The Degenerates - Under Edit

t h i r t y n i n e

AS if the God's were looking down on the day, there was no rain. Granted, it was only seven in the morning, but the clouds were a light shade of grey, and I assumed that meant that at least for a short amount of time, there'd be no rain.

I smoothed down my black dress in the mirror. It was a mid length, for lack of better words – funeral dress.

A solid black fabric covered from the top of my breast, slightly flaring to above the thigh, cinching in at the waist for shape. A delicate, sheer lace covered my sleeveless arms and bare back and chest, climbing up my neck.

I allowed Lila to curl my hair, giving her a distraction of the day ahead of her. Her satin black dress shimmered under the light.

Lately, I hadn't been spending a lot of time with Lila, my distractions elsewhere. On the surface, she had gotten better than those first few weeks after Brad's disappearance and discovery. But I watched her movements in the light, her arms heavy, limbs as weighty as her mind. The grief had not yet run its course.

I stayed silent whilst she worked, not in a hurry to ask her any questions about how she is feeling about today. The official mourning had not yet commenced; but she'd been grieving for over a month now. Brad's death rocked her, and I couldn't find it within me to tell her that no, James was not coming, James was dead.

Brown curls fell down my shoulders, and she ran her fingers through my hair, commenting that I needed to stop standing in the rain and letting it dry out. I thanked her, and we took the bags of product we needed for the grazing tables and took them down to my car.

Waiting against the small hatch, was a tall lean figure known as Trey Arden. I smiled at him, but not overly sure why he was here.

"Hey," I said.

He was wearing a casual outfit of black jeans and a knit jumper. I knew he wasn't coming today, it was too risky for him.

Lila came around the corner of the cornerstone of our building, eyes widening slightly when she saw him. She perked herself up, pretending that she wasn't collapsing inside, "Hey, Trey,"

"I'm sorry I can't attend today," he started, "I just thought I could help you set up though, it's a lot of work. Did you want a hand?"

I watched the interaction: Lila beamed broadly, nodding her head. I was pleasantly surprised at Trey's visit, noting that I'd need to thank him later.

I let the warm feeling in my chest spread over me for a moment, before hoisting the bags into the car.

"Okay, let me pack these in," he said, reaching for the bags in her hand.

"I'm going to get the last two bags and lock up, Neijla, I'll be back down."

Once Lila had disappeared around the corner, I turned to Trey with an inquisitive smile on my face, "What are you doing?"

Trey responded with a confident smirk, "Keeping up appearances, is it working?"

"You're a terrible person,"

Trey laughed, "No I'm not," he reached for my arms, which a crossed mockingly over my chest, pulling me closer, "I do want to help Lila, this shit is a lot for anyone to deal with."

I nodded, "I know. I feel so awful for not being around for her lately."

Trey pulled me in for a hug, "That's why I'm here,"

Lila's footsteps click around the corner. I leave Trey's arms and turn to greet her, but she has a contorted expression on her face.

Trey stiffened beside me, and I reached for her, "What's wrong?"