Chapter Text
Josh woke up to the sound of someone knocking on the door.
He had fallen asleep on the couch in front of the TV, waiting for his dad to come back home. He checked the time on his watch. 5:27am.
The knocking persisted. "I'm coming!" Josh said, loud enough for whoever was outside to hear him. He got up from the couch and stretched his limbs. Still feeling a little groggy and confused, he walked over to the door and opened it. There stood his father, Tom Clarkson.
"You're back. I was a little worried you weren't coming home." Josh said. He suddenly noticed that Tom looked incredibly exhausted and downtrodden, his eyes were red and his face was dazed.
"Are you okay?" Josh asked, concerned.
Tom stumbled forwards and buried his face into Josh's shoulder. Josh had began to realise what had happened. Without hesitation, he wrapped his arms around his father, embracing him.
"It's Sam..." Tom choked. "She's... she's gone, Josh."
Although he was expecting to hear it, the news still hit Josh like a hard punch in the face. Holding back tears, Josh helped his father indoors and sat him down on the couch. He wrapped a blanket around him and went into the kitchen to get him a drink.
Once he was in the kitchen, Josh leaned on the table with his elbows and put his hands over his mouth. He still couldn't believe it. He wanted to scream. It wasn't fair. Sam had been one of the strongest people he had ever known. In fact, she may have even been the strongest given that she had fought her cancer right up until the very end.
In that moment, Josh had not only grieved Sam, but also his friends and family.
His father Tom had treated Sam as if she were his own. His life was going to be much more bleak going forward.
His best friend Finn Sharkey had become a much better person for Sam. He was going to be lost without her.
Lauren Andrews had been Sam's closest friend, the same way Finn was for Josh. Josh was dreading seeing Lauren at school today. Dreading inevitably seeing her so broken.
Harry Fisher was another friend who was close with Sam. She had been the first person in the school to show Harry any form of kindness. Josh knew that Harry had idolised Sam and knew that he was going to be devastated at the news.
And Denzil, Sam's younger brother. Josh couldn't begin to imagine how poor Denzil felt at this time. He probably loved Sam more than anyone, especially given that she was his only role model since his older brother Marley was at university and his other older brother Earl was in a maximum security prison doing time for murder.
Steadying his breathing, Josh went back into the front room to give Tom his scotch. After handing the shot to his father, he sat down with him and pulled him in for a hug.
There they sat together. Both of their hearts broken.