[Alyssa]
The next afternoon, I awake to the sound of someone screeching excitedly. As I listen to the sound of the voice, I realize it's Dahlia; I look over to the clock next to the bed to see it's two fifteen.
"Oh my gosh!" she shouts, and that causes me to kick my feet over the side of the bed; I exit the room and stand at the top of the stairs, staring at the scene in front of me: Dahlia hugging a scathed and bruised Chandler. "We thought you guys were gone!" She looks behind him, and her face falls. "Where's Shi and Santo?"
Chandler runs a hand down his face before his sad-filled eyes make contact with me. "I'm sorry."
"Chan, is it... Are they really... Chan, say something!" Dahlia shouts, her eyes welling up with tears. "It can't be true!"
"Lia, I'm sorry. I tried to get to them in time, but time I got there... it was too late," he explains, looking away from me.
"Chan, it's okay. It isn't your fault," Dahlia consoles, rubbing her hand up and down his arm. "We have to call his mother and let her know."
"Let's give it a little time first, okay, babe? I don't want to put his mother through that." A look of realization hits his face harder than an oncoming train, and his face immediately falls. "I don't think I can put our parents through that."
Dahlia places her hands on either side of his face and forces him to look at her. "Baby, like you said, we'll give it some time. After a month, we'll start calling and breaking the news, okay?"
Chandler nods before his gaze falls upon me again. "I'm so sorry, Alyssa." I don't realize that I'm crying until a salty tear hits the top of my lip, and Chandler makes his way to the top of the stairs and pulls me into a warm embrace; as soon as my head hits his chest, a wave of sobs erupts from me and soaks his shirt. Chandler rubs a comforting hand up and down my back, but the sobs gets worse. "If you need anything, and I mean anything at all, don't hesitate to call me or Lia. We'll be over as quickly as we can, okay?" I nod into his chest, my tears still soaking his shirt.
"Baby, I'll stay with Aly tonight. You go home and get some rest," Dahlia states, walking up the stairs. Chandler releases me from his embrace and places a kiss to my forehead before kissing Dahlia's cheek.
"I'm not going anywhere but the guest room," Chandler rebuttals, walking to the room diagonal from Keeleigh's room and closes the door.
"Aly...," Dahlia starts, but I shake my head.
"Don't. I just want to go to sleep," I say, walking back into mine and Chresanto's room. I fall face first on the bed and eventually cry myself to sleep.
~•~•~
I'm awaken again by the sound of someone hysterically crying, and the first thing I notice is the sun setting on the balcony across from the bed as the doors are wide open. I come to the conclusion that Dahlia must have opened them, so I get out of the bed and exit the room for the second-- and hopefully the last-- time today.
"I just got my cousin back!" Keeleigh cries, sobbing into her hands. "He can't be gone!" She falls to her knees, sobbing hysterically.
[Third Person, Limited]
Three Weeks Later...
