Chapter 27
Shannon cried harder the whole way home after Chris told her what Justin had said to him. He looked over at her a few times, but tried to hold back from breaking down; the last thing they needed was them getting into a wreck. They got back to the house, and Shannon didn’t want to get out of the car. Chris was already out and headed towards the door when he realized that Shannon was still sitting in the car. He went up to the passengers side and opened the door for her, "Aren’t you going to get out?" he asked her. She looked up at him, "I just can’t. It’s not going to be the same without Justin here." He rested his hand on her shoulder, "I know, I know. It’s going to be hard, but we’ll help each other through it." He held out his hand to her and helped her out of the car. Slowly, they walked to the house and prepared themselves to go in.
"Wow, it already seems so different in here," Shannon said, looking around the house. Chris walked ahead of her and sat his cell phone down on the coffee table. He walked towards the kitchen while Shannon just stood in the doorway, looking around, trying not to break down again. "Hey, do you want a cup of tea!?," Chris shouted from the kitchen. She didn’t answer back, she just walked in and nodded her head. They sat down at the kitchen table and just stared at nothing. The silence was broken by the phone ringing. Shannon made no attempt to move so Chris stood up and answered it. "Hello?," he said as he picked up, and then paused. He turned around to Shannon and asked if she minded some company. She didn’t say anything, just shook her head as Chris finished the conversation. She looked at him with questioning eyes as he sat down. "All the guys are coming over, along with Jessica to make arrangements for the funeral." Shannon grimaced at the word "funeral". Funerals usually meant finalizing everything. She didn’t want to say goodbye to Justin completely. She wished that he could walk through the door and give her a light kiss on the forehead like he always did.
About fifteen minutes later, the doorbell rang, and Shannon still sat quietly at the table, drinking her tea. JC walked into the kitchen first, followed closely by Jessica. Lance and Joey slowly made their way into the kitchen; they looked like they were afraid to walk in or even to say anything. JC bent down and gave Shannon a hug, and then sat at the table next to her. Everyone else took their seats and they all sat in silence. Shannon sat at the table with her head in her hands, while everyone just sat there, staring into nothing, just like Chris and Shannon had been doing before they called. JC broke the silence and pulled out his little notebook. "We need to get things ready for the funeral." They all sat there and just chatted about the good times and bad times that they had shared with Justin, and occasionally, JC would write something down.
A few hours had passed and everyone decided to call it a night. Lance and Joey were going to the airport to pick up Mandi, who was moving down there to be with Lance. JC and Jessica had left as well, leaving the house quiet and empty again, with only Chris and Shannon occupying it. Shannon stood up from the table and stretched. She had hardly talked or moved the whole time. She walked out towards the patio and looked outside. Opening the glass door, she stepped out and sat down in the chair. The sun was starting to set and she looked up, noticing the sunset. She looked for a moment and then shut her eyes, trying not to cry. Chris noticed her sitting out on the patio alone, and he went to join her. When he stepped out, Shannon started to cry, and she kept gazing up towards the sun. He looked in the direction that she was looking, and then back at her. She looked over at him, and noticed that he was concerned. She wiped her eyes, and tried to speak. "The last thing Justin and I actually did together was sit and watch the sunset, and it was the first time that we had actually talked about our future together. And I remember the way he looked that night, too. The way the setting sun was shining on his face, making his blonde hair seem so golden, and his blue eyes seem so blue. He honestly looked like an angel to me that night," she said as she wiped her eyes again. "And tonight, the sun is setting the same way it did that night. It looks exactly the same, but there is one thing missing. My special angel is missing." Chris looked at her with tears in his eyes as well, "He’s not really missing. He’s in your heart, and he’ll always be there, no matter what happens."
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