The Perfect Act

Rudimentary

THE PERFECT ACT

One: Rudimentary

The funeral was beautiful. That's what the visitors had said. Ivar wasn't sure how to respond to anyone. His brother was murdered last week and no one was doing anything about it. The pitying smiles sent his way only made him feel more disgusted with them. During the funeral his girlfriend clung to him as if it was her brother that died, yet Ivar had to fight the tears because his father said it wasn't manly. And only hours after the burial, he could hear his father sobbing behind closed doors for the loss of his eldest son.

Ivar lay on his bed, arms crossed behind his head, thinking about the conversation that irked him all day.

The only person who he thought would sob immensely was staring at the coffin with hatred, but he was sure the hatred wasn't directed at his brother. No, of course not. This girl was always willing to give her whole life to his brother; the hatred was directed at the cause of his death.

The casket was lowered into the ground, and Ivar found himself with a shovel in hand. Sniffing loudly, he held back the tears and threw dirt into the open grave. He passed the shovel to his father and stepped back, wishing he could turn around and see Fitz one more time.

Within seconds of shoveling dirt, the graveyard was empty; like flies everyone disappeared to the food. Even Olivia, announced she'll leave with his parents, planting a kiss on his cheek.

But there, in the very bright sunlight, was Ailey, her angry face slowly morphing into teary eyes. Her brother swung an arm around her, and her sobs started.

Arlen looked up from his sister and locked eyes with Ivar. As usual, the uncomfortable feeling made Ivar walk away. It wasn't always like that, Ivar remembered the one day they had both played video games in his brother's room. At the time Fitz had already been dating Ailey for a good four years.

Ivar had just always been more interested in his own life than his brother's. He heard a loud crash and turned to see Ailey throwing the pillars that held the flowers on top. His eyebrows rose with the expected outburst. Her brother looked around as if they were about to get in trouble, trying to calm his sister. Ivar pursed his lips, already knowing the unjustified feeling of Fitz's death. But what could they do? Every adult they knew acted as if Fitz really was drunkenly disoriented when the accident happened; even Ivar's parents took the police's side over that of Arlen. He pursed his lips and turned around, what could he do?

"Ivar, wait!" He heard the familiar voice, scrunching his face. He turned back to see the siblings walking toward him. He had talked to both of them so many times, hell he's known them for almost 6 years, but he didn't really know them.

"Hey, you guys going back to the church for the food?" Ivar asked, feeling unsure of what to say after Ailey's blow-up – something both siblings have been doing this last week. The last time he saw them was in the hospital when they revealed what happened to Fitz that night.

"No, neither of us feels like we should be there," Ailey spoke softly, her normal feistiness all gone. Ivar nodded as if he knew what they meant. He peeked at Arlen; of course, he understood why he didn't want to go.

"My mom would probably like to see you though, Ailey." She nodded, but Ivar knew, just like his statement, it was only a form of courtesy. "I have to get going."

A voice stopped him again. "Wait, we want to talk to you about what happened that day."

"I know what happened, Ailey. You told me everything. I believe you."

"You're the only one then." She bit back, her anger still at the surface.

"You already told everyone what happened. Who's going to believe a student over the police? There's nothing we can do, it sucks, but we have no choice." Ivar spoke hurriedly, his own words sounding like a betrayal. He didn't want to let it go either; how could he?