Love Thy Neighbor (REMASTERED)

fifty

Syre sniffled and swallowed the lump in his throat. "Don't leave me too...please."

Dropping her arm she grabbed his hand, lacing her fingers into his. "I'm not going...anywhere."

She continued to hold him tightly until his hyperventilating finally calmed down. "Come on...let's go." She stood to her feet, taking his hand and pulling him up gently. She led him away from the gravesite and toward the car, but he kept looking back, holding his gaze on it as it got smaller in the distance.

Sybil's phone rang in her pocket but she ignored it, letting it ring until her and Syre were in the car. The ringing finally stopped and she tossed her umbrella onto the backseat floor.

Looking at Syre she reached for his hand again and squeezed it. "Look at me."

He turned his head slowly, his red and puffy eyes looking into hers.

"She loved you. No matter what happened. She unconditionally loved you, and she wanted you to be okay, you know that?"

He gave her a small nod. "Ion wanna be who I was Sib.....ion wanna go back to being angry all the time."

She reached out for his face and swiped his cheek. "You won't. You don't gotta be. I'm here....I'm right here and we're going to get through this together. That doesn't mean forgetting her, that doesn't mean ignoring the pain. But we will be okay. You....will be okay."

//////

Back at Shamira and Des' , everyone sat reminiscing and telling stories about Alexis.

Syre, who chose to pass on that activity, found himself in his Uncle's home office alone. Staring at a picture he had nabbed a while ago from Lexi's dorm room.

It was a picture she cherished and told Syre how significant it was to her. He took it without her knowing, because he never had anything of them together. Nothing to show for as proof of the part they played in each others lives.

In the picture, a 6 year old Lexi had her arms wrapped around Syre's shoulders. A scowl on his face because he was annoyed that she was all over him. He didn't like being touched and his "baby sister" was super clingy.

Annoyance written all over his face. By that time he had already knew the truth about her, so he really didn't want to be around her at all.

He remembered it vividly, Lexi was trying to climb on his shoulders like he was some real life jungle gym. His mother snapped the picture and grabbed Lexi up in her arms. The giggling child having the time of her life.

Immediately after the picture was taken, Shannon piled the two into the car. Dropping off Lexi at their Aunts and telling her that Syre had a taekwondo class. But that was a lie...he'd never taken taekwondo a day in his life.

He was spending his time with some creepy brunette who made him say things he didn't want to say, while they did things he didn't want to do. He wished he was at a taekwondo class...

Syre kept the photo, regardless of the memory attached to it. He ignored anything other than what was visible in front of him.

Alexis and Him. That's all that mattered anyway. 

He smiled and ran his thumb over it, sniffling quietly.

A soft knock came to the door before it opened softly. Sybil peeked her head in and spotted him sitting at the desk.