Saintwood: College Chaos ✔️ (Wattpad version)

Crazy is as crazy does

We comforted dad, and he went over the funeral details. We had to head back home for a few days. The others joined us even though there's no relation to Josh; they went because of us.

We packed for a few days and headed home. It would be the second funeral we attended. Once we were back, we had dinner with my folks. To say the mood was dark was an understatement. Usually, we're talking and laughing, but tonight it was silent.

I watched dad play with his food then eventually getting up and taking his plate into the kitchen. Then we heard the kitchen door open and close.

"Mom, is dad, okay?" Elijah asked her.

"No, the night we got the call, I have never seen your father break down like that. He's been a mess since then," she said to him.

The four of us looked at each other, then we all got up.

"Where are you boys going?" Mom asked us.

"Call Uncle Ryan and Frazier. We will look for dad," Elijah yelled as he left, and we followed him.

We went out walking when Ryan and Frazier caught up with us.

"How long ago did he leave?" Ryan asked.

"About thirty minutes ago," Elijah said.

"I think I know where he went. Follow me," Frazier said as we followed him to where dad might be.

We found him sitting on this half wall looking at the creek, throwing stuff at it. Ryan hopped up on one side, and Frazier hopped up on the other side. Elijah stopped us, telling us to watch.

"Jord, talk to us," Ryan said.

"What is there to say? He's gone, Ryan," he said. Then he broke down, sobbing. Ryan wrapped an arm around him as he leaned in and cried. Dad may appear a badass, but at that moment, he was mourning his brother.

"Jordan, it will be okay. We know how much you miss him," Frazier said.

"He was doing so good," he sobbed.

I pulled out my cell phone and sent a message.

"Who are you texting?" Elijah asked in a whisper.

"Someone who knows grief first hand," I whispered back.

Ryan just held my dad as he cried. Then someone walked over to him.

"Uncle Jordan?" Nik asked.

The three of them turned to see Nik standing there. Ryan and Frazier got down and nodded to Nik. He climbed onto the wall and took a seat next to dad.

"Nikolaus, what are you doing here?" He asked, rubbing the tears from his eyes.

"Someone thought you could use a little help with your grief," he said. They turned, and he pointed to us.

"You know better about grief than anyone, don't you?" Dad asked Nik.

"More than I would like," he said.

"I counsel people about this all the time, and when it happens close to you, you don't," Dad said, unable to finish his sentence.

"Know how to handle it," Nik finished the sentence.

"Yeah," Dad said.

"It's okay to grieve. Josh was your brother even if he had problems; he was still your brother. But you know the difference between grieving the way you are and most people?" Nik asked.

"What's that?" Dad asked.

"You have an excellent support system, just like I did," he said.

"How did you get through it?" Dad asked Nik.

"I had someone reach down and pull me up," Nik said. "Just like you do. Don't shut them out. They just want to help."

"Thanks Nikolaus," Dad told Nik.

"What are family for, Uncle Jordan?" Nik asked.

They talked about loss, and Ryan looked at us. "You boys did an excellent thing."

"This was all Liam," Elijah said.

"One question, how did you know to call Nikolaus?" Frazier asked me.

"Who better to help someone with grief than a person who went through it," I said. "I remember the spiral that happened after Mike's death."

"Yeah, between RJ, Liam, and me, we kept him from getting tossed out of school repeatedly," JJ said.

"What about Austin and Mack?" Frazier asked.

"They tried to keep him out of trouble, but Austin couldn't fight everyone, and Mack was hurting. We just picked up the slack a bit. They would do the same for us," JJ said.

"This is true," Frazier said.

"Is our dad going to be okay?" Shawn asked.

They looked at him as they heard Jordan chuckle. "I think he will be fine. He will need a lot of time to grieve," Ryan said.

Dad and Nik got down and walked over to us. He walked over to us and pulled us all into a hug. "Thank you, boys." Then he let go of us and looked at me. "Thank you, Liam."

"Any time, dad. You're there for us; now it's our turn to be there for you," I said to him, and he pulled me into a hug. After that, we all went home.

We all got ready for Josh's funeral. I couldn't imagine losing someone close to you. We didn't know him because of his illness, and Elijah met him briefly.

I finished getting ready, and I heard a knock at my door. I turned to see Mel standing there. "What are you doing here?"

"Hunter told us what happened. I decided that they needed me here more than at school. Plus, I figured it would be nice for you to see a familiar face," she smiled.

I walked over and wrapped my arms around her. "You know you're crazy, right?"

"Crazy is as crazy does," she said, causing me to laugh.

"Eh, I'll take crazy any day as long as you and no one else," I said. I placed my hands on her face, kissing her.

"Will you two stop sucking face? We got a funeral to attend," Elijah said as he and my other brothers walked passed us.

"Jealous much?" I yelled at him.

"Oh yeah, I'm jealous! I don't get caught with my dick blowing in the wind," he yelled back. Ah, brotherly love.

I took Mel's hand and led her downstairs. "I brought two people with me."

I gave her a look, and she just smiled. We got downstairs to find Davina and Lydia hugging my brothers along with Mack holding Shawn's hand.

"Was this your idea?" I asked her.

"I figured you all needed support along with your dad," she said.

"I could not love you more than I do," I said to her.

"Well, that's good because you're stuck with me," she said to me, making me smile.

We all left for the funeral as we sat there with our parents and grandmother. We listen to the minister talk. After he finished, dad got up and talked, "Josh wasn't just my younger brother; he was my best friend first. Even with the problems he had, he was still that kid I remember tossing the football with and taking trick or treating. Josh, I'm sorry you had to leave us and me. I wish I could bring you back and tell you everything will be okay. Fly high, baby bro. I love you, and always will."

We watched as he kissed his hand and then touched the casket. Mom got up and walked over to him, hugging him as he held her and sobbed. The four of us got up and did the same. Our dad was hurting, and we knew he needed us. When it comes down to it, the family is everything.