• Chapter 11

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The three days after Henry King Jr.'s death felt like the longest Molly had experienced in a long time. Over the weekend, Molly tried to put the JSA business aside and be there for Yolanda, who was absolutely devastated over him. Molly didn't blame her though. Even though what Henry did to her was awful, he was still an important person in her life. Plus, he apologized to Yolanda. Molly really believed he was a changed person, which meant his death much more tragic.

That Monday morning, Molly was walking to The Pit Stop before school to meet with the team. She was right on the outskirts of town when she walked past the church on her route to school. The church that Yolanda and her family went to every Sunday. As Molly walked past, she noticed that the doors were open. She slowed down so she could see if anyone was inside. What she saw broke her heart.

Yolanda was inside sitting at the pew closest to the front. Her back was turned to Molly, who could hear her sniffling from outside the door. Molly wanted to go in to talk to her, but she didn't want to interrupt Yolanda. Molly knew she was very close with her faith, and she wanted to let her friend do whatever she had to do in order to cope.

While Molly let out a small sigh, she continued her walk into town. She made her way to The Pit Stop while keeping her head down. Even though everyone in this town knew each other, Molly was not in the mood to talk to any of them. A sigh of relief escaped her lips when she reached the Pit Stop. When she walked in, she saw Beth and Rick in the garage. Beth was sitting in a blue car while Rick sat on a table flipping through his father's journal. The two of them looked up at her when they heard the door to the entrance close.

"Hey, Molly," Beth greeted her with a light smile.

Molly smiled in return as a response while setting her bookbag down on the table. As she started to dig around for her planner, she heard Rick ask her, "Have you heard anything from Yolanda?"

She stopped what she was doing and turned towards him, "No, but I saw her at her church on my way here. I... I don't think she's coming."

"I feel so bad for her," Beth said while hanging her head down, staring at the steering wheel, "Despite whatever happened between them, Henry was really important to her. I can't imagine how she must be feeling. I wish there was more we could do for her."

Molly couldn't help, but look up at Rick, who was looking at her in return. They looked at each other before looking back over at Beth. Molly wished she could be as good of a person as Beth. She wished she could have as big of a heart as her. As Molly thought of Yolanda, she walked over to Beth and leaned against the car. She placed a hand on Beth's shoulder, causing the girl to look up at her.

"Yolanda is going to be okay. It'll take time, but she's strong. One of the strongest people I've ever known. Plus, she has amazing friends like you supporting her," Molly assured her, causing Beth to smile up at her gratefully.

Suddenly, the three of them looked up when they heard the entrance to the garage open up. Molly squinted from all of the bright light shining in from outside, but could still make out Pat's tall figure coming inside.

"Hey, Mr. Dugan," Beth immediately greeted for the three of them.

Pat just nodded at Beth in response, and Molly could tell something was wrong. He immediately began, "Look, I need to talk to you guys. It's... wait, where's Yolanda?"

Molly looked over at Beth and Rick uneasy before leaning up from the car and telling Pat, "She's at church praying for Henry. I don't think she's coming."

Pat just nodded his head in understanding as Beth got out of the car. As the door slammed shut, Rick held up his father's journal and began to Pat, "I almost got this figured out Pat. I've read every dumb chemistry book in school, and-"

Daydream || Rick Tyler [DC's Stargirl]Where stories live. Discover now