Warmth ✔

Chapter 48

I knew this day would arrive. I knew that Joshua would be dead. But I didn't know that I would be alive to witness his funeral.

The funeral is over now. Joshua is buried under the ground. People have left. Uncle, aunt, mom and I are left standing by Joshua's grave.

The cries of Joshua's parents have stopped but not their tears. They continue to look at the grave.

When they have made peace with the truth that Joshua isn't going to return to them, we all head to our pack.

When we walk towards uncle's house, people stare at us. They only know that Joshua was killed because of wolfsbane. Only few people know the whole and complete truth.

The four of us get inside the house. Mom makes uncle and aunt sit. I go to the kitchen and return with water. I hand one glass to aunt and another one to uncle. Mom and I urge them to drink.

"It's all because of me," Uncle says in a quiet voice. "I killed my own son." He looks at his hands. "With these hands." He breaks the glass and hurts his hand. Aunt and mom quickly take out the pieces that pierced his skin.

I grab a hold of his shoulders and urge him to look at me. "It's not your fault. It was an accident."

It takes me a while to convince him. When he has collected himself, mom accompanies him and aunt to their room so that they can get some rest. When mom returns to me, I tell her to watch over uncle and aunt.

I leave the house to go to meet Matt and Darius. When I enter the living room, Matt asks me, "How are Joshua's parents?"

"They would need counselling," I say. Matt and Darius are one of those few people who know the whole and complete truth.

"After Joshua's funeral, Alarick came here. He was asking questions," Matt informs me.

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him that you will answer all his questions."

I palm my face, "I don't know how he'll react."

"Don't worry, the worst has passed," Darius says just to comfort me.

"Has it?" I ask.

"What do you mean?" He questions back.

"Joshua's words are still ringing in my ears, especially the words he said about Alarick's father," I say as I go down the memory lane. "When Alarick had told me that Mr. West trained him to kill, I didn't think much about it. Maybe because Alarick's pain overwhelmed me. Maybe I thought that justice was served. I was going through so much at that point in my life that I didn't question Mr. West's decision." I pause. "Who trains their ten year old kid to kill someone?"

Matt puts a hand on my shoulder, "You're letting Joshua's words get to you."

I turn to him. "Just answer me honestly. Was it right for Mr. West to train his ten year old son to kill?"

"No," he answers. "What do you think?"

"You know what I think. If I thought that Mr. West was right then we wouldn't be having this conversation," I say. "I need to talk to him before I talk to Alarick." I head for the door.

Matt grabs my arm to stop me. "Just answer me honestly. Would you have gone to Mr. West if Joshua was alive?"

I think about it. Hard. But I can't come up with an answer. I just don't know.

Matt grabs my shoulders. "Joshua's death is affecting you. And that's why you can't let go of all the things he said. You can't let go of all the possibilities that he told you. I just feel that you are targeting Mr. West."

"No, I'm not," I say while shaking my head.

"Yes, you are. You know that Mr. West's decision affected so many lives. And now, you want to hold him accountable for it. And that's fine with me. I want you to have a talk with Mr. West but I don't want you to be accusatory. Try to know his side of the story before coming to any conclusion."

"That's what I'm going to do." And with that, I leave the pack house and walk towards the Dawnfall Depths pack.

*

I knock at the door. The front door is answered by Mrs. West. She invites me inside. We exchange the usual greetings before Mr. West arrives in the living room.

"Hello, Chriselda. My condolences," he says.

"I need to talk to you in private," I tell him.

"Okay, we'll go in my study," he suggests and leads the way.

After closing the door behind me, I face him, "I don't know how to go about it."

"What's the first thing that comes to your mind?"

"A decision that you look more than a decade ago."