The days leading up to the funeral were a blur. The Easterly family felt empty. There was a gaping hole left where John Easterly used to be and they could feel it in everything they did. Collins could barely look at her teenage brother without seeing the man who used to protect her from all the harm in the world. Mitch hadn't been to the study since he had to break the news to his best friend. His heart was heavy for the family. He tried to distract Collins from the grief and the fact that a twenty-two-year-old girl was now planning a funeral. He tried to take over most of the planning himself, but Collins stopped him. The distraction was what she needed. Jack stopped songwriting, at least for the time being. He put his girlfriend's feelings before his own. He held her when she needed it, he watched her breakdowns. He watched her scream and cry in their apartment. He saw her break when she couldn't hold it together anymore.

The funeral was completely packed. Her father had such an impact on everyone's life. The Easterly family had moved so many times that people from all over came to pay their respects to the man they used to call their friend. Speaker after speaker went up to the stage to say a few words, but Collins realized no one was capturing the true essence of what a great man he was. Taking a deep breath, she slowly stood up to make her way to the podium. Her legs were shaking under her and she felt as if she was going to collapse. She could feel everyone's eyes on her as she gripped the podium trying to hold herself up. With a shaky breath, she began slowly,

"My father, my protector, my friend. He was so much more than words can ever begin to explain," She looked around the room at everyone in attendance. She saw her aunts, uncles, the few cousins she had. She saw her dad's old work friends mixed up with his college friends. She saw old neighbors from everywhere they once lived. But then she froze. She saw old neighbors...she saw Anne. The lady who once acted like a mother towards her. The lady who took care of her when she was down when her own mother acted incapable. Her strong facade that she tried to put on for her speech collapsed. The tears openly flowed as she continued,

"He was the heart of our family. He was the joy, the pride, the soul of the Easterlys. We always knew that the end was coming, and I guess for a while we distracted ourselves. He always talked about my wedding. Told me I was never allowed to get married. He could never share his best girl with someone else," She let out a small chuckle at this, trying to lighten the mood. "I would look back at him, and I would always respond with, 'Dad, I'll always be your best girl, but I'm sure you'll want to get rid of me at some point.' To which he would always say, 'I could never leave you.' I stand here now realizing that even though he's gone, even though I will not have my father to walk me down the aisle at my wedding, I will not have my father to give me away, he did not leave me. He is with me in everything I do. He will still hold my hand during every milestone of my life and of Cole's life. He is gone, but we are not alone. I know at this moment he wouldn't want us to cry. He's looking down on us, and where he is everything is good and pure, and he's looking down on us knowing we will be alright. And I for one, cannot wait to, one day see him again. I love you Dad. " Collins ended looking up. There was not a dry eye in the crowd as she made her way back to her seat. Her brother squeezed her hand as she sat behind him, in between Jack and Mitch.

Collins will always say the hardest part was after the funeral. Everyone came up to her and told her what a great guy her father is and how strong she was. She knew she wasn't strong, but that's not what they wanted to hear. It became even harder when she spoke to Anne. She tried to avoid it, but with Anne, she will most likely always get her way. The first thing she did was pull the girl into the largest hug she could offer. "Collins," She began,

"Please, I can't do sympathy right now," Collins looked up at the woman, feeling nothing but trust.

"Honey, I just need to know how you've been doing. That you're okay," Anne told her, her motherly side making an appearance.

"I'm okay, I'm going to be okay," Collins told Anne. Anne nodded her head, but she could see the actual truth behind Collin's eyes. Figuring she needed a break from the overwhelming amount of condolences. Anne said one last thing before leaving.

"He misses you, you know."

With that Collins finally looked attentive, but Anne was already making her way to speak with the rest of the family. Mitch, who had watched the short interaction unfold, came up in front of the girl. He saw the gears turning in her head as she wasn't sure whether to break down or laugh at the insane assumption that Harry missed her. It was all too much for one day. The only thing she could manage to say was a small whisper of "take me home," to Mitch as he grabbed her hand and led her towards the exit.

Mitch's POV

As much as he didn't want to leave the girl who needed as much comfort as possible, Mitch had to go back to work. He couldn't explain to Harry that the reason he had missed the last two weeks of studio sessions is that he was helping his best friend, who is actually Harry's ex-best friend's, dad's funeral. Maybe he just wouldn't say anything at all. That is what he was best at.

"Want to tell us where you've been mate?" Was the first thing Mitch heard as he walked through the studio doors.

Damnit Harry

"Had things to deal with," Mitch explained as vaguely as possible.

"Ah yes, the man of little words has made a return," Harry joked as he changed the subject realizing that he didn't want to talk about where he had been. Mitch rolled his eyes at this, his lips still forming a straight line, but there was a slight second where Harry thought he might smile.

"Come on Mitchell, get comfortable on the couch. I have a song to share,"

The open chords began to play before Harry's voice rang out,

Just stop your crying

It's a sign of the times

Welcome to the final show

Hope you're wearing your best clothes

You can't bribe the door on your way to the sky

You look pretty good down here

Mitch stopped him after that line, shocked at how beautiful the song already sounded.

"How'd you come up with this?" Mitch asked the singer. Harry thought for a second.

"I guess, erm... one of my old neighbors passed away, just guess I took some inspiration from how the family was feeling, by, uh, what my mom said," Harry did his best to explain without going into too much detail, but Mitch knew. At this moment Mitch knew that he was talking about Collins and her family, but he said nothing.

"Heavy stuff man," The other writer, Ryan Nasci said. Harry nodded, before going to continue the song.

"Let me add a line," Mitch said, grabbing the journal and adding

But you ain't really good

He was referencing Collins' true feelings of how she felt, at times that she needed to hold it together when really she was constantly breaking. Harry nodded at this and continued the song, adding in the new line from Mitch.

If we never learn, we been here before

Why are we always fuckin' running from

The bullets?

The bullets

We never learn, we been here before

Why are we always fuckin' running from

The bullets?

The bullets

As Harry sang the next verse Mitch had to do his best to hold in together in order for Harry to not be suspicious.

Just stop your crying

It's a sign of the times

We gotta get away from here

We gotta get away from here

Just stop your crying

It'll be alright

They told me that the end is near

We gotta get away from here

Harry must've gotten details from Anne about Collins' speech. The words he was singing were in direct reference to her eulogy. There was no way these could be coincidences. Mitch was floored. He never expected this when he walked into work today.

Just stop your crying

Have the time of your life

Breaking through the atmosphere

And things are pretty good from here

Remember everything will be alright

We can meet again somewhere

Somewhere far away from here

The next rest of the song repeated itself a few times before Harry ended. The studio was silent as the quiet guitar playing slowly came to a stop. Before everyone started clapping.

"Fucking amazing," Mitch told Harry.

"Needs a bridge," Harry mumbled, kind of to himself, but to the group of writers as well. Mitch thought to himself before replying with, maybe, something that Collins' would kill him for suggesting.

"What about like, something about the neighbor. Like opening up. Cause you don't like to talk anymore, right?" Mitch worded it as more of a question than a suggestion. Harry slightly nodded at this and his eyes got smaller as he went into deep thought. He wrote silently as Mitch messed around with a few chords on his guitar that he thought went with the song.

"Keep playing that," Harry said to Mitch.

We don't talk enough

We should open up

Before it's all too much

Will we ever learn?

We've been here before

It's just what we know

And just like that, Harry had finished his first single.