Me, Myself, and Her

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty: My Tears Ricochet

No one likes getting ready for funerals. It was rough with Will's "funeral" two years ago. It's even worse for Holly and Meghan's now.

Maybe because this was real, and Annie knew that for sure. No tricks this time.

Steve was taking Annie, their parents not really caring or getting it. To spare pain, Steve just decided to take Annie and avoid having her answer any question from their parents. They'd meet up with Max there. Billy was invited to come with Max, but he felt too much guilt and didn't think he could.

As Annie stood in the bathroom and stared at her own face, she thought about the story. It was ridiculous, barely believable, but it was told anyway. Meghan and Holly were with Max and Annie at the mall- they were best friends, after all.

They were killed in the fire, the government producing fake, burned corpses for the parents. It was an awful story, but it's not like anyone was going to contest it.

It's not like anyone would believe the truth.

There were already tears tracks through Annie's makeup, and at this point she didn't care enough to redo it. Even though the bruises had disappeared not long after they were given, Annie's fingers still ghosted her neck where they had been.

She moved her hands away, instead smoothing down her skirt. There wasn't a lot of black in Annie Harrington's closet, adding to her 'Barbie' nickname. She always gravitated toward bright colors.

In times like this, she wished she had more than the long sleeve black top and skirt. Her mom's clothes were too big for Annie, so this is what she dealt with. She was lucky she had black shoes.

There was a light knock on the door. "You ready?" Steve asked gently.

Annie sniffed but nodded, turning away from her reflection and turning off the bathroom light. There was no need for words, because they both knew Annie wouldn't be able to finish a sentence without breaking down.

The Harrington adults sat in the living room, watching as Annie hurried out the door without so much as giving them a glance. Steve toward them and gave them a half-assed wave and a, "We'll back in a few hours."

The car ride was silent as the siblings drove down to the cemetery for the service. Not even the radio played, feeling too wrong for their situation. Annie thanked her lucky stars Hawkins was relatively small, because the drive wasn't as long as it could've been.

When they parked, Annie looked up and saw Max send them a small wave. Steve came around and opened the door for Annie. She let him help her out and for the next hour, felt like she was moving through four feet of snow.

She couldn't bare to look at the caskets or the pictures at the heads. It was too painful of a reminder. Her hands were trapped by Steve's and Max's so she couldn't let her fingers roam where the bruises were.

Probably a good thing, people would ask questions.

The pastor went on and was the only sound filling the air, other than the occasional sniff from Meghan and Holly's parents. The tears silent fell down Annie's face, not daring make a sound. She was hoping she and Max could avoid all questions about that night. About how awful it was, or what had actually happened.

She wouldn't be able to lie. Not to that many people. Not right now.

When the service was over and it was time to migrate to the Lopez's house for conversation and food, Annie was ready to go home.

"Steve, do we have to go?" Annie asked as their trio walked over to the Lopez family and James family. "I don't know if I can do it."

He squeezed her hand. "For just a second, I'm sure people will understand if we leave early. But it'll mean a lot if you show, okay?"