A year later...
"Jessie?"
"Yeah?" I called back softly.
"Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," I whispered.
"It's ok to cry," he assured me, stepping closer.
"I know Josh," I said, hanging my head. "But I don't think he'd want me to."
"You know he wouldn't mind. It would let him know you miss him."
"Can't he tell already? I mean, I am the one who...the who killed him," I choked before sobbing.
JC stepped closer and hugged me tight. "It's ok...it's not your fault."
"But you don't know...you will never know...how it feels...to kill someone you loved like a brother," I said between sobs.
"Maybe I don't. And I hope I will never have to find out, BUT," he emphasized. "BUT I do know that it probably kills more than watching you die over him."
"I'm sorry," I whispered to him. "I'm so sorry Keith...I will never forgive myself for doing what I've done..."
Somewhere else...
I looked down at her weeping form. I hated to see it. But I was glad she missed me. I know I miss her. I will miss her face...long for her touch...for her to say the words in which I've waited an eternity to hear but never received. My tears ran down my cheeks pitifully, and I wished that I were still alive. To tell her it was ok to cry for me. But she has JC now...too late for me.
"Keith?"
I turned around after wiping my tears. "Yeah?"
It was my new friend, Kiara. She died the same day I did. Except on the other side of the country.
"I'm sorry," she said simply.
I closed my eyes, overcome with grief. "Why did I have to die in there Ki? I learned my lesson. I vowed I would never do that again...and yet I died a prisoner...a reject from the world..."
She came closer and put an arm around me. Assuring me.
"It's ok to cry Keith...I'll be here for you. Until the day she joins us. Until then...it's ok to cry."