𝐷𝐴𝑌𝐿𝐼𝐺𝐻𝑇 - 𝑇𝐻𝐼𝑅𝑇𝐸𝐸𝑁 𝑅𝐸𝐴𝑆𝑂𝑁𝑆 𝑊𝐻𝑌

14. ᴀғᴛᴇʀᴍᴀᴛʜ

Armani hadn't spoken a word since the moment she found out about Jeff. She refused to speak to anyone, even her parents and Monty. She refused to see anyone expect from the three, even though she missed all her friends dearly, she just couldn't bring herself to face anyone else.

„Mani?" her mother's voice brought her back to earth. She slowly moved her head to face the woman who held her hand gently. They sat in Jane's car in front of their house, having just got back from the hospital. „You okay?" Jane asked and put her hand on Mani's cheek in comforting manner.

„Yeah." the girl muttered and bit her lip. Her mother got out of the car and walked to her side, helping her out. Mani hissed and put her hand on her side, where the bandage was. She leaned against the car as Jane took her bags out of the car.

Mani's dull eyes took in the house, her heart falling to her stomach as she noticed the lack of Jeff's car on the driveway. Tears gathered in her eyes as she clutched her teddy bear in her hand.

„Mom?" she asked shakily and Jane made her way over, the bag in one hand as she put her other arm around her daughter's shoulders.

„Yeah, sweetie?" Jane asked, rubbing her eyes to stop her own tears from falling.

„Is Monty here yet?" Mani whispered, knowing that she wouldn't be able to face the empty house without him. Jane nodded.

„Yes. He's in the kitchen with dad." Mani nodded and Jane gave her a weak smile before putting her arm around her daughter's waist and slowly leading her to the door. The two women stopped, Jane pulling out her keys and opening the door. „Monty!"

Boy's head perked up at the sound. He put the knife he was using to peel the potatoes and walked out of the kitchen, coming face to face with the Atkins women. He gave them a small smile and pecked Jane's cheek before taking his place on Mani's other side. The girl immediately wrapped her arms around his waist, tears finally falling as she let out a sob.

The house was quiet. Jeff's smell was still there. And those two things made her realize that her brother was gone.

„I can't." she sobbed loudly as Jane covered her mouth, tears rolling down her face as she watched her daughter break down. Monty held Mani up, hiding his face in her hair as he shushed her quietly, trying to control his own tears.

They all knew that life wasn't the same anymore. And in that moment, in Monty's arms, Armani realized that she was a mess, and that she wouldn't get better.

Monty took it upon himself to turn Mani's notifications off, seeing as many people kept texting her with condolences. The girl was a mess, and tons of messages from people who she didn't even like, were not going to help.

The only people who she wanted to talk to now, aside from Monty and her parents, were Justin, Zach, Jess, Zoya and Sheri.

Zoya finally gathered courage to visit her girlfriend. She wanted to tell her the truth about that night, however when Monty led her to Mani's bedroom and she was met with a shell of a person she once knew, she quickly turned the idea down.

Sheri couldn't bring herself to face the girl. She tried - almost every day she found herself im front of her best friend's house, but would turn around and quickly walk away.

At the moment, Mani was watching TV with Justin and Jess. Monty went home for the first time since the accident. Luckily, his father liked Mani - if you could call not yelling at her liking - so the boy wasn't in trouble as long as he'd come home more often now that she was out of the hospital.