Wicked Little Sins

Charley

Charley entered the funeral home in a daze. She hadn't liked funeral homes since her grandma died. They smelled peculiar and held a still eeriness that left her unnerved. Plus, her sisters had their boyfriends to lean on for support. Charley didn't have that and she felt so alone. She pleaded with herself silently to keep it together.

More and more people filled the small waiting area. She tucked her legs in further, gripping her purse tightly. It was obvious to everyone filing in that the pretty blonde felt detached from all the activity going on around her.

Ethan immediately made his way to Charley when he saw her sitting amongst the clutter of people.

"Hey," he said, touching her arm. She broke free from her thoughts and saw her brother standing there.

"Hey," she said back. She felt sick and couldn't understand how her brother appeared to be so calm. She was trying to keep it together, but she feared her legs wouldn't be steady enough for her to get up and walk over to her mother's casket.

"Who are all these people? I barely see any family," Ethan asked, studying the large crowd. Charley shrugged her shoulders, going back to staring at the ground. He felt for his sister, and he wouldn't let her suffer alone. He took a seat next to her. Charley perked up as Ethan sat by her and just...talked.

"She loved you, Ethan. Anything you do to say goodbye would mean the world to her," she said, reaching her shaky hand out to touch his hand.

"And she loved you, too. I say since we are both the single ones in the family we go up there together. What do you say?" he asked, placing his other hand on hers. Charley nodded, letting him pull her up. She was thankful her legs didn't give out as they made their way through the crowd of people, a sad sea of black. Each person's head turned to watch the two siblings making their way to their dead mother's coffin, the rest of the family was already sitting in the front. Their dad stood next to their mom's casket.

The casket was a dark redwood with a tan lining. Ethan's stomach turned when he caught sight of his mother. He kept telling himself it's as if she's sleeping. Ned was watching him closely as they finally came to a stop in front of the casket.

"She looks beautiful, don't you think, Ethan?" Ned asked, his large hand meeting up with Ethan's back. He couldn't look at her face, he let his hands find a spot, her wedding ring, and he stayed focused on that. He knew if he looked at her he would lose it, and he wasn't going to do that.

Charley felt Ethan's silent freak-out in the form of his fingernails digging into her skin. She felt so bad for him, but she was in a state of total panic herself. She couldn't stop staring at her mother's face. The amount of makeup caked on her mom's face was shocking.

"Why is there so much stuff on her face, Dad?" She asked panicked. Her mother had always been a fair-skinned woman, with delicate veins that lined her smooth forehead. Her strawberry blonde hair had lost its luster. This was not how her mother looked...ever, only her full lips remained.

"Honey," her dad said, in a tone that was meant to pacify. Charley looked at her dad wondering why he wouldn't explain. She started to lose her breath, her heart pounding a hard and heavy rhythm, her ears buzzing.

"No, Dad...why does she look like that?" she pressed. "This is not how mom looks!" She was frantic. Everly stood up, quickly making her way to Charley and Ethan, followed by Quinn and Vinnie. Jordan remained seated, a little uncomfortable with the events unfolding in front of this room full of people.

"Charley," Quinn said, reaching for her hand, but Charley pulled away.

"Somebody get the staff. I want to talk to someone," she ordered. She didn't care if the whole parlor thought she was losing it.