Savage 》Once Upon A Time

Desperate Souls

Silence. That's what I've been for the pass two weeks. I would go to school, watch Henry, go home, sleep, repeat. When I sleep I would see Graham's lifeless body in my hands.

I thought his funeral would give me some closure, but it just made things worse. Every morning I would wake up crying. Dad tries to get me to talk to him, but I just shrug him off. I'll only nod or shake my head at his questions.

Emma handed me Graham's badge. "He would want you to keep it." She said.

I grabbed the badge. The small star that made Graham who he is, even though he didn't really need it. I ran my hand over the lettering before crying again.

It's only been five days and people act like nothing happened. They came to the funeral, gave condolences, but that's it. They act like they haven't lost the town's best sheriff.

"I still don't understand." I sniffled. "Graham is as healthy as a horse. How could he get a heart attack?"

Emma had a few tears in her eyes before wrapping her arm around me, "I don't know."

I kept staring at the badge. The door to the shop opens, but I ignored whoever came in. "Gold?" I heard Emma. "You in here?"

"Well, it is my shop." Dad mumbled under his breath. I would have laughed at that, but I didn't. I couldn't.

I heard Emma's footsteps before she came to the back room. She sniffed the air, which was bad on her part. "Whoa." I don't need to look at her to see her nose scrunched. "What is that?"

"Oh, this is lanolin." Dad said. "Used for waterproofing." I got use to the foul smell years ago.

"It smells like livestock."

"Well, it is the reason why sheeps' wool repels water."

"It stinks. Um, if there was a reason why you called the Sheriff's Department," I bit my lip to avoid more tears coming down. "if you want to talk about that more quickly or outside -"

Dad cut her off, "Yes. I just wanted to, uh, express my condolences, really. The sheriff was a good man." Was. I held onto the badge tighter till my knuckles turned white.

"I don't think we should talk about this." Emma said. I could tell she was looking at me. "How is she?"

Dad sighed. He gave me a quick glance. "She hasn't spoken a word since that night. She would mutter his name in her sleep and I would find her crying."

"Graham was like a brother to her."

"Indeed he was."

"Did you take her to see Archie?"

Dad shook his head, "My Little Raven doesn't need it. This is her way of dealing with things. She'll come around momentarily." It's true. This is how I cope with things. For example, I didn't talk to anyone for three days when my dog died. "You're still wearing the deputy's badge. Well, he's been gone two weeks now. And I believe that after two weeks of acting as sheriff, the job becomes yours. You'll have to wear the real badge."

I gripped the badge even tighter. My hands would have bled if it was sharp. "Yeah, I guess. I'm just not in a hurry." Emma said. "And I don't want to take away the only thing Jax has to him. So, um, thank you for the kind words."

I finally looked up when Emma cleared her throat. She began making her way out with Dad following her. "I have his things." He said as I got up.

"What?"