Playing His Little Game

27 - Commemorating

Helloooooooooooo! Hope you're all having a good 2014! I FINALLY got done with weeks of finals, so I was able to finish this chapter off :) Just a few more until the end of the story! Hope you all stick around until then :) 

PS: What do you think of the new cover? I'm a bit iffy on it. 

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The black dress hung down my body like a curtain, flaring out at the ends. Due to me not having the time or energy to do my hair, my sister had curled it in light waves. I heard the honk from outside and, sighing, I stepped out my room and went out the front door to see Noah's—my—car.

               I climbed into the passenger seat and looked at Noah. Clad in a black tux and slicked-back hair, it was the cleanest I've seen him in weeks. In fact, this was probably his first time even getting out of the house since the night that Holly died. He looked really good, but also weary, despite it being the middle of the afternoon.

               "Are you ready?" He asked in a low voice, avoiding my eyes.

               "As ready as I could ever be," I mumbled and he began backing out of my driveway and began driving down the road.

               We were quiet during the ride, but it was tense and uncomfortable. I glanced over at Noah's hands and saw that his knuckles were turning white on both the gear shift and the wheel, clenching far too much for it to feel normal. Staring out the windshield, I casually put my hand over him and I felt him relax.

               "Thanks, Mel," he whispered in a strained, thick voice.

               "Of course, Noah."

               The rest of the ride was silent and every time I felt him becoming too focused on his thoughts, I squeezed his hand and he would relax. Eventually, I arrived at the chapel and there were already quite a few cars parked in front. He parked, I unbuckled. When I started getting out and he didn't follow suit, that's when I stopped and looked at him. He hadn't moved an inch and he looked scared.

               "Noah..." I said softly. "Come on, you have to do this."

               "I don't know if I can."

               "I know it's hard, but you'll regret it if you don't."

               He took a shaky breath and looked at me. With dark eyes and his face slightly angled down he spoke quietly, "Don't leave me, okay?"

               Gulping, I nodded. "Never."

               Biting his lip, he slowly got out and I met him by the hood of the car. Without saying a word, his fingers found mine and held on tightly as we walked into the chapel. Inside held around two dozen people. I recognized his parents near the front talking to a few people clad in suits and dresses that could probably pay for my entire college career. A priest was standing in front of a podium, reading off of something that I couldn't see. Next to him was a casket, closed just as she wanted it.

               Of course, this was the funeral of Holly Freely and it was going to be a hard thing to get through.

               When the door shut behind us, the sound echoed throughout the chapel and his parents looked up.

               "Ah, Noah!" His mother called to him and beckoned us over. "It's about time you finally showed up!"

               When we reached them, Mrs. Freely smiled and gave us a hug at the same time. "These are the Morrison's and the Gregory's, do you remember them from your childhood, Noah?"