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꧁ － － － － － － ✧ － － － － － － ꧂
𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲-𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 — ℎ𝑜𝑚𝑒
THE NEXT WEEK of Leilani Malehona's life was a nightmare. She was housebound by Rachel, who wanted her to rest and to heal from her broken wrist, swollen vocal cords and muscle damage in her neck. But nothing would keep Leilani from surfing. Each morning, she wrapped her wrist in plastic wrap and surfed until Kildare came alive with people. Leilani wasn't allowed to see her friends, but JJ snuck into her room through her window every night to check on her. She wasn't in a good spot at all, and what was even worse was that Kai's funeral was here.
On the morning of the service, Leilani put on a black dress and her white converse that she had cleaned the best she could. She struggled, but she managed to braid her long curls into a simple french braid, her bracelets, rings and necklaces adorning her body. Leilani really didn't want to go, but at least her friends would be there.
Bryce was dressed in a black suit with a black tie and white shirt, Caitlin in a pretty black dress. Rachel wore a black pantsuit, red lipstick on her face. Leilani kissed Scout's head as they walked out the door and drove to the graveyard where the service would be held. Leilani hadn't smiled in well over a week. She sat between JJ and Bryce, Kie and Pope on JJ's right. Leilani had practically demanded that her friends sit with them.
It was a shame that Leilani's grandparents weren't able to come to Kildare for their only son's funeral. They had instead asked in heavy Polynesian accents for Leilani to come visit with them on her island for the last few weeks of the summer. Rachel was making Leilani go. As the funeral service dragged on, Leilani's knee bounced up and down with anxiety, her necklace between her teeth.
"We now invite Kai's daughter, Leilani Malehona to come up and say a few words." Leilani honestly forgot that she was speaking for the eulogy.
JJ rubbed her thigh with his hand as she gathered the papers she had written for the eulogy. "You got this. You're gonna do great." JJ whispered, offering Leilani a sad smile.
She nodded and stood up, feeling all eyes on her as she walked to the podium in front of almost the entire island. The sheriff's department was there, Kelce, Topper, other Kooks, Pogues and families alike. Leilani scanned the crowd, and she froze. Rafe was there. Ward was there. They stood with the rest of their family as if they were completely innocent. Leilani didn't always speak up for herself, and she was afraid to offer her opinion, but all she wanted to do at the moment was scream the truth.
