The Day She Went Away

Wallace

"Aimee?"

She turned to look at him standing outside her door. She had red, puffy eyes and runny nose. It was evident she hasn't even combed her hair since. She looked like a literal mess.

"People had started arriving. We need you downstairs." He said so softly, he wasn't even sure if she heard him.

But Aimee nodded her head. She went back to staring at her blank, empty wall.

Wallace sighed to himself. He walked inside the bedroom and sat at the edge of her mattress. They remained quiet for a while before Aimee started crying. He didn't comfort her, didn't tell her everything's gonna be alright. Because, to be honest, it wasn't and will never be.

"Will it even matter if I say I wish I knew what was going on with her?" She said through sobs.

"I guess not." He's really not any help at all. "Nobody thought she was going to result into... this."

"If I knew, I could have stopped her."

"I'm the big brother. I should've been the one protecting her." He unconsciously just listened to her just crying for a full minute before he stood up and headed for the door. "Come on down. Mum and dad needs us downstairs."

He breathed out to hold his emotions as he shut Aimee's bedroom door.

Each step down the stairs was tearing his control. Sometimes, the only thing that would stop the tears was if he stop breathing for a while.

The living room was even more crowded now.

Most of them he'd never even seen before. Weird how some people only appear when a life has ended but when they were still alive, no one gave two shits. Guess that's how the world works.

His parents were side by side, welcoming the "guests" or whatever it is you call people who visit funerals.

His mom looked twice her age now. Her eyes were sunken and red.

His father didn't look like his father anymore. The once intimidating giant of a dad has now became a vulnerable man.

Wallace didn't want to talk to people and act welcoming when in truth, he'd prefer if they just leave. How he wish he could just cry and curl up in a ball in his bed. But instead he walked up to the coffin, emotionless, and looked down at his sister's pale, lifeless face.

"You tried to tell me, didn't you?" he whispered then paused, as if waiting for an answer.  But Macey's eyes remained closed.

He smiled bitterly at her. "You tried to tell me but I brushed you off. That's why you never talked to me about it again." He touched the glass above her face. "I'm sorry."

He felt a hand touch his shoulder. He didn't have to look to know who it was.

Leila wrapped her arms around his waist. "Wallace. How are you?"

He shook his head.

She pulled away to look at Macey. "I don't know what to say."

She started crying now.

He hated seeing them cry while he feels like he can't.

Leila always liked Macey. She was always quiet and timid. She had planned on asking her to be the bride's maid on their wedding.

She continued crying quietly. He didn't want to comfort anyone. He couldn't even make himself feel fine. But then again, the reason why he's refusing to show emotions is because they're all breaking down and if let's go of the steering wheel, they'd all crash.

He wrapped an arm around his fiance's shoulder and led her to the living room.

Just when they turned around, he saw Macey's former best friend and ex boyfriend greeting his parents by the door.

He didn't even think twice and marched up at Elyar. "You asshole." He mumbled under his breath. Elyar saw him but didn't have time to dodge the blow he landed on his jaw. The kid fell on the floor because of the impact.

He heard gasps from every corner of the room but he didn't even care. "How fucking dare you show up here."

Elyar didn't even try to stand. He just sat there with his head down, but he could see the blood drip from his mouth.

Wallace turned to Christyn, who was standing, her hands covering her mouth.

"And you---" he stopped himself before he could say anything vulgar. "Leave."

"Wallace." His mom obviously wanted to tell him to calm down.

"No, mum. Shut up."

She shook her head and started crying silently.

He stared down at Christyn. Her tears started pouring down. "I'm sorry... I--"

"I said get the fuck out! You didn't even respect my sister's funeral by coming here together! What did you expect, huh? We'd welcome you here, shake your hand and accept your 'condolence'? Fuck you!" he screamed the last two words at the top of his lungs before storming out of the house.

He heard voices call out to him to come back.

His vision blurred. The only thing he felt was his anger burning and the need to just smash something. He fished out his keys from his jacket pocket and almost ripped off his car door.

Before he could pull out of the driveway, Leila got in the passenger's seat.

"Leila! Get out!"

"No! Wallace, you have to calm down. You're gonna kill yourself!"

"Get out of the car, Leila!"

"You're not going anywhere without me."

"Fuck it." He just wanted to get out of that place. He drove away at 75 MPH. 

"Slow down, Wallace!"

"I told you to get out of the damn car!"

"You're going to get us killed!"

He tuned her out and kept driving. 

He'd taken out his grief through anger. Now the anger is overpowering his senses. His ears were buzzing, his vision starting to blur. He hit the steering wheel multiple times until he felt the pain. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."

If he continued driving, he knew he'd crash the damn thing. He couldn't do that with Leila with him.

He parked on the side of the road.

Where they were, he had no idea. There weren't people around. 

He got out and just... screamed. The pain is almost unbearable. He felt something tickle down his cheek. He didn't know he was crying until he tasted the tears.

Now he'd let it out, it won't stop falling. Just a seemingly endless stream.

He fell to his knees and just stayed there, crying so hard that sometimes he stopped breathing.

Leila knelt down by his side and hugged him tight. She was crying too. "Let it out. Let it all out."