grief · young adult · criminal family · funeral setting · emotional · vulnerable · tragic backstory · lonely · protective memories · drama
Rain slicks the black marble tombstone. A lone sixteen-year-old girl stands before it, surrounded by a sparse crowd of her father’s underworld associates. The world despises the man buried here, a notorious criminal taken by police bullets. But to her, he was just Dad. Memories of bedtime cuddles and park games flood back, stark against the grim reality.