Joey

A month passed from the time of the accident and for Dean and Tracy life was finally starting to move on after the death of their only son. The couple could finally start to go through the day as they normally would, but with heavy hearts. However for one person, the world had stopped completely. No matter what they did, no one could get Gia to leave her room. Landon tried so much to get her to eat or sleep, but all she did was lay in her bed or sit at her window and stare. She stayed wrapped in one of Joey’s old jackets and a pair of shorts.

Landon walked into her room and found her sitting by her window again. “Gia this needs to stop. You are killing yourself! Do you want to end up like Joey! Do you think he’d want this?”

This finally coaxed a reaction from her. “Don’t you mention him like that! You have no idea what he’d be thinking! He’s dead, remember? I saw him die! So he isn’t thinking anything!”

She buried her head in her arms and cried. Landon walked to his daughter and tried to hug her but she pushed him away. He stood there for a long time, not wanting to leave her even though he knew she did not want him there.

A little while later she had finally cried herself dry, but kept her head in her arms. “Go away.”

Landon felt helpless as he obeyed her wishes. He walked downstairs and sat at the kitchen table, putting his head in his hands. “Oh what am I going to do?” He muttered to himself.

Finally something hit him that seemed like it could help his daughter. He picked up his cell phone.

An hour later, Gia was still sitting at her window. Her door opened and she did not move. “Go away.”

“No.”

She looked at her uncle as he came into the room and sat on her bed. “I don’t want to talk to anybody.”

“You know ever since you were born you’ve had your dad wrapped around your finger and you could get him to do anything you wanted…but not me. Your dad is scared, Gia. He’s afraid he won’t ever get his smiling happy daughter back…but I don’t scare that easy. I know she’s in there somewhere.”

She stared at the floor and Dean could see tears forming in her eyes. Dean sighed. “Can I ask you a question?”

She didn’t speak, only nodded. He sighed. “Tracy and I knew that he was dating someone, but he never got the chance to…” He trailed off. “You knew him better than even we did. Can you tell me who it was?”

Gia looked up at him with wide eyes. “Uncle Dean…” She got quiet.

He stood. “When you are ready to talk I will be here, because I know what you’re going through.” He walked out. Gia stared out the window again and noticed that it was raining now and she heard him leaving.

Suddenly she jumped up and ran after him out the door. She ran outside into the rain. “Uncle Dean!”

He turned around and knew something was up. “Gia?”

“I loved him.”

Suddenly she shot forward and ran into his arms and realization dawned on him. “It was you.”

She nodded into his shoulder and cried in the rain with her uncle. Dean looked up and saw Landon standing in the doorway, grateful that she had finally opened up to someone.