Title: Family: Finding Our Way Back Chapter: Two Rating: PG Summary: A family torn apart by time and circumstance comes together in the face of tragedy and must now find their way back to each other. This is a story about family and how we coem together in times of crisi. It's a story love and life. Characters:Jade, Seth, Luke, Noah, Winston, Abby, Casey and Maddie Genre: Warnings: Disclaimer: This site is no way associated with "As the World Turns", CBS, P&G, or Van Hansis and Jake Silbermann. This is not for profit. No copyright infringement is intended. Authors submit and write their own work.

AN:Amanda and I came up with this idea in August and we re excited to share. It's about one family's journey to become one again. We hope you enjoy it. And be warned it starts out sad but we hope you will stick it out
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The last thing Jade expected to see upon her return home from rehearsal was her uncle sitting alone in the darkened living room. She was caught off guard by the sadness she saw in his eyes. Seth Snyder usually wore a smile on his face. Even when he was being serious his eyes conveyed a happiness that others wished they could mimic. “Uncle Seth?” she asked as she came further into the room, dropping her bag by the chair. “What’s wrong? Why do you look like someone just died?”

She wished she could take the words back as soon as she said them. Luke, her little brother and one of her best friends had always told her that she was too quick with her words. In times like these she understood what he meant by that. She swallowed hard, trying to call the sudden racing of her heart. She was suddenly frightened and she didn’t know why. There was just something about that gaze.

“Have a seat Jade,” Seth said in that gentle voice she knew so well. Normally it was soothing, and it reminded her why he was her favorite uncle. Today it did nothing to calm her sudden fears and she hesitated before doing as she was told. She wasn’t sure what could be going on. She knew she couldn’t be in trouble. She was past the age where teachers called in the grownups to reprimand and scold. She had stopped causing mischief during her senior year in high school, and there was no way her uncle Seth could have known that she blew off school just last weekend to go to a Broadway show.

“Whatever you’re going to say, I didn’t do it,” She attempted to tease. Her small smile immediately turned into a frown as her uncle grew sadder. He was really starting to scare her. Come on, Uncle Seth, what’s going on? Why do you look like…?”

“Jade,” Seth cut her off, his hand touching her shoulder as he looked at her seriously. “I just talked to Casey…”

“Casey?” Jade interrupted him. “Is something wrong back home? With Luke? Why did Casey call you?” A million and one scenarios were running through her head, most of them involving her brother…Casey’s closest friend since conception it seemed. If he was calling then that was the only option, something was wrong with Luke.”

“…are dead,” she heard, realizing that at some point she had blanked out why her uncle was talking. The words rang in her ears and her eyes blinked as she tried to understand what she had just heard. Had he said that Luke was dead? No it was something else…but he used the word dead. Those words in the same sentence just did not work for her. “Wh…what?” she asked swallowing as she waited for her uncle to repeat himself. She was almost afraid of what he would say.

“Your parents,” Seth repeated sadly.

“What about them?” Jade’s voice was equally sad and just as soft.

“There was an accident…their plane went down somewhere over the Mississippi and…”

“No…” jade said shaking her head as she stood to get away from her uncle. “You can’t…you can’t say something like that. I won’t believe it.”

“I got tickets,” Seth continued. Jade could feel his closeness and turned when his hand touched her shoulder. “I have tickets for us; you me and Angel. We’re taking the train, tonight.”

“What about Harvey?” She asked referring to her cousin who was just about to graduate high school…just like Luke. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as her thoughts turned to her little brother. How as he handling this? Of all of them, he had been closest to their dad. The bond the two of them shared was one that any child would want to have with a parent. They all had great relationships with both their parents, but there was nothing better than watching Luke and their dad together.

“Jade?” Seth’s voice invaded her thoughts again. She blinked realizing she had once again slipped into a daze. Her uncle was looking at her, his eyes full of concern and worry. They reminded her so much of her dad. “Did you hear what I said?”

She shook her head in response, not sure why her vocal chords suddenly didn’t want to work. She wasn’t prone to crying, but the tears threatened no matter how hard she tried to blink them back.

“Harvey’s going to join us in time for the funeral. He’s devastated, but he can’t get away.”

“Of course not,” she laughed bitterly. “Why would he be able to comfort his grieving cousins? That is the stupidest rule ever created. Family is family. No one knows that better than Harvey and I.”

“Your parents were so proud of you, Jade,” Seth recounted, a sad smile playing on his lips.

“We can’t take the train,” Jade said still somehow managing to keep her tears at bay. “Luke…Abby, Aaron, the girls, Ethan they need me. They need me, yesterday. I have to…I have to take a plane.” Just the word scared her but she didn’t see much choice. She had to get to her brothers and her sisters. “I have to call Aaron, and then I’ll call for a plane ticket or maybe I’ll just go to the airport. I know how absurd it is Uncle Seth. Don’t look at me like that. You know you’d do the same thing if…”

She found herself in the comfort of her uncle’s arms and her words died on her lips. She knew he understood. He would brave that flight as well for any of his siblings despite the irony of it all. “I’ll change the tickets,” he whispered softly as he ran his hand up and down her back to soothe her. Jade wasn’t a crier, but here in her uncle’s embrace she let lose crying for the parents she’d never get to see again and the siblings she needed to, wanted to get to.

Seth held her until the well ran dry, and he wiped her tears away just as her Dad used to do, and she went to pack. She called her big brother while she stuffed things into her suitcase, sighing when she heard the all too familiar and very annoying voicemail message. “Aaron, where are you when your family is in crisis. Call me when you get this.” She clicked off the phone and finished getting her things ready. She thought about calling Luke, to let him know she was on her way…but she decided to surprise him.
***

“How’s Luke holding up?” Casey asked as he closed the door to his bedroom.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” Noah replied, a heavy sigh escaping his lips as he rested back against the headboard. When he returned from helping Luke he had told his dad he wasn’t hungry and went straight to his room to call his best friend. Casey had needed an excuse to escape his family and was grateful for the distraction. They were both concerned about their friend and Noah was eager to vent his frustrations about his inability to help Luke through the pain. “He’s doing that thing where he worries about everyone else, and doesn’t think much about himself,” Noah relayed. “It’s like he is on autopilot and I wish there was something I could do for him.”

“I know you want to help him,” Casey said thoughtfully. “Even more than he realizes.”

“Casey, don’t start,” Noah warned as he ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “Now is not the time…”

“To what?” Casey interrupted. “Remind you that you are totally hung up on this guy?”

“That guy happens to be going through a major life change right now. The last thing he needs is for me to hit him with that.”

“He lost his parents, Noah,” Casey reminded solemnly. “He didn’t decide to become a monk. “I don’t think he would mind if you told him.”

“Just drop it, okay. I’m not telling Luke anything…not now.”

“I thought you were going to tell him at prom?”

“It doesn’t seem like the right time, Case. I mean how insensitive would I be to think about what I want and how I feel while he’s grieving. I mean you know how close he was to his parents. Especially his dad. I have to put Luke first here…someone has to, because he certainly won’t.”

“I still can’t believe it, you know?” Casey said changing the subject. Noah was grateful for that his best friend always knew when to back off. “I almost expect Luke to call and say it was a cruel joke, or that it was a mistake.”

“I just saw them yesterday morning,” Noah related. “Holden and I were planning a surprise for Luke’s birthday. And we were going to take in the Cubs game next weekend. Graduation is next month and Luke should be worried about his valedictorian speech.”

“But instead he has to write a Eulogy,” Casey finished softly. “Life sucks sometimes, doesn’t it?”

“Hey Case?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t think…I don’t think I want to go away to school anymore.”

“I figured you’d say something like that,” Casey sighed. “Let’s not think about that right now okay? Luke needs us, and that’s all we need to focus on.”

“That’s exactly my point, Case. Luke needs me and I can’t just leave him.”

Casey smiled at his friend’s words. One of the things he admired about Noah was his singular focus. Luke had his heart, even if he didn’t know it, and Casey knew there was nothing Noah wouldn’t do for the guy. “Let’s just take it one day at a time okay? No rash decisions. Besides, you don’t know that Luke is going to change his mind or not.” Even as he said it he knew the truth of the matter was that Luke would feel the need to stay in Oakdale. He was far too loyal to leave. It had been hard enough to convince him to apply to Northwestern. “All I’m saying is we don’t know anything yet. It’s too early to make rash decisions. I do think we should skip school tomorrow though. Are you up for that?”

“If it means we are going to help Luke, then yes,” Noah said laughing at his best friend’s boldness. Only Casey would use this as a prime opportunity to miss class.

“I say helping a friend is the perfect excuse. I’ll meet you at Luke’s bright and early tomorrow, and we’ll see what we can do okay?”

“Yeah…and Case?”

“I know…you’re welcome.”
***

Abby sighed as she stood outside the morgue with Luke and Jade by her side. They were about to embark on a task that no child should have to face. They needed to identify their parents’ bodies. It had been three days since they learned of their parents’ fate and the news still hadn’t quite sunk in for Abby. She was still waiting for the phone call that would reveal that there had been a mistake, but the call never came.

She was numb as her cousin Jack led them into the room. Immediately she was hit with the pungent odor of flesh and she covered her mouth with her hands as she forced herself to move forward. Jade and Luke were beside her and she looked at them to see how they were fairing.

Her sister’s face was void of any emotion, and she had given up trying to read her little brother. He had worn the same expression for the past three days. He was neither sad nor happy and he didn’t even smile. If not for the fact that he ordered their younger siblings around she would have thought something was majorly wrong with him. There were only two people, maybe three who seemed to be able to get through to Luke. Casey, Maddie and especially Noah.

“Are you sure you want to do this,” Jack pulled Abby’s attention to the situation at hand. “I could do it for you, Abby.”

“No,” she said shaking her head and stepping forward. “I need to do this, Jack. We need to see for ourselves that they are in those bags.”

Jack just nodded and gestured for the coroner to unzip the body bags. She heard a whimper escape Jade’s lips and a strangled sob that she only belated realized had come from her. When she first heard the news, it had felt like a dream. She had thought that any minute she would wake up to a phone call from her mom asking what time she would arrive to see Luke off on his Senior Prom. Her dad would thrill her with a story about one of their many horses, and then she would talk to her brother about how fussy their parents could be.

Unshed tears filled her eyes as she thought about the last time she had spoken to either of them. Had it really been around Easter time, when she couldn’t make it home? Surely she had spoken to them since then. She took a deep breath and brought herself back to the present and the task at hand. She saw her brother out of the corner of her eye resting his head against their father’s chest. IF she didn’t know any better she would have thought he was crying. That couldn’t be possible…Luke didn’t cry, not ever.

“It’s them,” she said wiping away the tears that streaked her cheeks. “I think we’re done here.”
***

“It was awful,” Luke said as Noah placed a tall glass of milk in front of him. “We walked into that room, and it was just so cold, Noah. I felt like I had just walked into a freezer.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t be drinking cold milk,” Noah commented, his mouth full of Peach Cobbler.”

“And you shouldn’t talk with your mouth full,” Luke pointed out, his fork flourishing in the air for emphasis. He cut into the pie that was sitting on the table between them and took a bite, chewing thoughtfully as he looked at his best friend. “It smelled in there,” he said after a moment of silence. “It was this rank smell that I probably shouldn’t be mentioning since we are eating but, I think it’s still there, you know? I don’t think I’m ever going to forget that smell.”

“I’m sorry,” Noah frowned. He was certain that Luke didn’t really want him to say anything. He just needed him to listen.

“I don’t think it hit me until I looked at their faces,” Luke confessed, his tone thoughtful as he picked at the pie. “They were so still, so silent and unmoving. And they looked so pale…ghostly pale. IT was as if someone had bathed them in white flour or something like that. They just didn’t look real, Noah but it was them. Dad’s eyes were open and he was smiling. I can just imagine that he was laughing, and Mom was resting her head against his shoulder. They always liked being close to each other like that.

“Luke…” Noah said reaching out to take Luke’s hand into his own.

“I started to think about the fact that I’ll never hear their voices again,” Luke continued as if Noah hadn’t spoken. “I won’t be able to ask Dad for advice-“

“Luke,” Noah tried again his voice gentle as he tried to get his best friend’s attention. “They wouldn’t want you to think like that. They would want you to think about how much they loved you and your brothers and sisters. Know that they knew that you loved them more than anything and that you were proud to call them your parents. They were so proud of you, Luke…hold on to that, okay.”

Luke bit his lip trying to stay off the tears. He was tired of crying, tired of thinking about the bad things and he wanted desperately to do what Noah was suggesting.

“Let’s talk about some good stories,” Noah suggested, looking desperately for a way to cheer up his best friend. “Remember when your dad and mine tried to teach us how to ride our bikes?”

Luke nodded and allowed a smile to play on his lips. “I seem to remember they spent more time trying to outdo each other than really teaching us. We were content playing in the dirt as I remember it.”

“Yeah,” Noah laughed. “We rode our bicycles back to the yard at your house and sat there building dirt castles since we didn’t have any sand.”

Luke laughed a genuine laugh that warmed Noah’s heart. “Oh my god they were so angry at us when they realized where we were. And we just looked at each other and burst into tears, and they weren’t mad anymore.”

“And then they sat us down and explained that they were just worried about us and told us never to just run off from them again.”

“And then we had cookies and milk,” Luke concluded softly. “Thank you, Noah. I needed that.”
***

Winston had a fond smile on his face as he listened to his son and Luke reminisce about the past. He could remember very clearly the day he and Holden had taken the boys out to ride their bikes. He could recall their antics in showing off, and recalled how anxious they had been when the boys had gone missing. It had been such a relief to find them in the Snyder’s backyard.

For Winston that had been too soon after losing Charlene, and he had perhaps been a little harder on Noah than he had intended to be. It was a good thing that Holden was there to keep him grounded and calm. His best friend was a great man, and what Winston would miss most was his easy going nature. Holden didn’t let anything get him down, and even in the toughest situations he found a reason to stay positive.

That positive attitude had helped Winston through many a rough spots and it definitely came in handy when he was missing Charlene. Winston could remember the long late night conversations, and the many bottles of beer they shared as they talked about everything from their college days to life with their children. Holden listened when Winston needed to reminisce about Charlene, and Winston was always ready with an ear when the Snyders had disagreements. There would never be another man like Holden Snyder on this earth, and Winston just hoped that they were with Charlene now, watching them all from their perches on the clouds.
***

“Hi Mr. Snyder,” Casey greeted when Luke’s uncle opened the door. “Is Jade here by any chance?”

“Come on in, Casey” Seth said stepping back to let the young man enter. He was just closing the door when Abby’s voice reached their ears.

“Faith Snyder you open this door right now,” she yelled. The scream was followed by the sound of pounding on the door.

“Jade is upstairs,” Seth pulled Casey’s attention away from the noise for a moment. “She and Abby have been trying to get their sister to talk, but so far she won’t say anything to them.”

“I don’t know that yelling at her will help,” Casey observed. “She must be taking this really hard.”

“We all are,” Seth remarked as there was more banging from upstairs. “You can go up there if you want. Maybe you can help.”

“Has Luke been able to get her to talk at all?” Casey asked.

“”I don’t think she’s even talking to Luke. Which makes me think that something’s really wrong.”

“How are you hanging in there sir?” Casey asked placing a hand on Seth’s shoulder.

“I’m hanging in there, Casey. He was my baby brother…I’m certainly going to miss him. And you couldn’t find a sweeter girl than Lily.”

“Yeah they used to put up with me even if I got Luke in trouble,” Casey said fondly. “And nine times out of ten I enjoyed being over here far more than I liked being home.”

“You’re a good kid, Casey,” Seth chuckled. “Go on upstairs, and thank you for being such a great friend to Luke and Jade. I know they appreciate it, as do I.”

Casey turned to head up the stairs, but turned suddenly to give Seth a hug first. The gesture caught the older Snyder off guard, but he welcomed it without questions. He could sense that Casey needed comforting just as they all did at this time. Lily and Holden had touched a lot of people in their lives, and now everyone would have to learn how to get on without them; and that was easier said than done.

“Faith come on sweetie,” Jade was saying when Casey reached the second floor landing. “Open the door and let us come in. We just want to talk.”

“Mind if I try?” Casey asked softly as not to startle the girls too much. Jade and Abby turned and Jade moved forward to give him a hug. “It’s good to see you too Jade,” he said rubbing her back gently. “Let me see what I can do for your little sister.

“Be my guest,” Jade said stepping back so that Casey could stand in front of Faith’s door.

“Faith,” he said even as he knocked softly. “It’s Casey. Could I come in?” Silence followed his request and he turned his attention to Jade and Abby. “I hear she won’t even talk to Luke,” he whispered as he ran a hand through his hair. “And you guys have no idea what’s wrong?” Before neither girl could answer the door opened and Faith stepped out and immediately slipped into Casey’s arms. “”There’s my girl,” he soothed as his hand automatically stroked her back.

Faith clung to him for a long time, and Abby and Jade just stood back and watched in awe. Faith hadn’t wanted to come out for either of them. She hugged Luke, but she wouldn’t talk to him. She even hugged Noah when he had tried; but still she wasn’t talking. Casey just talked to her and tried to soother her silent tears, which was far more reaction than anyone else had been able to achieve.


“We don’t know what to do for her,” Abby said later as Jade placed a cup of hot chocolate in front of her.

“I think you just need to give her time,” Casey pointed out a thoughtful expression on his face. His fingers traced the rim of his mug for a moment before he took a sip. “She’s just hurting, and if you guys push her it’s only going to make her retreat deeper. She’ll speak when she’s ready.”

“I think Casey’s right,” Seth spoke up. “Luke said that she had a huge fight with your parents before they left for their trip. If that’s the case she’s probably not too happy with herself right now.”

“Isn’t that more reason why we should talk to her?” Abby asked her frustration showing as she held her mug with both hands. “I just hate that there’s nothing I can do for her. I feel like I’m so out of the loop. I’m like a stranger to her.”

“I’m no closer than you are,” Jade said sadly. “I think she resents me for leaving and going so far away.”

“Will you two stop it,” Casey spoke up, his tone showing that even he was getting exasperated. “Blaming each other is not going to help Faith right now. Neither of you are to blame for leading your lives. AT least you guys are here, which is more than I can say for that brother of yours. Have either of you heard from him yet?”

Jade and Abby exchanged a look with each other before focusing on Casey again. “I keep leaving messages on his voicemail,” Jade admitted. “Every time I’m tempted to just go ahead and say it, but it’s not the kind of information you give on the phone.”

“Well if it’s the only way to get through to him, then I don’t see that you have much choice,” Casey sighed. “He’s not making it very easy for you.”

“No he’s not,” Jade agreed. “I know that Luke has called too, and I even went to Java and asked Jeff if he has heard from him.”

“Jeff and Aaron aren’t on the best of terms,” Casey pointed out.

“So I was told,” Jade conceded. “He was very sorry to hear about Mom and Dad, and he said he would let Aaron know if he did by chance hear from him.”

“I don’t think he’s going to come,” Luke said startling everyone with his sudden appearance. “And frankly I don’t care. If he doesn’t want to be here, and he can’t bother to pick up his phone every once in a while then good riddance to him.”

“Luke you don’t mean that,” Jade said standing to embrace her brother.

“Yes I do,” Luke said warding Jade off with his hand. He looked in the refrigerator and pulled out the carton of milk and set it on the counter. He pulled two glasses from the cabinet as the others watched him as if they were waiting for him to say something else. “It takes five seconds to check your damn voicemail,” he said as Noah entered the kitchen. He handed his best friend a glass of milk and focused once more on his sisters, his uncle and Casey. “Five seconds to pick up the phone and call one of your sisters or your brother who has been trying to reach you to tell you that…you know what,” he said putting the glass back on the counter. “I just don’t’ care right now. I’ve had it.”

He turned and left the room without another word leaving Noah to try to explain what just happened. Noah sighed and locked gazes with his best friend before placing his own glass back on the counter. He’s not dealing with all of this very well; I’ll go talk to him. Case, you coming?”

“Yeah, sure,” Casey said snapping out of his daze. He bid the girls and Seth good bye and followed Noah quickly out of the room.
***

What’s going on, Casey?” Maddie asked as she continued to wipe down the counters. Since Luke was taking a few days off, she was picking up the slack for her brother. She didn’t mind doing it; there wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for her best friend. The only downside was that since she was there, she couldn’t be with Luke when he needed her the most. “Is Luke okay?”

“Noah and I are with him now, actually Noah’s been with him for most of the afternoon, but that’s another story.” Casey could feel the glare on the back of his head, and knew that it could only be coming from his best friend. “Luke is doing way too much, Maddie, and I think he’s about ready to snap.”

“Why do you say that?” Maddie asked her voice full of concern. She signaled to her brother that she was taking her fifteen minute break and leaned against the counter to talk to her friend. “What happened today?”

“They had to identify the bodies today. Luke’s not dealing very well and he’s pretty pissed off at Aaron too.”

“Poor Luke,” Maddie frowned. “Where is he now?”

“Sleeping, I think. Noah’s got him and he won’t say anything right now.”

“There has to be something we can do for him,” Maddie said thoughtfully. “I mean Luke would bend over backwards to help us if we needed him. Now he needs us, we have to do something.”

“I’m up for suggestions,” Casey said with a shrug. “Anything short of actually being here to help him, I mean I don’t think we can move in or anything.”

“Wait that’s it,” Maddie snapped her fingers just as her brother signaled that he needed her to work again. “Damn it, Casey, I have to go. I will be over as soon as my shift is done. Don’t leave Luke’s side. Bye.”

“Maddie wait,” Casey said before he heard the three beeps signifying that the call had been disconnected. “I don’t think I will ever understand her,” he said shaking his head as he looked over at Noah.

“What did she say?” Noah asked curiously. He was lying on Luke’s bed running his fingers through Luke’s hair as the latter lay helpless in his arms.

“She said she figured out how we could help Luke, but she hung up before she could tell me.”

“Was she responding to something you said, Case?” Noah inquired.

“Well I did mention that we couldn’t move in here.” Casey admitted after thinking about it for a moment.

“Maybe we should,” Noah said, and Casey could see the wheels turning in his best friend’s head.

“Oh no you don’t, Noah. I think we’re getting a little too old for slumber parties.”

“This wouldn’t be a slumber party,” Noah said his hand still idly stroking Luke’s hair as if it was the most natural motion in the world. “We’d just be here if he needs us you know? I mean it’s obvious that Aaron is MIA. Between you me and Luke, we’re the only ones who can get through to Faith, and Natalie dotes on us too. The girls already have their hands full trying to deal with funeral stuff that Luke is trying to help with, the least we can do is be there to lessen the burden a little bit.”

Casey sighed, knowing that Noah’s mind was made up. He had to admit it didn’t seem like a bad idea. And it wasn’t going to be long term, just until things could settle down a little. “Okay we can help, if Luke says its okay. We can’t just decide for him that we’re going to move in here.”

“This is Luke we’re talking about,” Noah reminded him. “The one who doesn’t ask for help.”

“So what are you suggesting, we volunteer our services? Are you even thinking straight right now?”

Noah looked down at Luke who was sleeping peacefully in his arms. He would give anything to be able to hold him like this forever, but thoughts like that were selfish at this point. Ever so gently he moved so that Luke was resting on the bed. He could tell that Casey was holding his breath along with him as they waited to see if Luke would stir.

“You know as well as I do that we have to do just that,” Noah said once they were certain that Luke was indeed sleeping. “Luke needs to know that we’re here for him. At least until after the funeral.”

“Okay,” Casey said putting his hands up in surrender. “You won’t get any argument from me. “I want to help him too. It’s weird, you know? We’re a month from graduating from high school and all of a sudden Luke has far more than graduation to think about.”

“Yeah,” Noah said sadly his face suddenly downcast as he looked at his feet.”

“What’s wrong?” Casey asked even as he moved to his best friend’s side.

“I miss them too,” Noah said so softly that Casey barely caught the words. He pulled his best friend into a hug and held on tight.

“Me too, Noah. Me too.”
***

“Luke is right you know,” Jade said her fingers idly tracing the rim of her mug. “Aaron should be here. Where the hell is he?”

“I don’t know,” Abby said shaking her head. “You’ve called, I’ve tried calling.

“We’ve all tried calling,” Jade pointed out. “That’s why our little brother is so upset. When he gets here, I’m going to kick his ass.”

“Have you guys started making funeral arrangements?” Seth asked curiously. “I don’t think we should put if off too long. “There are some important events coming up, and your brother’s graduating soon. We want him to cherish the rest of this time, not have it tainted by gloom.

“His birthday is coming up too,” Abby sighed. “Do you think we’re putting too much pressure on him? I mean he’s been here with the kids for the longest…”

“Luke’s fine,” Jade said waving it off. “He loves taking care of the kids, he always has. And you have to admit he’s good at it.’

“I just think you and I need to pick up some of the slack here,” Abby countered. “We can’t put it all on Luke’s shoulders”

“Abby’s right,” Seth agreed. “I think you guys need to find a way to help each other through this next month.”

“Let’s get through the funeral first,” Abby said picking up her mug. “Then we can figure out everything else. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m not ready to say goodbye.”

Jade lowered her head and Seth hid behind his coffee cup. Abby didn’t need them to speak to know that they agreed with her.
***

“No,” Luke said even as he looked through his bag trying to find his favorite writing pen. “I am not letting you guys do that, and that’s final.”

“You aren’t letting us,” Casey said crossing his arms. “What are we five, man?”

“You guys are not going to disrupt your lives just because you think I need help,” Luke insisted, turning to face his friends who had just informed him that they wanted to move into the house with him.

“But you aren’t asking,” Noah tried to reason with him. “We want to help, Luke. You are under so much stress, and it’s obvious that things are getting to you. Let us be there to lessen the burden.”

“My sisters are here,” Luke reminded them. “And my uncle. If my brother would get his ass here that would help too.”

“I wouldn’t mind being here for you, Luke.” Noah’s tone was soft and it conveyed so much more than Luke realized. Casey was aware of it, and he stared at his best friend for a long moment before turning back to Luke.

“Let us help, man. We want to keep you company and make sure you stay sane…okay.”

Luke looked from Noah to Casey and back to Noah, a sigh escaping his lips as he shook his head. “I don’t know guys; I would feel bad taking you away from your lives.”

“You aren’t taking us away, Luke,” Noah pointed out. “This is our decision, and we have the rest of senior year to look forward to. I…we don’t want you to miss it.”

Luke’s features softened as he looked at his friends. Truthfully he appreciated their efforts to help. He didn’t want to be alone, and sometimes in his family he felt that he was. He just couldn’t’ admit that out loud. His family depended on him too much. He needed to be in control, he needed to be okay.

“Okay, you guys can stay…just let me know if it gets to be too much. I’ll understand.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Noah said coming to place a hand on Luke’s shoulder. “We don’t mind.”