The reason why.

Life is like water.

Third person's point of view

The second youngest Anderson brother lied awake on his bed, staring at his blank ceiling not knowing what to think, or what to do. But he couldn't get his mind off the lost youngest Anderson. His mind clouded with her beautiful smile that he hasn't seen in 4 years, her contagious laughs that would make anyone break out in laughter, her jokes that she would tell when your upset, or the way she put everyone before herself. Noah Anderson was in denial, he believes this is all a dream, and when he wakes up that Gracie will be downstairs making breakfast. He believed that his youngest sibling is fast asleep in a beautiful dream, and will get scared by the monster under her bed and come running in. Being 11 when she was 7 and came running in rambling about a monster, he knew there was no such thing as 'monsters' but his sister was so adamant that there was a monster. He would acted annoyed when she came but he loved sharing the bed with her small body, he loved that she came to him every time, that she felt protected by him. The now broken brother stared upon the ceiling like it was going to give him his answer. Thinking about how she was alone and by herself, but she wasn't much better here. Him and His brothers tormented the youngest, blamed her for the death of their mother. He took that bubbly,beautiful,energetic girl and turned her into a broken, lonely, sad one. He knows it was wrong to blame her, that it wasn't her. But he was so hurt, and sad after their mother deaths and he needed someone to blame. He loved his mother, but he loved his baby sister more than anything in this world but after the death he couldn't even look her in the eye after what they did to her. His eye became watery, the tear daring to spill over their edges. He looked over at the neatly written letter sitting on his desk. He hasn't opened it yet, he read Owen's letter being with him at the time. And the things she said broken him. " The darkness is taking over me leaving me alone"..... "It leaves you, just like everyone did...... just like you "did.... "but you broke that promise"......"I'm tired Owen, so please let me rest" everything she said was true which broke Noah the most, that he left his sister to deal with this one her own. He stared at the letter, it mocking his name, teasing him about how he wreaked the only thing pure he knew. He destroyed the one thing he promised to protect, he promised love and always be there for, and now that she's gone there's a aching pain in his whole body telling him that a part of him is missing, that he has a missing piece by themselves and alone. Noah turned away from the letter not being able to look at it any longer. It was tearing him up what was inside that letter, that everything she wrote was true and he was too scared to admit it to himself. He stared at the blank wall connecting his and Gracie's wall knowing that she's truly not there. A single tear runs down the second youngest Brother's face. It slid down his cheek and over his chin, falling on the picture of her clutched in his hand, hoping to bring her back. 

The oldest Anderson was sitting out front on the grass, picking at it. He stared up a the stars with the opened letter laying besides him, tear stained from when he first read it. All he could think of is that he destroyed his little sister and didn't brother picking up the pieces, he kicked them around. He watched as he kicked each piece of happiness, each piece for joy, and kindness she had left and took it away from her. The same little sister that he loved with all he had, the same little sister he would read to every night, and look for the monster. He would stare at her when she cried, because she never did. She covered everything up, she could be breaking inside, hurting, screaming and you would never know, and that's what happened. He would looked at her tear stained cheeks, when she cried she looked miserable. Her eyes would be watery and look so broken. And he never could help, and it hurt him seeing his sister like that. But in the middle of the night he would hear the cries and screams coming from the youngest Anderson's room, and didn't even brother moving from his bed. Owen, would hear her screams for help, for them to save her, hearing her chocked up sobs leaving her lips. He would hear the screams searching for their mother, hear her yelling for their mother. He would have to listen to that almost every night, It pained the oldest Anderson to hear his sister like that, but he was in so deep that she would never forgive him. Heard first hand the sadness in her screams, or during the day trying to talk to him, he could hear the pain in her voice asking for him. Owen Anderson stared at the road waiting for her to come skipping down the road like she did after school, waiting for her to pull up in a beaten up taxi. He was gonna wait for her to come home, so he could be the first to welcome her. He wanted his sister, he didn't realize how her absence pained him. Owen wanted to find the youngest but he doesn't know where to begin. She doesn't even know if who her friends are, or if she had friends. Her words spinning around in his head, like on repeat, or the song you couldn't get out of your head. No matter what he thought about her words would come back, hearing her pained voice and broken cries while writing this. " you help them harm me, you helped me into the darkness, you helped them tear me a part so bad, then threw away my love,my joy, my happiness."......"I've been hurting and I need a break before I snap"........."I need a break, I need love, I need joy, and happiness something you all stole from me, something should've been giving me"....." No one willing to help pick them up, help tear apart the pieces that don't match, and find the right ones and help build you back up again." Every pain, every tear, every scream, every painful night was because of him, and he knew. He laid down on the soft wet grass, watching the stars moving around him. He felt as if everything around him was moving and he was stuck. Stuck in the same pain and sadness, she felt like this everyday, all day for 4 years and no one knew, or didn't bother to see if she was actually okay. She had nothing left, she had nothing more to give the darkness but instead it took her, and he offered her to it. The eldest Anderson knew it was wrong to blame Gracie for his mother's death, but he was so hurt and upset, that Gracie was the closet person to him at the time and he took it out her, he said stuff that should've never been said, he said stuff that should never be uttered to another person, but he did. He drove her right off the cliff that she was barely clinging too. Every time a car would drive by he would shot up hoping it was Gracie's but it never was. 

The youngest Anderson brother wasn't much better than the others. He sat in her room right in the middle on the cold floor. He sat there looking around the room, how empty it was. Her soft scent was still floating around is the air. His teary eyes would drop some every now and then. Everything was quiet, no music blaring from her room, no funny movie playing down stairs hearing her laughing, no pan dropping on the floor, everything was quiet. No one dared to say anything to anyone. The occasional movement from Noah's wall or the creaks from the house. Owen hasn't come inside yet, Noah and his father haven't come out of their rooms yet. Caleb wouldn't go in his room for awhile, even when he was hurting and was mad at her his room was filled with pictures of them. He missed everything about her even when she was living here, but now it's different, she gone, out in the real world with no one to protect her, but he didn't protect her at all he hurt her, and he knew that. Even when she was living here it was like she wasn't. She would leave for school early enough so no one would see her, and didn't come back until Noah and Him were at practice, his father at the bar, and Owen at work. They never saw her, and it pained him. He missed his sister, he didn't even know her anymore. Her favorite color, or food, or who she hung out with, or her proudest moment. He knew nothing about her, all he knew was her address and her name, Graceland Annie Marie Anderson. Thinking about that name brought more tears to his eyes, he tried so hard to move on and forget the past, but every time he tried talking to her, the pain in her eyes he would get so mad a himself the take it out in her, digging a deeper hole for himself. Caleb Anderson didn't know what happened that day at the mall, he didn't know what she went through until she had a dream about it. It stared off with her screaming, then it got quieter. The younger brother crept out of bed and into her room, she explained it all in her sleep, then the next day she was gone. No one knew what truly happened that day at the mall, what she truly went through. But when Caleb found out he was sick to his stomach, he teased her about that day, how she ruined this family, and how it should've been her, but the truth is when their mother died, Gracie died along with her. Everything she was died that day, but Caleb didn't know and each time he said it to her, her reply was " I know, I wish it was" then go in her room. Caleb knew it was wrong to do that to her, but after the eldest brother snapped at her, Noah followed along and he didn't want to lose them so he choose to lose her instead. Everything she said about him in her letter was true, everything that happened to her was true. "I'm on my way to the bottom"......." I'm so weak, so tired of trying to be strong. Tired of waking up screaming, tired of feeling so worthless"......." Neither of us trying to get to the other, Disappearing from each others lives"....." I'm leaving everything because you are my down fall, you are the unmatching piece to my broken puzzle, the anchor pulling me down."......"But no one is willing to save me instead watching me fall." Everything she said was true and it pained him because it was because of him, it was him the truly broken her, that pushed her unwilling soul into the pit. He destroyed her and he knew deep down that she wasn't coming back, and that if anyone tried she would find a way to hide. Because as much as she says she loves us and wants to be a family again she can't forgive them. Caleb knew Gracie better than anyone, and he knew that she could get past this but not forgive them, and that is what truly, truly killed him.