Chapter 23

Later...   

Alex POV

Nick walked back into the waiting room. He was in tears again.

"She's gone," he whimpered, sitting down between me and Jeff.

"Nick, I'm so sorry," I said, hugging him.

He cried into my shoulder. We'd been here for hours, and I didn't know when we were going back to Dalton. But if we wanted my uncle to drive us back, we need to leave soon because it's getting late.

"Nick, I know you're upset. But it's late. Do you want to go back to Dalton? We can just relax when we get there. It would probably be more comfortable than sitting here all night," I said, quietly.

"Ok," he whispered.

I texted my uncle to come get us. And then we all walked out together. I sat in the front with my uncle. Jeff sat with Nick in the back. Jeff wrapped his arms around Nick, and stayed like that until we got back to Dalton.

The 3 of us walked up to our dorm room. We all took turns changing in the bathroom. Nick was last to change.

Jeff curled up in bed next to me. Nick came out of the bathroom, looking miserable.

"Nick. Come here," I said, motioning.

"Why?"

I shut off the lamp, and made Jeff scooch over. Nick got into bed beside me.

"What are we doing?" Nick asked.

"It is proven that cuddling will make you feel better, so that's what we're doing."

"Am I sleeping here all night?"

"If you want to. It can be like a sleepover."

"Isn't every night like a sleepover?"

"Yeah, but this one is different."

"Alright, whatever... You sure Jeff won't get jealous?"

"Nick. Focus on you. We just want you to feel better, ok?"

"Ok..."

"Come closer."

Nick scooched closer to me, and hid his face in my shoulder.

"Well... Goodnight, you two," I whispered.

"Goodnight," Jeff whispered back.

We laid there in silence until Nick started crying again. But who could blame him? His mom just died like an hour ago. His dad wanted him to come back here anyways so he could handle everything without Nick getting in the way. 

Nick kept crying into my shoulder quietly. And I eventually fell asleep, listening to it.

Morning...

Alex POV

It was clear that Nick didn't sleep at all last night. His eyes were red, but that was partly from crying. He looked exhausted and miserable. 

I went down and got breakfast for everyone. I sat on my bed between Nick and Jeff. Nobody said anything. We just ate in silence.

Jeff eventually got up, and he went to take a shower. I decided to try to talk to Nick a little...

"How are you doing?" I asked.

"Not good," he said, quietly.

"Have you talked to your dad?"

"Yeah... He texted me... He's getting my mom cremated..."

"Are you happy about that?"

"I don't have a choice."

"Look. I know what it's like to lose a parent. I lost both of mine in the same day not too long ago. It's awful at first. You think you're never going to feel better again. You cry for a few days straight. Nothing really helps except letting time pass. But it helps if you try not to think about it. You've got to distract yourself."

Nick laid down.

"Just try to relax. I can clearly see you're all tense. Just relax."

He turned over on his side, and I rubbed his back a little. He kept getting more and more relaxed until he finally fell asleep. I knew he was exhausted.

Later...

Alex POV

I'd gotten Jeff downstairs for dinner. Nick was still catching up on his sleep.

"What should we do about Nick?" Jeff asked.

"I don't know. I think he just needs some time to get over it."

"What should we do about my grades?"

"Jeff, maybe your dad won't even be mad. You passed all your classes. And most of your grades were over 80."

"I'm just worried!"

"Well don't be worried until like Tuesday. Because grades probably won't get there until then."

It's crazy. The two boys I room with are going through so much. And I really don't know how to help either of them. I lost my parents, but I just tried to push everything out of my head and forget about it. I barely saw them because they were always working, so I guess that helped a little. But I don't know what to tell Nick. He's heartbroken.

"Are we going to bring Nick dinner?" Jeff asked.

"Yeah. We should wake him up so he can eat."

Jeff and I threw out our garbage, and then got Nick some dinner. And we went upstairs.

I opened the door, surprised to find Nick already awake. He was on his phone, crying again.

"Nick, we brought you some dinner."

"Thanks..."

I sat down next to Nick. I could see his phone, and he was going through pictures of his mom.

"Nick, it's best to try to distract yourself," I said, quietly.

"I just miss her so much!"

He put down his phone. I pulled him into a tight hug. Jeff sat down on the other side of Nick, and joined in on the hug too.

I feel like with the 3 of us, the stronger of us are helping whoever is weak. But now both Jeff and Nick are weak. And I'm the only strong one. And I don't know how much longer I can do this.