"So lately, been wondering

Who will be there to take my place?
When I'm gone, you'll need love, to light the shadows on your face." The Calling

Maria Mansfield stopped outside the door to room fifty-four, her heart beating wildly in her chest.

It had been three days.

Three days since Detective Cartwright had shown up at her house to tell her the kids had been found. Three days since she found out her son had killed not one, but two people. Three days since her daughter had spoken a word to anyone.

And yet, it felt as though years had passed since her children were taken. She felt the relief of their return seeping out of her with every passing second, like all her colour was being drained.

Catatonic.

That had been the word they used to describe Kayla. For Maria, it was almost as bad as when she didn't know what was happening to them. How could she sit back and watch her daughter suffer in silence? How could she believe that her son was a murderer?

Taking a deep breath, she slowly opened the door to the room. Kayla was in the same position she had been in the day before. Her blonde hair fanned the pillow; her glassy eyes stared at the ceiling, unseeing.

Unmoving.

Maria sat down on the chair she had vacated only last night and took Kayla's hand in hers, trying her best to ignore how icy cold it was despite the layers of blankets.

"Noah's funeral is today," she started. "I'm not sure if he would have wanted me there, after everything."

Maria hated herself for the disdain she had shown towards her daughter's first love. Maybe if she had been more accepting of their relationship, she wouldn't feel the crushing weight of guilt that threatened to swallow her whole.

She had tried to deny her daughter happiness, wishing that Noah would disappear from Kayla's life for good. Now he had, and Maria hated herself for ever thinking that way.

Be careful what you wish for. She knew that first hand now.

"I'm going to go. For you. I know you would have wanted to be there if you could. I know he meant the world to you." She stifled back a sob, clutching Kayla's hand so tightly her knuckles turned white.

"Ryder's lawyer approached me to see if you would testify as a witness."

Maria had been hoping that this would be the news that would make Kayla finally react. But she had been wrong. Kayla remained as still as a corpse.

Maria had no idea how Kayla even felt about her brother. When the Detective had told her about the events in the room and what the kids had witnessed, she had felt as though the world crumpled beneath her feet.

What made it worse; was that she hadn't been able to see either of her children. All of the teenagers had been taken straight to the psychiatric unit to wait out the effects of the serum.

Now, she was allowed to see them, but Kayla wouldn't speak and Maria had yet to bring herself to see Ryder, knowing what he had done.

She knew she should. But she wasn't equipped to deal with this kind of devastation. She had hired a lawyer she couldn't really afford; hoping that at least by doing something, she could pretend she wasn't a terrible mother.

One woman can only deal with so much guilt before it suffocated her.

"What did you see, sweetheart? What happened in that room? I need to know your side. I need to help you move on from this. I can't do that if you don't talk to me."

Still, Kayla said nothing, just as Maria had known she wouldn't. That didn't stop the pain from hitting her with the force of a speeding bus.

She softly lifted her daughter's hand and kissed her knuckles, Kayla's cold skin icy against her lips.

"I need to go or I'll be late. I will give the Jones' your love and well wishes." She stood up, the metal legs of her chair scraping against the tiled floor. "I love you."

Of course there was no response, and Maria's heart squeezed with grief. She reached the door and turned back, her hand still on the handle.

"Please Kayla. Please come back to me."

"Thank you all for being here."

Trevor Jones had always suffered from stage fright. He lacked the confidence to speak in front of large crowds. But now, as he looked at all the people that had gathered to celebrate his son's life, he vowed to face that fear. For Noah.

"Just seeing the amount of people that have come here to celebrate my son's life, the amount of people whose lives he touched; is a testament to the kind of person that he was. Lucian, Jenna and I are so grateful."

He swallowed the lump of grief that had caught in his throat, glancing down at Jenna for the strength he needed to continue. She wasn't looking at him. Instead she had gathered a sobbing Lucian in her arms and was slowly rubbing circles on his back, her own tears falling down her cheeks.

"Noah was-," he stopped, his eyes sore and itchy from trying to keep himself from weeping. "He was-," he couldn't continue. He couldn't bring himself to say the words. He couldn't keep the tears at bay any longer.

He couldn't live without his son.

It was absolutely impossible for him to talk about Noah in past tense. A week ago, he had shouted at Noah for leaving his soccer cleats in the hall. Noah had simply laughed and apologised, placing a hand on Trevor's shoulder. How had they gone from there to here in such a short period of time?

How had Trevor's entire world collapsed in the space of seven days?

Trevor felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Pierce Walling. "Do you want me to continue?"

Trevor nodded gratefully and handed Pierce the piece of paper with Noah's eulogy on it. He stepped down from the small makeshift stage at the front of the church and went straight to Jenna and Lucian. The three of them huddled together in the front pew, as though they could ward off the storm of grief.

"Noah was everything we could want in a son. He was smart, caring and generous. He had good grades, great friends, a lovely girlfriend and more soccer trophies than I can count."

Peirce's voice was loud and clear as he spoke, reading the words that Trevor had so carefully written.

"But he was so much more than that. He was more than could possibly be put into words. He was a light, a beacon that shone on everyone who was ever fortunate enough to meet him. He never failed to brighten our day."

The sound of sobbing filled the small space, making the room seem cramped somehow.

"It is impossible to describe how much we miss him. How can you describe the gaping hole that has been ripped out of your chest? A parent should never have to go through the torture of out living their child, and this something that Jenna and I are learning the hard way."

At this, Pierce's voice cracked slightly as he choked on his own tears. Trevor could see that the speech was taking a toll on him, but he pushed on anyway, something that Trevor would always be grateful for.

"The hardest part of loving someone is knowing that one day you could lose them forever. We have lost Noah, but he will always be in our hearts. Every time the sun shines through my window, I know it's him. I know he's there with us."

With one last deep breath, Pierce folded the eulogy and put it in his pocket, adding one last sentiment that came from his own heart.

"Noah is gone, but he will never be forgotten."

A/N: One more chapter and an epilogue to go!