Funeral Boys

Chapter One

I kill the engine after I pull into the parking spot. The lot is full of cars I don't recognize and strangers huddle outside the front doors to the funeral home. I grab the small bundle of pink and white flowers from the passenger seat and exit my car. Dodging vehicles as they roll by, I make it to the door and step inside. A low chatter is off somewhere in the main room hidden by a sharp corner. I sign my name when I arrive at the guestbook and set off to find the person I came here for.

There were more people in the main room than I expected. There were multiple groups, talking to each other while trying to lighten the mood around those who were hit the hardest by Andy's death. A select few were off to the sides, sitting in chairs or standing with their backs to the crowd, crying quietly. I recognize a few faces from school. My heart felt heavy with grief for a fellow student and his family after seeing everyone like this. I looked away from those who were grieving and scanned the room for Alaric. It was slightly difficult with everyone dressed head to toe in black attire, but I soon spotted a wisp of red hair. He was sitting in the last row of chairs to the left. I started weaving through the small groups. I stopped a few feet away from him, but close enough to let him know someone was in his presence.

His head was down, but I could tell he had been crying. A small, dark spot was on the carpet right under his face; I guessed it was from tears dripping down onto the floor. From what I could see, his face was stone cold. He didn't move or look up.

I sat one chair away from him and spoke quietly. "Hey."

Alaric's eyes widened a bit at the sound of my voice. With how little we knew of each other, he probably didn't expect me to arrive at the funeral. He turned his head slowly in my direction and we stared at each other for a moment before he responded. "Hey." His voice was hoarse and his eyes were redder than I thought.

I sat awkwardly before holding out the small bundle of flowers. Alaric took them a second later and set them on the chair between us.

"Thank you." He whispered.

"Of course." I replied. A somewhat-comfortable silence followed the small conversation. I didn't know what else to say, and I thought it'd be rude to get up and leave when I just arrived. I racked my brain for small talk topics but nothing came up.

Alaric spoke up before I could think of something to say. "I didn't expect to see you here. Were you and my brother friends or something?" His head was pointed towards the floor again, eyes searching the boring tan carpet.

"No, we weren't friends," I started. "But we had some classes together. He was my partner a few times in Science for projects, and we rarely shared ideas in Creative Writing. He was always so talkative, though, and he eventually made his way around to me once he was done talking to all the other kids in the room." Small memories of Andy making the room of our fellow peers laugh at his shenanigans came into mind after I finished. I took a deep breath to prevent my eyes from stinging with tears. "He was a good guy. He always made people laugh and he made the meanest teachers and subs crack a smile." My voice cracked on the last word. My vision blurred and I dropped my head, closing my eyes. I intertwined my fingers and squeezed, hoping the pressure could help me calm down.

"I don't know what to do." Alaric's voice was quiet and unsteady. Looking at him again, his face was full of pain and tears were streaming down his red cheeks. "He was my best friend. He was always there for me like no one else ever has been. We talked to each other constantly. He was there when I needed to vent about baseball or classes, and I was always there for him when he needed to talk about swimming or something that had been stressing him out." He let out a shaky breath. "I miss him so much. So fucking much, and it hurts like hell."

I didn't have any words to make Alaric feel better. I couldn't think of one thing that could lighten the mood. I had lost grandparents and great uncles and aunts in the past, but I was never that close to any of them. Losing someone as close as a sibling or a best friend, I had never felt that sort of pain before.