Impact

At first, Claire would have never spoken in front of Riley’s friends – not in a million years. But Aimee’s adamant pleas had convinced her otherwise – disappointing the one child she had left was probably not in her best interest.

The thought hit her that once you reached adulthood, crying in front of teenagers was frowned upon. You were supposed to be strong, no matter what. But what if that was the last thing you could do? What if being strong meant pushing away the only release you had left?

“There are some moments, especially when I wake up, where I think that my Riley is still alive. Sometimes, late at night, I’ll wake up because I thought I heard him next door, and that I need to check up on him. Every single time it happens, it’s like an incessant reminder that my son is dead.”

So far, so good. The lump in her throat had formed long ago, but it had basically become permanent. Everyone was crying, except for her and her ex-husband. It almost made her angry that he wasn’t, only because it made her realize that he had left her and her family. He shouldn’t have been there – he was a stranger.

“I never had a moment where I didn’t love Riles. He was so sweet, so caring, so perfect. Losing him was like losing a large chunk of my heart – one that I won’t ever get back. I hope my sweetie is in the paradise that he deserves to be. I hope that all his pain is taken away. I know that he’s watching over all of us right now. Our sweet and perfect guardian angel.”

It was at that moment she realized she was going to have a breakdown. It was also at that moment that she realized what the two words break and down meant together – she was breaking closer to the ground than ever, and it hurt more than anything.