A Certain Romance (Reimagined)

Far From The Truth

"All of this," This was him referring to the Calum mess. "is far from the truth."

"This is how the prestige work in Seattle." I folded the newspaper, pushing it aside and resting my hands on the marble before me. "You have to find at least one thing that you absolutely hated your best friend for, to get rid of the guilt you're feeling. You'll make yourself sick thinking about how terrible you feel."

"Veronica."

Hm.

"I fucking hated him because of the way he forced me into Veronica's life. I wasn't meant to be with Veronica. I fucking hated him for the ways that he would do things that only benefited himself. Nothing was favor of me. Nothing."

"Then there you go." 

-

The gloom in the air was thick. Not only because the cemetery was wet and clouded over with a drizzle and few rumbles of thunder, but also because there was still guilt fermenting between us all as we watched Calum's casket get lowered into the ground. This was it. This was real. The enemy was gone, but it didn't feel so great after all. I still kept a cold demeanor any time someone from the group would worry about what would happen next. We couldn't focus on that. We had to focus on the now. Who knew if we'd wake up in two years and all be found guilty for murder and tampering with evidence? We didn't. We didn't even need to think of that. So for now, I remained the strong friend while the others were confused, heartbroken, and regretful. 

Ashton squeezed my hand numerous times, that was code for I'm not okay and I'll definitely need you to talk me down once the burial was over. 

"Are you okay?" I asked Luke. His dark circles were more prominent than normal. In fact, his skin was so even, I don't think I had seen him ever with discoloration until now. I knew he was suffering more than anyone. I mean, at this point Evelyn was over it and looking into her options when it came to the baby she was carrying. That was why she didn't even let a single tear roll down her face. She never would. She could be the coldest bitch in the world when she needed to be. I knew she was shooting Elizabeth glares from across the lot. No one knew besides us that Evelyn was pregnant with Calum's baby. If Elizabeth found out, god, the end of the world would occur. 

Luckily for me, Veronica didn't show up. Otherwise she would've been on Ashton's lap the entire time because she still couldn't take a hint that things were over between them. 

"I think so." Luke nodded his head

"Keep cool, you're doing good." Ally encouraged, rubbing his arm to soothe him.

"Did any of these people even care about him?" Samantha sneared in a whisper.

"I doubt it." I offered. 

"Look at them." Michael scoffed. "Crying over someone who doesn't even deserve a single tear." 

"Shut up, Michael." Samantha said between her teeth. 

Suddenly, the service was over. Everyone was going their separate ways except us. Our feet were planted into the ground. God, what if we could never leave? What if that was our punishment for this shit? 

Mrs. Hood approached us. Her cheeks flushed as she held onto to a ball of tissue. She gave us all a sad smile. 

"Thank you guys for attending." She spoke genuinely. I doubt she even knew a few of us standing here. I knew for a fact she didn't know me. I was a useless extra in her son's life. "I know Calum would've wanted you here." 

"Yes ma'am." Lydia spoke for all of us. 

"Thank you for always being so kind and generous with him. You truly were the greatest friend he ever had, Ashton." 

"I tried my best." Ashton said. He shared a brief hug with Mrs. Hood before she started to walk away. The rest of our group began to separate back to their cars, leaving Ashton and I to ourselves. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. He was starting to feel guilty again. 

"Hey," I combed my fingers through his hair. "It's alright."

"But it's not." He countered because he was so hard-headed. 

"It is." I had to lie to make us all feel good. Once we all started to believe the lie then we'd be fine. "After today, you'll never have see his family again, you'll never have to even think about him. After we leave, it all ends here." 

"Fuck, I know you're right." His hand cupped my left cheek. I hated how he was looking at me. How he looked as if he was trying to pry through my soul and make me weak for him. Most times it worked. 

"We can't let this shit get to us." I placed my hand over his, closing my eyes to enjoy the simple touch instead of making eye contact with him which made me nervous. "What's done is done. Mistakes were made, we can't take them back, but we learn from them."

Michael came up to us. "Ally is inviting us to hers for dinner." 

"We'll be there." Ashton assured. 

uhhh i'm sorry LOL happy quarantine tho. please be safe and stay home.