The Before

1.

"May they live on in our hearts." The priest said, smiling as people rose from their seats. Camryn felt a single tear drop on her black skirt as she wiped her eyes. It was hard for her to hold back tears, but at her parents funeral, who could blame her?
As she stood up, she felt a cold hand on her shoulder. When she turned around, she saw her aunt Arabella beaming at her. "Ready to come home with me?" Arabella asked, nodding. Now that her parents were gone, Camryn's aunt and uncle was her permanent guardian until she turned eighteen.
     "Yes. Where's uncle Rob and Hannah?" She asked, looking around. Hannah was Camryn's nine year old cousin, and she always scared her a bit. At the end of the the church, Camryn spotted Hannah's pale face coming towards them. Her shaggy brown hair reaching her waist, and her pasty skin became more clear as she walked closer. Hannah appeared besides Arabella in a flash, frightening Camryn.
    "Why, hello." Hannah said in a soft voice, with a fake smile. While everyone else looked morbid in all black, Hannah looked like her normal self. Arabella stayed falsely smiling, rubbing Hannah's back. "Camryn! My beautiful niece!" Camryn heard a rough but warm voice behind her. Her uncle Rob came from behind her next to Arabella. Together they resembled a Victorian-age family portrait, all black clothing, dark hair and fake smiles.
        When they all got in the car, there was a frantic knock at the window. As Arabella rolled down the window, the pale face of Camryn's grandma become clear. She smiled with smeared red lipstick and red puffy eyes. "Hello my Arabella, Robert, Hannah." She glanced at Camryn. "Camryn. All you alright?" She nodded, and she watched her grandma kiss her daughter (Arabella) on the forehead and wave goodbye.
       In the hour-long car ride home, nothing but car honks and the occasional static from the broken radio could be heard. When they pulled up to Robert and Arabella's house, Camryn started to think about everything that would change; she would change schools, lose all her friends, no longer have her dads support or her moms hugs. She started to freak out. Though the same thought keep flinging through her brain;

"What would mom and dad do?"