Chapter Thirty-Six [The Funeral]
For some reason when I went to sleep last night, I thought we wouldn't be having Foster's funeral. Since everything that had happened last night. Eventually they decided to take Trent's mom to the hospital. Somehow Liv had found out and showed up to my house in tears. Chaire and Jacob showed up later when we were getting ready to leave. Because of my arm I had to go with them.
The paramedics never came but they met us halfway. They tried to apologize saying that they couldn't find us. Which it was the truth but neither one of us wanted to hear it. When we arrived at the hospital the police wanted to ask me some question. For some reason they were interrogating me, asking me question. Like what were you doing in the woods so late? How is it that I was the only one to find the body and get back to it?
After a minute of answering their questions which were a load of crap. I politely told the both of them to fuck off and stormed away with Louis right behind me. After he apologized to the officers. The doctors had got a scan on my arm. It turned out to be a bad bruise that they wrapped up.
Andrew spent his time there trying to comfort a quiet Trent. He just sat there looking straight ahead not saying anything. Liam had came too though he just kept his distance from Trent.
He only spoke to him once. It was to ask what he wanted from the vending machine.
Liv stayed clinging to Jacob the whole time. The bad thing is she was the only one that was crying for her mom. She kept saying that she wasn't always like that. That was true too. Even I can remember the times when she used to make us her famous homemade icecream. Or when she used to play hide n seek with us when she was little.
Though time hadn't been good to her, she lost her husband then went completely mad. The rest of the night was spent waiting in the waiting room. As the hours ticked on by we all started to fall asleep, except Trent. The last thing I remembered after that was Louis and me propped up against each other. Trying not fall asleep.
It felt like I was asleep for only a couple of second, when Andrew came into my room and told me to get ready for the funeral. That's when I took in my surroundings. I was no longer at the hospital sitting in the waiting room. Instead I was laying in my bed with an arm secured tightly around my waist. Andrew wasn't even mad he just told me to wake him up too.
I wanted to lay there for a couple more minutes. Though I knew I couldn't someday I had to face my fears. Going to Foster's funeral was one of my biggest fears. Seeing someone you love lying in a casket did things to people. Though my second fear was..
I shifted slightly so that I was facing Louis. That was my second biggest fear telling him my feelings but now I didn't think it mattered. I stared at his sleeping face for a minute before I turned on my back. He was leaving right after the funeral. Truthfully I didn't want to let him go. I knew when I did though I wouldn't feel the same way about anyone anymore.
He would always have my heart. I sighed lowly before reaching over and gently shaking him awake. His eyes fluttered open as a small smile grazed his lips."Good morning."
"We need to get dressed." I told him my voice still cracking slightly.
"You need to drink something hot for that throat." He said, as he kicked the covers off his feet then sat with his feet dangling off the bed. He yawned as he stretched his arm up in the air."How does your arm feel."
"It doesn't hurt as much as it does than yesterday." I admit, while standing up. He glanced over at me for a second letting his gaze linger before looking away.
"I'll go and get dressed then i'll met you downstairs." He says. Then he walks out of the room without saying anything else. I grabbed the clothes that I had laid out the night before. This was going to be hard but I'd get through it. Louis leaving was going to take sometime though. With that thought in mind I head for the bathroom to get ready.
It didn't take me long to get ready and drag my body down stairs. The doctor had supplied me with some painkillers that dulled the pain in my body. Even though I could still feel it slightly I could deal with it. I didn't even need the bandage on my arm. The only reason I left it on was because of Louis. He even picked out the color red for the bandage.
"You hungry?" Niall asked when I walked into the kitchen. Strangely I hadn't eaten since last night but I wasn't hungry. Maybe it was the stress, the next thing I know my hair is going to be falling out. Luckily he wasn't cooking anything only pouring me a bowl of cereal.
"Thanks." I said as he put a bowl of frosted flakes in front of me, with some apple juice. He smiled then sat down next to me with his bowl in his hand. The others weren't down yet so it was just me and him.
"Niall." He glanced up me."have you ever been afraid of doing something, even though you needed too?"
"Plenty of times. The first time I sang in front of someone I was afraid." He admitted, placing some cereal in his mouth. He chewed then swallowed before speaking again."Besides fear can keep you from doing a lot of things. Then later on in life you'll be asking a lot of what if's."
I took the time to let his words sink in before I spoke."What if when you face your fears the outcome isn't good?" I started to eat my bowl of cereal.
"Think of it as playing a game of baseball." My brow rose at his comparison. How could someone compare baseball with fear?
"You lost me there Niall."
"You wouldn't let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game?" He asked, then stuck another spoonful into his mouth. He was right but I wasn't ready to play the game. Even if I really did want to atleast try to play. Niall.slipped a piece of paper into my hand.
I glanced up at him."It's my number. I don't plan on losing touch with you." He smiles then picks up his empty bowl, and goes to the sink to wash it.
The number got me to thinking. If I could stay in touch with Niall. I could definitely try to stay in touch with Louis. Though it would be harder with us because of me. How much of this was he willing to take? If he actually did care about me he'd atleast try. No. I know if they left I wouldn't even contact Niall. Then Louis would want to know why I wasn't calling him.
Somewhere along that line we'd eventually lose touch, and be broken hearted. Did he actually want that? Instead of doing something about it I'd rather live with the what if's. Then I wouldn't be able to hurt Louis anymore. He'll go back to where he came from and find another girl. It was fun while it lasted, I definitely wouldn't forget him.
"Everyone ready?" Andrew's yelling brought me out of my thought. Which were sad and depressing. He walked over to me and picked up the bowl of cereal I was staring into. I glanced up as he started to eat it.
I stood."Yeah sure you can have my cereal." I replied, he only smiled and went back to eating. Boys, food was never safe around them.
"God my back hurts." Harry complained, as he walked into the kitchen rubbing his back. His curly hair was in a mess, while the tuxedo he wore was thrown on messily. I'm guessing he was slowly fixing it. Their was a bandage on is nose from were the rifle had hit him.
"Why does your back hurt?" Niall asked, while handing him a bowl of cereal. At the sight of food Harry perked up a bit.
"Well for starters.." He shoved some cereal down his throat then swallowed."You kicked me off of the couch and onto the floor." He told Niall, his eyes narrowing slightly as he accused him. Niall only shrugged as he handed Zayn a bowl of cereal when he came down.
"What were you doing on the couch?" I asked.
"Liv and Chaire stayed over last night, so we gave them our beds." Harry tells me, then goes back to eating.
After that I remained silent. And just watched as everyone else came down the stairs. Louis was the last one to show his face. He had a sad look on his face which quickly turned to an annoyed one. When he glanced over at Harry's messy appearance. I watched as he quickly walked over towards him to attempt to fix his clothes.
It would have been comical if it weren't for the fact that we were getting ready for a funeral, Foster's funeral. Everyone even Simon was waiting around for us to leave. He hadn't even known Foster but he said he would go out of respect. We had even had a conversation which led me to believe that he wasn't that bad.
A low groan left me when Andrew told us it was time to go. Then he came over to me and slung his arm over my shoulder. As he pulled me towards the door to leave. I knew that me or him didn't want to go. Though I at least hoped that Louis would be by my side to. I would have said that he was a mind reader when he scooted closer to me. If I weren't so sad at the moment I probably would have blushed when he took my hand.
We could hear the bell of the church ringing, as we slowly walked towards it. It was custom in Salem for the bell to ring before a funeral had taken place. The bell basically meant death, because it never rang during any other time. Since we were such a small community everyone knew each other. They may not have been fond of each other.
Foster was one of those people that the towns folk couldn't be bothered with. Old people never really got as much love as they did when they were younger. It's a shame though because he told the best stories. He told me about what they went through when they were younger. Me being me I listened to every word he told me. Surprisingly I was very entertained by the brief history lessons he gave me.
The bell was getting closer. I inhaled as I took in the open doors of the church. The last of the remaining towns people were hurrying up. Even though it couldn't start until me or Andrew was there. We were in fact the ones who were burying him. I knew when it came down to it the townsfolk would have helped.
With a shaky breath I walked up the steps to the church. I stopped when we got closer to the doors. Andrew turned around to look at me a worried look on his face.
A fake smile made its way on my face."Just give me a second." I tell him.
He nods."Take your time. We have five minutes till it starts."
I nodded, and watched as they walked into the church. It wasn't until I looked over that I noticed I was gripping Louis's hand. Then I released my grip which was a little to tight. When I did this he just gripped it tighter.
"It's going to be okay Kendall." He says, while reaching out to tuck a strand of my hair behind my ears. Then in a comforting gesture he caressed my face with his free hand.
I sighed,"Let's hope so." I gripped his hand tighter, as I pulled him beside me. Some of the people turned around to see who else was entering the church. When they saw it was me they immediately turned back around. Guess that's the effect you have on people when you're rude to them.
Though when I looked to the front of the church. A waze of pain shot through me when I saw the open casket. The grip I had on Louis's hand couldn't have gotten any tighter. For a moment I was just standing there staring. Until I felt someone tugging on my arm, pulling me out of the aisle and into the seats.
I couldn't take my eyes off of the casket, even when the service started. He was just laying there unmoving not breathing. I knew what happened when people died, it was just that I never handled it well. Memories of the past flashed before my eyes as I just stared.
How someone could be living one day and dead the next. Always puzzled me. It was just one of those things that I could never quite get. Like what happens when you die? I was taught to believe that you either go to heaven or hell. Though how was I to be sure that was what happened.
Sure others had different beliefs but what if they were all wrong. Because if we either went to heaven or hell. I'm sure I'd be thrown down to hell with such fierceness, that Satan himself would be sympathetic. Now reincarnation was a different story. I would probably come back as an animal, just as long as it was a house pet I'd be fine.
Who wouldn't like to do nothing all day?
What if we were just gone? Death was just one big confusing thing. Which would possibly stay confusing until the day I died. I hadn't paid much attention to what was going on around me. Though for some strange reason I felt like everyone was staring at me. As I tore my eyes away from the casket I noticed all eyes on me.
"They want you to say something." Louis whispered to me.
I glanced around once more before releasing Louis's hand. Then I stood up slowly, made my way down the aisle and up on the alter. A lump formed in my throat as my eyes scanned the seats, finding Andrew. He nodded for me to began. The thing is I didn't have anything written down.
Sure I was going to write something, but because of last night. I didn't get to put anything together. So here I was standing behind the podium without anything written down. I breath in deep before releasing it, guess I was going to have to say what was on my mind.
"Foster was... he was." I blinked as my eyes started to tear up"He was the type of man who would pay you to just stay and listen to his stories, when he had no work for you to do." I laughed lightly."Even though you'd tell him countless of times that you didn't want the money. Sure he could be stubborn sometimes, definitely not one to back down from an arguemeant."
A smile tugged at my lips."If something was bothering you he'd be there to help you through your problem. Now if you were just being plain stupid he'd tell you and not hold anything back. With me being as stubborn as I I'm, we often had our little arguments."
The people in the church were hanging on my every word. Some had smiles on their faces others still looked sad.
A giggle left me when a memory came back."Like this one time when I was in the kitchen making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He came in and saw me making one. Now I didn't think I'd get into an argument for using two spoons to make it. He then asks me why I don't just use one spoon. So my answer is obvious, I've got two jars so I need two spoons. He then proceeds to tell me that I was going to mix them together anyway, so why not use just one."
I was aware that I was rambling but who cares. Sometimes you just needed to ramble to get to a point. If I had a point to this story. I must have been saying something right.
"My reply to this. If that's the case why not buy a jar that's already mixed? For some reason I had expected him to say some snide remark back. Though he just shrugged and walked off without answering me. You would have thought that that was the end of it, but no. When I glanced down to get my sandwich it was gone." I paused, as the people started to laugh.
When I glanced down at the casket my smile faltered slightly."The thing is Foster was more than just a friend to me. He was a grandfather someone that showered me with love. Also he was my father and reprimanded me when I needed it." Tears started to fall from my eyes, I didn't even wipe them away. "Even now that he's gone I still know he's watching me." My voice went lower as I finished, but stayed firm.
They started to clap and cry at the same time. While I felt like a mess standing there with tears falling from my eyes. If I didn't walk back to my seat I probably would have broken down. Luckily the pastor relieved me before I could become a crying mess. Honestly I hated crying for anything but sometimes things were worth crying for.
After my little speech the service flew by in a blur, it wasn't up until it was time to say our final goodbyes that I zoned back in. I wanted to literally drop to my knees when the casket started to lower. Well I would have did just that if Andrew didn't grab me. My knees had gave way and I couldn't stand up straight.
Louis had chosen that moment to be somewhere else. I didn't mind though because he had gone to help comfort Cece. After he checked to see if I would be okay of course. For some odd reason her parents couldn't get her to calm down. So Louis took it upon himself to go see if he could help her parents.
Then it was over. All of my goodbyes were said, even my apology for leaving him that day. Thoughts ran through my mind over and over. What if I would have stayed a little longer. What if he would have told me earlier could I have done something. Then I felt like mentally slapping myself because I was already asking myself what ifs.
The walk home was hard too. Knowing that they already had their bags packed, and ready to go. Though I'd already came to the conclusion that I'd let Louis go. What future did we have together? He was famous and I was just a plain old country girl. He sang in front of crowds, while the only time I was attracting a crowd was when I was introducing someone to my right hook.
We were opposite in so many different ways. He was nice and sarcastic, while I was just a rude bitch. There were so many things that separated us from one another. Yeah that little voice in the back of my mind was telling me different. Telling me that we could somehow make it through all of that. It was great while it lasted, but he was leaving now.
I sat on the steps of the front porch just watching them put their things in Simon's car. For a split second I wondered how they were all going to fit in there. When I looked inside I knew at least four people could sit comfortably back there, but it wouldn't have been to packed.
Andrew had told them that the last part for the bus would soon be in. Guess Simon didn't want to wait anymore, he said he would send someone for it. They were going to make a four hour drive to the airport. Then they were going to board a plane from there. Andrew had shown them the fastest way to get to the airport, and a map just in case they got lost.
Liv, Jacob, Cece, Alex, and Chaire had came to see them off. Me on the other hand I just sat back and watched. I was never good with goodbyes. So I just kicked the dirt with my black converses.
"I'm going to miss you Lou." Cece cried out, throwing her arms around Louis's waist.
"I'm going to miss you too." Louis said, returning the girls hug with a tighter one that lifted her off her feet.
I listened to another conversation.
"Every chance I get i'll call you." Zayn told Chaire, then kissed her on the lips.
I quickly averted my gaze and ears. Them swapping spit was not the entertainment I wanted to see.
"So he's not coming down to say goodbye?" Liam asked, as he stared calmly at Andrew.
Andrew shook his head."He did tell me to tell all of you he said bye." Andrew says, as he looks around his gaze landing on me. Before he looked back at Liam.
"Well can you at least tell him I said I was sorry?"
Andrew nods, but stumbles slightly when Niall comes out of nowhere and hugs his side. Andrew smiles and ruffles his blonde hair."I'm going to miss you too buddy."
Then I averted my gaze back down to the ground. I hated goodbyes. Because once you said them they were forever. Two sneakers stepped in front of me, and I glanced up. Staring into Niall's friendly face that held a warm smile. Without protesting, I let him pull me up off the steps and wrap me into a hug.
I hugged him back.
"I'll miss you Niall." I whispered into his ear, while still hugging him. Then we pulled away, staring into each others eyes. It was the truth I would miss him. Since I had no intention on actually calling him, so I wouldn't come in contact with Louis. I was going to slowly let myself let him go. So he could find someone that'll suit him more. Someone like him.
"I'll miss you too Kendall." He paused, as he stared at me for a few seconds. He looked liked he wanted to ask me something, but decided against it. Simon called him over, with one last hug he walked over to him then got in the car.
I sighed, then glanced over at Louis. He was still talking to Cece and hadn't seen me looking.
"So you're not going to say anything to him?" Harry's voice, had me snapping my head towards him.
"Excuse me." I tried to act like I didn't know what he was talking about. He rolled his green eyes and stepped closer to me.
"Don't bullshit me Kendall, you know exactly what i'm talking about." He tells me, his voice calm and low. You would think he was mad at me.
"What do you want me to do about it?" I snapped back, holding my temper down.
"You could have at least done something. Though I'm not even mad just a little disappointed, but not mad." He says.
I sighed,"Harry you don't understand-"
"I may not 'understand' but I do know when someones got a good thing going for them."
"Bye Harry."
He opens his mouth to say something but closes it back. Then he shakes his head, and walks towards the car. My hearts ached as Louis let Harry in the car before him. Though Louis's eyes stayed on me the whole time. For a minute we just stared at each other. It felt as if I was stabbed in the heart when he pulled his gaze away from me.
Then he climbed into the car, and shut the door. Everyone else had gone back in the house, though I just stood there. Watching as the car disappeared from my view.
It took me a minute to process it then I finally came to the conclusion.
Louis was gone.
[Authors note]- I know you guys want to kill me right about now.This is not the end guys but it is almost over. The chapter count is about four left, I'm not going to do an epilogue. Because I'm planning on doing a sequel to this story.(go ahead do a little dance, get down tonight.)
Another thing is I didn't get to read your stories, because I didn't have enough time. So to make it easier I want you guys to inbox me you're stories. With the link. Just don't put them in the comments.
[Question time](feels like school doesn't it.)
1. Where you expecting that?
2. What do you think is going to happen now?
3. Don't you just want to strangle me for that ending?(Lol I'm just feeling really happy right now)