Edd awoke in a haze, David gently shaking him.

"Hey Edd. Angie said to not worry about anything for the next week. You know, chores and stuff. She said you'll need your strength for what's next."

Edd nodded and rolled on his side to hide his tears. Tears for his parents. Tears for his home. Tears for what is gone. Tears for his situation. He wasn't going to be able to return to his beloved cul-de-sac. Edd was devastated. David slipped out of the room and shut the door. He look at Andrea and Julia.

"Why don't you two make some pictures for Edd? I'm sure it'll make him feel better."

The girls ran to their room to get started on their project as David went downstairs.

Edd's weeping was interrupted by his phone buzzing. He looked at the screen and saw it was Eddy calling.

"Hello."

"Hey Edd. I heard about the fire. I'm sorry man. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Can you bring back my parents?" Edd snapped.

Eddy was silent on the other side.

"Didn't think so." And he ended the call.

He didn't want apologies. Edd wanted to return to his parents. He wanted to return home.

Hours later, Edd emerged from his bedroom and went to the bathroom. He quickly undressed and turned on the water in the shower to warm up. Once to his desired temperature, Edd stepped in and let the water stream over his body. There was knock on the door and a quick "Please finish soon, dinner is done." Edd let out a sigh and shut the water off and dressed himself in a black t shirt and grey sweats. He put his dirty clothes in the basket in the hallway and went downstairs. Stepping into the kitchen, he smelled the oil from frying chicken and could catch a whiff of something delicious. Looking around he saw a pie cooling and saw Angie at the stove, glass of wine in one hand and tongs in the other as she looked at the hissing pan.

"Good evening Angie. I apologize for not being social." She turned to him.

"It's alright dear. Losing one parent is hard, but losing both? I can't even comprehend it. Go sit on the couch, dinner will be finished shortly."

Flicking through the channels, Edd happened upon the news and gained some hope.

"All patients that died in the fire have been identified. However two patients bodies are missing from the ward. It is now believed that they caused the fire and used the confusion to escape. No names have been released at this time."

Could it be my parents? Eddward thought. But if they were unstable, would they be able to pull off an escape like this? Now his mind was racing. Edd knew that his parents had been working on something classified for the government, but that was all. Maybe the government faked it. Maybe, just maybe, they had a threat or discovered something they weren't supposed to know. Eddward had an idea. He was good with computers and thought it was possible to attempt to hack the government's servers. But I would need hours of uninterrupted use of a computer, multiple VPNs, and probably read some material about codes and firewalls. His thoughts were interrupted by Angie announcing dinner. I'll figure something out. I always have and always will. Dinner and dessert, which happened to be blueberry pie, was eaten in silence. Afterwards, Angie let Edd know that he had school off for the week and that he had a meeting with his lawyer tomorrow morning. Edd thanked her and went upstairs to bed; hoping that maybe there was some good news to be given tomorrow.

Edd's lawyer, Tim Leerman, sat before him. He was a middle aged man with a receding hairline and an aquiline nose and soft eyes.

"Now Eddward. I have your parents will here. I have reviewed it and everything is in order. The house is yours, along with all their savings, your inheritance. Unfortunately, you cannot use the money until you are eighteen years of age. The house will be locked and will be cleaned weekly by the property custodians, your neighbors the Barrs."

The lawyer chuckled as he placed a stack of letters on the desk between them. "I have also received a dozen different requests on how their estate is to be spread out amongst their families; with all of them being declined." Edd nodded his head, thankful that his parents were smart enough to make a working will.

"What if I were to become an emancipated minor?" Tim raised an eyebrow at that.

"Well, you would be able to inherit the home with no problem. But your monetary inheritance would still be locked from you until you are eighteen."

Edd thought for a moment. "Would it be possible for money to be pulled from my inheritance to pay for necessities in the home? That way, I am not using the money for anything else but to live. I will still work pay for other things like groceries and my phone."

Tim's mind ticked away as it began to follow the young man's thought process. After a few minutes, he nodded. "That could work, but you would need to get emancipation papers signed by your caseworker. Also, after a month, you would check in on to make sure you are living comfortably."

Edd sighed with some relief. "How soon can we get that paperwork over to my caseworker?"

"I will get it drafted now. That way we can explain the situation to her."

"Thank you Tim. You've given me hope again."

"You're welcome. I always found your parents to be wonderful people, so I couldn't simply let you stay in a foster home."

Edd held his breath as his lawyer and his case worker, Edith Maddow, discussed Edd's decision.

"Eddward, are you sure you want to do this? Three years isn't such a long time to wait."

"I'm sure Mrs. Maddow. I've essentially lived on my own for years now, so it won't be nothing new."

"Alright then. I will agree to sign the documents. I will try to get a court date set up for later this week. Did you have any more questions for Mr. Leerman?"

"I do, what of my parent's funeral?"

"Paid for by the hospital. Closed casket. It will be on Saturday Mr. Vincent I bid you farewell and my condolences again."