Page 40 of Reaper and Ruin

She shook her head. “Funerals aren’t for the dead. They’re for those left behind. And you need your friends around you today.”

I swallowed down the lump building in my throat and half laughed. “I’m going to be a blubbering mess before this even starts if you keep saying things like that. But thank you. It means a lot to me that you’re here.”

She linked her arm through mine, and we led the way inside the church, the guys falling into step behind us. We found a pew, and I waited for Dax and Nyah to squeeze in first, so I could sit next to her with my three guys to my right.

Toby’s parents sat in the front row, talking quietly with the priest. I glanced around, searching for Devin, but couldn’t see him anywhere. I’d sent him a text when Toby’s cousin had called me, but he hadn’t replied. I really hoped he’d come. He and Toby might not have been together all that long, but I knew he’d made Toby happy. He should be here.

I ignored the waves of a couple of people we’d gone to high school with, who sat in the back. I had no idea why they’d turned up. They hadn’t had any time for Toby and me back then, whyact like we were friends now? They were just here for the tea. The entire town buzzed with speculation about how Toby had died, and I wasn’t about to fuel it by discussing it with any of the people who still hadn’t learned to mind their own business.

My phone vibrated in my bag, and since we still had a little time before the service started, I pulled it out and checked my messages.

There was one from Rebel, and another from Bliss, both of them apologizing for not being here today but they had their kids to take care of. Fang was away on a club run with War and Hawk, but he’d called while I’d been getting dressed, and in his gruff way, with barely any words spoken, checked to make sure I was doing okay and that I knew he was thinking about me.

It warmed my heart to know these people who had never even met Toby cared about me enough to reach out.

I smiled at the most recent message.

Nyah glanced over my shoulder at it. “That was nice of her.”

I nodded. Francine’s message read:

Francine:

Sorry about your friend. Nyah said you were both going to a funeral.

I chuckled again when a second later another message came through:

Francine:

Did you take an extra bottle of bleach from the storeroom yesterday?

Nyah just rolled her eyes at Francine’s cheapness, and I put the phone away.

The priest left Toby’s parents and stood in front of the altar, a little microphone pinned to the collar of his robes. “Friends and family. We’re gathered here today to celebrate the too-short life of Tobias Warren Horton.”

His words washed over me. A numbness crept in, but I didn’t fight the feeling of grief. I let it in, knowing I had to feel it so I could let him go. Minutes ticked by that felt like hours. Cold air kissed my skin, the old church drafty as hell. Nyah’s fingers wrapped around mine, and Whip’s hand squeezed my leg every few minutes, helping to keep me warm.

The priest spread his arms wide. “Would anyone here like to come to the front and say a few words about the departed?”

I waited for his parents to stand, but they didn’t. His mother sobbed uncontrollably in the front row, his father’s arm around her. The people filling the second row all gazed around at each other, as if they knew someone should get up and say something but nobody actually wanted to.

I knew for a fact the assholes from high school behind me weren’t going to say a word.

I hadn’t prepared a speech. Nobody had asked me to make one, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to allow this funeral to end without someone getting up and telling the world how amazing my best friend had been.

I pushed to my feet, and all three of my guys stood with me. They moved out into the aisle to let me pass, each of them touching me just a tiny bit as I passed, letting me know they were there for me.

But this was something I needed to do alone. I moved slowly to the front of the room, my fingers shaking because public speaking had never been my thing. I hated attention focused on me.

At the altar, the priest offered me a microphone, but I shook my head.

I turned to face the room.

“For anyone who doesn’t know me, I’m Violet Garrisen. Toby was my roommate and my best friend. And I’d really like the opportunity to tell you how great he was.”

The words tumbled out surprisingly easily after that. Each memory flowed from me like he’d put them right in my head. I could practically hear his voice reminding me to make him look good and to not tell them about the times we’d gotten blackout drunk on cheap wine while wailing about our lack of love lives.

My eye caught on Devin, sitting just a couple of rows behind the pew I’d vacated. “Toby found love recently, and I couldn’t have been happier for him. He and Devin didn’t get long enough together, and that will always break my heart.” I connected my gaze with his. “But thank you. Thank you for giving him that, even for the short time he had it.”