Rehabilitation

55

It was Saturday, the day of the funeral. Nathan had invited me and I'd promised him I would go. I wanted to be there, to say goodbye to Jamie and to support Nathan but the thought of going to another funeral made me feel sick.

The powers we and many others had gotten from the storm were hurting people. Rachel had died when we tried to stop her using her power on the whole town and Nathan would have also died if it weren't for his power. Now this girls power had gotten out of hand and she and Jamie were both dead. I didn't think there was any harm in having these powers but there was.

Nathan's dad was driving us to the funeral. I'd seen him before at the police station but this was the first time actually meeting him. At around 10 my door bell rang and I went to the door. I was wearing a modest black dress with a black zip up hoodie, it wasn't entirely funeral appropriate but it would do.

I opened the door and Nathan was stood at the
outside. He was wearing his normal clothes but a black t-shirt instead, so he was dressed in all black.

"Hey," I said, I smiled when I saw him but I shook it off when I remembered where we were about to go. Who we were about to bury.

"Hey," He smiled faintly back, "My dads in the car park."

I nodded and locked the door behind me.

"How are you?" I asked as we walked down the stairs towards the car park.

Nathan inhaled sharply before answering, "Alright, I guess."

"Two funerals in two weeks," I said, more to myself than to him. He looked up from the ground and looked at me with furrowed brows.

"Your funeral." I reminded him. He nodded and looked back at the ground.

My chest ached seeing Nathan like this. He was normally so lively and only occasionally showed his emotions and it hurt me seeing him so different. So empty.

"The cars over there," Nathan said and placed his hand softly on my lower back, turning me
slightly to guide me in the right direction. The touch, so casual and gentle made my heart flutter.

I looked ahead and saw Nathan's dad leaning against the side of a car. He was wearing a black suit and he had his arms crossed. Nathan didn't introduce me when we reached the car and his dad barely acknowledged me. We all got into the car, I sat in the back and Nathan sat in the front.

"How did you know Jamie?" Nathan's dad asked me. The question wasn't a rude question but his tone made it come across like an accusation.

"We went to school together," I gulped. He nodded, glancing at me through the rear view mirror.

"And how do you know Nathan?" He asked.

This feels like an interrogation. I looked over at Nathan who was turned away from his dad, staring pensively out the window.

"I um..." I stuttered, a bead of sweat dripped down my arm.

"At community service," Nathan answered for me, still not looking at his dad.

"What did you do?" His dad asked. This is not how I expected this to go. I breathed in and tried to compose myself, searching my brain for a way to answer that question.