treat you better ; shawn mendes

twenty

Riley's POV
"Murderer of teenage boy, Jack Meyers had turned himself in to the police station at six am this morning. Three and a half months ago, Dylan Roberts had murdered Jack in a violent one-sided fight and has now confessed to his death. He will appear in court in two weeks where he will be sentenced to jail for manslaughter and domestic harassment, which he had also owned up for. Friends and family are thankful for the justice of Jacks death and will finally be put at ease with the murderer now in jail. People from all over the city are continuing to pour support for the family and friends of Jack Meyers with an entire street lined with bouquets of flowers and gifts in his honour." The reporter on the news states. So Dylan did turn himself in. Thank god.

The news has constantly been talking about Jack and Dylan all morning and I can't help but watch it over and over. Eventually, mum sees this and she switched the TV off.

"I was watching that." I whine.

"It's not healthy to watch something like that over and over again." Mum says. As she makes breakfast, she uses this as an excuse to keep on talking to me about Shawn-related issues, "Are his parents there?" She asks.

"They visit him all the time. I always choose to visit him when they aren't there. I figure we all each need our own personal time with him, you know what I mean?" I ask. Mum nods as she flips the pancake.

"I can't imagine what his parents must be going through." She mutters. I sit there in silence and look out the window at the pink-tinted sky. It's said that it's going to rain this afternoon. I'm glad. I don't know what it is but rain always is comforting. Especially when I'm sad.

"Riley?" Mum asks. I turn my head to her and raise an eyebrow. I must have zoned out.

"Sorry, what?" I ask.

"I said, how are you feeling? You know, about Shawn and Dylan and Jack. You've been through a lot and I don't want you to be suffering all alone. You know you can always talk to me." She says. I smile gratefully at her.

"Thanks, mum. I could probably feel a bit better. I just feel kind of crushed by everything. It's hard to explain how I'm feeling anyway."

•

School is weird. Everybody knows who I am and everybody knows what's going on with my life somehow. When I walk down the hallways now, the whispering suddenly stops as I walk past and I catch stares. But it's not a stare of hatred or jealousy. It's a stare of pity and sympathy. People feel sorry for me and they think that even if they say Shawn, Jack or Dylan's name that I'll crumple into a heap of tears. But I know I won't. I know I can stay strong. I know I can.

"Hey Riley-poo." I hear a chirpy voice say from behind me. I turn around and see Lyss. I smile at her and she sits down beside me. Her dark hair sways over her shoulder and she pushes back small strands with her long fake white acrylic nails.

"Hey." I manage.

"You heard about Dylan turning himself in?" She asks. I nod and sigh, putting my head in my hands.

"I'm meant to feel relief knowing that Dylan is gone and out of the picture. But I'm stop feeling overwhelmed by everything." I say in despair.

"You're human. You don't always have to keep it together. It's okay to feel overwhelmed, frustrated or lost. That's what sucks about being a human." She says optimistically.

"I just feel so consumed in all this and I- I-" I stutter, trying to find the right words, "I feel like I'm drowning." I finally say. Lyss rubs my back in an attempt to console me. There's still five minutes until class starts and I'm already wanting to cry.

"I know it's hard for you. But you need to try and find the positives. Stop focusing on the bad stuff." She says. As that's said, the door swings open and Danielle walks in. I still feel a powerful hatred for that bitch. She is why all of this is happening. She looks at me with a scared expression and I shoot her a glare. Lyss stares her down too. I told her about what happened at the party and Lyss has a new-found hatred for Danielle. So she should.

We talk for a little while longer until, finally, class starts and I can be distracted from everything.

It still doesn't stop the whispers from everyone around me. I don't think that will ever stop.
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a/n: WHOS READY FOR THE LAST CHAPTER NEXT?!?!?!