Broken Promises

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

It was the day of Adam's funeral. As I stood in front of my full-length mirror, rubbing my sides, I stared at my reflection. Black dress against pale skin. Tired, sucken eyes to show that I hadn't gotten much sleep the past week. I still didn't tell my parents about the letter Adam left me. I didn't want to give them something else to worry about before the funeral.

Sighing, I tied my hair into a messy bun, not really caring about my appearance. I already looked like crap, so there wasn't anything I could do to change that. Putting on Adam's class ring, even though it was a little too big for my finger, I went downstairs. My parents were there. Oliver was there. And, to my surprise, was Brody. Everybody was in the kitchen, drinking water, not saying a word to one another. All waiting for me. When I entered, my father grabbed the keys and my mother grabbed her purse.

"We all ready?"

After everybody nodded – with the exception of me because deep down I wasn't ready – we all left the house. My parents rode with Brody in one car, and I rode with Oliver. We didn't say anything to one another as we headed to the funeral home.

When we got there, I wasn't surprised how packed it was. I knew everyone from school would be there. Adam did have a lot of friends, even when he was on drugs, and a lot of these people were friends with my parents. The moment I got out of the car, a breeze whipped past me, and I shivered. I knew I should have worn jeans. I rubbed my arms, and Oliver took his jacket off to wrap them around my shoulders.

Mom and Dad were right behind us. My dad gave Oliver a pat on the back, and my mom grabbed my hand. Brody met Chloe at the front of the funeral home, and she didn't acknowledge me. Like I even cared. Her condolences would be faker than anybody's. She never liked my brother, and I thought that was because he didn't give her the time of day.

Together, we walked up the stairs and into the building. Of course, we all sat in the front. A bulletin board with a picture of Adam and I at one of his games was on a table in the front, with picture frames of him surrounding it. I choked on a sob when I saw the smile on his face, and how happy he was. It was already hard enough being here. But seeing those pictures? I wanted to crumble to pieces.

All too soon, the funeral had started. It began with singing a few songs from the bible, which I didn't participate in. Oliver held onto my hand the entire time, and it gave me comfort knowing that it was going to help me get through this funeral. When it was time for everyone to sit down, Father John walked up to the podium and began his speech.

He started talking about how he knew Adam from the moment he was born, to him growing up. How his family had been friends with mine and watched us grow up together. That he noticed how close Adam and I was unlike other siblings he had witnessed growing up. Then he asked if there was anything anybody wanted to say. It kind of hurt when nobody raised a hand, not even Oliver or my parents. So when I found myself holding my hand up, I mentally slapped myself. I could feel everyone's stare burning into the back of my head, and I instantly regretted my decision. Now I knew why nobody wanted to go up there.

Oliver gave me a reassuring smile and whispered something in my ear. I smiled and took a deep breath as I stood up and made my way to the podium. Father John patted my shoulder and walked off the side, holding his hands together in front of him. With a shaky breath, I looked at everyone. Their eyes burned into me, and it felt like they were staring at my soul. It made me shiver, but I chose to ignore it and cleared my throat.

Here went nothing.

"It amazes me how many people has come to be there for my family in this hard time." I shook my head in disgust. "Especially those that I go to school with. The past couple of months, people have been taunting, judging, and pointing fingers at me because of my brother and his drug habit. Especially from those who he considered as a friend. I know he went down the wrong path when he started drugs. But everyone makes mistake, and that's one he can't take back. And for those who said he deserved to die and he can't even be here to defend himself? I'm ashamed.