The One That Got Away (GIRLXGIRL)

Chapter Thirty-six

Jaycey's POV

Grave silence clinged onto the atmosphere. Everyone seemed to be in their own little world, wrapped up in their own little space. Everyone looked weary, drenched in their pool of thoughts and dull, as if they'd been coerced to keep their mouths shut, restrain from moving or anything inbetween that showed any sign of life. They all sat there, staring into space. I took a look at my father, he looked dreadful. Like most of the people here, his eyes were puffy and worn out. He needed to rest but I knew he wouldn't, atleast not any time soon.

My stepmother surprisingly looked broken, she'd surprised me even more at the funeral by the painful and meaningful dirge she performed. I honestly thought it was fake since her relationship with Samantha was mostly hostile but I could tell from both her eyes and her emotions that everything she portrayed was real.

Lucy was no different from a shattered glass, she couldn't hide her tormented soul; the anguish glazing her eyes wasn't feigned and how she took the whole situation utterly proved that she wholeheartedly loved Samantha, and she just couldn't believe that she was gone. Maggie and Stella looked slightly shaken, I don't blame them. No one knew what happened would actually happen, no one thought this love triangle would suddenly turn tragic; no one thought Samantha would leave this way and that we'd never see her again.

Everyone was here, picking up the last pieces of the funeral. Several days, a week and two days to be exact had passed since Samantha was buried. The day she was, everyone was solemn. Tears were shed, hearts continued to hurt and minds didn't want to give in to the brutality of the situation. Everyone wanted it all to turn out a nightmare so we'd wake up and fix our wrongs, everyone thought maybe just maybe this wasn't something true; that maybe Samantha would wake up, if ever it was possible.

Everyone didn't want what was happening to be happening, well atleast that's what I think considering that everyone looked deeply sombre and lost in a dark pit that was scary and seemed to have no exit. Everyone who played a close role in Samantha's life was here, everyone except Isabelle Anderson.

The day of the funeral was the last day I ever saw her. Father blamed her entirely for everything. He blamed her for blinding his daughter and leading her on only to slaughter her heart, he blamed her for killing Samantha and actually having the guts to show up at her funeral acting emotionally torn apart when she was internally applauding herself saying Samantha was good riddance; he blamed her and no one else. Belle never uttered any words, she listened like a child being scolded by a parent. She stood still and bore all the hurtful words my father vomited, she listened and said nothing. She stayed and watched Samantha get buried, she didn't cry, she'd turned into a zombie and was very different from the Belle I knew. She spoke to no one, not even to me.

I figured she needed time alone so she could grieve but soon as the funeral ended she was nowhere to be found. I asked around but no one knew, and ever since then no one had set eyes on her. She cut everyone out. Maybe she was still grieving, that made sense because her love for Samantha was intense, maybe she would come back around and maybe things would fall back into place again. Except this time there was no Samantha, except this time it wasn't going to be the same and everyone had lost a part within themselves when Samantha died.

I took in very light breaths. Quietly watching everyone and thinking intensely was taking a huge toll on me. I saw Samantha get hit by a car, I saw her lifeless body as I heard the piercing screams escaping from Belle's mouth. Everything happened so quick, it was unbelievable. One second I was opening the door and trying to hide the fact that I had done the most horrible thing which had felt so terribly good, the next it was arguments, tears and Samantha stormed out, everything was in slow motion after that. The black extremely expensive looking car that hit her and didn't stop. The blood and more deafening screams. But I couldn't help the fact that I was very sad, Samantha was my sister, still is even though she was gone. The fact that I didnt know her before ate me away like slow poison.

All of this could have been easily avoided if we had grew up together, that way Isabelle wouldn't have met me then, that way she would have been happy with Samantha for all eternity. But there was no going back now, our lives played out this way, nothing would change, this was a scar that promised to last forever.

"It's getting late," my father's voice, which was dry and cracky sounded foreign in the house. We all looked at him, not knowing what to say. Not knowing how to go, afraid that going our separate ways would only lead to each of us drowning in bitter thoughts.

Father shifted in his seat, "I'm very grateful for all that each and every one of you has done to help out. It's very hard to believe that all this is occurring and as much as this is hard to move on from, I believe we ought to try and carry on with life as it is."

It was scary to hear him talk about moving on. Especially on his part, I'm sure it took a lot of strength for him to bring himself to say that since Samantha was his precious jewel. He was clearly broken and he would be for years to come, burying your own child is not something many wish for and he didn't want that, he definitely didn't.

"We're glad we could help sir," Maggie said, "...we'll take our leave now."

Maggie, Lucy and Stella stood up, I stood up too. They all said their farewells as I watched then I accompanied them to the door as my father and stepmother retired to bed. As soon as we stepped out of the door, Maggie embraced me in a tight warm hug. I said my goodbyes to them after pulling apart, watched them get in their respective cars and drive away then went to bed. The week had been one that would forever be unforgettable, I closed my eyes and allowed sleep to befall me. This was it, the end of everything. I guess all journeys do come to an end huh.