Adam still hadn’t moved from his previous spot, but his eyes kept darting from grave to grave. His mother’s grave, his father’s grave, Owen’s grave… and his own grave, all lined up before him like row of soldiers waiting for a command. Chills kept running up and down his spine, pricking him viciously.

How could this even be? Unless someone was playing a mean, dirty trick on him, he was pretty sure he was living and breathing. Well, he wasn’t particularly certain about this very moment. His breath seemed to be caught somewhere in his throat and He certainly couldn’t feel his body or any functions his body would normally perform.

Liz stepped away from Ben, pulling her arm away from his, and knelt beside Sandy. Liz slowly and delicately placed a warm, gentle hand on Sandy’s shoulder, offering her comfort and support during her obvious distress. But Sandy refused any solace and brusquely shook Liz’s hand off. Liz gave her a sad smile that Sandy never saw, but it never fazed Liz. Just because Sandy didn’t know Liz, it didn’t mean that Liz didn’t care.

“Owen’s parents thought that burying his body next to Adam’s would give both of them a sense of peace,” Sandy spoke softly, every word sounding its anguish. “That maybe if their bodies were close to each other, they wouldn’t be so alone.” Aching tears rolled quietly down her cheeks.

“But that’s not the case, Adam, is it?” she continued bitterly, whipping her head towards him. Her voice heightened until she was almost screaming at Adam. “He’s all by himself. Owen, he’s down there, lonesome and scared. Because of you, Adam. You selfish, son of a-”

“Sandy,” Ben spoke sharply and swiftly, taking a warning step towards her. Ben did not like where she was heading. And still Adam stood frozen in place.

“Of course, Ben, you’d stand up for him. Perfect Adam. ‘He must have a reason. He’s a great guy. He didn’t know.’ WELL, I DON’T CARE IF HE GODDAMN KNEW. OWEN IS DEAD BECAUSE OF HIM.” Sandy’s scream sliced through Adam’s haze, and he gazed at her.

“What do you mean, Sandy? Why is he dead because of me? Didn’t know what?” Adam’s shaking voice rang out into the suddenly cold, harsh world. He needed answers. Answers to questions that he didn’t even know were there.

“Adam, we shouldn’t talk about this here. Not now.” Ben commanded gently, trying to push Adam away from asking more questions. Ben grabbed Adam’s arm in attempt to calm him, but Adam yanked it away. His quivering body, trying its hardness to stay strong, kept focused on Sandy. He wanted to know why she blamed him, not that he didn’t agree completely with her.

“Of course, Ben,” Sandy spat, standing up defiantly. “It’s never the right place, or the right time, or the right person, or whatever fucking other excuse you can think of. Will you please just start dealing with this instead of pretending nothing happened? Like it doesn’t matter. Your best friends died for Christ’s sake! And when this shitface mysteriously comes back from the dead, you immediately accept him, never asking a damn question. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you didn’t even give a shit-”

“Hi there, I’m Liz. I’m a really good friend of your son, Adam. He hasn’t really told me much about you, but from what I’ve witnessed from the way your son acts, you must have been great people. Only wonderful, remarkable people could raise a son as noble as yours.” Liz smiled softly while her warm, generous words flowed smoothly as she kneeled next to the two graves. Her words grasped the attention of the other three teenagers around her, stilling their argument. Liz seemed oblivious to them.

“I hope you know that you’ll never have to worry about your son because he has marvelous friends who love him, like myself. And I know for a fact that he misses you everyday, so you don’t have to worry about that either. He loves you, always has, and you will everlastingly live in his heart forever. And even though I never got the pleasure to meet the both of you here on earth, I know you will live in my heart as well.” Liz placed a kiss on her fingers and touched each grave. She nodded her head solemnly and continued quietly.

“Thank you for introducing the world to a magnificent man, and thank you for giving me a remarkable friend. I hope you can rest in peace now and forever more.”

Liz gave a small smile before moving to Owen’s grave. She sat down, crossing her legs and stared at the burial for a moment.

“I’ve never met you either, but from what I’ve heard from your friends, you were a pretty amazing person. You have three incredible friends here who lost so much in such a short time, and in the process, lost each other and themselves. But throughout it all, they still remember the praise and love they hold for you. They may be confused and lost, but I know you will somehow guide them back. I have faith in you. Your friends have faith in you. And just because you can’t be right here beside us, you will always live right here in our hearts. We won’t give up on you, if you don’t give up on us.” Liz repeated the same action she had done with the Redmonds. She kissed her fingertips and pressed them against Owen’s grave.

“Thank you for bringing these three together, and showing them what it means to have friendship. None of us will ever forget you. We’ll all see you one day, and hopefully you’ll be waiting for us. Until then, I hope you sleep silently and peacefully.” She gave his grave one last glance before standing up and walking over to Adam. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, and he did the same. It was just a friendly hug but meant so much more to the both of them. A union of friendship, understanding and love.