「 t w e l v e : "I'll wait here if you want."」

T/W: mentions of death up ahead.

"Katie! Wait up!"

Hmm? That voice? It was extremely warm, cosy... familiar. Something one could take solace in. Whose was it?

The five-year-old version of Katie giggled."No!" she shrieked, running far away into the woods.

"You'll fall if you don't look where you're going, Katie!" The voice said, half-teasing, half-worried.

The familiarity felt overwhelming. Despite it being a happy memory, all that was felt was a burden and intense pressure.

"Nothing is going to happen to me!" Katie tittered. "I'm invisible- ouch!" She stumbled on a rock and fell on her knees, scraping them and her palms in the process.

"I told you to not run so fast!" The voice reached near to her and crouched beside her. Katie groaned, willing not to cry.

"But- but-"

"Shh," the voice said. It was very soothing, and instantly calmed Katie's nerves. It was a girl's."You'll be fine. I'll wipe it, and put your favourite band-aid on it, okay?" She smiled. "Also..." her tone turned teasing. "Did you mean 'invincible' and not 'invisible'?"

Katie gave a teary smile, sniffing. "I think so. Thank you, Audrey."

Ah, yes... Audrey. That was her name. The images and memories slowly started to become clearer as the dream shifted. The light memories suddenly turned into a darker one... something she had seen many times in a nightmare similar to this one. The simple switch from light to dark became unbearable.

"Where are they? Where did they go?!"

A shift.

"Audrey. It was a hit and run. She- she died on impact."

Images of the broken faces of the Jones family, her parents and brother... and finally herself looking in the mirror, at her bruiseless body were crystal clear.

"Katie," a voice whispered coldly, leaving dread in its wake. It was Audrey's, but it was so cruel, so far from the warm voice that she had had. "Don't cry. Why are you crying? It's not like your own sister has died."

Katie woke up with a sheen of sweat marking her forehead. Her heart was beating faster than usual and she took deep breaths in. She put a hand on her chest, blinking rapidly. A large inhale through her mouth and a glassful of water later, she closed her eyes again.

After her breathing normalised, she fumbled for her phone to look for the time. It read almost six o'clock, and then she looked at the date.

12th March 2018.

The realisation occurred to Katie and she crawled out of her bed, rubbing her eyes. She quickly got dressed after brushing her teeth and showering. She wore a yellow turtleneck sweater as a remembrance, put on a pair of black jeans and let her hair loose for once. Pocketing her phone, she went downstairs to see her parents already at the table.

"Good morning," her mother gave her a small smile. "Do you want anything to eat, honey?"

"I think I'll manage," she replied in a hurry. "I'll be back for breakfast."

"I think you should eat something before going out. You don't work well on an empty stomach."

"Mum."

"Katie." Her stern tone made no room for argument. Her expression softened a moment later. "Listen to me. Eat something- a toast, at least."

"She's right," her father said, downing his own black coffee and setting his cup on the coaster. "We know you're in a hurry, but you still have to eat something."

Her resolve started weakening slowly as her mother served two toasts and peanut butter and jam. She walked quickly to the table and picked them up, sloppily applying the PB & J.

"I'll eat on the way. Bye!"

"Do you want me to drop you off?" Jake asked as he trudged downstairs. It was as if he came prepared.

"Sure," Katie said. She handed a piece of toast to him and he took it with a silent thank you.

"Bye, mum, dad," they said and hurried out.

"Bye. Take care!"

❇ ❇ ❇

In the 15 minutes that took them to reach the graveyard, Katie tried to stay calm. A small talk with Jake was all for her to stay grounded to the present. As her brother stopped his car, she unbuckled her seatbelt and walked out, shutting the door behind her. She held a red Gladiolus in her hand- the one she had bought from the only florist nearby.

"I'll wait here if you want."

Katie nodded. "No, it's fine. You can drop by later if you want. You should go have some breakfast."

He looked sceptical. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Okay," he replied a minute later. "Also, Katie," he stopped her. "I'm sure you know this, but give them a bit of space, okay? If they don't talk, don't push them."

"Thanks, but I'm aware of this."

Katie walked into the graveyard through the gate which smelled fresh like it was recently painted- a stark contrast to the otherwise sad, old graveyard. The cold morning puff of air greeted her, blowing her open hair away from her face. The negative vibe of the area didn't help at all; she could only rely on the chilly morning air to soothe her nerves.

The deeper she went, the cooler the air became; the trees were doing a great job of being spooky, as always. At the end of the line of the erected stones, a silhouette was seen with its head down.

Katie joined River and stood beside him. He was sporting a light yellow shirt as well. She squatted and kept the flower atop the stone, closing her eyes and uttering a few words under her breath. Both stayed silent for a long time. The 'whoosh' of the wind was the only sound that covered the silence between them.

"She would've turned 19 today, y'know," River said a while later.

Katie looked up at him but said nothing. River licked his lips and stuffed his hands into his jeans' pockets.

"Audrey Jones," he murmured. "People called her a true prodigy. The best sister, friend, daughter one could ever ask for. She was so beautiful- both from the outside and inside. No one would have guessed we were related," he chuckled darkly. "I'm sure she would have loved this shirt," he looked at its cuffed sleeve and straightened the already tight collar. "I got it ironed especially. She would've also joked about us being in a band after wearing the same coloured clothes."

Katie scoffed lightly, shaking her head. "Definitely. To make it more effective, she would have worn something similar to this and marched in the whole school," she said.

River crouched beside her, resting his hands on his knees. "People would've cheered her on simply because of her enthusiasm."

"Surely."

Another moment of silence passed. Neither of them said anything until Katie remembered something.

"Rose won't come today as well, will she?"

River heaved a sigh. Shaking his head, he rubbed his eyes tiredly. He properly settled himself beside her. "I heard some rustling in her room last night. She was pacing around quite a lot. I went to check on her and we talked for a while," he explained. "The last thing I know before going to sleep is seeing her bedroom lights switching off. But I don't think she caught even a bit of shut-eye. Not until it dawned, at least."

"Ugh," Katie groaned and put her face in her hands. "Sleepless nights are the worst. I just hope she didn't read something even more depressing."

"I don't know. I checked up on her before coming here- she was fast asleep, thankfully."

"Are you guys coming to school today?"

His smile was crooked. "And receive all those pitiful looks? No, thanks. I'd rather stay home and wallow in peace."

"It's better like that anyway," she agreed. "Even I might skip. And..." she droned out slowly, "you know that I'm not physically or emotionally capable of pitying you, right?"

He breathed out a small laugh. "Of course. If anything, Audrey was closer to you. I hope you know she loved you a lot."

Katie sucked in a deep breath through her mouth as nostalgia flooded over her. Pursing her lips, she gave a nod, not feeling like breaking down.

As an act of showing what she was feeling, she hesitantly put her left arm around his shoulders, hugging him from the side. He looked surprised but didn't think twice before sliding his arm around her back. A tear left his eye, followed by a few more. As he began crying more freely, Katie rubbed his back silently in the awkward position they were sitting in.

His lips trembled. "I miss her, Katie. I miss her a lot," he was barely suppressing his tears at this point. "Those stupid banters, teasing, pranks... I wish she could come back."

"Me too, man," Katie whispered. "If only she could."

She let a tear escape out of her eye but quickly wiped it away. She quietly patted his back as the boy cried his eyes out, something no one would think he was capable of doing. She let the boy embrace his sadness silently, this version of him unseen and unrealised by many people.

❇ ❇ ❇

"You wanna pick up more of the Gladioli on the way to put them in the vase?"

"Sure, they would look good in the living room," River agreed. His face lit up suddenly. "Oh, oh! Also... they could be used as a remembrance for today! Bet you didn't think of that, huh?" He smirked at her, feeling proud of his realisation.

"Sure... I didn't think of it that way," Katie drawled out, not in the mood to congratulate him for stating the obvious. Either way, she was glad he was trying to turn back to his normal self.

They were walking down the path that led them towards the graveyard's gate. A while later after River's breakdown, a few more friends and family members started showing up, which was a cue for the duo to leave. A few crying aunts hugged River which physically made it impossible for him to breathe, but he managed to survive.

He pouted. "You were implying about the remembrance in the first place, weren't you? You didn't give a sarcastic reply to that statement."

"Welp. You got me there, buddy," she replied in a plain tone, slapping his back.

River sniffed. "Ah, I love this day-" that earned him a look, "-not because it's the two-year death anniversary of my sister, Katie. I'm not a heartless arsehole, obviously. It's because you're behaving kindly towards me which is truly a sight to be remembered."

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" she feigned hurt. "I am always this kind!"

"Sure."

"Don't try to sass me, River Jones. And you'd definitely look like a heartless arsehole if you keep spewing stuff out of your mouth like that," she shot at him.

He gave her a tight-lipped smile. "Call it a coping mechanism."

She pursed her lips and nodded. "Fair enough, I guess."

He pouted. "I know, right?" She gave him a look. "Okay fine," he said and pretended to zip his lips.

"All right, I'll text Jake to let him know we're walking home."

"Yeah."

❇️ ❇️ ❇️

Audrey Jones was one of the brightest people Katie had ever met. She just had that aura around her that would attract people. She wasn't Katie's sister, but she was closest to a sister she had never had. She was someone Katie could look up to when her brother wasn't there, someone that she could hold on to. She was the pillar of strength that Katie couldn't be steady without; Audrey was the forever-smiling piece of hope.

But that forever-smiling face was taken away from them too soon. In a blink of an eye, a tragedy entered their lives. And the worse part was that Rose was there to witness it.

It happened when Audrey was taking Rose for a drive in her new car. She wanted to take the twins first, but River was with his friends and had declined her invitation without even a fleeting sight. In hindsight, it was pure luck for him. The girls' evening proceeded with them hanging out and eating takeaway food. It had been fun.

Until a car hit Audrey's side of the car, swerving them into a nearby pole.

The driver hadn't even stopped; they drove away leaving chaos in their wake. The police could find any traces of neither the car nor the driver, and apparently, there were no working cameras in the vicinity.

In all of this mess, poor Audrey had hit her head and died a few minutes later. Rose came out with a few scratches and bruises, but the damage had already been done to her, more mentally than physically.

Lost in thought, Katie didn't realise when they had reached their street. Instead of entering her house, she followed River into the Jones residence. She hugged Isabella and gave her a small smile, and a wave to Harry. River went wordlessly into the kitchen, pouting and the parents sighed.

"How are you two today?" Katie questioned.

"We'll be fine, dear," Isabella assured her. "We'll get through this. It's the looks that our relatives give us which make everything sadder, though."

"True. But hey," Katie shrugged, "at least they're here."

Harry hummed. "We are more worried about the twins, though. Will you...?

Katie nodded. "That's why I'm here. River and I talked, and he's trying to cheer up. He'll get there." Her gaze went up thoughtfully. "And as for Rose, she'll be okay as well. She just needs some time."

"Yeah. Thanks for being here."

"Always."

With that, she turned to go upstairs but remembered something.

"Oh, my parents will drop by sometime today."

"Of course. We have both taken the day off, so any time is welcome."

"Noted."

With that, she went up the stairs. The door with Rose's name written on it with a cursive red was slightly ajar. Katie knocked on it.

"It's me. Mind if I enter?"

As expected, there was no answer. If there was one thing that Katie could infer after so many years of knowing Rose, it was that once she went into the sad zone, there was no way she was coming out easily.

She pushed the door further open and stepped into the darkness, squinting her eyes. The light from the passageway entered along with her, allowing her to see the girl in the corner of the bed, looking out of the window. The maroon curtains were drawn close, except for a small slit through which Rose was staring outside. She probably had not moved from the place for a long time. A pile of books rested beside her, probably all of the saddest ones she owned.

Katie silently cleared her throat.

"Rose?"

"I heard you the first time, Katie."

"Oh." Katie pursed her lips and the awkward silence loomed over them. Well, it was awkward for her, at least. She closed the door and proceeded towards the window, silently asking if it was okay for her to open them.

No response.

"Rosie-"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Katie frowned. "Then you leave me with no choice."

"Please don't start singing-"

"Please don't shut me out again!" She began with the reprised version of 'For the First Time in Forever'. "Please don't slam the door, you don't have to keep your distance anymore!"

"Will you-"

"'cause for the first time in forever, I finally understand-"

"Fine! What do you want me to do?"

"Already?" She raised an eyebrow. "I haven't even started with the duet part. My singing is not that bad, okay?"

Rose sent her a look. Katie sobered up, settling beside the other girl on her bed. Rose turned to look at her, numerous emotions swirling in her eyes. The brown-haired girl took her hand in hers. For a long time, they just sat there wordlessly. Katie asked from time to time if she wanted to talk. It was of no use, as Rose didn't respond.

Finally, she spoke after 57 minutes of silence. Katie's thinning patience let out a breath of relief.

"I don't even know what to say, honestly," Rose murmured, her voice hoarse. "I feel so numb, but at the same time, I want to cry and throw things down from the roof. I don't want to do anything, and I don't want anyone's pity. I'm so confused! I couldn't sleep because I knew I'd get a nightmare, but I fell asleep anyway and woke up crying," she breathed heavily. "I don't want to sit here dumbly just because something mildly tragic happened-"

"Hold up," Katie stopped Rose with her hand in the air. "Mildly? Mildly tragic? Are you kidding me?"

"Worse things happen to people, Katie!"

"But that doesn't mean you should invalidate your feelings!" She exhaled sharply, not allowing her tone to turn edgy. "Look, let me be clear about one thing. If it hurts you, it matters. Your sister's death is not something you should invalidate, Rose," she tried to be soothing. "Let it hurt, let it make you cry. It will help you to get out of the grief. Do you get it?"

Rose bit her lip, her eyebrows furrowed. "Yeah, but... It just- it feels so selfish to sit here sulking while the others are out there to help me and cheer me up."

"Well, you get that, don't you? Then try to get out of the pain as soon as possible," she urged. "It's easier said than done, but remember that we are all here with you. No one's going anywhere. And also, you are not selfish." there was conviction in the girl's voice.

Rose gulped and Katie could see her defences fading away. Her own emotions were at their peak, so when Rose hugged her tightly, the dam broke. Katie clutched Rose's sweater, her tears flowing freely. It felt like they cried for hours.

When Isabella went to check up on them, she saw the best friends fast asleep, exhaustion clear on their faces. 

A/N

Hello everyone! It's been a long time, indeed. What have y'all been up to?

This has to be the longest chapter by far, beyond 3K words! Honestly, if I wanted to, I could write more, but I don't want to make it overwhelming; this chapter is heavy as it is. I actually took a few weeks to complete this one. I had it planned out but I didn't get the emotional depth. Plus, I hadn't written in months already, so the writing was crappy when I wrote its first part.