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Dakota's POV

I hadn't talked to Reid in a while, he just hasn't answered me. I didn't understand why, things were just going well. We planned to tell Sadie soon, but I couldn't if he wasn't talking to me.

"Dakota, if he isn't talking to you, you should give up on it." My dad told me. "You deserve someone who is going to treat you right."

"Dad, I told him to do it, he's dating Sadie. I don't expect him to break up with her for me. I don't want him to, that's horrible." He frowned at me and I shrugged.

"Sometimes you have to do what makes you happy. And... you can't help who you fall for."

"I haven't fallen for him." I told him, rolling my eyes. It was true, I haven't.

"I know, I'm not saying you have. But you keep going like this and you will." I knew he was right. I hugged him tightly.

"Reid's a good guy. An amazing guy Dad. He's just doing what I said. Give him a break, hmm?" He sighed. "I know it's because you love me."

"As long as you know." He kissed my forehead and I smiled. I went to the kitchen to get something to eat and found some carrots.

"Yum." I said grinning and opening the bag. I was just pulling one out when I heard a knock at the door.

"Sweetie, get the door!" I heard my mom yell. I groaned, I just wanted to eat my carrots.

"Okay." I yelled and went to the door. I opened it and there stood Reid.

His eyes were red and he looked depressed. His hair was a mess and he... well, he was a mess.

"Hey." He told me giving me a small smile. "It's been a while." I frowned and pulled him into a hug.

"I don't care. What's wrong?" He began bawling into my shoulder.

"My dad died. It was a car wreck. He was just starting to get better Dakota. He'd been going to therapy and rehab. He was coming from work and an eighteen wheeler ran him off the road. We were going to be like we were. He was supposed to swim with me again and... now... it'll never happen. I'll never talk to him again." My heart shattered hearing his so broken. I didn't want to tell him any of that bullshit people usually do. I didn't want to say "he's in a better place". Because I knew that it didn't help.

"At least you know he was happy when he died. He wanted to get better for you. He loved you so much Reid. And he knew you loved him just as much." I rubbed his back and he cried harder.

"You think so? You think he was happy? And that I loved him?"

"I know it. I know he'd definitely want you to be happy too." He didn't say anything else, but I didn't expect him to. Instead, I led him to my room and he cried there as I held him.

"Thank you for being here for me."

"Whenever you need it." He sighed and hugged me tighter, staying quiet. The rest of the day, we stayed in my bed and watched tv. Every now and then, he'd cry a little or we'd talk. But it was mostly quiet. I knew it'd take a while, but we'd get him through this.

He stayed the night at my house that night. We laid in bed and he cuddled up next to me.

"How are you okay with us sitting in silence so long?" He asked me.

"Something similar to this happened to me Reid. My mom died, when I was thirteen. She died in a plane crash. The woman downstairs is my step mom. She's amazing, but sometimes I miss my biological mother. She and I were crazy close. So were she and my father. But there's nothing we can do to get them back." He was quiet for a second.

"So that year you took off a while from school, that's what happened?"

"Yeah. That's exactly it. She was going to see her parents and the plane crashed. I was so fucked up."

"How long did it take for you to get over it?" I sighed.

"I'm...not over it. It's more like I'm just used to the fact that she's gone." He sighed and adjusted his head on my chest.

"Can you come to my dad's funeral with me Friday?" I was surprised but nodded.

"Of course I will." He hummed.

"Thank you."

~

"You look really fucking cute." Reid told me as I walked out of the bathroom, dressed for the funeral. I grinned widely and twisted on my toes.

"Thank you." He kissed my nose and I giggled. "You don't look so bad yourself." He laughed and took my hand in his. His face fell, I guess he thought about where we were going.

"I don't know if I want to go." I squeezed his hand.

"Hey, you may regret not going one day. I'll be there with you every step of the way." He nodded and hugged me tightly.

"Okay, let's go." We drove my car and Reid held my hand as I drove.

We arrived at the church and he sighed.

"I always thought I would hate to ride with you, but today it was really nice." I knew he was talking about how slow I drove and I laughed.

"Well... good." He pulled me into him and I looked up at him surprised.

"Hey, if it's okay with you, I'd like it if you held my hand and crap while we're in here. I... really feel more calm with you close to me." I nodded quickly.

"Of course." He smiled and poked my nose.

"Come on." He led me into the church and we sat on the front row, near two people who I guessed were his grandparents. Everyone around pretty much stared at us surprised.

As it went on, Reid began crying again, sometimes into my shoulder. He still held my hand tightly. I tried to support him as best as I could, glaring at the people who glared at us.

At the end, Reid decided not to stay.

"They're so fucking stupid and disrespectful. It was my father's funeral and they were all judging me for bringing you and leaning on you. It doesn't make any sense for them to be so hateful towards gay people! I hate it!"

"I agree, but I'm not so surprised. That's how people are Reid." He sighed and nodded.

"I know. But they should've had more respect for him." He mumbled, rubbing his face.

"Do you want to go back to yours or mine and nap?"

"We can go back to yours." He smiled at me and I nodded. His phone rang and he looked down. He sighed deeply. "I don't want to talk to her right now."

"Sadie?" He nodded.

"I'll bet she wants to ask about the funeral. I'll just text her and tell her I'm too tired to talk." I didn't say anything. I couldn't feel bad for her right now. "This isn't making you feel bad is it?"

"No. This may sound bad, but you are my main focus until you get better. I don't want you feeling bad either. Got it?" He laughed a little.

"Yes sir." He leaned over and kissed my cheek. "You make me feel so much better... I can't feel bad about it." I grinned.

"I'm really happy you feel that way."

We went to mine and went upstairs to take a nap. I woke up before Reid and unwrapped myself from his arms. I kissed his cheek and stood up, stretching. I went downstairs and my mom and dad sat in the living room.

"Hey guys." They smiled and Mom looked at me worriedly.

"How's Reid doing?" I shrugged.

"I think better. As good as he can in this situation." They nodded.

"I'm glad he has you Dak. I know you know how hard this will be for him." Dad said.

"Yeah."

"If he wants to, he can move in. It's fine with us." He looked at Mom and she nodded.

"Of course! There's the guest room and of course yours if he wants." I blushed a little and shrugged.

"I don't know how he'd feel about that."

"Just ask him. We'd love to have him here, he's such a sweet boy. And maybe he could come with us on some of the trips if you two would like." I smiled.

"It would be nice." They laughed.

"Well, talk to him about it."

"I think I'll have to think about it." Reid said, standing in the hallway, his hands in his pockets. "Thank you so much Mr. and Mrs. Shea. It means a lot to me."

"Of course sweetie." I smiled at him and he smiled at me.

"Are you hungry? Mom and Dad left our food in the oven." He nodded and we went into the kitchen. I took the food out of the oven and at it on the counter. "At least it's still hot." I muttered. "How'd you sleep?"

"Great." He smiled and rubbed my back, though I could see tear stains on his face. I didn't say anything, instead, I handed him his plate. We sat and began eating. Just as he was going to say something, my phone rang. I looked down and my eyes widened.

"It's Sadie." He stared at the phone.

"Answer it." I nodded, wondering what he was thinking.

"Hey Sadie."

"Hey Dak. I'm so tired. I'm worried about Reid with his father dying and everything. He barely talks to me. He came over the day it happened and we talked a little but he left out of nowhere. On the bright side, he said he funeral was okay."

"Just give him some time Sadie. Having your father die is tough. He's hurt, you can't expect him to cater to you." She sighed.

"Yeah, I know. It's just weird, it feels like we're barely in a relationship. We rarely talk. Even before his father died." Reid picked up my fork and held it up to my mouth with food. I laughed and took it into my mouth.

"Sorry. And well, he was taking care of his father for a while Sadie. He's got other focuses. Reid's a good guy, and you should be patient with him. He's always been going through shit, he doesn't have an easy life. So it isn't easy for him to do things like that. He won't be perfect." Reid stared at me and rubbed my leg, before feeding me again. Oh my gosh, he's so fucking cute.

"I don't know... maybe you're right. Don't tell me you have a crush on my boyfriend." My eyes widened and I laughed loudly.

"Damn you're funny." She laughed too and sighed.

"I'm glad I've still got you Dakota. I hope we'll be friends forever."

"So do I Sadie."

"Well, I'll let you get back to eating. You and your smacking. Bye, I love you."

"Bye, I love you too!" I hung up and Reid raised his eyebrows. "She was talking about you."

"I don't wanna know." He leaned over and kissed my cheek. "But thank you for what you said." I shrugged.

"Stop thanking me for stuff that's not even thankable." He raised his eyebrow and we both laughed loudly.

"Okay. Whatever."

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