Reilly ran into the house, he found Josie sitting in a wheelchair; she had scratches, tears and blood on her face.

"He's dead, isn't he?" she asked, voice strained.

Reilly nodded his head; he didn't know what to say.

Tears ran down her face; "I'm sorry"

"For what?"

"He tried to kill you, Reilly."

"But he didn't."

"And now he's dead. I know he was terrible, but he was my brother after all..."

Reilly nodded his head again. What was there to say? This wasn't the greeting he had expected.

"Everything's different now..." she said. "It will never be the same."

"Everything changed a long time ago Josie..." he said.

"I know, but it's worse now."

"Josie, I know it's awful to say, but... well, maybe you're better off without your brother..."

"I know I am... but... everything will be so different."

"Yes, it will, but we can still try-"

"No, we can't."

"What?"

"I'm leaving Reilly."

"What?"

"I'm not staying here; I'm moving to Vancouver, I'm going to live with my sister."

"What, why?"

"It was in my parent's will, I was just staying with my aunt until everything was settled."

"Josie, why didn't you tell me!?"

"I couldn't bring myself to; I was so happy with you..."

Reilly felt his heart break in half.

"When are you leaving?" he asked.

"As soon as I'm out of the wheelchair, it should be in about a month."

"Will you come to visit?"

"I don't know..."

His world had just come crashing down around him. She was leaving.

The next few weeks were awkward, not knowing what to say to one another when they passed each other in the halls. The funeral was bad as well, what were you supposed to say to the family of the guy who tried to kill you? It's not like they knew, the whole situation had been hushed up by the police; they called it respect for the dead. But the worst was the last goodbye at the airport. Josie was out of her wheelchair, and ready to leave.

"Call me some time, okay?" he said.

"Okay..." but he knew she wouldn't, she was just going to try and forget everything, who wouldn't?

"I'm going to miss you," she said earnestly. "I'm glad we had what we did..."

"Me too..." he said, avoiding her gaze to keep the tears from spilling, but it was no use. He looked at her face and saw her tears, she really was going to miss him and she really was sorry to some degree that she had to leave.

He pulled her into a hug and held her for the last time. She rested her head against his shoulder; "Thank you for everything, Reilly, I won't forget it."

He pulled away from her and nodded.

She kissed his cheek for the last time and slipped something into his hand, she turned to board the plane.

"Goodbye, Reilly."

"Bye, Josie."

He watched her turn the corner and disappear from sight. He walked to the window and watched the plane she had boarded sit on the runway. After what seemed like hours the plane took off, he watched it fly off and watched the sky long after he couldn't see it anymore.

She was gone.

He fought back tears and opened his hand, in it was an envelope with the words; "Read Once I'm Gone" written on it.

He opened the envelope and started to read the letter. There were already water marks on the paper and they had doubled once he was done reading the letter.

He folded the paper back up and put it in the envelope. He put it in his pocket and left the airport.

Dear Reilly;

I want you to know that I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry for the pain I put you through, I'm sorry for what my brother tried to do to you, I'm sorry for making you worry about me. I need u to know that I didn't mean for you to become mixed up in my life, I'd always loved you, ever since the first day I sat with you at lunch, but I never wanted you to get hurt because of my attacks. Trust me, you're better off with me gone. It's going to be hard for a while, for both of us, but I think we can make it past this. I also need you to know that my attacks are over. Don't ask how I know, but this time I'm sure; I know for a fact that Josh is the last person I will ever see die, so don't worry about me, apart from missing you with all my heart, I'll be fine. I need you to know that you changed my life for the better and that I will never forget it. I'll always love you Reilly, for being my friend when I was the nobody in school and for sticking by me when I needed you most. Thank you for giving me the love I didn't deserve and treating me like I was worth more than I could ever be. Thank you and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.

Love Always;

Josie