It’s been days since Justin last talked to his mother and he was growing worried. It was like her to blow up at him on occasion but never once did she hold a grudge for this long. Sure, she could be immature, selfish, and even just plain neurotic at times; but still, she came around.

Justin was feeling uneasy. The air held a suspicion, an omen of bad times to come. He worked mirthlessly at the counter all afternoon. Stupid kids tested his patience and adults complained about anything and everything. One even came up to ask if they sold Martini’s. Justin gave him a “are you stupid?” look and told him to leave.

“Gavin!” Justin yelled when he finally got a break from the long line of customers.

Gavin came out of the back room carrying a large cardboard box and set it down with a loud thump on the floor. He stood up and took in a deep breath and finally looked up at Justin.

“Whatcha need?”

“Have you heard from my mom lately? She hasn’t called the store, has she?”

Gavin hesitated and looked at Justin with a curious expression. “No…” Then realization dawned upon his face and he asked anxiously, “What’s wrong? Is she hurt? What’s going on?”

Justin sighed and leaned against the CD rack, crossing his arms, “I haven’t talked to her. It’s just, man I don’t know, I feel like something’s wrong. Like it’s out of place. She never waits this long to call me after a fight. Remember that one night back in junior year? When she got drunk and kicked me out? I came over to your place and I wasn’t gone four hours before she called and started to apologize. That’s just how she works.” Justin stopped and took a long look at his friend, “Sorry, I’m probably just being stupid.”

“No, it’s ok. How about we go over to her place in Whiteville tomorrow? You know, just check up on her.”

Justin smiled, “Yeah, good idea.”

Gavin came over by Justin and put his hand on his shoulder, “Now, now, let’s get back to work because I’ve been watching that hottie check you out for the past twenty minutes now.”Gavin winked and motioned towards the other side of the store. He proceeded to pick up the cardboard box again and haul it towards the last aisle.

Justin stood there gaping. Had he been that oblivious to anyone else in the store? In all honesty, he couldn’t remember seeing anyone else in the entire place. But nonetheless, he looked over towards where Gavin had motioned and saw her.

She was fairly pretty, with long light brown hair. She had somewhat of a pretty face and broad shoulders. She definitely was not anorexic skinny but thick. She wore a light green sundress with flip-flops. The girl also wore big bug-eyed white sunglasses, contrasting greatly against the deep tan of her skin. Justin silently found himself wondering what color her eyes were. With another once-over, he concluded that yes she was attractive, but not drop-dead gorgeous.

Without realizing it, she had walked towards him and he found himself staring at her from across the counter. She smiled shyly and handed him a CD, The Academy Is

“My favorite band,” Justin commented when he was ringing up the total.

“Yeah, mine too,” Avoiding eye contact as she responded.

“You from around here?” Justin asked, hoping to start a conversation.

She regarded him, not with suspicion, but with mild curiosity. “Nope, just moved from Dallas. Came up here for college, don’t start for another three weeks, though,” She suddenly realized she was rambling and quickly shut her mouth. Justin chuckled at this.

“What’s your name?”

“Nicole. You?”

“Justin.”

“Nice to meet you,” Nicole mumbled awkwardly.

“Well, Nicole, I have a proposition for you.” She looked up, curiosity covering her features. Justin just continued, “I say we have a little outing. Ya know, a Welcome-to-Springsdale party. I can show you around and help you get settled in the town.”

A huge smile spread across Nicole’s face. “Sure, that’d be fun.” She paused, “Do you want my cell number?”

Justin winked, “Couldn’t get ahold of you without it.”

Nicole grabbed a pen and wrote her number on a piece of paper and handed it to Justin. “See you soon.” She grabbed her CD and walked out the door into the sunlight. Justin smirked and sat down on the stool. “Gavin, I got the number!” Justin shouted, and all he heard were whoops coming from the storage room.

Later that day, after locking up the store, Gavin and Justin walked down 5th towards Justin’s apartment. Every Thursday they went to Justin’s place and watched movies and ordered pizza. Sometimes, they even played a couple of hours of Madden; they were guys after all. They reached his door and walked inside. Gavin automatically went to the fridge to find pop and order the food. Justin went to find which movies they’d waste time watching today, when the phone rang. “Hello.” He mumbled while looking through the piles of movies scattered in front of his T.V.

“Is this Justin Ventimiglia?”

Justin stopped searching, “Yes, who is this?”

The woman on the other line started to say, “Justin, we need you to come down to Spingsdale Hospital right away,” but before she could finish, Justin yelled for Gavin and they were out the door.

Justin entered the automatic doors a nervous wreck. He had no clue what was going on. Gavin was just as confused. Justin raced down the hallway up towards a woman in green sitting behind a long marble counter. Her hair was held back in a tight bun and she peered up at him through tortoise shell glasses.

“I’m Justin Ventimiglia. I was just called…”

Before he could finish she cut him off, “Ok Honey, go sit over there and I’ll have the doctor come out in just a few minutes.” With that, Justin walked heavy-footed towards the seating area. He sat down and put his head in his hands. Gavin sat next to him and didn’t utter a word. Justin was uncomfortable and thoughts raced through his mind. Justin didn’t notice the doctor approach him until he cleared his throat.

The doctor was a younger guy, maybe thirty-five. He had dark black hair and dark brown eyes. His expression was serious. “Justin?” All Justin could manage was a nod. “I’m Doctor Smott. Your mother was found by a neighbor unconscious on the bathroom floor. She was brought her over four hours ago and she was diagnosed with a very large amount of oxycotton in her system. We tried the best we could but we couldn’t save her. I’m so deeply sorry. If you need anything, just ask me or any of the nurses.”

Doctor Smott stopped talking and searched for any sign of reaction. Justin stood there, it not really sinking in until finally it did. Tears welled up in Justin’s eyes before the poured out. Justin’s knees began to give away but Gavin attempted to support him. Justin pushed Gavin away and whirled around, punching the wall with all his might. Justin heard yelling; hearing what sounded like the word “mom” and took a moment to realize it was his voice. Gavin managed to set him down in the chair and Justin became silent. Tears were still flowing but he made no sound. It was as if Justin became dead to the world. Gavin stood there, crying, watching his best friend’s world fall apart.

Justin was silent. He hasn’t spoken at all. He showed no emotion and he didn’t work, not that Gavin had any intention on making him. It has been four days since his mother’s death and the funeral was in an hour. Justin was dressed in a suit with a black tie. He stood in front of the wooden coffin that was covered in flowers. The past days had been hell for him and he wasn’t sure if he could have the people attending witnessing his complete loss of reality. But he knew he had to give the speech.

Everyone started to arrive. Justin saw distant family and previous loser boyfriends of his mom’s. Gavin was there, too. A preacher stood on the podium speaking the words that he spoke at every funeral. He was an old man, around seventy with very little hair and kind brown eyes. When he concluded his words, Justin stood up to begin his.

He slowly made his way up to the front of the church. He avoided looking out into gathering and focused on the Bible sitting in front of him. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Tears threatened to come and he tried once again.

“Michelle was my mom. But she wasn’t just my mom; she was the only family I had. She was my best friend and the only person I honestly looked up to. No, I’m not saying I respected the way she lived her life; she had problems. I had problems, too. But she was always there for me. And I helped her. She was a good woman. Don’t let anyone tell you different. She had her ups and she had her downs. I remember, I never wanted to go to school when I was younger because I didn’t want to leave her. So every time we left, we’d sing a song together, the same song each time. The little things like that that she did are what make her special, especially to me. Never would I regret having her in my life. I honestly wish she were here now. When I get married, or have children, or start a career, I don’t have her guidance anymore. But I know that she’s looking down on me.” He choked on a sob, “I’ll miss her more than anything.” With this, Justin looked up towards the ceiling and spoke, “I’ll make you proud Mom, I swear it.” He blew a kiss towards the heavens and stepped off the podium.