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THE LEWIS FAMILY DIDN'T TAKE Richard's death lightly. While he wasn't the greatest man, all could agree on that, they still mourned the man he once was. Over the past few days, Renna hung out with her family more than she did with her friends, for the first time in what felt like ever. They needed her desperately, so she stayed back at the mansion more than usual.
Of course, occasionally, at least twice a day, she would visit her friends and her friend that meant that little bit more, to ease her what felt to be empty heart - because her family actually felt the pain of Richard's death, yet she didn't. Atticus, who'd been there when everything fell apart, assured her that it was normal, and it was okay, but she just couldn't believe it - no matter how hard she tried.
When she went to school the next day, all her friends looked absolutely dead, inside and out. JJ wasn't mentally awake, John B looked so tired he might as well be asleep, and Atticus tripped over every second step he took. Renna walked over to him with a laugh, helping him move as she moved his arm to sling over her shoulder. "Hey, baby," he grinned sleepily as he used his other hand to tilt her chin up towards him, pecking her lips with a smile.
"Hey," she laughed, looking up into his eyes. He smiled wider before kissing her once more.
"I missed you," he breathed out in a sigh. Before Renna could respond, an empty beer can was thrown at the boy's face, causing the girl to retract with a start. "Hey, what the hell?" He asked as he looked towards an annoyed JJ and a John B rubbing his eyes.
"I did not wake up to see that, I might as well be in a nightmare," he complained, rolling his eyes as he slapped the side of his cheek, trying to wake himself up completely.
Atticus grinned. "It sounds like a dream to me."
JJ shook his head as he let out an annoyed yell. "Shut up, Ace! Shut up!" He stormed away, causing the others, minus a John B who wasn't aware of anything, to laugh with wide smiles. It wasn't until Renna was in the middle of her first class that she actually paid attention to something again, as none of her friends were actually in that session.
Her phone chimed, so quietly even the teacher with her ears out wide couldn't hear. She turned it around, expecting to find some bland message from one of her friends, or maybe even her family, but not an image from an unknown number.
She looked up at the teacher, seeing them concentrating on speaking and drawing on the whiteboard, so she unlocked her screen with furrowed brows. The image was the last thing she'd expected to see.
Maybe it was a joke, a sick, despicably vile, twisted joke. On her screen, was a picture of Atticus kissing another girl. His hand was on her cheek, the side of his face viewable, as his lips connected with an unfamiliar redhead. It was undeniably Atticus Fletcher.
