Mike carefully pried Ashley off of Jess and stood her up. Jess clamoured clumsily to her feet, using the wall as support.

"Ashley, breathe. It's okay, you're okay," Mike said, softly.

"No, it's not okay, Mike. I'm never going to be okay. Do you know why? Bec-Because Chris is dead a-and an-" Ashley broke down in a flood of tears, this time clutching herself to Mike, who bent his head down into the crook of her neck to hide his tears.

Jess felt numb. Emptiness consumed her. She hadn't known Chris that well but seeing her friends so distraught was heart breaking. She opened her mouth to express how deeply sorry she was for Ashley but she had to clasp her hands over it to stop a scream escaping. Suddenly an overwhelming feeling of despair filled her body and endless number of tears trailed down her cheeks. She dropped her head down, covering her eyes with her hands.

"Hey," A soft voice said from in front of her.

Jess sniffled and looked up cautiously to see Mike cradling Ashley's body slowly behind Sam who had done her best to block Jess' view of the scene. Her eyes were red as though she had been crying recently. She moved a stray strand out hair out Jess' face and smiled a slow, sweet smile to which Jess automatically returned. She couldn't help but smile when Sam did, it was contagious.

"You doing okay?" Sam asked.

Jess' face crumpled in pain, and a single tear accidentally fell from her eyes.

"You're right, stupid question," Sam said, the tone of her voice lowering. She slid her hand into Jess' giving it a slight, reassuring squeeze. "We'll get through this, together. All of us".

"Sam," Jess spoke, her voice shaky and her eyes wide, "How many of us made it?" She had hoped this nightmare would've ceased once she'd been interviewed and now it seemed like it would never end.

"At the moment, only Ch-" Sam inhaled deeply and inhaled deeply, "Only Chris so far. But Josh and Matt are still missing and Emily's…I don't know where Emily is, but she's fine, thankfully. I don't think I could deal with anymore trauma tonight".

Jessica pulled the small girl's frame into hers. She'd put up a powerful front but Jess saw right through it. Sam buried her face in Jess' chest, breathing with jagged breaths and holding onto her securely. She stroked Sam's blonde hair delicately,

A muscular Officer stepped into the room, sweeping his eyes over each of them with a cold authority. Sam pulled away from Jess, still tightly grasping her hand, their fingers intertwined. The Officer's eyes locked on Jess for a few seconds, sending chills through her body. Eventually he announced that their parents had been alerted of the tragedy that had occurred and were coming to collect each of them in the morning. For the time being, they were to stay in a hotel down the street from Police Station, under close surveillance.

Once he'd finished his painfully explicit speech about Chris' current state, they were ushered out of the circular room, given clean clothes to change into the following morning and taken to their rooms for the night. Everyone was in silent agreement that the events that had happened the previous night were not going to be spoken of anytime soon.

The shower was amazing. All of Jess' troubles seemed to wash away with the water, gone as easily as that. The relief she felt was enough to make her knees buckle underneath her. As she wrapped the warm towel around her and started drying her body. Luckily, she'd managed to convince the hotel staff to allow her to room with Mike, she didn't think she could've made it through the night alone. And there he was, snoring softly on the bed in front of her. He was so beautiful. Jess held her breath, she didn't want to ruin such a perfect view.

As she moved over to her side of the bed a floorboard creaked underneath her. She winced, as Mike stirred beside her only to return to his peaceful slumber. Jess slowly pulled away the mattress and sat upright next to Mike, replaying the events of the day. She felt an arm fix it's self around her waist and Mike hauled Jess into him. Their bodies melted into each other's and Mike's hands moved along her delicate frame, exploring every part in intricate detail. Jess shuddered and whispered into his chest, "I love so much, Michael". A small smile creeped onto Mike's face. He leant his head down to Jess', pressing his forehead up against hers. Their lips brushed and whispered back, inaudibly, "I love you too".

Jess, unable to resist the temptation, leaned forward and kissed Mike with a passion so intense, she felt she was about to cry. Mike pulled her hips into his and slipped his hands inside her top. His hands were delightfully cold. She playfully bit his lip and in response he moved his hands further up her body. Suddenly a searing pain bolted through chest. Jess winced.

"Maybe not tonight, sorry," Mike said, apologetically.

"Yeah, maybe not," Jess replied, curling herself back into him. He stroked Jess' head softly and they stayed there. Lying in blissful silence.