Fake love ✔

XLVII

When it was my chance to speak, Romeo squeezed my hand before letting go, letting me walk up to the front. "Hi", I clear my throat. "Thank you all for coming, I know Parker would've appreciated having all of you here. I didn't really know what to say for a funeral speech but, here we go", I pause before carrying on. "I didn't know Parker for very long, but in the few months I did know him, we became like siblings; him being the cool younger brother and me being the annoying older sister", the crowd chuckle, lightly. "It was a bumpy ride but I helped him through that. But then we hit another bump in the road and—and I wish I could've helped him more, and maybe we wouldn't be in this position right now", tears begin to pool in my eyes, clouding my vision. My hands shake as I hold the small sheet of paper in my hands. "He, um—we—", I try to control my breathing however, it doesn't work. Romeo senses my discomfort and walks over to join me on the stage.

"It's okay", he puts his hands over mine, whispering in my ear. I let out a shaky breath as he wraps one arm around me, rubbing my shoulder.

I clear my throat again before continuing, taking a deep breath. "As—as most of you know, Romeo and I took Parker in when he had nowhere else to go. He helped me, so we helped him, I didn't think that we'd end up being so close, let alone ending up in this position here. He saved my life, I wish I could've done the same for him", I pause to wipe my tears. "He had his whole life ahead of him. He was only fifteen—", I can't hold back my sobs. Romeo pulls me into his side, saying something to the crowd before leading me back to our seats.

Romeo and I sit back down; I lean my head on his shoulder as he wraps his arm around me, holding me closer. Megan emerges from her seat next to her friends and Max, walking up on the stage with a sheet of paper in her hand. "Um, hi", she says once she stands up at the front. "I don't—I don't really know where to start", she chuckles, lightly. "Um, Parker was my best friend. Sure, we only knew each other for a few months but we became so close. I remember when we first met", she starts. "In a hospital room, ironically. We—I—I barged into the room expecting to see Max only, but there was Parker sat on the couch. His hair was messed up and he looked so shy, we instantly became friends", she smiles at the memory. "Then he moved to my school. He became friends with my friends and we were the perfect group. I just—I wish he came to talk to me", tears fall down her cheeks. "Why didn't he talk to me? I would've helped him", she begins to cry and mumbles "sorry", as she leaves the stage. Her friend—Carter, I think his name is—stands, enveloping her in a hug as she reaches him, pulling her down into their seats.

The rest of the service carries on smoothly until we follow the funeral car to the cemetery. Romeo and I go back to his car as we follow behind. "You okay?" He takes my hand as he drives. I nod, fiddling with his fingers. "You're not", he tells me; tears start to build in my eyes. "But that's okay. Just promise you'll talk to me when you feel sad, or when you're not okay, yeah?" I nod.

"Yeah, I promise", I say in merely a whisper.

"I love you", he smiles boyishly at me as we pull up at the cemetery.

"I love you", I can't keep the stupid smile off my face as I tell him.

"Let's go", he pecks my lips and takes my hand as he opens the door for me.

We wait for everyone to take their seats before we begin. The coffin gets lowered into the ground as we all stand by our seats.

As the service goes on, Dr. Marsh walks up to the stand, wanting to say a few words. "I didn't know Parker for very long at all", she starts. "He seemed like the sweetest young man, and I regretted leaving him for so many years. Until that day, he walked into the place I worked. I honestly didn't know how I recognised him, seeing as I hadn't seen him since he was a few days old, but I guess it was just a mother's instinct. He looked so grown up and—and my first thought was that I wish I could've been there to see him grow. And to know that he's in this position today because of me—because I'm a bad   mother—", she begins to cry. I let go of Romeo's hand in my lap and walk over to her, leading her to her seat.

"It wasn't your fault", I tell her, sincerely.

"It was", she nods. "He was happy with you. I shouldn't have taken him away from that", she wipes her tears.

"Dr. Marsh—".

"Please, call me Julie".

"Julie, don't blame yourself. I know this is ironic but, if you ever need to talk to someone, you can call me".

"Really?" I nod. "Thank you", she hugs me before I make my way back to my seat beside Romeo.

The service goes on as Parker is buried, then we all leave. I stand by the gate, greeting everyone as they leave. Ava walks out holding Max's hand, however releasing it to hug me, followed by Max. "Thank you for coming".

"Of course. See you guys tomorrow", Ava takes Max's hand again, walking over to their cars. Sam and Jackson then walk past and we have the same conversation before they leave.

I continue to greet everyone with "thank you for coming", until Hayley walks up to me, hand in hand with Jake.

"You okay?" She pulls me into a long hug, I nod against her shoulder. She pulls away and gives me a pointed look.

"I will be", she hugs me again for a second before pulling away, again.

"Good. Love you. Call me if you need to, okay?" I nod.

"I will. Love you too", I tell her just as I hug Jake, saying goodbye.

I continue to greet everyone else as they leave before going over to see Megan talking with her friends. "Hey, Meg", she turns to look at me, walking up to wrap her arms around me. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay. We're all gonna spend the night at Emma's house", she refers to one of her friends.

"Do you guys need a ride?" She shakes her head.

"No, thank you. Luke's sixteen and has his permit so he can drive us".

"Okay, have fun", she hugs me again before turning back to her friends. I spot Romeo talking to Hayden over by Hayden's car. "Hey", I stand beside Romeo.

"How are you feeling?" Hayden asks me.

"I swear, if one more person asks me that I'm actually going to cry", I take a deep breath. "Sorry", I walk over to hug him for a second before pulling away. "Thank you for coming. I'm going to wait in the car", I take the car keys from Romeo's hand, walking over to his car.

It doesn't take long for Romeo to get back. As he gets in, he takes my hand and presses a kiss to the back of it before driving back home.

almost finishedddd

uan:
v sad. just read a sad book and was crying and now im crying again :(