No Strings Attached

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

The room was suffocating, even though the windows were wide open, carnations drooping over the jars they were so meticulously arranged in. It seemed unfitting that flowers of such bright nature should bloom on such a day, melancholy hanging overhead, much like the ceiling fan that kept no one from sweating. The doors were wide open too, but people filed in, murmuring greetings to each other, none of them above a hushed whisper.

Everyone wore their most formal outfits, their black clashing with the brown of the wooden floor and the chevy doors. Their hair was tied back neatly, or brushed back, only a few a people rocking their hair fully loose.

I was sitting down, in the third row from the front, in a well ironed black suit. I didn't even know I owned it until I had to dig through my closet and find something formal. I was surprised it still fit me, but then again, I hadn't improved in the height department since . . . ever.

My dad had practically drugged me with now much medicine he fed me, insisting I couldn't go to the funeral sick. He was right, of course, not even a little sick could stop me from turning up today.

I surveyed my surroundings, searching the crowd for familiar faces. Instantly, two struck me. The ever-elegant Beryl Grace sported a black top with a sweetheart's neckline and an equally black pencil skirt. Her blonde hair was pulled into a bun, lifting all her facial feature, but I could tell by her half-lidded gaze that her spirits could not be lower.

Next to her was her husband, Jupiter. He wore a gruff expression, with an equally dull suit. He was a few inches taller than her, and they seemed so haggard.

Everyone knew what happened between Jupiter and Beryl Grace. How could they not? Beryl was once a famous actress debuting when she was only a kid. But Beryl had grown weary of the fame and had turned to alcohol, putting Jason in a tough position in only their formative years. Jupiter had done close to nothing and ended up headlining with her in the news with their messy divorce.

Three years later, she was drunk and was taken advantage of by Zeus. But the affair only hit the international news when it was revealed that Jupiter had changed his appearance and posed as another man that the media named Zeus. He had done that to his ex-wife. He raped his ex-wife. And when the trial concluded, he was let off with a warning from the judge and no punishment. "After all, she was drunk," they concluded, as if that made raping a woman any better. The assault had resulted in a pregnancy that Beryl chose not to terminate.

And now, both of them stood, side by side, grieving the death of their only son. I could see it now, in their faces, the tension. They could barely stand to be next to each other, but they had to be here. When she caught my eyes. She forced a smile and walked up to me.

"Nico di Angelo! It's lovely to meet you." She said, because I suppose it's courtesy to greet the person who watched your son be murdered.

"It's great to meet you too." I took her hand, which she had outstretched. "This is my father, Hades."

"A pleasure to meet you," he dropped his smile. "I'm so sorry about your son."

She dropped hers too. "I am too. But what could have been done?" And I could see it in her eyes. Everything. He would still be here if just one thing had happened differently.

Eventually, the people stopped mingling and Beryl opened the funeral. I was listening to her words, but more focussing on how she was saying them. She was poised but she allowed herself to sniff between every other sentence. At the end of her brief speech, she called me up.

I stood on the raised platform, legs knocking against each other. I looked down at my cue cards, which were a white blur in my shaking hands. Regardless, I pushed my fear aside and willed myself to speak.

"Hi, I'm Nico di Angelo. Thank you for inviting me to speak up here. I'd like to thank everyone for attending this funeral of someone so special. I'm sure almost everyone in Washington D.C. is well aware of what happened to Jason, and having so many people show their support is reassuring. I've known Jason Grace for many years now, and when I was thinking about him to write this speech, no one thing I could come with could ever summarise who he was.

"Jason Grace was one of the most upbeat people I knew. He was kind. He was my friend. He'd drag me outside or for a game or just anything even when I complained about things. And I'm so glad he did. Because now I can look back on him and have so many wonderful memories of him.

"But as much as I'd love to talk about how many times, he took me to the arcade, I'd like to talk about his death. Jason Grace didn't just die, he murdered. He used an online dating site and met up with a girl whose name is Piper Mclean and after their cafe date, she pulled him into a side street and murdered him. Jason had, before the date, asked me to help him on it. What I did was I turned up in a trench coat and sat on another table and watched over the date in case he messed up in any way. When Piper and he left, I followed him. I watched him be destroyed like that. I was frozen for the first bit. Only when she walked away did I find the courage to phone the police. By then it was too late. Jason Grace was dead.

"Jason Grace was stripped of a life. He should have been able to live out his teen years. Make it past twenty. Work a job. Go to college. Get a job. Settle down with a family, because I know just how much Jason Grace wanted to settle down. That's all he wanted. That's why he wanted to find his soulmate so fast. And now he won't get any of that. I can't pretend that this was all meant to happen or was for the greater good. Because it's not. It's unfair. It's horrifying. It's downright cruel.

"I'm going to forever celebrate Jason Grace as a wonderful person, and a close friend. But I'm also going to forever grieve his death. Forever be haunted by the things I saw happen to him, things that no human being should ever be subjected to. I'm going to remember him, and I'm going to remember his loss. I'm love Jason Grace. And I miss him too. Thank you."

I stared at the crowd that had burst into applause. I felt numb after delivering it. I hadn't really practiced it. I only looked in the mirror every so often, mentally preparing myself to give that speech.

Then I saw him. A shock of blond hair in the crowd and piercing blue eyes. My first instinct was to think it was Jason, but no, instead was Will Solace, smiling at me. Tear tracks were clear on his cheeks, and I had the feeling mine were the same.

When the service was over, I ran straight to Will, ducking tall people in their suits and petticoats, and barrelled into him. He chuckled and pulled me into a hug.

"You did wonderfully, Nico." Will said, wiping tears from his face. "It was beautiful."

"Thank you," my breath hitched. I had the urge to point out how beautiful Will Solace himself looked, in his dark grey suit and a necklace that he'd tried to hide. I turned to my right, just to observe my surroundings, when I noticed something I'd rather never see again.

"Octavian," Will whispered to me, echoing my thoughts. "I hope he doesn't come up to us."

"Let's leave before he gets the chance to." I whispered back. And we did. We took off running, hand in hand, outside and away from people.