Just You and I: Book 1 (Cody Carson)✔

Without You, I Couldn't Do It

Cody wrapped his arms around my waist and I opened the box in front of us. I'm sat in his lap, dried tear tracks on my face. I refused to look through the box alone, Cody offered to go through it with me. I pulled out a smaller box, opening the lid. Inside is all the pictures Eric took of us. I grabbed one and smiled slightly at it. It was when Simon first heard me sing. I closed the smaller box and reached into the box again, my hands closing around a small instrument. "He played the Ukulele?" "Yeah, he used to sing Twenty One Pilots' songs when I couldn't sleep." I strummed a familiar tune, We Don't Believe What's On Tv. "We don't believe what's on TV. Because it's what we want to see. And what we want we know we can't believe. We have all learned to kill our dreams." I felt Cody smile against my neck, I really appreciate him being here with me, he's keeping me grounded. I propped the instrument up against the box and reached inside it again.

Simon's belongings are now scattered around me, I'm looking through an old phone of his. It has old text messages and pictures in it. I laughed through my tears at Simon's goofiness. The door opened and I heard all talking cease. "What happened? What's all this stuff?" "Her mom's lawyer gave her a box of her friends old stuff. The one who committed." "Hasn't she seen this stuff before?" "When he owned it yes, but her mom wouldn't let her have it until she passed." A few more tears fell down my face and I wiped them away. "She always thought I would destroy myself if I went through this stuff after he died. This is exactly the closure I need." I turned the old phone off and put it back in it's protective case. "Why didn't we know about this?" "It's not something she talks about. I found out when she had an anxiety attack in class her first day here. From there, we just confided our secrets to each other. I helped her through her grief and she helped me through mine."

Cody breathed in heavily and his groan echoed in the room. I turned and buried my face in his chest, breathing in his mesmerizing scent. "How are you feeling baby?" "Better." My voice was muffled by his shirt. He pressed a kiss to my forehead and I looked up at him. He smiled drowsily down at me. "We have to get up for school don't we?" "Sadly, I won't leave your side today." His promise made my insides flutter. "Your the best."

Cody and I walked into Frank's classroom. "Is that Cody's hoodie?" "Yep." Frank laughed and pointed at our seats. We're the first one's in class today, a rare occurrence. "What're we doing today?" "We're watching Gone With The Wind." Cody pulled my chair closer to him and I leaned into his arm. "Lia how're you doing from yesterday?" "I'm doing okay, Cody sat with me while I went through his things." I couldn't say his name, it made me want to cry. Frank looked away from me and smiled at the next group to walk into class, my brothers. "Hey sis!" I waved at the three and they walked over to us. "How're you?" "I'm fine. You guys?" "Emerson wouldn't go to sleep, so we're pretty tired." "It was your fault for not taking away my 3rd cup of coffee." "Em do you want me to supervise your caffeine intake?" He sheepishly shook his head. "Watch how much you drink then, we shouldn't have to baby you." Sebastian and Remington are almost peeing themselves with how hard they're laughing. "Damn you sound just like Mom."