OUR BOND

The Funeral

Third Person POV

The morning felt too still for what the day was meant to hold. The skies were clear with no clouds hanging low, thick and unmoving insight.

From the balcony of her room, Noel watched the set up in the garden for after the funeral ceremony, waiters moving in lines carrying glasses to the refreshments table, covering the bare round tables with black and white cloths and putting chairs around the tables.

Whatever they were doing wasn't  anything amazing but it somehow entertained her.

A soft knock from her door pulled her away from the view, she went through the balcony door to her room and opened the door for a Luca, standing there in a sleek black designer suit - the kind cut so perfectly it made him look like the model he was. His hair was still the curly mess it always was, but it looked controlled today.

"You look nice" she complimented.

Luca's lips curled into a gentle smile. "Thank you Noel, you too"

He stepped inside, hesitation flickering in his eyes before he spoke again. "I'm here to bring you down, ceremony is about to begin"

Noel nodded and turned to face the mirror one last time. She approved as she slowly nodded. Her dress was a simple black dress, tight around the torso and loose at the bottom with pockets. Her hair was in a ponytail with two strands loose on either sides.

She inhaled "Okay. Let's go" she said as she passed by Luca who grabbed her arm softly.

"Noel.. wait"

Noel turned to look at him as his smile faded into something gentler, sadder.

Unexpectedly, he softly pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms protectively around her back and head.

Noel looked on wondering what prompted the hug session.

"I know I don't understand what this feels like. Not yet. I've never lost a grandparent. But..." he swallowed, voice dipping. "If anything ever happened to mine. I think... I think I'd break. So if you feel like the world is collapsing right now, no one blames you. No one expects you to be strong today"

Something inside her cracked - not loudly, not dramatically, just a little quiet snap she had been avoiding since she got the news.

She didn't cry. But she did hug Luca back, holding on to him like he was the only steady thing in the room. For the first time since her grandmother's passing, the reality started sinking in - not at all once, but in small painful pieces.

After a moment, Luca pulled back and patted her cheek twice, in a stiff manner, causing her to smile a bit.

"Come" he said softly. "Let's go"

Noel nodded, though the composure she had carefully maintained since arriving felt... dissolved. Like she'd been wearing a mask she hadn't even noticed until it broke.

She felt that way all the way into the middle of the ceremony where speeches were being delivered. Friends and family gathered and people who Noel barely knew claimed her grandmother had changed their lives. She sat between Brandon and Terry, listening to speech after speech about the incredible woman Emma Wilson was.

And she was incredible.
Hearing it out loud made it hurt more.

Then came the family's turn.

Vincent stepped up first elegant in his grief, speaking of Emma as the anchor of the Wilson family. How she mothered them even when they were too grown to admit they needed her. How she protected her grandchildren with a fierceness that could scare  storms away.