Moonlight

Chapter 3

Ariana's P.O.V.

Five days. It's been five whole days since the car accident with my parents. Five whole days when they both died and left me alone in this world.

I'm now living with my Aunt Dolly. She's now my legal guardian. She has been nothing but kind to me, but I still haven't spoken to her. I haven't spoken to anyone actually.

What's there to speak about? My parents died. My boyfriend cheated on me. My best friend left me. What more is there to discuss? The whole thing isn't that complicated.

Today is the funeral, and I'm not mentally or physically ready to say goodbye to my parents. They were my everything. They were always supportive, and always there for me when I needed them most.

It's crazy how sudden your life can change. It's like one moment someone is there to love you, and the next, they're gone. Gone like the wind.

I finish tying my hair up. I look at myself in the mirror. You can tell I look different. My eyes are baggy, there's barely any makeup on my face, my smile is completely wiped off the face of the earth.

I'm wearing a Long black dress, with black combat boots. I wear a black, long sweater over me. I pull up my sleeve to see the marks on my wrist.

I feel myself about to cry. I feel terrible for what I did last night. I know I vowed to myself I would never cut, but I did. It eased away some of the pain. The pain that my life now holds.

I don't even feel beautiful anymore. I feel ugly, and worthless. Obviously I was never pretty enough, if my boyfriend had to cheat on me.

I clutch onto the heart shaped necklace my parents gave me. This is the only thing I have left of them, and I will never have it out of my sight. It will always stay with me, so I know that my parents are with me deep down.

The tears finally come down my face, and I just let them. My eyes feels so weird from all the crying in the past few days. And there's more to come, I know it.

"Ariana, are you almost ready?"My aunt Dolly knocks on the bedroom door. My new bedroom. It's nothing compared to my old one, much smaller and gloomier.

"Yes"I answer her and quickly pull the sweater sleeves back down so she won't see the cuts on my wrist.

She opens the door and walks in. She notices my tear stained face, and pulls me into her for a hug. "Everything is gonna be alright pumpkin"She tells me. That's all she's been saying to me.

I know she's just trying to comfort me and give me a little hope. But I know and she knows too, that nothing is alright. And that it never will.

"You wanna try talking today? Bottling up your feelings won't help sweetheart. Maybe it will feel better to get them out. At least before the funeral"She asks.

She keeps trying to get me talk. I don't wanna talk. Talking about the situation out loud will only make me cry more and feel worse about everything.

I shake my head no and she looks defeated again. "Come on, we're gonna be late if we don't leave now"She tells me and holds my hand. I grab my purse and we head out the house.

The whole drive to the funeral is quiet. The only sound is the faint, jazz music coming from her radio. Her car is pretty old, Close to a classic.

We eventually arrive to the small Church the funeral service will be held. Lots of people are here already.

My parents were well known around here. My mom was the most popular lawyer in the city, and my dad was a county fireman. He saved lives, but sadly in this situation, couldn't save his own.

We both walk into the Church, and many people are seated. My parents knew a lot of people, more than I did.

We take a seat in the front. There they are. My parents both lay in two caskets in the front of the church.
I don't think I'll have the courage to even go up there and give one final look at them. I can't, I will breakdown and be an even more wreck than I already am.

I watch as my Aunt Dolly steps up to the front and gets everyone's attention. "Hello everyone, we are all gathered here today for the death of Joan and Edward Butera Grande. This was very sad and shocking news to have heard that they both died in a car accident. These two were very dear to my heart and many of yours too. They have changed many lives and impacted a lot of people in the city. It's such a tragedy to have to say goodbye to two wonderful and pure souls of this earth"She speaks to the whole church. I can feel my eyes already forming tears.

•
•

The funeral has finally come to an end. I stand outside, waiting for my Aunt Dolly. She stands inside, talking to people who came to the service.

People pass me by, and say sorry for your loss and other emotional things, making me want to cry again. I've already shed so much tears during the funeral, I don't know when the tears will stop.

I stand for ten more minutes. She still talks inside of the church. I can't take it just standing here. Standing alone makes the situation feel a lot more worse than it already feels.

I begin walking away from her car, and begin running along the sidewalk. I'm crying still as I run. I pull the tie out of my hair, letting my hair flow all around my face.

I run all the way to the place I used to call home. The place where I grew up. The place where I've spent my whole life. The place where I felt happy, safe, and warm. I stand outside, tears streaming down my face. I just stare up at the empty house, with a sign in the front yard that says For Sale.

I notice a figure walk out the house next door. Justin.

He sees my crying and quickly walks over. "Hey, what's wrong?"He asks, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Did you and your boyfriend have a fight?"He pops his lip out and laughs. I don't answer him, I continue to stare at the house. He looks over at it and gets quiet.

"I heard about your parents"He lowers his voice. I wrap my arms around him and cry even harder in his chest. He holds me close to him, not knowing what else to do or say.

Me and Justin aren't the best of friends right now, but we've known each other for a long time. He's the only one here right now and I really just need to hug someone.

"On a happier note, you won queen at Saturday night's dance"He changes the subject. "The Drama Queen of course"He chuckles and I lowly laugh. Even in the saddest moments, he still has the nerve to annoy me.

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A.N.

Hey guys! Hoped you liked this short chapter. Sorry that it was sad and sappy. But at least you got another glimpse of Justin.

Also, I know that Ariana's parents aren't together in real life. So please don't try commenting about the subject.

Please comment, on how you feel so far about the story. I love reading your point of view on things.

I will try to update soon. Love you guys.