She's his what now?

My jaw drops to the floor and my whole body follows suit so I'm kneeling. I grasp the carpet tightly, locking my elbows and letting my head hang as I try to get a hold of myself. Dad has a girlfriend. My dad, who I thought would never date another woman after Mom, has a girlfriend. I don't even know what to do with this.

"Mia? Are you okay?"

I open my eyes - I didn't even know they were closed at all - and lift my head to meet his gaze. I don't say anything still, slowing my breathing down so I don't start hyperventilating. That would not be any fun.

After I've calmed myself down enough, I only speak two words, "Get Josh." I drop my head again and close my eyes.

I hear him sigh and soon enough the door opens as he leaves.

I loosen my elbows and lower myself farther onto the ground, so much so that my face is pressed against the carpet, my arms on either side. My brain feels fried, no longer able to think. If someone were to ask me a simple question, like my name, I'm not sure if I could even tell them. It's an awful feeling.

"Mia," he whispers, placing a hand on my back and rubbing small circles there. Hey, I remembered my name though. That's an improvement.

I lift my head slightly, only to move it onto Josh's lap. An ugly sob racks through my body and tears soon start pouring down my cheeks.

"It's going to be okay," he says softly, picking me up and sitting me in his lap completely, my head now on his shoulder.

We stay there in silence for a while, me trying to stop my tears and Josh just being there to hold me.

"Do you mind telling me exactly what's gotten you so upset?" Josh asks once my breathing has calmed down and I'm no longer crying my eyes out.

I shake my head, wrapping my arms around his neck. "It's just... I don't know. I feel like he's forgotten her."

"Who?"

"Mom. It hasn't been that long since she died and he's dating someone else. It's like he doesn't even care about her anymore."

"I'm sure that's not true. I bet he still loves her, but also needs someone to fill the void she left."

A lump grows in my throat. "That's the point. Nothing, no one, should be able to fill the void she left. She was amazing."

"I'm not saying she wasn't, but sometimes having someone else is better than not having the one you started out with."

That was so confusing.

"I am almost a hundred percent certain that your dad didn't forget your mom. He probably just needs someone else. And maybe Lauren is the person he was meant to be with all along."

His words stab through my heart.

"I didn't m-"

I push myself away from him and stand up. "Don't you ever disrespect my mother like that," I say, my voice low but hoarse from all the crying.

"That's not what I was trying to do," he argues, standing up as well.

"You never knew my mother. You can't say who my dad is supposed to be with. My mother was everything I have ever wanted to become. She was beautiful, funny, amazing, and to me, she was perfection. She never yelled, never got angry, but always made sure that I knew when I did something wrong. She was, and still is, my role model and she always will be."

"Mi-"

"She was perfect. So if you think you can say stuff like that about her, then leave. Leave me alone and don't bother with me anymore. I'm a mess anyway."

I go to push past him, but he wraps his arms around me, pulling me into his chest. I struggle to break free, but he doesn't let me go.

"Listen to me for a minute here. I know that I crossed the line and I'm sorry. You're right. I never knew your mom. I had no right to say anything like that. I didn't mean to disrespect her like that. Honestly I didn't. And I believe you." He pauses, pressing a kiss on the top of my head. "Anyone who raises a girl like you has to be perfect."

I start crying again. Not about Dad this time, but about Mom. It's astounding how much it hurts to have someone you love leave you. We were so close, practically best friends.

Josh holds me longer, waiting for my tears to stop again. "Mia, I understand that this is hard, but maybe you should talk things through with your dad? Maybe talking with Lauren will be good, too."

I take a few more deep breaths before nodding. "Okay. Can you bring him in here?"

"Of course." He smiles at me, pulling his arms back as he leaves the room. I remind myself to keep breathing as I walk over to Dad's chair and sit in it. I twist my fingers together while I wait.

It doesn't take long for Dad to walk in and he drops to his knees in front of me. "Talk to me, pumpkin."

"Why?" I whisper, my voice cracking.

"Why what?"

"Why are you dating?"

Dad offers me a small smile, placing his hand on my knee. "Because I'm lonely, sweetie. I'm in need of some company when you're off with your friends."

I feel a little guilty, but force it away. This isn't about me. It's about him and Lauren. "What about Mom?"

"I had a feeling this is what'd it'd come to," he mutters to himself. "I will always love your mother. I'm not trying to replace her whatsoever. Do you understand that?"

I don't respond in any way, letting his words sink in.

"Your mother will always be in my thoughts. I will never forget the woman who brought me you."

"I hope she's more to you than that," I say, smiling a bit.

Dad laughs, "She is, don't you worry about that."

I finally look up at him, throwing all caution to the wind by not building up my walls, and wrap my arms around his neck. "I love you, Dad."

He wraps his arms tightly around my back and kisses the side of my head. "I love you, too, pumpkin."

•••

"Are you all right?" Lauren asks, being the first to enter my vision. I can only nod, reaching my hand out for Josh. He grabs it and pulls me into a sitting position on the floor.

I rest my head in my hands, thinking my vision over. Seeing Lauren's death itself wasn't awful, but who I saw with her nearly kills me. It wasn't Dad, surprisingly.

It was me.

I was there, holding her hand tightly. I was crying as I told her I loved her, telling her that she was a good replacement mom.

The shock from that revealment is going to take some time to sink in.

She's going to be my new mom. I don't know when, but it's going to happen and apparently I am going to grow to love her. There isn't much I can protest anymore.

I feel a hand rubbing up and down my back and at this point, I don't care enough to find out who it is.

Someone places their head on my shoulder and whispers in my ear, "Are you sure you're okay?"

I nod to Josh, lifting my head to look at him. Tears are now running down my cheeks, again, and I don't even care.

"Do you need to talk about it?" Josh asks, wiping off some of my tears.

I nod again, placing my hand in his as he hoists me off the ground. I see Lauren and Dad in my peripheral and the images resurface causing me to bury my face in Josh's shoulder.

He wraps his arms around me and holds me tight. "Come on, let's get you somewhere more private."

Silently, I pull away from Josh and lead the way back into Dad's office. Josh closes and locks the door behind him as I sit in the chair again.

"So what happened?" he asks, kneeling in front of me much like Dad did earlier.

I describe my vision to him, not leaving anything out. Once I tell him what I said to Lauren, he smiles at me. As I finish, he's grinning.

"It's not a bad thing, Mia. I talked to Lauren a bit while your dad was with you and she seems like a very nice lady. If you saw yourself in her future, then that pretty much seals the deal."

I completely understand what he's saying, but it still is hard to comprehend it all. I literally just met the woman and she's eventually going to be my step-mom? It's weird to think about. Plus it's kind of creepy.

"I guess so," I mumble, ducking my head so a curtain of hair falls between us.

I hear him sigh and soon a hand is placed under my chin. I guard myself as my face is lifted to see Josh's.

"I understand that this is hard for you, but is it really a bad thing? I mean, maybe a new mother is what you need right now."

I can't help but feel slightly offended at his words. Who is he to judge what I need? Instead of lashing out as I would like to do, I take a deep breathe and think things over again.

Having a new mother wouldn't be bad, per se. It would take a while to adjust to, that's for sure. She would occupy a lot more of Dad's time, but then again, I have been gone most afternoons with my friends, so maybe it's better for him to have company.

My thoughts bounce over to Dad, he obviously has some kind of reason to start dating Lauren. At least I sure hope he does. I can tell that he is happy with her and that she makes him happy. He hasn't been this truly happy since Mom died.

I think about Lauren and the way she laughed at his words and the way he looked pleased, as if her laugh made the world go round. She probably has a reason to start dating, and apparently he is the one she chose.

From what Josh said, Lauren is a good person and I have no reason to not believe him.

I guess the only person who needs to decide is me.

As my mind settles into a decision, I nod at Josh, smiling slightly. "You're right," I say, standing up and pulling him with me, leading him out towards the living room.

Josh doesn't say anything, he just grins at me, squeezing my hand.

As we step into the main room, Dad and Lauren both snap their heads over to us.

Lauren tentatively stands, as if I'm going to faint again, and walks towards me. "Are you okay?" she asks again, stopping a few feet from me.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks though," I say, preparing myself before I look up at her. Her blue eyes are filled with concern and warmth as she gestures for me to sit down.

As soon as we're all seated, I address the elephant in the room. "Did Dad fill you in?"

"No. He told me it wasn't his place to tell," Lauren answers softly, glancing briefly at Dad.

"Because it wasn't," Dad says with a small chuckle.

So I dive into my story, telling her about my first vision and the day after when Josh approached me and explained it all. As I reach the part where I saw her death, I feel like I'm walking on egg shells. It feels like one wrong word could throw it all away. I don't give her the specifics on what happened in her death, but she doesn't ask for them when I'm done. Instead, she asks something I was totally unprepared for.

"So where are you in terms of accepting me?"

Her question has little to no relevance to the story, but I don't really mind having to avoid telling her I will be there when she dies.

I look up at her and grin. "Welcome to the family."