The One I Knew Before

The Funeral.

It's the day I've been dreading. Iris's funeral. I wake up extra early to make sure everything is perfect. I make sure my suit has no wrinkles. I make sure the flowers aren't decaying. I make sure my speech is perfected. I make sure I look my best. After all that is done I finally look at my phone. It has a ton of notifications, all from people in my class.

Presley: [I'm sorry for your loss]
Zayne: [I miss her too, you're not alone]
Kayla: [I'm so sorry about Iris]
Paige: [Me and Cecilia will always be here if you need to talk]
Evie: [Is everything alright]
Marcus: [Dude I'm so sorry]
Eli: [I'm so sorry Ace..]
I close my phone. Did they really care? We'll never know. My mom wakes up and knocks on my door.
"You ready?" She asks.
"Yeah" I say standing up.
My brother walks into the room.
"Wow the suit looks good on you" He says.
"Thank you" I smile.
"Iris would be so happy right now, seeing you in a suit looking so handsome" My mom says placing two hands on my shoulders.

*In the car*
I stare out the window. The pain starts growing. Tears start forming. I hold them back. I keep reading my speech over and over. This needs to be perfect.

*Once they get to the funeral*
Iris's parents walk up to my mom and I.
"Thank you so much for coming, Iris would appreciate it" Her mom says.
"Yeah, thank you Ace for making a speech for her, I can't wait to hear it" Her dad says.
I smile at the both of them. Iris talked about them all the time, about how they argued a lot but they seemed to love her a lot.
I looked around for free seats only to spot Iris's best friend, Avery. I walk over to her. She is staring at the dug hole.
"Hey, are you alright?" I ask placing my hand on her shoulder.
She flinches.
"Shit you scared me, how can I be alright my best friend is fucking dead" She drops down to sit by the hole wrapping her arms around her knees and pulling them close to her.
I join her.
"I know it's hard, I've been crying all week" I reply.
"She told me a lot about you" Avery responds.
"Really? What did she say?" I ask eager to know.
"She said you were an amazing boyfriend, you were caring and kind and she loved you" Avery just keep staring at the hole.
My heart skips a beat. Iris said that about me?
"Iris was amazing, the best girlfriend I could ever have, I hope she knew that" I sigh.
"She did" Avery replied quickly.
I smile at her and she smiles back. My brother comes over and taps me on the shoulder.
"The funeral's starting now" He says.
Avery and I exchange looks and stand up together.

"We are here today to mourn the death of Iris Hamilton"

*Speech Time*
I fiddle with my sleeves, tie, anything I could fidget with. Avery was saying her speech and I was up next. I was sweating.
"S-She was just an a-amazing person, I'll always miss her" Avery puts her hands on her temples when she said that, placing her elbows on the alter.
"Thank you so much Avery, next up is Ace" The priest says.
I walk past Avery and she smiles "Good luck" she says.
I get up to the alter and look around at everybody. I get nervous but I feel Iris being there with me so I start speaking.
"Iris was an amazing girlfriend, she cared for me, stood up for me, gave the best hugs and made me feel so loved. She was the reason I woke up everyday. She was the only reason I came to school" Tears start forming.
"She appreciated me, she put me over her friends, family and even herself. She'd send me long texts telling me how much she loved me, she sacrificed her happiness to be with me, she told me everything, things she didn't tell her friends" I start speaking louder as tears pour down my face.
"She loved every part of me and never let me put myself down. She was sweet to my family, she got me amazing gifts and was overall one of the best people in the world. No one could compare to her. She was beautiful and I will miss seeing her face everyday. I've cried all week because she meant so much to me. I hope Iris knew that I loved her so very much" Right as I say that last part I break down.
Iris's parents come over to hug me.
"She loved you so much" Her mom said.
I cry into her dad's shoulder loudly.
"Let it out" Her dad said rubbing my back.
People started clapping and my mom walked over to hand me the flowers I brought.
"May I put these on her grave?" I ask holding the bunch of flowers up.
"Oh my goodness, that's a lot of flowers! Of course you can Ace" Her mother replies.
I walk over to the grave which has Iris's casket that was buried earlier. I place the flowers right in the middle and stuck them in the dirt.
"I hope you like these Iris, I picked out every type at the store just for you" I smile with tears streaming down.
Avery came up behind me.
"She would really love those" She said sniffling.
I look over to her and smile. Her eyes were red from all the crying she had done today.
"She told me a lot of things about you too" I said.
"I mean obviously" She said sarcastically.
We laugh through our few tears and we wipe our eyes in unison.
"Hey Ace" Says Cecilia holding Paige's arm.
"Hey guys" I say as I wave.
"Oh my god she would've loved those flowers" Paige says as she wiggles her arm out of Cecilia's grasp and bends down to look at the flowers.
I smile as more tears start coming down my face.
"Thanks everyone for coming, I'm sure Iris feels the love that she thought she never had" I hear her mom say.
I take one last look at her grave. I start crying loudly and I go to hug her headstone.
"I'm sorry" I whisper.