"Like I would be anywhere else," she whispered back fiercely. They'd been friends for so long that her own grief was secondary to Trace's. He strongest impulse since Sandy's parents had called her had been to get here, to him. As horrible as she felt, she knew this had to be hell on him.
Caelee held onto him tightly, as though he was her lifeline. In a lot of ways, he was at the moment. As awesome as everyone else had been, it was Trace who really understood what she was feeling, because he was feeling it, too. Being able to grieve with him - well in some strange way, it was the only thing that could make her feel even a little better.
"Do you- do you want to talk about- what happened?" she asked him. She'd heard a little of it already, of course, but if he needed to talk about it, she was here. If he didn't, that was okay, too. She'd be okay with them just lying here and holding each other.