Strong • W2S

XXVII

Chapter Twenty-Seven

As I watched my brother and his friends carrying in Dylan's coffin, I finally accepted that he was gone. I was in such a horrible state of denial up until this point even though over the past few days I'd done so much to do with his funeral. Layla was a mess, she had been uncontrollably crying since we were stood outside of the chapel. She'd made the decision that she wasn't able to actually enter the chapel properly so she stood at the doors in hopes that her crys wouldn't be heard, there was no issue with that anyway because every single person was in tears. I don't know how any of us are going to make it through this.

Forty five minutes painful minutes had passed and it was finally time for Ronnie to read the eulogy we'd written yesterday. I watched him as he stood up and walked up to the stage, he patted the coffin lightly as he stood behind it.

"Angela has asked if I could read a few things about Dylan's life so I'll start by saying that Dyl was more than just a friend, he was the brother I've never had.
I could be here for hours telling you all the memorable stories and all the fun times we had together over the years but no one wants to hear them, all everyone in this room wants is you back Dyl." Ronnie's voice cracked as he spoke, I was hysterically crying at this point alongside Angie who was crying on my shoulder.
"Dylan was- well he was Dylan, anyone who was lucky to know him loved and and they'll all tell you how much of an idiot he was. If he wasn't sitting in his usual seat at the pub then he was sitting at home playing the Xbox and punching holes in walls whenever he lost a game of FIFA to me.
Life isn't the same without you brother and I don't ever think it will be the same. The day you died a piece of my heart died too... ah shit." He wiped the tears from his eyes and paused not knowing if he could continue, he looked up towards me and I nodded twice as a way of reassuring him.
"Angie has asked if I could say this next bit so Dylan if you're listening. My darling boy, the day you were born was the happiest day of my life and the day you died was the saddest, I'd never imagined losing a child and I'll never get over it. You were such a sweet boy growing up, you only ever thought of other people and how you could make them laugh and you were always putting a smile on my face even in the saddest of times. I'll miss getting phone calls from your friends asking for me to come and pick you up because you were too drunk and could barely stand let alone walk home, I'll miss dragging you through the door and telling you to get to bed because you're steaming and I'll miss tucking you into bed and kissing your forehead when you crashed out in seconds. I'll love you forever my sweet boy." There wasn't a dry eye in that Chapel, even the priest wiped a tear from his eye as Ronnie knelt down beside the coffin and wrapped an arm around it. He placed a kiss before coming to sit back down side me and the second he did I pulled him in for a hug as the priest continued on with the service.

For the rest of the funeral I held both Harry and Ronnie's hands tightly, right up until Ronnie had to carry the coffin again which was even more heartbreaking to watch than him bringing it in. Everyone began the short walk to the cemetery after the coffin was placed into the car, no one really spoke on the way there. I was asked on three separate occasions by Harry, Layla and Cal if I was okay to which I responded with a simple 'yes' but I wasn't okay and they could all see that.
The burial was worse than the chapel, saying our final goodbyes to our friend was heartbreaking really as you could imagine.
Soon enough we were all in the pub celebrating Dylan's life, Angie had booked out the function room at the back and it was jam packed with friends and family. By the time we'd got there after the cemetery there was already people drunk which was normal for this community of people, we all certainly loved a drink.
For hours we all sat around a table speaking about pretty much everything and by the time we left it was already the next day.

FRIDAY

"Right son, have you got everything?" My dad closed the boot of Lux's car and turned to his eldest child. It was nine in the morning and both cars were fully packed and ready to go. Lux and Emma had driven down yesterday and stayed the night at my parents house, they'd both really gotten to know Ronnie and they'd become such fast friends which I was so fucking glad about.
"Aye that's everything I think." Ronnie sighed as he glanced at my mum who had a tear in her eye. Ella still hadn't spoken to him which I genuinely couldn't get my head around, she was never like this when I left home.
"Right well Harry, Callum it was so lovely to meet you both." My mum began saying as she pulled both boys in for a hug. "Look after my baby girl son." My dad turned to Harry and shook his hand, ah god he melts my heart.

There were a lot of tears shed by my mum as we drove away a few minutes later, Ella waved from her bedroom window but that was pretty much about it. Harry and I were in the car with Layla and Cal once again and we were dreading the seven hour journey back to London especially if it was anything like the journey up here. Thankfully Layla slept the majority of the way home and only really woke up when we stopped to eat at KFC.
We made it home in the late afternoon and I was so exhausted but still I had to help Ronnie move into Lux's but before doing that, we had to pack up all of Harry and Cal's things to make the space for Ronnie's stuff. It was a full days work and by six thirty, my living room and hallway was full of Harry and Cal's stuff.
We made the trip back and forth from the car's up to Lux and Emma's flat or should I say Lux, Emma and Ronnie's flat— we left the three of them there after the car's had been emptied so that Harry and I could sort out our bedroom.

"No I'm just saying it would be so much better over there." I pointed towards the only empty corner of my bedroom. Harry and I had been in disagreement since we'd brung this stupid desk into the bedroom and we still hadn't made any progress twenty minutes later.
"Why don't you just move your makeup to there instead and then we'll put my desk there." He shrugged moving all of the wires out of the way, the desk in question was his gaming one. We needed to find a place that would be suitable for all the screens, a camera and all the other shit he'd need to film. My bedroom was not big enough for this, I genuinely contemplated on shoving all of his shit into the cupboard in the hall and calling it a day but that wouldn't be fair.
"Right what we're gonna do is move my desk out of here and stick it in the bin, it's a pain in the arse anyway. We'll move your desk to where that was and then move everything else about so there's enough space." I looked at him for approval as I wondered about where we were even going to move the bed to, this room is such an annoyance sometimes.
Harry agreed and with the help of Cal we began moving around the whole room, the second I get into work on Monday I'm asking Mitch about a house. If Harry and I were going to be living together, he'd need his own room for all of his equipment and not a tiny bedroom filled with my stuff.

It took us just over an hour to finally put everything in place and the second that Cal left the bedroom I crashed onto the bed and closed my eyes.