How do i support someone going through grief?

I came home from work today carrying fries for myself, my older sister, and my younger sister, along with a milkshake that my older sister had requested. I was planning to surprise her with the food.

I knocked and opened her bedroom door, and she was sitting in the dark, crying, clearly devastated. It looked like she had been crying for hours. Before I could even ask what was going on, she said told me her boyfriend had died.

I gasped. The day before, she had mentioned that she thought he had blocked her because he wasn’t responding to messages. I had suggested she reach out to his family or try to see what was going on, but it didn’t know if she had followed up. Hearing that he had passed away hit me immediately.

I never knew or met him, but i knew what he looked like and that he was dating my sister.

I asked her if she knew what had happened, but she didn’t answer. I could see the confusion and shock on her face—she was struggling to process it. She kept repeating that he was only 20, how she couldn’t believe it and how excited he had been to go fishing with his new equipment.

I’ve never personally experienced the death of someone close to me, so I wasn’t sure how to respond. I just sat with her for about 30 minutes, still in my work clothes, trying to be present. When she started crying harder, I hugged her. I laid out all the food in case she wanted to eat and gave her my share as well.

Eventually, she told me she wanted to be alone, so I left her to herself. She’s been crying since about 9 PM, and it’s now 2:30 AM. I don’t know what to do next. I feel that if I check on her again right now, I might frustrate her, because that’s how she is; she gets frustrated quickly.

I’m not sure if I did the right thing. Growing up, we weren’t really consoled when we cried; we were usually left to process our feelings alone. I’m uncertain about how to support her in the coming days. I don’t know what she’s feeling or what to say. I just know that I want to be there for her because she’s my sister, and I love her. Seeing her in so much pain affected me deeply as well.