"The last thing I expected to go through was the loss of my son. I never imagined that that evening would be the last time I would ever talk to him. If I knew that I was going to lose him, I would've never let him go when I last hugged him. I should've died before him."

Keon turned off the TV after hearing yet another news coverage on Cash's death and the grief of his family, even one week after the tragedy. He was angry, angry at the news reporters for continuing coverage on the case all for the sake of television ratings. In a way, angry at Cash for making the decision to end his life. But most importantly, he was angry at himself for not preventing his best friend from doing such a thing.

The weeks that went by were a living hell for Keon. There were many things he saw on a daily basis that reminded him of Cash, be it seeing his favorite foods at the supermarket, going to certain places such as restaurants and stores, and seeing pairs of best friends spending time together. There was not one day that passed in which Keon did not think about Cash and mourn over the life he had left behind, and all the things he had to live for, but would end up missing.

Keon began his third year of college on August 30, three weeks after Cash died. Going back to college without him was rough. Since Cash was his lifelong best friend, Keon had never felt lonely in his life; which meant that spending the rest of his life without Cash would be even more painful.

"Keon, Keon! How did Cash die?"

"Keon! What happened to Cash?"

"Why did Cash kill himself?"

"I bet you miss him, right?"

Those were some of the endless questions that random students asked Keon on the first day of college. Many of those questions came from people who had never even met Cash in their lives. He tried to answer each question as politely as possible, but with little detail. Keon was fed up with them; even if the students were well intentioned, he hated being pitied. Without a doubt, going to college without Cash was rough for Keon. Yet, one thing that made it easier for him to cope was that Aria always made sure to check on him. They also saw each other whenever Keon went to see Hunter and his friends. Keon and Aria became close friends after a few weeks, and his attraction to her grew stronger with time, to the point that he daydreamed about life as her boyfriend. What he didn't know was how much Aria was attracted to him, and how her feelings were the same as his.

As time went by, Keon began having suspicions about Cash's death. He began to believe that he had not died by suicide; that he was rather murdered. The reason why Keon thought about that was because Cash had no noticeable signs of depression, or even being suicidal. Even when he had his hard days, he usually bounced back quickly, and he always seemed to have a positive attitude towards life. Keon knew that depression and mental disorders are not always noticeable, but he could not seem to stop thinking about the possibility of Cash having been murdered; not even after it had been confirmed that he took his own life.

He did everything he could in order to brush his suspicions away and keep them inside the depths of his brain, but eventually, the urge to talk about them was too much to handle.

"Mom, Dad," Keon told his parents as he sat down at the dinner table. "There's something that I need to confess. It's been bugging me this week."

"What is it?" his mother asked naively.

"I'm..." Keon stammered. "I think... I'm starting to suspect that Cash was murdered."

"What?" his father widened his eyes. "Why would you think that?"

"Because... because he never showed any signs of being depressed. I know that people with depression tend to do everything they can to hide it, but even then, it's almost always noticeable. However, Cash never ever showed signs of depression."

"But who knows if he was just very good at hiding his feelings? I mean, the police didn't find anything that made it seem like a murder," his mother shook her head.

"Mom, I knew Cash better than anyone who was not his family. Shit, we even lived together!" Keon insisted.

"Language!" his father spoke sternly.

"What does this have to do with anything, anyway?" his mother asked.

"I never saw him show signs of depression. Mom, I spent more than half of my life by his side. I'm pretty sure I would've found out about him being mentally ill in one way or the other."

"I don't know, Keon. Him being murdered doesn't really make sense to me, especially after the police clearly expressed it was a suicide."

"Well, the cause of his death being suicide makes even less sense to me," Keon raised the tone of his voice. "It doesn't make any sense at all!"

"Watch your attitude, Keon," his father glared at him. "That's enough, I think it's best to let Cash rest in peace."

"Maybe..." Keon sighed, getting up from his chair to go back to his room. He pretended to agree with his parents in order to end the conversation, but deep down, he had a very strong feeling that Cash's death was caused by something else.

Keon met with Devon that same day to tell him about his thoughts.

"I have a feeling that Cash didn't kill himself," he explained.

"Wait... you've been thinking about it too?" Devon widened his eyes.

"So that means I'm not the only one who has thought about it?"

"No, not at all. In fact, ever since he died, I've been thinking a lot about how it couldn't have been a suicide. I mean... anybody who knew Cash knew that he was a truly happy guy."

"Exactly! I'm so glad you understand me. But... if he didn't commit suicide... then that means he was most likely murdered."

"Most likely. There can't be any other reason."

"Then who could've killed him, Devon? And why would this person want to do something as atrocious as that?"

"I... I don't really know."

"And there were no traces of anyone having broken into the apartment."

"Indeed. Honestly, I don't think we should say anything yet, because I don't want his family to think we're just spreading rumors or trying to bring more attention to the case than what's needed. That, and the fact that I don't want to make their pain even worse."

"Yeah, you're right. Let's just make it our little secret."

As it marked one month since Cash's death, Dorian decided to surprise Leah and take her to his favorite spot in Surfside; a small plot of ground with two large trees and a wooden bench. Though he barely knew Cash, he had grown to care about Leah, and he knew how emotional and morose this day would be for her.

Leah was half asleep in her room when she heard her mother hollering at her from the kitchen. Groggily, she stood up and walked to the kitchen to see what was going on, when she was surprised with the sight of Dorian at her front door.

"Leah," Barbara looked at her. "Do you know this man? Says he's here to pick you up."

"I do," Leah replied, looking at Dorian, then at Barbara. "I met him at Ronan's party about a month ago."

"We did," Dorian added. "Leah, do you wanna get out of the house for a bit? To help cheer you up on this day."

"Sure," Leah nodded. "I mean, will you be okay, mom?"

"Yes, my dear," Barbara smiled weakly. "You need to clear your mind for a bit, and your father's gonna be home in twenty anyway. I'll be fine."

"I love you," Leah hugged her. "Never forget that."

"Take care, sweetheart."

Around half an hour later, they were already at Surfside. As soon as Leah saw where Dorian had parked, she was instantly flooded with fond memories of her brother.

"I remember this place well," Leah smiled, her eyes glistening with tears. "Cash and I used to hang out here a lot when we were younger. I miss him so much, Dorian, it almost feels like he's here right now."

"He is here right now," Dorian told her, pointing at her chest. "He's inside your heart and memories. As long as you never forget him, he will always be with you."

"Yeah... though I wish he were here physically."

The two then sat down.

"Tell me, Leah," Dorian leaned back against the bench. "What was your brother like?"

"He was..." Leah began to tear up. "He was the best brother I could ever ask for. I know it sounds cliché, but he simply was everything anyone could ever want in a brother. He was caring, smart, highly annoying... in the best way possible, of course," she giggled. "He was always there whenever anyone needed him, he always made sure I was safe and loved... Cash was my hero."

"No wonder he was so loved by so many people."

"He truly was, Dorian," she nodded slowly. "I just..." she began to tear up. "I just wish he knew that before he made that decision."

Afterwards, Dorian embraced Leah and allowed her to cry on his shoulder. The moment he held her, he felt the need to protect her and brighten her days a little bit, while thinking about how the first time he saw Cash was his last. It baffled him to know just how fragile life can be.

"Sometimes I wonder..." Leah choked up. "Sometimes I wonder what would've happened if I went to see him that day. What if I didn't talk to Dani that night, and instead went to spend time with Cash? Would he still be here? Do you think I could've saved him, Dorian?"

"You couldn't have known he was about to die, Leah. You told me he showed no signs of being depressed."

"I wish I knew..."

"I do so too, Leah," he sighed, wrapping his arm around her body. "He had so much to live for. Only God knows what was going through his mind at that moment."

Dorian spent the rest of the afternoon sitting on the bench, listening to Leah tell him fond memories of her childhood with Cash; the moments she wished she could relive and replay like a cassette. He enjoyed listening to those stories, but couldn't help feeling heartache at the thought of how painful it was for Leah and her family to experience such a loss.

Meanwhile, Keon was visiting Cash's grave. Cash had been dead for a month already, but it was now that Keon had truly begun to deal with the pain that the loss of his best friend left on him. He sat down in front of the headstone -clutching Cash's high school yearbook picture- and began to reflect on his memories for what seemed like the longest time.

"I can't believe it, Cash, I still can't believe you're gone," Keon sighed, looking at the picture with tears in his eyes. "How could you be gone so soon? Why did you have to die right when you were starting to fully live your life? You were supposed to graduate from college, be a forensic investigator, start a family, achieve your dreams... but that will never happen now. Cash, we were supposed to complete our goals together, just like we did when we were kids. How am I supposed to live without you now, huh? How will I live knowing that you're missing out on the most beautiful things life has to offer? I will never be able to understand it, brother, I never will. I just wish you knew how loved you were."

And at that moment, Keon broke down into tears for the first time since losing Cash, sobbing like a child who had lost their favorite toy. It had taken a long time for him to break down crying over his loss. Since he had to be strong for Leah and her family, as well as the rest of his friends, Keon never let himself show any strong emotion whatsoever; until now.

While he wept, he heard a voice -which sounded a lot like Aria's- calling out his name. No, Keon, that's not her, she can't possibly know you're here, he thought. However, when he heard the voice becoming louder and louder, Keon had no other choice but to turn around to know where it was coming from; that's when he saw her walking towards him.

"Aria... what are you doing here? You shouldn't see me like this..."

"I..." she took a deep breath. "I was taking a stroll around this street and saw you from afar. At first I didn't know if it was you, but as I came closer I figured out that my suspicions were correct."

"Thank you for coming to me. I guess I really do need someone to talk to about this."

"I'll be here to listen," Aria scooted closer to him.

"I don't... I don't even know where to begin. Cash was my rock. Ever since we were toddlers, he was my best friend, my companion, partner in crime, human diary... he was the brother I never had. He was strong, down to earth, kind, goofy, loyal, charming; there were simply not enough words to describe him. He loved everybody, and everybody loved him. It was very easy for him to make friends in an instant, because he always knew what to say and he never failed to make people smile. If only he knew how much people loved him, Aria... he wouldn't have even thought about doing this."

"Cash was a really cool guy. I only talked to him a few times, but it was more than enough to let me know that he was genuine and friendly."

"And I wish you guys could've talked more. I just know that you two would have a beautiful friendship, because y'all had the same personalities and the same attitude towards life. I don't know what made him kill himself, because, like I've said dozens of times, he never showed any signs of being depressed, and he never talked about wishing for his own death. Even if people like him try their best to hide it, their loved ones nearly always notice it. If he really were hiding it, then he was extremely good at doing so. I've even thought about the possibility of him being murdered, because his suicide just doesn't make any sense to me. But if it were a murder, I don't know who could have done it."

"This is something I still struggle to believe," Aria shook her head. "I can't wrap my head around the fact that he died at such a young age."

"You and me both," Keon told her, and then broke down into tears once again.

Aria watched him closely, with a startled expression on her face; it was evident that seeing him cry was something that shocked her.

"I wish there could be an explanation as to why he had to die so soon," Keon choked up. "I'll never be able to erase my last image of him from my mind... there was too much blood in the scene. And the worst thing about this is that he died in pain, Aria. He died in pain, I could see it in his face! Nobody should spend their last living moments in pain."

"I-" Aria teared up and hugged him tightly, letting him cry silently into her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry you have to see me like this," Keon wept.

"It's okay, Keon, it's okay to cry... I don't mind," Aria spoke softly.

Being in her arms brought him a lot of much needed comfort and relief. Even though he was initially embarrassed that the girl he was attracted to had to see him at his worst, she did not mind at all; in fact, she was compelled to be there for him and bring at least some happiness into his life.

After he calmed down, Keon told Aria random stories and memories of Cash. Little did he know that talking to her about these things would help him begin to heal, even if just a little bit. When telling her each story in detail, he felt a small amount of joy in his heart; it was the first time he had been truly happy in a month.

"I gotta go home now. Thank you, thank you so much for coming here to see me. You don't know how much you helped me by letting me talk about my feelings," Keon told her.

"It's no problem. You know you can talk to me about anything, and that I'll always be here for you no matter the circumstances. I care a lot about you, Keon... never forget that," Aria hugged him tightly.

"It's my pleasure. And Aria... I care a lot about you too," Keon hugged her back and kissed her cheek. "Text me when you're home. Take care, precious," he told her, and then covered his mouth and widened his eyes, watching as she looked at him in shock. Did I really just call her that?, he giggled bashfully.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading my first story! If you enjoyed this chapter, please support it by voting. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!