Bed Sheets

30. Guardian Angel

Draven was standing beside Eric, since he needed someone to boost his courage. It took a few minutes before he started his speech, but when he felt Draven's palm on his lower back, the warmth that spread through his body was enough to make him speak.

He cleared his throat, "My name is Eric Valence. I basically grew up with Melissa. We've known each other since high school, which is actually a funny story of how we met. It was freshman year, and I meant to throw my jello to one of my friends at the time, and it accidentally hit her."

A few people began chuckling, and so did Draven beside him. He glanced towards Draven, who nodded his head on assurance.

"When we ended up having the same class the next semester, she remembered me as the kid with jello. It clicked from there; we were always together after that. She even knew I was gay before I knew I was gay."

They again laughed, and he smiled for the first time in weeks.

"We went to the same college on purpose, since we wanted to be roommates. I came from the foster system, hence why I considered her close to me than those kids I lived with. The homes I was in weren't always nice, but Melissa was my support system. She helped me, a lot."

"We graduated college at the same time, but we both had dreams we wanted to chase. She wanted to become a dancer, be the back row dancer for famous celebrities until she made a title for herself. I wanted to write for the rest of my life. She was always the one reading my notes, the novels I wrote too, and as bad as I thought they were, she always made them seem so good."

Draven noticed Eric's palm beginning to tremble, and he again reached for his lower back. Eric calmed down when he felt his hand, but it never left.

"I remember the first day I got the job with Draven, I woke up late. She was in my bedroom, rushing through my clothes and throwing them in my face while I was barely even understanding what was going on. She was my guardian angel from the moment she came into my life, and I never noticed that."

"When we moved here, we got into the worse fight that we ever had. Unfortunately, that was the last time I really talked to her, heart to heart, and we never really got the chance to talk about it. So I wanted to let her know how I feel about it," Draven massaged his back.

Eric took a deep breath, "Melissa, you will always be considered family to me. I always had you and you always had me. And even though you may be gone, I know you will always be right here, within my heart and the hearts of the people that loved you. We grew so much together, and I will continue to grow, for your sake. One day, we will see each other again, and I can't wait for that day to come."

Eric nodded his head, thanked the people, and returned to his seat, Draven following behind him as they sat next to Jason, Rebecca, and the secretary.

When all the speeches were done, they returned to their vehicles and followed the casket to the cemetery where she was to be buried. Everyone stood around her grave, throwing flowers as the priest spoke. Draven wrapped a protective arm around Eric, and as the casket lowered into the ground, only the muffled sound of cries were heard.

When all the flowers were thrown, people began leaving, but Eric didn't want to. He knelt on the ground in front of the grave, and simply sat there. They had imagined years together, promising that if neither of them got married, that they would marry each other and have kids named after themselves.

It was a future he had dreamed about a few times.

Draven stood near Eric, waving a few hands as the others left, and waited. Eric cried for a few minutes, letting all his emotions explode as he continuously breathed that he was sorry, and all Draven did was wait.

He needed closure, he needed to let it out.

When Draven heard the sobs start to calm themselves, he helped Eric lift himself to his feet. The tombstone became distant as they headed for their lonely vehicle, everyone having left, and they drifted away from the parking space, the cemetery growing out of sight.

They drove in silence, Eric quietly sniffling as he felt Draven's palm on his thigh as they drove in silence. He glanced down towards his palm, all veiny and manly, and from how emotional he had been those last few days, he, without even thinking about it, reaches forward and attempted to place his lips on Draven.

Draven frowned, realizing that Eric was pursing his lips and approaching him, to which he backed away, putting an arm between them.

Draven raised an eyebrow, "What are you doing?"

"Come on," he breathed seductively, "you want it too, don't you?" He became a bit more forceful, and Draven resisted, keeping a hand on the steering wheel but having difficulty holding Eric back.

"Eric, stop it."

Eric's eyes turned cold, and he gritted his teeth. Suddenly, his palms reached for Draven's belt buckle, and he attempted to get rid of it.

Draven needed to pull over on the side of the road to stop him, grabbing hold of his wrist after wrestling with him for a bit, "Eric, you need to stop!"

"Why should I stop?" Eric exclaimed, his bloodshot eyes widening, "For you to leave me the same way that Melissa did? The same way that Justin did? Jason did? And Rebecca too?"

Draven's gaze softened, and he bit his bottom lip, "I know you're hurting, but you need to calm down—"

"No, you don't know how much I'm hurting, Draven!" he shouted, slamming his forehead against the compartment. What scared Draven is that Eric did not stop, he slammed his forehead against his compartment, and Draven climbed over to him, wrapping his arms around him tightly as Eric began sobbing recklessly, screaming, "Let me go!"

"Calm down Eric," he cooed, holding him with warmth and care, "it'll be okay, it's going to be okay."

"The same way that my biological parents didn't want of me..." he cried, his muscles slowly releasing their stiffness as he melted again Draven's hold, "I keep losing everybody."

"No, you don't. You haven't lost me," Draven comforted, squeezing him tighter as Eric only cried harder.

"Yes," he breathed quietly, "I did."