Chapter 6

Matt stood in silence as he felt a few light rain drips hit his face. He looked to his left at Jeff, his face solemn.

The words the priest were saying weren’t registering in Matt’s mind. He just stared at the casket in front of him… the one that contained the body of his best friend. He choked back some tears.

He looked over at Emily. Fully dressed in black she was sobbing, he could see her shoulders shaking. Shane’s mother pulled Emily close to her so that they were crying together.

“A life taken too soon…” Matt heard the priest say.

Matt felt the rain starting to come down harder. The rain seemed to mimic his mood.

Matt’s arm ached in his sling. He had been released from the hospital a few hours earlier, and his body was still sore.

He looked at his brother again who wiped away some tears. His eyes traveled around as he looked at everyone who was there. Hundreds of people who came to pay their last respects to a young and talented man.

His eyes wandered back to Emily. She was now standing still… almost as if she were in a daze. He hadn’t seen her since the day he had woken up in the hospital.

The next thing Matt knew he was watching the casket being put into the ground. He looked at it one more time… the casket containing his best friend, and he couldn’t help but blame himself and wish it were him in the casket instead.

Chapter 7
Chapter 5