouldn't call you, I told Bella I wouldn't call either, but seriously?" Asher's angry voice came through my phone.

"Wait," I was confused. "What's going on?"

"I know you're hurting right now Indie, and I get it... but was it all a joke to you? Was Chase just someone to make you feel better about yourself before you moved on to better things?" He spat at me.

I was stunned into silence, both at his words and the emotion in them.

"You should feel bad about you did to him, Indie. He won't say that, but I will. You should feel fucking horrible," Asher continued.

And then the line went dead.

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