Less than Perfect

17. Saying Goodbye {part two}

                                                           Chapter Seventeen
                                                             Saying Goodbye
                                                                   Part Two 

   Outside the gates of the graveyard, Skye and Jules stood, hand-in-hand, looking past the gates. After supper was over, Rachel and Victor had left together and Johnny had gone upstairs and into his office. The supper table wasn't as awkward and awful as Skye had imagined it to be, and everything seemed to go a lot smoother. And as the two—Skye and Jules—stood before the gate, they contemplated their next move.

   "Are you sure you want to do this, Skye? You don't have to say goodbye. I'm sure he knows how you feel," Jules said. He squeezed her hand reassuringly, pulling her closer to him. There was an unusual chill in the air, nipping at the both of them. The clouds above were gray and eerie, rumbles of thunder echoing behind them. 

   Skye exhaled, digging herself into Jules. "I'm sure, Jules," she whispered. "I have to have some closer." 

   He pulled her into him, kissing the top of her head. "Alright," he said. "Just stay with me." 

   She nodded her head, snaking her arm around his waist. As they walked away, into the graveyard, the air seemed to get colder and colder, despite the time of the year. It didn't bother either of them though, only encouraged them to go in further and find Bryan's grave. When they came to a small gravestone, engraved with the inscription Bryan Wesley Echols, they stopped short, the breeze around them picking up. 

    Skye gasped, a sudden pain as sharp as a needle piercing her heart. She read over the inscription over and over again, trying to take it in. It seemed so unreal to her. Even though she'd been there when he died, standing there and seeing his name engraved into a gravestone felt incredibly wrong. Her knees instantly went week, buckling from underneath her, and she covered her mouth as she broke out into sobs. It was real, all of it. Bryan was gone, really gone. And the stone in front of her was liable proof to it. 

    Her heart ached. She thought she was ready to say goodbye, to let him go the right way, but as she sat, doubled over, beside his grave she felt a whole other wave of emotions envelope her. Breaking down hadn't been something she'd expected herself to do at all.

   Someone kneeled down beside her and, for a moment, she'd forgotten Jules was with her. "Jules," she whimpered. Her hands fell against the muddy ground, clutching for support. She sucked in breath after breath, dark images of the night he died flashing before her eyes. She remembered everything about him there, beside his grave, so close to his corpse. Everything went darker, threatening to swallow her up. She fought off the darkness, the pit of grief that tried to consume her, closing her eyes and imagining Bryan's charming smile that she loved instead. She reached out to touch his face, though part of her knew he wasn't there, and found Jules' warm hand instead. She grasped it, whimpering. He was with her, wanting to help. 

    "Skye," his low, beautiful voice spoke. "Bryan's watching over you right now. And did you know that he's crying with you? Do you know why?" Skye shook her head. "He's crying because he doesn't want to see you so sad. He loves your smile and the way your eyes twinkle when you smile. He loves the way you laugh, the adorable giggling sounds you make. He loves it when you blush a bright red if someone compliments you, or when you're embarrassed. He loves each and every part of you, everything about you. And he doesn't want you to be unhappy; he never wanted you to be unhappy. He wants you to say goodbye and remember those good times you had together. He doesn't want you to think about how he died, or that he died—only the memories of treasured moments. He loves you, Skye, he really does."