Chapter 9

A seaof mourners mill around outside the small stone church. Kellan is silent beside me. This is his funeral, and it must be affecting him. It's the reason I didn't stay long at my own.

He hasn't left Eli's side once since we found him. They've always been joined at the hip and even in death it looks as though that isn't going to change.

I cast a glance toward Arabella. She's pale, dressed elegantly in a black dress. All her focus is on Eli, her expression filled with concern.

She leans into him. "We need to go inside, okay?"

Eli nods.

She leads him toward the steps of the church. He doesn't say a word, his movements slow. The pain radiating off both of them is palpable.

We shouldn't be here.

My attention shifts to my friend. "They love you so much."

"I know." His face is twisted with anguish.

"We don't have to stay for this."

"You don't. I do."

When he moves to join them, I stop him. "It isn't going to do you any good. Believe me."

A nerve ticks in his jaw. "I need to do this.."

"This is only going to cause you more misery."

"Eli needs me."

The mourners walk toward the steps and through the doors in a river of black, oblivious to our presence.

I shake my head. "There's nothing you can do for him now."

He rakes a hand through his hair. "He heard me."

"What?"

"Back at the house. In the bathroom. He responded to me. At least, I think he did."

I frown. "That's not possible."

"Why not?"

"Because … it's not."

"How do you know?"

"Because neither of you heard me in over a fucking year when I was shouting in your faces," I argue. "Trust me, I tried."

Kellan is silent for a moment. "You shouted at us?"

"More than once."

"That must have been frustrating."

I cross my arms. "Oh, you have no idea. Haunting people isn't as much fun as they make out in the movies."

"I thought I heard you talk a few times. But I put it down to my imagination."

"Because ghosts don't exist?" I deadpan.

His lips tip up into a faint smile. "Yeah, we totally don't exist right now."

My gaze goes to the doors. "You really want to sit through your own funeral?"

"I need to know what they say. It's the one party that I can guarantee is all about me, right?"

"Because speaking badly about the dead is a grave mistake."

He snorts at my attempt to lighten the mood. "That was so bad."

I sigh. "Okay, let's go inside."

We walk up the steps and into the building. Flowers are everywhere, white and stark compared with the guests who are all dressed in black. My gaze is drawn to the stained-glass windows above the altar—angels in golden robes with radiant halos of fire.

Do they exist? Why haven't we seen any? Is this purgatory? What did we do to deserve all this?

The priest's voice washes over me, his tone somber. A black coffin sits to one side, with a photograph of Kellan above it. One I took. Seeing it brings a swell of emotion.

I recognize students, teachers, and other faces packing the seats around us.

Kellan's head moves until he finds Eli and Arabella in the front aisle. We take position beside the wall to their left.

Eli's eyes are locked on the coffin. Arabella is beside him, clinging to his hand, her gaze lowered as she cries silently.

Throat thick with sadness, I stay unmoving.

"I always told him I was going to die before him." Kellan says, shoulders tense and expression tight with grief. "That the pretty ones always die young."

I'm not sure how he finds the courage to listen as they say goodbye to him.

A few people get up to give speeches, but my focus is on my friends. All I want to do is wrap my arms around Eli and let him know we're here. Watching him fall apart piece by piece is an agony I'm going to have to exist with.

This isn't fair.

The coffin starts to move toward a hole in the wall.

A sad smile twists his lips. "Thank you for making sure they burn my body to ashes. You know I don't want to come back as a zombie."

Eli lurches to his feet in a sudden move and pushes past Arabella.

I think he's about to fling himself at the coffin, but he turns in the opposite direction and hurries down the middle of the aisles instead.

Kellan takes off after him.