- Izzy's POV -
"I can't do this, Day." I whispered, biting my lip to stop the tears from falling.
"I'm here, we can do this together." He soothed, lacing his fingers through mine, and giving my hand a reassuring squeeze.
"What if no one shows?" I asked, gripping onto his arm with my free hand.
"So what? We're here, we're all he needs." He replied, kissing my temple.
"He deserves more to care, Damien." I sighed.
"I know, baby, but he wasn't really known was he?"
"I guess not." I shrugged.
"Now, come on, we're gonna be late." With a gentle tug, he pulled me towards the door.
I took a deep breathe, and held it as Damien pushed the door open slowly. Closing my eyes, I prepared myself for the worst.
"Open your eyes." Damien whispered in my ear.
Very slowly, I obeyed, cracking one eye open first, quickly glancing around. With a gasp, I opened my other eye. I stared wide-eyed at the pews.
Each row was full.
Full.
"Damien?" I whispered, feeling the tears brimming in my eyes again.
"Yes?" He asked, squeezing my hand again.
"What is this?" I started making my down the aisle, smiling sadly at each row.
"You didn't want him to be forgotten. Well, neither did the vampires. So here they are." He replied, walking slowly behind me.
"Wow." I mumbled, reaching the front.
"If you would take your seat, Mrs Redford, then we can begin." The Priest said behind me. I nodded slightly, and took my seat on the front pew, next to Damien and my parents.
"Where's Tyler?" I asked, frowning.
"Here!" A voice shouted from the doors. Everyone turned around to see my brother running down the aisle. "I'm so sorry!" He rushed, squeezing in beside me.
"It's fine, I'm just glad you're here." I replied kissing his cheek softly. He took my free hand in his.
"Shall we begin?" The Priest asked, raising his eyebrows at me. I nodded silently. "Welcome, friends, family. Today we celebrate the life of Blair Redford. This young boy was only around for a few short moments, before he was brutally ripped our world. His parents have prepared a few words." He gestured to Damien and I. Damien stood up, pulling me with him, and walked towards the front.
"Hello, everybody." He started, wrapping his arm around my waist. "Blair meant so much to us, he was our little boy, our miracle, the light at the end of our tunnel." He looked down into my eyes. "I know that this is killing you inside, Izzy, but all these people are here to support us." He gestured to the pews. "And I'd do anything to make you happy again. Blair didn't deserve what he went through, and if I could go back and stop it, believe me I would. But right now we need to live his life for him, that's the least he deserves."
I bit my lip, feeling the tears surfacing in my eyes again. Resting my head on Damien's shoulder, I took a couple of breathes, trying to sort out my thoughts before I spoke.
"I'm so glad you all came today, it means so much to me that my little boy will be remembered, by so many people. I know I never really saw him properly, or held him in my arms, but he's still a part of me, and when he left us, he took a part of me with him. I know I'll never get that back, but hopefully I can learn to live with it, and get on my with my life. That's what Blair would've wanted." I finished, turning away from the crowd in front of me, I faced my son's coffin. "I love you, Baby." I kissed my fingertips, and ran them over the smooth oak of the coffin.
"You okay?" Damien whispered, wrapping his arms around my waist against.
"Yeah." I choked out.
"Come on." He replied, guiding us away from the coffin.
"If you'd like to follow me outside, we will be burying the coffin." The priest announced softly to everyone. One by one, the mourners gathered in the pews filed out of the church. Damien and I were the last two to leave, making our way slowly over to Blair's patch of land.
"Damien, I can't do this." I whispered, eyeing the tiny hole our little boy would be in in just a few short minutes.
"Yes you can, you have to, for Blair." He replied.
"I can't Day, I can't let him go." I choked, the tears spilling over my lids.
"Izzy, listen to me, it's okay, he's not going anywhere." He soothed, wrapping his arms around me.
"He is though, Damien! He's gone! And it's all my fault!" I screamed.
"Izzy, it's okay!"
"Stop saying that! I killed him, Day! I killed my own son, our son!" I clutched clumps of my hair in my hands, slumping down to the floor.
"No you didn't, Izzy." He sighed, kneeling down beside me.
"I killed him." I whispered, rocking slightly back and forth.
"Izzy, look at me." He whispered, gently taking my chin in his hand.
"I'm so sorry Damien." I cried, sniffling.
"Shut up." He snapped. "You didn't kill him, it wasn't your fault, okay?" I nodded numbly. "Now I need to come and say goodbye."
"I can't." I murmured, squeezing my eyes shut.
"You can."
"Damien, please? Make the pain go away?" I begged, clutching onto the lapels of his tux.
"I wish I could, baby." He whispered, scooping me into his arms, and helping me to my feet.
I cried into his shoulder, as he carried me over to everyone. They watched us with sympathetic expressions.
"Let us commend Blair Redford to the mercy of God." He waved a hand, and a small crane began lowering Blair's coffin into the hole. "We therefore commit his body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in the sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life." He finished, just as the coffin hit the ground with a soft thud.
I buried my face in Damien's neck, not watching as each mourner took a handful of soil and tossed it onto his coffin. I felt Damien shift slightly, alerting me to the fact that he too had thrown a handful of soil onto our little boy's coffin.
"It's your turn Izzy." He whispered in my ear.
Instead of grabbing a handful of soil though, I reached into my coat, and pulled out a single red rose. I softly stroked the petals, mumbling my own quick message, before tossing it onto the coffin.
Once I was back in the safety of Damien's arms, the Priest closed the ceremony, and the cemetery workers began shovelling the soil into the grave.
"It'll be a few days before the headstone gets here." One said to us, his eyes holding that same sympathetic look.
"Okay, thank you." Damien replied, holding me a little closer to his body.
"Damien, can we come back later?" I asked, keeping my head in the crook of his neck. "When no one's here."
"Of course." He replied, turning us away from the grave. I kept my eyes on it, not being able to look away.
"Izzy?" A voice asked. I looked up to see Kieran and Tyler stood in front of us. "I'm so sorry Sis." Tyler whispered, looking me dead in the eye. I didn't reply, I threw myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck.
"I miss him, Ty." I whispered, hugging him a little tighter.
"I know, Sis." He replied, tightening his grip too.
"Anything you need, Bro, just let me know." I heard Kieran saying.
"Thanks, kid." Damien replied. I could feel his eyes on my back, worried.
"Anytime." Kieran patted his brother's back, and turned to face me. "Chin up, Izzy." He whispered, tapping my chin slightly. I nodded at him, removing myself from my brother to hug Kieran too.
"Thank you." I choked out.
"For what?" Tyler asked, raising an eyebrow.
"For coming here today." I replied, stepping away from Kieran, and wiping at my wet cheeks.
"You're my little sister, you need all the support you can get at the moment, and I need to protect you." He replied, giving me a sad, crooked smile.
"I love you, guys."
"We love you too." Kieran murmured, kissing my left cheek, then Tyler kissed my right cheek.
After that, they both walked away, patting my shoulder and nodding at Damien, before disappearing into the car park.
I sighed, melting into Damien's side again.
"Let's go home." He mumbled, kissing my hair.
I nodded, sending a quick glance over my shoulder at the grave.
Bye Blair.
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Okie, next chap is epilogue, and then that's it!
Quick question!
Will anyone read a sequel to this? Or do you think it's done and dusted?
I'll let you decide after the epilogue!!
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