MIDNIGHT (Slow Updates)

13|| A PAGE BURNT AWAY

"Hold every memory as you go-"

-Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth (See you Again)

A stifling silence shrouded the car on the drive back home from the funeral at Evergreen Cemetery.

Fiona shifted twice before settling into probably a more comfortable sitting position. Her eyes darted around the seats, ultimately locking with mine. We looked away the next instant, focusing on the landscape running past us outside. None of us were in any situation or mood to talk aloud.

Oh! If I could only read minds like the madman who visited past twelve to give riddles and scares...

The bottle of water nestled safely in the bunker behind me, tripped over, hitting my head with a deliberate force before tumbling onto Fiona's lap. She cleared her throat, trying to tuck the water holder beside her to prevent any further mishap. Her soft voice beckoned to me almost inaudibly.

"Are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah! Thank you." I nodded and diverted my atention to the trees and a dreary sky waving at us as we sped by.

Mrs. Gallagher sat in the front while her son steered us to Lark Ville with shattered memories of Elvis.

Elvis' parents had known Mrs. Gallagher for a very long time.

Elvis could never tell how they had gotten acquainted though, for all he remembered was this friendly middle-aged lady who'd give him bear hugs and colourful candies since childhood.
Neither had his parents or Mrs. Gallagher ever provided details while bringing up the topic, nor had he been that interested.

I noticed Mrs. Gallagher wipe away a stray tear from the corner of her eyes, sending a sharp pang shoot up my chest.
In a second, Elvis' face appeared into my mind, haunting me with the bruised cheek that had caught my attention while laying the flowers on his casket. What had surprised me the most- were his lips.
They had been chapped, dry and almost charred.

As per their family doctor who worked in the forensics, that had occurred due to the crash. Believing him was probably reasonable, but to me, something had seemed oddly out of the blue.

I had tried talking to Gabbie about it, later on, but she was too broken to comprehend it.

"Maybe you're just being paranoid... It hurts. And these thoughts do occur." Gabbie had waved off the conversation with misty eyes.

Considering Elvis' easy going popularity, a lot of our uni students, old and new, along with the teachers had attended his funeral.
The startling thing was Aiden Delvaux's presence.

He was a new student, apparently in a rival team, with almost nothing to do with us or Elvis.

Had they somehow bonded at Rebecca's party?