<i>“Love is stronger than death. And though it cannot stop death from happening, death cannot separate people from love. It cannot take away our memories.”</i>

The house was empty. At least that’s the way it seemed when she opened the door. The thought crossed her mind that it may always feel this way now. Leah stood, staring into the blackness for several moments before her brother put a hand on her arm. She looked down at him, or over at him rather. He was only thirteen, but had seemed to hit a growth spurt in the last few months and was now almost as tall as she was.

“I think we should go inside.”

She nodded but didn’t feel her feet move. Something about going inside their home would make this all more real. Seth noticed her continued hesitation and put his hands on her shoulders, gently shoving her through the doorway. Once they were inside, he flipped the lights on and closed the door.

“I’m gonna head upstairs and take a shower. I smell pretty rank. Will you be alright?”

Leah took a breath. “Yeah. I’ll be okay.”

Seth wasn’t sure he believed that, but didn’t feel like arguing with her. She was the most stubborn person he knew and it would be hard to get her to admit to anything. She was still holding it all in, she hadn’t even cried. She’d only said that they had to be strong for their mom. She would need them to be strong. But being strong in a time like this wasn’t something they should have to do. They had lost their father and deserved the right to be sad. Their mom would need them, yes, but after this shock he was feeling, that he was sure Leah was feeling too, they would need someone as well. He just hoped he could be there for his sister when she finally let her emotions out.

His only fear was that she wouldn’t. For the last year she had closed herself up, not letting anyone see beyond the happy façade she put on for the world everyday. It may have their mother fooled, but not him. He knew she was still angry and hurt by what had happened with Sam and Emily, though she would show that to no one. She had to pretend that she was okay, even if she wasn’t. She didn’t want Emily to feel guilty, she’d told him that. Seth knew he was the only person she even remotely confided in these days, though she probably still thought of him as a little kid. But even little kids knew what pain was, and he could tell that she was in a lot of it.