A Knife in the Dark | ✓

Thirty One

Jake took his time setting himself up, adjusting the microphone and setting down his single card. He chewed on his lip for a moment, staring down at the words he'd written. When he looked up, he was looking at a point between Saylee and I.

"For those of you that don't know," he began, "my name is Jacob Trebius. I was close friends with Cato and Clove. Close friends with Cato meant that we were best friends, practically inseparable from the day we met when we were four. With Clove, it meant that we'd been close prior to the day I asked her to be my girlfriend." He exhaled shakily. "I've never been one for grand speeches. I don't really like talking very much, especially not in front of people. But for two of the four people that have been there for me through everything, I'll make an exception." I smiled at him, but it was like he didn't see it. Maybe he did. If he did, it went unacknowledged.

"I loved Cato like a brother." Jake said. "As an only child, I appreciated the absolute chaos that was Cato's house when I was younger. He liked the quiet of my house. We did everything together, Cato and I--school projects, training, making friends. Whatever it was, we were a team. You weren't going to split Cato and I apart. Even when I started dating Clove, Cato and I were still always doing everything together. I couldn't have created a better friend, and I'm thankful for the time that I had with him, even if I won't get any more." He smiled down at the card. "As for Clove...I love her. Present tense. I still love her. Most would say that eighteen is too young to understand love that isn't familial, but I've loved Clove since we first met. We hadn't been as close of friends as Cato and I or Saylee and I, but we were still close enough. I know her better than almost everyone, with the exception of Leah, of course." He smiled and winked at the young Urban, and I could hear her little giggle. "Clove showed me what love was. And I miss her like hell, and I know that I'll never get to have anything more than those few years I had with her, but I'm thankful that I knew her for so long and I'm thankful that I'll always have those memories to fall back on." He actually met my eyes, as well as Saylee's. "And, while I'll miss them, I've got Atala and Saylee to help me through it. Cato and Clove gave me them, and I couldn't be more grateful for that and for everything else they'd done for me." Jake ducked his head as he returned to his seat beside Saylee, swiping quickly at his face.

Saylee took my hand and squeezed it, once, before she stood and took Jake's place. The flowers were still in her hair, but she looked so much older. She didn't look quite like Saylee.

She looked completely unconcerned. "I'm Saylee Cyprian, one of Cato and Clove's best friends. Actually, I was more than that--three generations of Marcelluses, Cyprians, and Urbans have been best friends. We were like family. I considered them more as a brother and sister than as friends, and I know that they felt the same towards me." She pressed her index finger against the inner corner of her eyes, careful not to mess up her makeup. "It's just as Lucius said--what do you say at your sibling's funeral? I don't know what I'm supposed to say. So I'll end this fast and leave it like this: Cato and Clove will be greatly missed. They never knew how important they were to us, and for that, I feel guilty. I feel like I never told them how much they meant to me, and if I did, it wasn't often enough. Don't do that. Tell the people you love how much you love them, because even when the odds are completely in their favor, there's always a chance that things will fall apart."

She returned to her seat. "Your turn." She whispered to me. "Good luck. Don't be nervous. You'll be fine."

"Thanks," I mumbled, and I stood.