𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐎𝐧
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ
2 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳
𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗸'𝘀 𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁

     𝐃𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐤 opens his apartment door to reveal Ashley waiting outside. "Hey, she's in her room," he says as he steps aside to let her in. "I would...be careful about what you say."

"How is she?" Ashley asks as she takes her coat off and lays it over the back of the armchair in the living room.

"I thought she was better, but...I think it's starting to get worse."

"Well, the more time she spends without her mother, the more she misses her," Ashley mentions, speaking from experience.

"I've been trying, but she just shuts me out. If you can convince her to come out here and eat, that would be great too."

"I'll try my best."

"Thanks for doing this," Derek says before she goes to the teen's bedroom. "JJ's pretty emotionally drained and Penelope has tried, but...Noah knows that she can walk all over her. Maybe a different approach will help."

Ashley nods and heads to the closed bedroom door. She knocks gently and then lets herself in. "Noah?" she says softly before fully opening the door.

Noah lifts her head from her pillow as she hears an unfamiliar voice. She slowly sits up and turns around, seeing the blonde standing by her bed.

"Hi," Ashley says softly.

"Hi," Noah replies.

"Whatcha up to?"

"Just watching time go by," Noah sighs.

"Can I join you?" Ashley asks as she sits on the edge of the bed. "It's always nice to have a friend."

Noah looks at Ashley, wondering why she's here. "Did he tell you that I haven't eaten?"

"He's worried—"

"He's sent 3 people in here," Noah says flatly. "And that's just from today."

"Like I said, he's worried about you. Have you really not eaten?"

"I'm not hungry," the teen shrugs. "It's hard to think about food when your mom is dead."

Ashley clears her throat at the straightforward approach. She shouldn't be shocked, though. Noah has never been one to hold her tongue and Ashley was the same when her father was taken away. Young people can carry so much anger without knowing what to do with it and how to express it.

"Noah, I have gory details from my own stories, so if you ever need to talk about what happened, I'm here. And I'm not like the others. Even though she was kind to me, I didn't know Emily very well, so I might be a good person to lean on. You can tell me stories about her that I've never heard before or you can talk about her without me getting too emotional. Whatever you need, I'm here to help."

"Why?" Noah asks. "You didn't know her, you don't really know me, so...why do you want to help?"

"Because you're a great kid and...I've been in a similar place."

Noah knows that Ashley means she's been in a similar place mentally. Spencer told Noah about Ashley's father and all the things he was guilty of. Noah couldn't judge her even if she wanted to. Ashley has been through the things that a lot of other people wouldn't understand about Noah, not even Emily. They could tell their stories to a million people, but none of them would truly understand.

"Did you ever get caught in your father's..."

"Let's just call it 'business,'" Ashley suggests. "But no, I never saw anything like that. I saw his anger, but what he did with it was always hidden."

"I..." Noah pauses as she prepares herself to say the words. "I killed that man. I became my father."

"A man who would have killed you," Ashley reminds her. "And you're not your father. Doyle is a psychopath, he can't help his urges to hurt people. That's not you."

"But he's a part of me, I'm a part of him," Noah says as her eyes fall to the floor. "And the worst part is that he got away with it. He escaped and I'm sure he's somewhere watching me fall apart with a smile on his face. He got what he wanted and my life is crumbling around me."

"Noah, someone once told me that there's no winning in a case like this," Ashley says as she moves to sit closer to the teen. "There's just living and moving forward. And one day, he'll be caught and you'll live. For yourself and your mother. And you'll move forward in ways that you can't even imagine right now."

Noah peers into Ashley's honest blue eyes. She slowly nods at the statement, trying to convince herself to believe it.

"I know exactly what you're feeling," the blonde repeats.

"Yeah, I guess this is some sort of trauma bonding for us," Noah remarks.

Ashley chuckles as she puts a hand on Noah's arm. "I came here to tell you that I'm a shoulder to lean on. But I am moving to another department."

"Really?"

"The Domestic Trafficking Task Force," Ashley replies. "I think it'll be a good change for me."

"I hope it is."

Ashley smiles a little before taking a deep breath. "You know, Noah, your mother was my mentor and got me a lot of opportunities and trusted me with a lot more than the others. She saw the best in everyone, and I hope you know that she always saw the best in you. She was always showing me pictures of you on her phone with a story to go with each one. And after a couple of pictures, she'd say sorry and that I was probably bored of listening, but I never was."

Noah listens intently, hanging onto every word.

"Seeing a mother love her child was something I've missed. And it always made me happy that you had her on your side—always," Ashley says before looking deep into Noah's gaze. "I keep every little word, habit, everything of my mother's. It keeps me moving. And I work to make sure I'm everything my mother wanted me to be. I hope you find yourself doing the same."

A single tear escapes Noah's cheek before she replies. "Thank you, Seaver."

Ashley pulls her into an embrace and squeezes tightly. "If you ever wanna talk, I'm only a couple of floors down. Promise you won't forget about me?"

Noah pulls away and shakes her head as she speaks. "I won't forget any of this."

𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵

"At this point, you're wasting food," Derek says as he puts the casserole that Penelope brought over in the fridge.

"She's still not eating?" she asks with a defeated expression. "She loves my chicken casserole. She didn't even have a little bit?"

"Nope."

"Well, maybe I'm wasting food, but I was also wasting time. The cooking was helping me forget about everything for a while."

Derek sighs as he sits on his couch. "I don't know what to do."

"It won't be this way forever," Penelope assures him.

"You don't see her day in and day out," Derek says as he shakes his head. "She doesn't leave bed. I'm gonna be honest, I can't remember the last time she showered. It's bad."

"She's depressed, Derek," she quietly reminds him.

"You don't have to whisper, she keeps her headphones in until her iPod dies and then blasts her radio until it's charged again," he says. "I knew this would be hard, but I didn't think she wouldn't talk to me. And I can't really force her because...I'm not her father and I'm certainly not Emily."

"But you are the person taking care of her," Penelope says as she puts a hand on his shoulder.

"I've been so focused on her, I haven't even grieved Emily myself," he explains as he sinks into the couch. "What if she's like this forever?"

"She won't be," Penelope reassures him. "It's Noah. She's been through some of the most horrendous things. And she always comes back stronger—"

"And what if that was only because Emily was there?"

"Strength comes from within. Yes, she idolized Emily and was always supported by her, but she got back up on her own account. She's just as much responsible as Emily was."

Derek looks at the blonde, wondering how she suddenly became the rock. Their roles reverse every day. Yesterday, Penelope cried because Noah wouldn't speak to her and now Derek is moping because he feels like he's already failing at being a parent. But they keep each other afloat so that they can carry Noah through the rough waves of grief together.

"She'll come back to us," Penelope says softly. "We just have to wait."

Listening to the entire conversation in her bedroom, Noah feels anger roaring in her chest. But she's angry at herself. She's putting those around her through hell. She knows it, but she can't help it.

She sits up and stretches her body, hearing cracks all down her back and legs. When she goes to stand, her legs wobble and almost buckle beneath her. She holds herself steady with a hand pushing down into her mattress. She struggles to walk over to her desk and slumps into the wooden seat.

She thinks about all the times Emily would find her curled up in the chair, her homework and textbooks scattered all over the desk. The only light on in the room would be her desk lamp and Sergio would lay on the wood and stretch his paws to hang them off the edge. Emily would tell her to go to sleep and force her textbooks closed.

Noah leans her head back, looking up at the shelves above her desk. She peers at a framed picture of her and Emily, trying to keep her tears back. Beside the frame, slightly tucked behind it, is a falling star puzzle that Emily gave to her. She reaches up and grabs it from the shelf, putting it down and taking it apart.

𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰

"What is it?" Noah asks as her mother takes apart the 3D puzzle she's attempting to solve.

"A star puzzle," Emily replies as she watches Noah slide off the couch to sit on the floor. "It's supposed to be almost impossible to figure out."

"Can I try?"

"You have to put all the pieces back together to form a perfect star," the mother says as she watches her daughter begin trying to piece all the parts together. "The origin of it is kind of a romantic tale."

"Will you tell it to me?" Noah asks.

Emily begins to dramatically tell the tale. "There was once a young prince who wanted to woo the heart of the fairest maiden in the land. One day, he climbed to the top of the tallest tower in the kingdom and caught a falling star for her."

"A falling star?" Noah questions with a sarcastic tone.

"Yeah, but unfortunately, he was so excited, that he dropped it. It smashed into all these pieces, so he frantically put it back together again."

"To prove his love?" Noah asks in the same dramatic tone as her mother, bringing a smile to Emily's lips.

"To prove his undying love for her," Emily corrects her. "And he did it and—"

"They lived happily ever after," they say at the same time.

Emily giggles and then looks down at the table. She finds that Noah has put the puzzle together and her mouth hangs open.

"What were you saying about it being impossible?" Noah asks, making her mother laugh.

It's one of her hearty laughs, the kind that echoes through the house and makes Noah's heart swell. The one that Noah loves.

As they admire the completed puzzle before them, Noah thinks about the challenges ahead. There are so many uncertainties in their lives, and so many obstacles yet to face. School is demanding, work is exhausting, and their time together is often limited. Before they know it, Noah will be out of the house and they won't even be able to see each other at home every night.

But in that moment, they were content.

𝘯𝘰𝘸

But no one ever told Noah that one day, she'd have to do it all without Emily.

The teen snaps back to reality, breaking free from the visions of her mother. Her breath is shaky, and her mother's voice still echoes in her mind. She looks down at her desk and sees the star-shaped puzzle lying there, completed once more.

In her deep concentration, driven by the memories of her mother's story, she hadn't noticed what she was doing. She had taken the puzzle apart and carefully put it back together, piece by piece, as if guided by an unseen hand.

A rush of emotions floods her—sadness, determination, and a bittersweet sense of pride. The puzzle, a symbol of their bond, stands as proof of the strength and love her mother had given her. Tears fill her eyes, but she smiles through them, feeling her mother's presence in every perfectly placed piece.

"Happily ever after."