For Your Eyes Only [h.s.]

Ch. 78 - The Present

Harry Styles
July 13, 2022
9:45 am
Philadelphia, PA

"We're gathered today, to celebrate the life of..."

I tune the rest of what the Pastor has to say, out, focusing only on Adelaide. Luckily, tragically I guess, not very many people are here so I've gone mostly unnoticed. I mean, does a celebrity even matter when your family or friend is gone?

Only one young woman made a deal out of my getting out of the car with Adelaide. I assumed the whole family just, knew.

I feel Adelaide begin to shake just a bit beneath my arm, so I pull her in a bit tighter, and feel her physically relax. We stand in a comfortable silence, just a bit farther back than the majority of the group, Adelaide not wanting to offend the family for the duration of the methodical tradition. Of course Noah's parents and, according to Adelaide, closest family and unshakable friends are all here. She did make note of some missing cousins, those whom she felt were different than the rest of the bunch. Makes sense.

It's hard, to have to rectify within yourself that someone whom you've loved and knew to be a good person, was capable of such atrocities. Of course the full history of what happened between Adelaide and Noah came out to the public after he was involved in what happened that night. Of course, public restraining orders and reports of domestic violence are public information somehow.

Everyone who is good at digging online has read the detailed retelling of Adelaide's two incidents with Noah. Thankfully, most of the online chatter happened while Adelaide was still in the hospital, the world moving from interest to interest as quickly as they can change their mind about what to have for breakfast. 

Regardless of how much I still hate the man, I understand why Addy wants to be here. I just hope she can let it go when we get home. She shifts beneath me, and I realize the ceremony has finished up, the group beginning to disperse. 

"Let's get to the car." I whisper in her ear, kissing her on her cheek. I can feel her tears on my own lips. She just nods, wiping at her eyes. As both of us turn to head to my car and return to New York quietly, an angry voice calls out from behind us;

"How dare you come here!"

Adelaide freezes beneath me, and I can feel her start to panic. "Noah's mom." I hear her tell me, not even daring to move enough to look at me when she says it. 

"Stay." I tell her, turning myself around to protect her from the grieving woman. 

"Mam." I try to begin, holding my hand out to stop her from getting any closer to Adelaide.

"Don't you dare speak to me, I know exactly who you are." She directs at me, unafraid and angry.

"Mam, please. I'm merely trying to stop you from saying anything you would arguably regret. Adelaide insisted we come to show our respect. She loved your son."

"She left him broken hearted, to fly around the country with you on a whim! She destroyed two family's futures. We all had plans, she could have sta-"

"She tried to stay, as long as she could survive." I say, aware of my tone and the fact that I'm pretty sure that same interested cousin from earlier has pulled out her phone. Shit... Fuck that, people can say what they want about me, this is about Adelaide. "Your son hurt her, in ways we are still helping her process. Neither of us wanted to see him hurt, but do not attempt-"

"Don't give me that, 'didn't want to see him hurt,' she got him killed!"

And that's what does it, but just as I go to yell at her with everything I've got, a face I've seen only once in my life steps in and does it for me.