Insanity (Sequel To Madness)

Rest In Peace

Rebecca and I take our seats, we are in the front row since she is so important to this event. I can't help but feel as though I shouldn't be here, I didn't even know Liam. But, there, on a long white sign has his name printed in black. "Liam Cooper" it reads, which only makes me feel worse about the situation. Everyone is silenced when a man in all black, like everyone else, walks to the front and faces the room. Rebecca almost can be heard growling when he goes on stage. This man is young, younger than Rebecca and has that same dark hair that the picture shows Liam to have. His eyes are a bright green, however and his suit looks expensive and high quality.
"Get out of the front, Gabriel. You didn't organize this, I did." Rebecca snaps at the man while crossing her arms over her chest.
"And here I thought my sister would be nice to me during the funeral of our dad. But, you're never nice so I shouldn't have expected that." The man rolls his eyes and sits next to Rebecca.
"Shut your mouth, you don't have to be whiney just because I got the compound, the car, the house and everything else and you didn't get anything. I'm not the one who chose what you got in dad's will you know." Rebecca replies while looking over at him with her teary eyes.
"Yeah, sure." He shakes his head and, like his sister, crossed his arms over his chest in an annoyed manner.
"Can you ever be quiet? This is supposed to be respect for our dad, the man that raised us." Rebecca hisses, her voice shaking slightly which causes Gabriel to shake his head more.
"Daddy's girl much? I have no respect for dad, Becca. He raised me to be a piece of shit because he always like you more. The first child, the favorite, the pretty little girl, the actual intended child." Gabriel has flames in his words and a slick tongue when spitting his insults.
"That isn't true, he always pushed you to be better. You chose not to do it, and look what you became." Rebecca replies, her words not having the same flame as her brother's, but its getting there.
"You know what dad's last words were to me?" Gabriel questions while staring intently into Rebecca's eyes.
"What?" She asks back in return which causes him to get closer to her.
"He said, 'you were a mistake, my biggest mistake.' He told me strait up that he never wanted me, Becca. How am I supposed to have respect for that?" Gabriel scoffs and raises from his seat. "I'm out." He groans while walking towards the exit.
"Gabriel." Rebecca catches his sleeve and pulls him towards her.
"Don't." He demands in return, pull his arm away from her.
"Please stay." She calls which only causes him to stop and turn his head towards her.
"Oh, big sister. I would love to stay and see why all these people loved the man that I hate the most, but... I wouldn't actually love to stay, it would be torture. And that man isn't going to torture me anymore, he's dead... Finally." Gabriel steps away and walks over the rose petals on the ground and out the exit.
"Sorry about him, he's always been the worst in our family." Rebecca sits as she replaces herself in her seat next to me.
"I didn't know you had a brother." I admit while turning towards the front.
"Most people don't. In my father's will, Gabriel wasn't even mentioned, he got nothing and I got everything. He's always been an outcast, ignored because he gets into trouble too much." Rebecca sighs and shakes her head. "I don't know if I agree with what's been done to my brother, but... It's done." She states while her legs cross themselves and her hands are placed atop them.
"Yeah, oh, I think its starting." I state as a man dressed in a Reverend type outfit goes to the front.
"Ladies and gentlemen." He begins, his tone sounding almost fake with how calm it is. The room, like when Gabriel entered, goes silent.
"Today, we are here to celebrate the life of Liam Tyler Cooper." He announces in a respectful tone, much better than Gabriel. I never thought Liam could be a bad person, since both Rebecca and Shane loved him and were so close with him. But hearing what he had said to Gabriel makes me second guess myself just slightly.
"Liam spent the first part of his life living in the suburbs of London. He grew up there and enjoyed everything it had to offer. Until he met a man named Shane who became his instant best friend." The reverend explains, his eyes going down to a small sheet of paper in his hand. I wouldn't expect him to memorize all of this, someones life always has a lot to tell.
"Much later, when the zombies became a factor, Shane gifted his good friend the entirety of District 16. And Liam owned it, worked on it, had construction done on it, and overall was a great leader for his district." He tells, causing Rebecca to smile softly to herself. She probably has many memories of her father going through her mind. Suddenly, I hear the door open ince more in quite a loud fashion. Gabriel enters and sits in the back, leaning his arms against the seat in front of him. I guess he couldn't stay away from this even if he wanted to.
"Now, I will allow anyone to come up and share a memory of Liam." The reverend says, ignoring Gabriel's intrusion.
"I have one." Rebecca announces as she gets up from her seat and walks towards the front, which is easily given to her.
"One of my fondest memories of my father is when he took me and my brother Gabriel to get ice cream. Now, since I was older I always assumed I would get better things, but that day I didn't. My father bought my brother ice cream and didn't give any to me. He told me that was a life lesson. He explained that eventually both sides will win, it doesn't matter what the argument is or whatever the conflict. He said that the universe will always give a victory to both sides, just to remind the other of their value. That day my father gave Gabriel the reminder that he loved him, even if he was younger than me." Rebecca states while having the smallest smile on her face. "If my father had one message to send to everyone, it would be to not only celebrate your own victories, but also the victories of your opponent. They may need to be reminded of their worth more than you." She explains, keeping that determined look in her eyes that stare at her brother in the back of the room. With that statement, Rebecca goes back to her seat next to me and gives me her smile.
"Would anyone else like to share a story?" The reverend questions while he steps back to the front.
"I do." Gabriel announces, his voice echoing from the back of the room with his footsteps. Rebecca sighs softly as he reaches the front and turns to face the room.
"The story Rebecca shared with you all was the first time my father ever did anything for me. It was also the last. Liam hated me, he would call me a mistake, a failure, he once told me he wished he left me in a box at a park." Gabriel explains, anger flooding his eyes, but it face seeming surprisingly calm.
"And yeah, I got in trouble at school a lot, I was never as smart as my sister, my judgment wasn't the best. But does that really give my father a right to call me a mistake? To wish that I was never born? Because that's what he did. So, yeah, my dad was a good guy in the public view, to his friends, and even to my sister. But he was a nightmare towards me, and even in his will, he gave everything to my sister and didn't even write my name. He didn't even acknowledge my existence, probably because I was just his mistake." Gabriel almost growls that final sentence.
"Well, sorry pop. I'm sorry that I was born, and that I'm not my perfect big sister." He shakes his head as he walks out of the center and out the front door once again.
"I can't believe him..." Rebecca sighs as she crosses her arms.