Chapter Text
It's been two weeks. Two weeks since losing her parents.
Riley was on a plane back to Ireland with her parents not far behind her. She looks down at her mother's rosary in her hand as the tears reappear. She couldn't believe she lost both her parents in a single day. The hand that was holding the rosary was cast, broken clean from the accident. She had cuts and bruises from the torso up. She had a bruise under her right eye, a busted lip, two small cuts on her forehead, and little cuts on her arms from the glass flying at her. These wounds have already started to heal. But the wound of losing her parents was going to be a very long road.....
(Flashback)
They were driving on the highway to her grandma's. Her ma talking wildly in the front seat about how excited her ma was to get to see Riley finally after not getting to see her grandma since she turned 18. Her ma was telling her about all the plans they had for Grandma and what they wanted to do before leaving back to Ireland when out of nowhere the cars in front started to veer off the road. A black pickup was coming right for them then suddenly everything went black.
Riley woke up two days later in the hospital. Her grandma is by her side. As soon as Riley came to her grandma called for a nurse and suddenly she was swarmed by doctors and nurses checking her vitals, flashing light in her eyes for a concussion, and taking blood to run tests. After they all left a doctor came in and broke the news to her.
Both her parents were gone. Both tried to hold on but crashed as soon as they made it to the hospital.
Riley broke down into sobs as her grandma held her.
(End)
She was released from the hospital two days later after the doctors declared her fit to leave. She stayed with her grandma before she decided that going back to Ireland was needed. Her grandma put up a fight but in the end, agreed that her da's family would be able to take care of her.
She left with the promise to call every week for a check-in and to take care of herself. Riley promised with a smile on her face, only to mask how she was truly feeling.
Now it was becoming real for her. She had 6 hours left of this plane ride before her uncles would meet her at the airport. She would be going to the funeral home tomorrow morning to start the preparations for her parent's funeral.
Riley looked out at the sky as the plane continued on its journey home. Watching the colors of the sky fade and get darker as night was approaching. Asking why God would do this to her. Begging for any sign as to why he took her parents so soon. She had cried so much, that her body was exhausted and needed a rest. So she tried to get as comfortable in her seat as she could and fell asleep for the rest of the ride.
Riley woke to the feeling of the plane jolt as it was landing. All the passengers started getting up to grab their things from the overheads and make their way down the aisle to the door. Riley grabs her duffle bag and gets into the line to get off the plane.
She makes her way through the small airport, slightly dragging her feet. She was tired, emotionally physically, and mentally. She felt like she was running on autopilot at this point. She was glad to be home but being here without her parents was going to be an adjustment.
Riley had just made it past the exit gates when she saw her uncle's. She took off in a run and ran straight into Marcus's arms.
Ryland and Marcus were from her da's side of the family. Ryland was 5'11 with ginger hair and blue eyes while Marcus got their mother's brown eyes and black hair standing at 6'0. They were her da's best friends and best brothers ever.
Riley let the thought pass as she hugged her uncle harder before letting go.
"Dia duit Riley how was ye flight?" Ryland asked as Riley hugs him.
"Long Uncail, glad I'm home now," Riley said pulling away.
Marcus grabs her duffle and they make their way out of the airport to the car. Ryland was first in the car to open the backdoor to allow Riley to get in while Marcus opened the trunk to put her bag in. Once they all get onto the road the car is silent for what feels like hours to Riley.
Both Ryland and Marcus do not know what to say without setting off the poor girl. So Ryland leads the conversation slowly.
"So milseán, I know we have a long day tomorrow...." He pauses trying to compose the sentence right before it comes out.
" And we have a lot ta talk bout.. so we wanted to know where you wanted ta stay? We don't wanna push ye to stay with anyone but we think it'd be best if ye stay with someone" Ryland says turning around to look at Riley.
"I guess..." Riley says staring out the window.
She had been dreading this since she got out of the hospital. Everyone was gonna treat her like she was a fragile thing and could break at a moment's notice. She knew to expect it from the grandparents but not from her uncle's. She was tough, she'd get through this. But she also understood where they were coming from. They didn't want her to be alone not cause they thought she couldn't handle it, but because they knew right now that the most important thing was family.
"Do you mind if I stay with ya Marcus?" Riley asks making eye contact with Marcus in the mirror.
"I don't mind at all lass, I'll be working the next couple days til ye figure out the day for the funeral," Marcus says facing the road again after.
Ryland elbowed him and gave him a deathly glare. Riley loved her uncle Ryland but he treated her sometimes like she was still this wee lass that needed to be protected all the time.
"Ry I love ya but you can't treat me like I'm gonna break at every single thing said or done. I'm a big girl now." Riley says patting her uncle's arm in appreciation.
Ryland smiled softly at her and patted her hand. The car got quiet again and Riley started to slowly fall asleep again.
She was having a dream. A pretty real feeling dream.
She was sitting with her parents in the kitchen making morning tea before going to mass. Her da was complaining again about something getting to the chickens again, her ma was fixing tea for them all, telling her da that he needed to fix the fence right like she's been telling him for months now. Riley laughed as her parents playfully bicker. Then her ears filled with the sounds of Honking horns and a car crashing.
Riley jumps awake with tears flowing down her cheeks. The cast on her wrist was a reminder that no, her parents weren't here. Her ma wasn't downstairs making breakfast with da at the table talking about what his day was about to be filled with. No, the house was cold and silent. She wasn't even home.
Riley starts to look around the room and remembers she isn't at home, she's at Marcus's. The bedroom he had made for her when she would come and stay the night with her cousins. Cousins now who lived far away.
She takes a deep breath and wipes away the tears. She climbs out of the covers and walks to the window to see the most beautiful sunrise. The clouds were beautiful while the sun threw its beams between the openings. Riley smiles and takes another deep breath before finding a sweater to combat the cold.
She makes her way down the stairs to the kitchen, having the layout of the house burned into her memory. She goes first to start her morning tea, Lavender vanilla. After making her tea she sits at the kitchen table to start on everything she has to do.
She calls the funeral home to make sure her parents got through no problems. Talked with the funeral director about a time she could come that day to finalize everything before setting a day to put her parents to rest. She did all of this on complete autopilot and she didn't hear the front door open or Ryland calling her name. She only came to when Ryland's hand shook her shoulder.
"Shit Ry ya scared me" Riley gasps putting a hand to her thudding heart.
"I called yer name three times lass did ya not 'ear me?" Ryland asks putting a paper bag in front of her as he sits down in the chair across from her.
"Sorry, been on the phone for a bit taking care of everything." Riley says.
She pulled the paper bag in front of her and as she suspected it was two very large blueberry muffins from her favorite bakery. She smiles at her uncle and thanks him for the breakfast.
After a while Riley goes with her uncle to the funeral home. Once they get there they're led to the back so Riley can confirm that those were her parents.
They stand behind the glass as the mortuary and her assistant pull back the covers to show her parents. Her da and her ma. Seeing them both for the first time all she can manage is a nod of confirmation as a single tear runs down her cheek.
She talked with the funeral home director and they set the day for Sunday. Riley called the pastor not too long after and he agreed Sunday was best and he would be there.
By the time Riley was done with everything it was lunch. She and her uncle decided to stop a the pub on the way back to Marcus's. Once inside the pub, Riley got recognition for her parents passing. Everyone in the pub sends her prayers and tells her they will be missed. Riley could only say thank you and nod, she was already at the numb stage of grieving. Where you don't know how to feel anymore except just numb. Where you have cried your tears and already had angry words with God which not long after was followed with prayers for him to forgive you for your curses.
She did all of that before coming home. She knew it was gonna come back in waves but she was prepared for that, it was time to just let her parent's bodies rest.
Ryland and her ate lunch. Spoke softly to each other about who was coming to the funeral. Everyone had three days to make it back to Ireland in time for it. That meant cousins, more uncles, family friends, and her da's parents. Everyone would be in attendance. And she knew without a doubt that everyone would be walking on eggshells around her.
She thought about what everyone would say as She and Ryland left the pub and started to drive home to Marcus's. They would probably tell her that God has them and that it's ok to grieve. That she was allowed to be angry and yell and scream but she had already done that. She did that at the hospital till her voice was horse from screaming every curse at god out of anger and grief and her eyes were swollen from crying so much. Now she just wanted to lay her parents to rest. Give them the rest they deserve after the suffering they had to endure.
Once they made it back to Marcus's he was already home making supper. They talked about the funeral and the family. Marcus informs Riley that most of the family will be there by tomorrow morning. But tonight only both Rylands and Marcus's ex-wives along with some of her cousins will be coming there to stay as Marcus has the bigger house. Riley rolls her eyes at this but decides it's better to keep the peace while everyone's here.
They sit and talk for the rest of the day. Laughing, slightly crying and all three saying that it was gonna be ok. Ryland decided to leave not too long after supper was done, saying he didn't wanna be here when his ex-wife Mary showed up. He kisses Riley's head and waves Marcus off as he leaves. Riley and Marcus eat and try to keep up the conversation as best they can before she hugs Marcus and goes to her room.
She finds one of her da's sweaters and decides that's what she's wearing to bed. Soon she's curled up in bed, watching the rain hit the window across from her. The rain was soft enough to lure Riley to sleep.
What Riley didn't know.... was going back to Ireland might have been the best choice she ever made......