Becoming Stronger together

"Hey buddy. I need to talk with you about something." Jackie said
Christian let go of his sister and looked up at her, "yeah?"
"Brielle passed away this afternoon. The doctors tried to do everything they could. It was just her time to go." Jackie said.

Christian began to ball his eyes out, he couldn't believe that his girlfriend had passed away and he never got to say bye to her, or tell her how much he loved her. Jackie was hugging him and Jon was rubbing his back to try and calm him down. Once he started to relax and his breathing was more evened out, Jon grabbed the bags and put them in Jackies' car. Jackie walked with Christian to her car, Jon sat in back with him and calmed him down. Once they got back to Jackie's and Jeff's house, they unpacked all of Christians stuff and Christian went to his room to be by himself.

"Christian! Can you come here please?" Jeff called for Christian
Christian walked over to the kitchen, "Yes'sir?"
"Your brother had asked if he could come out here and be with you. Are you ok with that or no?" Jeff asked
"I never want to see him ever again." Christian said
Jon butted in, "Christian."
"I'd hate to be rude Jonathan, but you being here isn't any better." Christian said
"Why don't you want Pat here?" Jackie asked
"He doesn't want me living with him anymore. I clearly make his life miserable, so why would I be there making him unhappy and myself unhappy?" Christian stated.
Jackie walked over to him, "I love you to death Christian, and you know that, but I really don't think it's a good idea for you to be here. Your best friend just passed away."
Christian looked at all of them, "Look if none of you guys want me, then I'll go live somewhere else. I'll live with people who actually love me and want me to be around them." Christian started towards the door and before he left he said, "I'm going to say the same thing to you that I said to Patrick, You obviously don't want me here anymore. I'm sorry that I screwed up your life and made your life so hard, but I won't be here anymore so don't worry about it. Thanks for everything you guys did for me." and he left.

They all felt bad,but they wanted to give him his space though, so they did.

*With Patrick*

"Hey Kaner, have you heard from Christian?" Sharp asked
Kaner nodded his head no, "I haven't talked to Jon either."
"Why don't you try calling him?" Sharp suggested, "And call him on blocked caller so he answers." Kaner picked up his phone and dialed *67 then Christians number.

*On the Phone with Christian*

C: Hello.
P: Hey why does your voice sound all raspy like you've been crying?
C: Why do you care?
P: Christian I love you, I just need a break. I have a lot going on between hockey and trying to take care of 2 kids by myself.
C: Yeah I forget everyone hates me. Sorry.
P: What are you talking about?
C: forget about it, you don't care.
P: Christian. I'm sorry that Brielle passed away. I know how much you love her. I'm also sorry that I didn't let you go see her, it was wrong of me and I shouldn't have done that.
C: *He began to cry and didn't say anything*
P: It's ok to cry bud, it shows that you care and love her.
C: Thanks.
P: Now, I'd really love to have you come back to Chicago and live with me again. I promise to not be so strict and get so mad at you, but you have to promise to stop the drinking and going out and partying.
C: I really want to be here right now. I'm sorry.
P: Can I fly down there and be with you or no?
C: Sure. I need someone I guess.
P: Aren't Jackie, Jeff and Jon with you?
C: Nope. She doesn't want me to live with her.
P: Alright. I'll fly out there with the soonest flight possible. Go back to Jackies' and hangout there until I get there alright?
C: Ok. Bye Patrick.
P: Bye buddy. Love you.

"He ok?" Sharp asked
"Yeah I'm flying out there though. I need you to watch Tristan for the next few days." Pat said
"You know our first game is in Florida. We could all fly out there tonight, and all be there for Christian." Sharp suggested
"Call the guys and see if their ok with it." Pat said.

The whole team, even Q agreed to this plan, so they got their stuff packed and ready to go and got to Florida around 6 pm. They had to take 8 different trucks to get to Jackie's. Patrick walked in with all the guys and they were all really quiet.

"Christian! Come down here! Your brother's here!" Jeff yelled
Christian came running down and saw Patrick, then the rest of the team. He was so happy to see them all.
"Hey Little man how you doing?" Kaner asked giving him a hug.
Christian didn't say anything, he just hugged his brother.

Brielle's parents called around 7 and asked to talk to Christian. They told him that the funeral was going to be tomorrow and how they really wanted him there, they also wanted him at the burial service. Christian agreed to be at both and showing up early to be there for her parents. Once he hung up the phone he started to cry. Patrick sat next to him and hugged his brother and telling him how strong he was being about the whole situation. Christian went to bed early, while the rest of the team and Jackie stayed up late talking.

*At The Funeral*

Christian was talking with Brielle's family and they asked if he wanted to speak, so he did.
"Brielle was my first friend when I moved here. Her and I had always been very close, she always talked about how grateful she was to have all the amazing family and friends in her life that were there for her. She would alway cheer anyone up, she wasn't afraid to go out and be who she wanted to be. That is why I love her, and will continue to love her.
The last couple of weeks have been a terrible time for us all, living a nightmare that we have all struggled to come to terms with, but the one thing I can say is that Brielle would be so very proud of the way that everyone has been there for each other and pulled together, united in their support. It just goes to show that we all carry a little bit of Brielle inside ourselves; that deeply entrenched natural instinct to care for one another.
So, if we are looking for positives to come out of something this painful, it is that new friendships will be formed and cemented for life…and Brielle would just love that.
Nothing was more important to Brielle than those close to her, so let’s keep close to each other and do what she would want. Brielle is so alive in every single one of us and between us we have so many amazing memories to share, so let’s just keep sharing them and enjoying them. She would want us to be happy. Laughter always got her through all her hard times and laughter will get us through ours. So I guess what I’m trying to say here is…and these are Brielle’s words, not mine, “Don’t forget to laugh and when you do laugh, don’t feel guilty because you are supposed to be mourning for me, laugh because I am still here with you all, laugh because I can hear you.”
Your laughter and happiness is what keeps her alive and close to us, because it is the closest we can get to feeling her warmth.
So carry on as Brielle would want you to, be strong, dedicate things to her, continue to make her proud…speak to her, speak about her, keep her close and in your heart.
Let the memories of Brielle put the spring back in our lead-heavy legs, let the warmth of her eyes and smile dry our tears and let her voice boom out, “Stop flipping crying you softies, you’re setting me off too!!!” Whenever I hit rock bottom and start crying, I can never stay there for long before I start laughing as I remember ‘the good times’'…So take a moment please to laugh those tears away by remembering some of Brielle’s silliest moments with you.
She will be greatly missed by Family, Friends, and loved ones. She brought something special into all of our lives, and she will continue to be someone special in our lives. She is truly an angel who would go out of her way to help others. We lost an amazing angel, but God is now with her in heaven and she is looking out for all of us."

Christian was crying half way through the speech. Her parents walked up next to him and hugged him reassuring him. Once he was finished everyone stood up applauding him for being so strong. Her parents stood there hugging him while he cried into their shoulders. His brother, sister, Jeff, Jon, and the rest of the team wanted to go run up there and hug him, but they couldn't.

Once everyone cleared out of the church, Patrick and Jackie walked up to Christian and hugged him. He was still crying and they knew he didn't want to talk, so they just hugged him and rubbed his back. They waited for him to calm down a little bit to let go.

"That was really touching Christian. We're really proud of you and how strong you are. We love you so much." Patrick said
Jackie agreed, "We love you, and always will no matter what."
"We may get upset with you, and say things we don't mean, but we truly love you. No matter what." Patrick said.
"Can we go to the burial then head home? And when I say home, I mean Chicago." Christian said wiping off the tears.
"Yeah bud. Come on." Pat said putting an arm around him.

They walked to the burial, and Christian was with Brielles' parents. They were thankful for him being there and doing everything he did for them, he was truly a son to them. Before they lower the casket into the ground, Christian put his cross on the casket and her favorite flower. Everyone except her parents and the team had left. Christian stood there saying a prayer to her in his head. He finished and walked over to her parents and gave them his condolences. He walked past the team and went to his brother and sister, he held both their hands and walked to Pats car.

Notes

I have a few questions for y'all to answer.

1. How do y'all like the story so far?

2. How'd you feel about Christians' speech at the funeral?

3. What would you like to see happen in the next few chapters?