Thirty-Eight: RowynNo no no no no no no, I thought as I witnessed Reed fall apart next to me. I can't do this without him. I gripped his hand tightly and let him be. I couldn't look around. I couldn't focus on the Stones or on my own mother or Jared or anyone if I had a hope of making it through what I was going to say. Cecelia appeared much in the same way she had at the Stone's- compassionate but strong. She effectively marched to the front of those congregated, and her presence sent people to their seats, mouths quiet. She was dressed in lilac, and it suited her dark hair and gray eyes. She spoke without flowery words or ceremony, and that made me like her more.
“Today is a day we struggle through. This tragedy is not one we have begun to process fully, for how can we? But today is not
