P.S. I Love You (Sequel to P.S. I Miss You) {SLOW UPDATES}

The Letters

They continued to unpack the boxes. It lasted for all of three days. It seemed like a relief when there was only one box left.

Nobody wanted to open it though. It seemed so final. It seemed too concluding. It felt like this was the end.

Nobody made a move to touch it. But, everybody stared at it. It was smaller than the rest. And it seemed to have been wrapped with the utmost care. Everybody knew that it was wrapped by Luke's careful fingers. They knew that whatever was inside was extremely important. Valuable. Prized. It was because of that, that they didn't want to touch it.

So it stayed there, in the middle of the room. They went about doing what they needed. Nobody talked about it. They didn't say a word. It was almost as if it never existed.

Michael stayed in his room. He didn't come out for dinner. He didn't come out for lunch. He didn't come out for breakfast. He didn't come out at all.

He stayed in his room. He didn't want to come out. He couldn't bear to see all of Luke's belongings scattered across the ground. Even if they were settled into different categories.

He just couldn't handle it. Those were Luke's things. They shouldn't have touched them. Calum shouldn't have gone into the attic in the first place. That was Luke's get away. And though he would never admit it, he could still hear Luke play his guitar... No. He actually couldn't. But, he liked to think that he did. He liked to think a lot of things.

Michael wasn't okay. He really wasn't. Luke's sweater had long since faded along with his smell. But, Michael couldn't bring himself to take it off. Yes, it was Luke's. But, he just needed it to cope. If he wore it, it was like Luke was still there. It was like Luke was still with him and he was wrapped in his arms. When he wore it, it was as if he was wrapped in Luke's embrace. Again. Even if it was only for a short period of time.

The months that followed Luke's death were particularly hard for Michael. Not only had he lost his best friend, he had lost his brother. And that had changed him.

He had to watch his best friends hurt and wish for death because of an accident that nobody could have controlled. He had to watch them blame themselves when they had nothing to do with it.

Michael wished that he could turn back time. If this had never happened, they would all be sitting around playing FIFA like they used to.

And Ashton would yell and giggle as he jerked his controller. Calum would get all defensive and scream at the players as if they could hear him. Luke would laugh and help Andy win. Andy would lean into his chest, her brow furrowed in concentration. And then he would be playing but, he would be taking in everything around him because these were his friends.

And it was one of the many memories that he would lock away so that he could come back to them. One of the many memories that wouldn't have caused him pain like it did now.

Calum was asleep in his room. Ashton and him shared a room so he knew about the nightmares. The nightmares that plagued Calum's mind. There was many a time that Ash would have to wake a feverish and screaming Calum.

It was normal. They all had nightmares at one point. Nightmares about the crash. Nightmares that turned into memories. Nightmares where they had been the victims. Nightmares where they were the cause of the crash. But, Calum's had yet to go away. And Ashton was worried.

Calum's dreams weren't like the ones that the other boys got. No. They were worse. They were ones where Calum is holding Luke in his arms as the blonde boy is bleeding out. They were ones where Calum was driving and looked away for a split second, resulting in Luke's death. They were ones where he found Andy bleeding out on the floor. They were ones where he'd watch as she'd scream at him, telling him that it was all his fault that their beloved Luke was gone.