Shattered

11. Cookies and a Melody of Tears

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Just a small request, play the music when you read the chapter.
I hope guys will enjoy the chapter​.
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The funeral was kept private. Only Grace, Beth, Alec and Lucy attended it. It was a quiet day. The birds never chirped, the leaves didn't rustle and even the wind stayed quiet. Nora had taken all the liveliness with her. Even the skies stayed dark.

When the ceremony was over, the four nodded and bid goodbye to each other.

Grace had lost a friend. Alec had lost a motherly figure. Beth had lost her mother and the three had lost the charm Nora had kept in their lives.

Lost and broken, three looked at Nora's grave before leaving the cemetery.

•

Beth and Alec reached home and sank in the couch.

"A glass of juice for both you." Mrs. Norris kept two glasses on the centre table. "And you both have to drink this. You haven't eaten in two days. Please."

Both of them smiled at their housekeeper and took a sip from the glass. When Mrs. Norris went back to the kitchen, silence had engulfed them again. For past two days, Beth and Alec hadn't uttered a single word. Both of them had taken off from work and had somehow were holding it together. They had organised the funeral ceremony and probably was the only time they spoke to each other, about the work that needs to be carried out for it.

Alec was sitting with his head on the backrest of the couch, Beth's gaze was fixed at some far off point in the room. Both were lost in their memories.

"You know, I had met Nora that very day." Alec said as he kept staring at the ceiling.

"Hmm?" Beth's attention aroused at the mention of her mother's name.

"I had met Nora that day." Alec repeated looking at Beth.

"But I was there with her-"

"In the morning, she had called me. So, I had visited her. I just didn't know that would have been the last time I was going to see her."

"I had a fight with her that day. Okay, more like an argument and she was chiding me."

"What was it about?"

"Us. What did you talk about?"

"Same, us." Suddenly both smirked at the thought. "All Nora ever wanted was for us to get together. Properly."

"Yeah. That was all she wanted."

"I wonder why she never saw how awkward things are between us."

"She just I guess was too focussed on getting us together."

"Maybe. It's crazy how life is. One moment we are with people we love and the other moment they are gone so far away." Alec said without realising the impact his sentence was having on Beth. Beth's eyes drifted back to that corner she was staring at before.

"Yeah." She said hoarsely. Gulping down the last sip of juice, she got up and picked up the car keys. I will see you later was all she said before leaving the house.

•

Alec closed the file and set it back on the desk. He had been trying to work ever since Beth left the house. His mind, unfortunately, was still occupied by Nora and Beth. It had been a long day and Beth hadn't been home since she left. He didn't know where she was or when she was going to return. He hadn't called her, thinking that she may need some space but as time passed, he began to get a little worried. He checked the time in his desk clock. It was two am. He decided to try and reach out to Beth. He was about to give her a call when he heard a faint tune.