Chapter 13 #2
I’m watching them right now. They’re talking about what they’re going to do. I think they might be breaking up.
“Okay, so here’s your options.” The funeral director turned the pages around to show us. “You can have a basic funeral. This is all that’s included. Cremation is this, and burial is this.”
I tucked my phone away, silencing it and shoving it under my thigh.
I couldn’t deal with her and her baggage right now.
The next several hours, as Silver and I planned two funerals, I was one hundred percent focused on what I was doing.
We talked about how a military funeral would go.
We talked about the special people that came to take care of the flag, and watch over the casket.
We talked about so much stuff that my head felt stuffy.
One thing we did know, however, was that we would be cremating both of them.
The damage to both of their bodies was too great.
I hoped that was the right decision.
“I don’t think they’d be able to help themselves,” Silver admitted after the guy left to go make copies of the paperwork. “They’d have to look. Just one more time. And no one needs to see that.”
She was right.
I wished I could take back what I’d seen.
To see someone so vibrant and sparkling with life dead on a slab missing that vital piece of them that made them, them? It wasn’t something I enjoyed. Especially when they were closely connected to a man that I was quickly spiraling deeper and deeper in something with.
I wouldn’t call it love yet, but it was close.
Or maybe I just didn’t know what love was like to know that it was love.
Whatever these feelings were, they were all-consuming, and I felt like my heart was literally bursting with it.
“Elaine was really bad,” I admitted, haunted by the sight of a once beautiful woman so full of life dead on a cold slab in the morgue, literally torn in half.
Fifteen weeks pregnant.
“I don’t think I’ve said thank you yet, but thank you,” she murmured.
My eyes came up to meet hers, and I smiled, though it didn’t reach my eyes. “Anyone would do it.”
“No, not anyone,” she disagreed. “You’ve been sort of thrust into our lives at the worst possible time, and I’m thankful it was you.”
“Well, maybe the better answer would’ve been ‘anyone should.’”
“You might be right,” she murmured, her eyes studying me. “He likes you. A lot.”
I huffed out a small laugh. “Nothing like a little bit of forced proximity to make the heart grow fonder.”
She shook her head. “That’s not it. Finnian’s a different breed of person.
Always on the go. Never happy with settling.
If he doesn’t like something, he changes it.
It doesn’t matter how. He does it. No matter what it takes.
And I’ve seen him with no women since I came into Webber’s life.
Zero. None. Not at a club party. Not at an event—and he went to a lot of those when he was campaigning.
Not a single woman has ever been on his arm since I arrived. No one but you.”
That made me feel all warm and tingly inside.
But just because she hadn’t seen them, didn’t mean there were none.
It just meant he was discreet…right?
“Okay, ladies.” The funeral director was back. “All we need is payment, and we’re done.”
My heart literally stilled.
But Silver didn’t flinch as she pulled out a black Amex card that made a little cling-cling as she took it out and slid it across the table. “You can put all of it on there.”
Jesus.
Twelve thousand dollars…
When I died, I would be having a budget funeral. Just bury me and throw me into a pit somewhere.
That would be about all I could afford to do.
I wiggled nervously in my chair and waited until the payment had been processed before standing up out of my chair.
I gathered all of the paperwork we’d been given and headed out the door, wondering what I would do next.
“I’m going to go home and give this to the guys. Not to mention it literally gives me hives to have a card with an unlimited spend amount belonging to Apollo in my purse,” she said softly. “What are you doing?”
I wouldn’t think too hard on why Finnian hadn’t trusted me with his Amex card.
The man was right, though, not to trust me.
He barely knew me.
Hell, I had all these feelings for a man that was probably not feeling what I was feeling.
I was so stupid sometimes.
My mind was a mess, and all I could think about were my feelings.
Shit, maybe I had the same damn issue as my sister.
“Well…” I cleared my throat.
I’d been dropped off by Finnian, but he’d told me he would get my Blazer here for me because he was going to run to Knight’s place to take care of their animals.
Apparently they had two retired military working dogs that would need to come stay with him.
I didn’t bother to mention that I was allergic as hell to dogs.
It was his own prerogative to take care of his friend’s dogs.
It was actually so very nice, that I didn’t have the heart to mention my allergies. This wasn’t about me. And not to completely harp on the fact, but he barely knew me. Why would he take my issues into consideration?
“I’m actually going to go into work,” I decided. “I didn’t think I’d finish all this in time, but now that I have, it gives me plenty of time to get to the shift set for six in the evening.”
“Oh,” Silver wilted. “That’s sucky.”
I shrugged. “Gotta pay those bills.”
I may not pay them off fast, but I’d pay them off if it killed me.
She nodded solemnly. “Do you want me to give all that to Apollo?”
I handed it over to her. “That would actually be really great. I probably can’t go over there anymore, anyway.”
I hadn’t meant to let that slip, but the words had spilled forth like they were meant to.
She looked up sharply. “What? Why?”
I tapped my nose. “I’m allergic to dogs. Like really allergic. Uncontrollable sneezing. Itchy, watery eyes. Throat tends to close up a little bit. Breathing treatments are sometimes needed. I don’t die or anything. But I’m utterly miserable for a few long hours after I come into contact with one.”
That was putting it mildly.
If suffering a sucky, non-death was a thing, I’d have it when I came into contact with dogs.
“Damn,” she said. “Have you tried those allergy shots?”
I nodded. “This is with allergy shots.”
Well, it was with allergy shots when I could afford them. Which hadn’t been all that much lately.
“Double damn,” Silver murmured. “Well, I’ll deliver this on my way home then.”
She stepped into me, giving me a hug that felt so nice and warm that I wanted to sink into it forever.
Yet another thing that I hadn’t gotten since my best friend had passed away.
A good ol’ hug between friends.
“Thanks for everything,” she whispered quietly.
I squeezed her hand. “Bye, Silver.”
“Bye, Dru. Have a good night at work.”
Oh, I doubted I would.
Night shifts sucked.
Night shifts after being up all day sucked even more.
But I had a feeling I had plenty of things to think about when I was awake all night.
Like my sister and her fifty-one text messages telling me about how Eugene was living his life.
Joy.