Page 47 of Craving You
“Right, so let us protect you like we know she did,” he says.“Cam and I will be right here with you every step of the way, and I swear to God, you will survive this.You will go on to live a happy life in her memory.”
“She can’t be gone,” I say tearfully.
“She’s gone, baby,” he says softly.“I want to fix it, but I can’t.All we can do is move forward and honor her the best we can.”
“Andrea and I will rotate being with you all,” Ross says.“I’ll be here tonight, so if you need anything at all, I will be outside with another cop.Andrea will be here in the morning.”
“Okay,” I say.“I don’t know what to do from here.”
“Right now, just be with your family,” Ross says.“We will keep you updated on the investigation the best we can.Let us know if anyone reaches out or you see anything out of the ordinary.Otherwise, just… live your life.”
“She was just made COO,” I say.“I feel stupid for being worried about that.”
“We can have Sam take over marketing,” Cam sighs.“We will dissolve the COO position, and we all take over those duties.”
“Sam will do well.Tris did great training him,” Remy says.
“Tomorrow I’d like to tell the employees,” I say before looking at Ross.“Can I make a statement to the press on this?”
“Andrea?”Ross asks.
“That would be a good idea,” she says.“We can let you announce her death; it just needs to be first thing tomorrow if you can manage.
“Okay,” I say.
“I’m going to walk Andrea out,” Ross says.“If you need anything, and I mean it, just come down and sit with me.”
I stand when Mom and Dad do, and they both hug me.“I’m so sorry, baby,” Mom sniffles.
“We love you so, so much,” Dad adds.
“I love y’all too,” I say before turning to Ross.I abruptly hug him, and it takes him a second to hug me back.“Thank you, Ross.”
“I’m so sorry about Tris,” he says softly.
“Just find who did this to her,” I say as I pull back and wipe my face.“I feel… like I’m not taking this hard enough.”
“Grief looks different for everyone,” he says.“Just remember, you are surrounded by people that love and support you.”
“Yeah,” I sigh.Mom and Dad hug Cam and Remy before pulling back and wiping their tears away.
“Do we have to wait to do the funeral?”I ask.“I don’t want to hold Mom and Dad back from being able to get to the cabin.”
“No, you just obviously cannot do a burial,” he says.
“She wanted to be cremated anyway, so I’ll just do a memorial,” I say.
“You don’t have to plan it alone,” Cam says.
“I know.I just need to focus on something.This and work will do.I will process over time,” I say.
“Let me know when you are planning the funeral, and I will make sure we have plenty of officers available so that everyone is safe,” Andrea says, and I nod.
“I’m going to go upstairs,” I say to Remy before I turn and go to the stairs.
“Cam, go with her, please,” Remy says.I ignore that and just go to the bedroom.I take my shoes off before walking into the bathroom and turning the shower on.
“I’d suggest you go away, unless you want to see me naked,” I say to Cam as I pull my shirt off and toss it in the hamper.
