Beautiful Lives

Epilogue

Epilogue – See You Again (Carrie Underwood)

Nate's POV

Lexi's funeral was held on a rainy Saturday - the kind of day she would have said was for tea, a good book, and nothing else. It almost seemed wrong to honour her on a day where she would have rathered everyone stay home, but the funeral company didn't really seem to understand her logic.

Almost the entire high school showed up to say goodbye to her, which I thought was touching, even though I didn't really want to see any of them. The only person I actually wanted to see was Lexi, but as the service began, I realized the terrible truth: I would never see her again.

The funeral was nice, even if it wasn't really her style. At least the preacher talked about the beauty of life, which I knew would have made her smile.

After it was over, I followed everyone outside to her grave, where we all placed flowers, and said our final goodbyes. The rain had stopped, but it was still cloudy and chilly. I stood in between Sebastian and Maya, both of whom had barely stopped crying since they'd heard the news.

The service ended with a prayer for her safe passage to heaven, and even though she wasn't religious, I said it gladly. I didn't know where she would end up, but wherever it was, I hoped she was happy.

Lexi taught me a million things while she was alive. But none of them measured up to the importance of the lesson she taught me when she passed - that you can't control when you live, and when you die. The only thing that you have any power over is how you live. And she'd inspired us all to be even better than we'd thought possible.

Everyone started to filter out of the graveyard. Her parents and brother hung back, and I could tell that they wanted a few minutes alone before the left, but I needed my own private goodbye first. I looked up at my friends, and gave them a tight smile.

"You guys go, I'll catch up," I said. They looked hesitant, obviously wanting to stay and have their final moment with her too, but seeing the tears building in my eyes, they nodded, and turned to walk towards the parking lot.

As soon as they were gone, I crouched down beside her headstone, and slid my hand across the cool marble.

"I love you," I whispered, looking up towards the sky.

For a split second, the sun peeked out from behind a dark cloud, and I could almost hear Lexi's voice replying.

"I love you too; you loser," she said. "Now, go be amazing,"

"Okay," I said, standing up slowly. "I will,"

With that, I turned away from her grave, and started walking towards the entrance. Once I reached my friends, we all took one last look at Lexi's final resting place, and then started slowly walking into the parking lot.

As we left, I allowed myself to cry, but only for a minute. If I knew anything about Lexi, it was that she would never forgive me if I spent the rest of my days wallowing in sadness, or mourning her death. As I climbed into the passenger seat of Sebastian's truck, I forced myself to wipe away my tears. Even though I knew that I would never go a day without missing Lexi Williams, I had to start moving forwards.

I had a beautiful life to live.