i believe in yesterday ☽ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐒

𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

there was barely any time for molly to react before julia was rushed into a room. she could recognize john's aunt balling her eyes out behind them.

she couldn't remember much but the pure look of horror stained on john's face long after that. she saw him arrive at the hospital a few moments later with a man she couldn't recognize.

molly didn't want to do anything to further upset him at first. she didn't want to seek him out or even stay at the hospital in fear of what her diagnosis would be.

of course, john looked horrified and confused, so, she felt obligated to comfort him since no one else was. she slipped past the nurses rushing past her as john and his family sat down in the waiting area. his face was emotionless for a moment. he rested his chin on his fist and bit his lip to keep from crying.

molly slowly, without making any sudden movements walked over past the front desks and up to john. everyone seemed to be crying but hi. no one noticed her—except him. he looked up at her with tear-filled eyes. her eyes were admittedly filled with tears also. molly always had empathy, even for someone she didn't know. julia was kind to everyone. it was a shame for her to die so soon.

john's breathing hitched when he recognized her. with furrowed and slightly downturned brows, he stood up and just looked at her for a second.

"john, i'm so so-"

in one swift movement, john came forward and grabbed onto molly like a little child onto his mother. molly wasn't expecting a hug, so, she became slightly off-balanced by the sudden force.

she stepped back to ground herself and felt her arms being lifted up to hug him as tight as she could. he began uncontrollably sobbing, making small sobbing noises into her shoulder.

john never hugged molly before that day. it was probably the best hug he ever gave. as soon as john started crying, molly instantaneously began crying along with him.

time seemed to stand still. they could've been there for hours. maybe it was only a minute. neither of them kept track of time. all they could hear were the sounds of john's family bawling and whimpering small whispers. after all, even in the midst of a loved one dying, they still remained polite.

molly couldn't remember when she let go of john, but, whenever she did, she remembered his red eyes staring down at her with sorrow. he knew she wasn't going to make it. they both did.

instead of having any sort of hope for the best, they both accepted the worst; julia was dead.

                                                  *

hospitals are supposed to be places of healing and dying. no in between. that day, for the lennon-stanley family, it was a day for dying.

julia, john's mother was killed by an off-duty police officer. a horrible death, really.

molly gripped onto john's hand on the way to see her. no one asked about molly. they were too caught up in their own grief to wonder who the blonde bird with john was.

"right this way," a doctor was there to greet them when they got off the elevator. "just down that hall. nurse kennedy will show you."

the family shuffled down the hall, empty and quiet except for the small sniffles and heavy breathing of the family. they were led into a room with two or three doctors and a table with someone under a white cover. julia.

"we're so sorry," one of the doctors said. he lifted the blanket and revealed julia's pale white face.

john gripped harder onto molly's hand. she looked at him. his eyes were closed tightly, a single tear on his cheek. the family erupted into more and more little sobs upon seeing her. molly felt uneasy about the whole thing and chose to stare at her and john's shoes instead of his mother's dead body laying right in front of them.