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It was a very long and difficult week.

Not twenty-four hours ago had Christa been informed of her cousin Bradley's death. She knew he had leukemia in some form, and that he bruised and bled easily, but she didn't know exactly how fragile he was. How fragile life was. Aunt Liz and Uncle Al were in the living room, Aunt Liz crying desperately on her husband's shoulders. They were not related by blood to Bradley, but related nonetheless. They'd sent him many a present and card every holiday and frequently invited him over to stay. Christa couldn't take it and spoke to her father and brother about it after the news. Zach had played with Bradley as frequently as his illness allowed, and Christa would go over to visit when schoolwork didn't pile up. The Calloways didn't live to far away from the Reeses in Destiny City.

Christa felt utterly devastated. She should have gone over to visit more often, invited them over more often... at least called! Shaking her head, she disappeared into the basement where her cell rested on the bed. Turning on the bedroom lamp, she searched the phone's directory for one Melinda Reese. She hadn't talked to her cousin in weeks, and no doubt she needed someone to talk to. Gingerly, Christa drew in a breath to calm herself down. Aunt Liz's crying made it hard to keep it together. Finally, after a few moments of silence, Christa hit the dial button.

Ring... ring... ring...

"Mel? How are you doing?"

Her voice was cautious at best, trying to drown out Aunt Liz in the background. Christa got up to quietly close the door so Mel wouldn't have to hear. She didn't need that, not after what had happened. It was unfortunate that Christa didn't call too often, her head being buried in so many other things, but that was hardly an excuse. She made it a personal mission to reconnect with her cousin, regardless of the divorce going on in her family. Mel needed her right now, and like hell she was going to desert a family member. Mel and Christa was close in childhood, but high school and other priorities got in the way.

Not any longer. Even senshidom wasn't going to keep Christa from helping Mel shoulder the burden of losing a sibling. Christa didn't know what she'd do if she lost Zach. She remembered the four of them playing together years before, when the boys were younger.

"You know you can always talk to me, I... I just wanted to talk to you for a while, if that's alright with you."

After Christa heard that unusually calm tone, she knew Mel had shut down. She'd only seen her cousin do that once, when Zachary decided to try some crazy bicycle stunt in the street outside the Reese house. Zach broke his leg and was in the hospital for a while. It was bloody, with lots of scrapes and such. Mel had put on the tough act then, but this was the worst Christa had ever experienced. Mel couldn't allow herself to feel right now, so the conversation was shifting to how her cousin was doing instead of herself. But Christa had no good news there either.

"Things are fine at Meadowview. Finals and all that. I hope Crystal's been good to you. Sorry I haven't called all that often. I'm kicking myself right now for it."

Aunt Liz poked her head in then, asking about dinner. Christa held her hand to the phone and shook her head, mouthing that she was speaking to Melinda. Elizabeth understood and nodded her head, eyes bleary from crying for hours. The house would be in quiet mourning for the next few days. No doubt the families would come together for the funeral. Christa wasn't sure if her mother would show up, and if she did, it would be incredibly awkward. The teen swallowed the lump in her throat. "My folks? They're um..." After a moment of silence, Christa spoke again.

"Mel, this isn't about me." An audible sigh. "Mel, it's okay to feel. It's okay to cry. I was crying... I'm still crying..." Her voice cracked a bit and she choked back a sob. "Bradley meant a lot to us, Zach too. Zach hasn't been out of his room. Mel... you have to let yourself feel..."

"I know. Nobody will but... we'll get through this, you know?"

She was saying everything she could to explain that she would be there for Mel as best she could. Even though they were some distance apart, they were still cousins. They still all played together when they were little. Nothing was going to take that away from them. Christa vowed them to slow down her patrolling and see about visiting Mel while she was attending Crystal. Maybe she could get a visitor's pass or something in the afternoons.

"Nobody's going to be the same but... but that's part of life, you know? It'll be hard, damned hard, but you have us. You have your mom and dad, and mine too, and Aunt Liz and Uncle Al, and Zach too. And all the kitties here at Aunt Liz's house. You remember Aunt Liz, right? She made us lemonade when we played in her backyard that one summer. We were trying to herd the cats. You remember that? How you sat down and three of them came up and sat in your lap? Aunt Liz still has pictures of that..."

She tried to get her cousin to remember the happy times, to remember Bradley like he was then - happy, smiling, running around. It was before the disease claimed him and confined him as he aged. She wanted Mel to remember all the fun the four of them had, and how they built a tree house, but they had to use a bush since none of the trees in the backyard would support the weight. How they wanted to be astronauts, so they used cardboard boxes with holes punched in them from plastic pens. Those were the times to remember, and grieving was natural. It was okay, and Christa wanted Mel to know that.

Before she could no longer hear her cousin, Christa kept on with the fond memories. "Yeah, Aunt Liz would say not to chase the cats, but the cats loved it. They would come up to us and bat at our toes and just wait for us to make the move. Then they would play chase with us around the couches..." Christa could feel her own tears coming on then too, but she kept trying to talk through it. "Sasha loved you the most, I think. She would always lay on you when we'd have to lay down for naps, and she would follow you around all the time. Aunt Liz called Sasha your partner in crime. Remember that?"

When the other end of the phone went silent, Christa knew Mel was finally allowing herself to cry. She didn't have to be strong for anybody. She didn't have to shoulder all this weight and put on a happy face. She needed to let it go as much as she could. Bottling it up inside would just tear a person apart.

Mel was an inspirational person.

"Mel, you always said that we should go to each other when we had problems. You made us pinky swear on it, so I want you to do the same. Aunt Liz wouldn't mind if you came over sometime... anytime, really. I'm here now for a while too..." Her voice cracked again, and Christa let everything flow then too. They could hopefully bond over their mutual losses, though Mel's was far greater. "You and I... we're in this thing together, okay?"

The mask went back up. But the fact that it came down at all was a small victory for Christa. Since they were little, Mel would shut down whenever something scary or bad happened. It was her natural response, but the feelings would always come out later. They always did. But in allowing herself to feel, even for a moment, Melinda could lessen the pain she would feel later. Christa was proud of her for that.

"Aunt Liz won't mind if you come over. Besides, I bet Sasha would be really happy to see you." The teen sniffed a few times, wiping the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. "Remember how she would chirp for you whenever she wanted to sit by you? Aunt Liz says that's because she's a Siamese or something... I think it's just because she's weird." Christa gave a laugh then and it was a struggle, but she felt better afterwards. She hoped Mel did too.

She stiffened at the question about her side of the family. Mel didn't know about the affair and the divorce, and she didn't need that worry on her plate. Not now. The entire family was dealing with a death already. Christa's mother Stephanie was a fleeting person in Mel's life because of her work schedule, so they may not have had a close bond. Still, Christa hoped her mother would be present at the funeral. Christa would have to make something nice for the family too, perhaps a fiber design in Bradley's honor. "They're... they're alright. They're doing the best they can. Maybe... maybe we could all come together for dinner or something sometime..."

No, she couldn't mention the divorce. She couldn't do that to Mel.

Hearing Melinda laugh was a blessing, and infectious too. Whenever Mel laughed, everyone else did too, especially the boys in their little group. "Haha, and now Aunt Liz wonders why Sasha is so fat and pawing at the freezer all the time. Don't worry, I didn't tell on you." Even though Mel couldn't see it, Christa was smiling, and it felt so good. "I'll let her know to make several apple pies with the ice cream you and Sasha like so much. I promise. Once finals are over, you have to be over here, okay?"

Once things had calmed down and settled, maybe Mel could stay with her for a little while? She knew Zachary would love to see his favorite cousin Mel and play with her in the backyard. Even though he was growing up, he was still a kid at heart, and Christa loved that about him.

"Heck, you know what? If the guys at Crystal don't mind, I can ask Aunt Liz to make a pie for you and send it to your dorm. You guys aren't too fancy for that, right?" She said it with a laugh, and she knew Crystal had a reputation for snottiness, but Christa was relieved to know Mel didn't come home with it. Christa didn't attend Crystal because of the tuition being too high, but the academy was supposedly the very best. That was what made the academy alright in Christa's book.

Christa nodded even though her cousin couldn't see it. "Good. Then I'll special order one apple pie for you, and you can't share it with the other Crystal girls. The pie's too good for them. They can't handle it." Another laugh, and Christa heard sounds indicating Mel was up and moving around. That was a good sign, she thought. It meant she wasn't lying in bed. Mel was always good about getting up and doing things rather than sitting stagnant somewhere. That seemed to be Christa's job - living in her own head.

How is Zach holding up? She wasn't sure how to deal with that question. Christa visited home the day she found out about Bradley's death, and found that Zach hadn't left his room since he heard the news. They were allowed brief reprieves from school, but without Zach out and about, their father Ben was all alone. The house felt so quiet, so eerie. Christa went up to his room and sat on Zach's bed to comfort him, but the boy was an utter zombie. "He's... he's not good, Mel. He wouldn't talk. At least, not to me. I think he just needs some time." Even she wasn't sure of the accuracy of that answer, but it was the best she could do. She hoped Zach would improve as time went on. Taking the phone away, Christa wiped the new tears forming.

She pressed the phone to her ear again. "He has some days off from school and dad's taking us out to see a movie this weekend, get our mind off of things. You're more than welcome to come if you'd like..."