Gabby Cullen

24| New Beginnings

Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns all rights to twilight except for Gabby because she is my character and her basic plot line.

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I hadn't been home since it had happened. I had been to the Cullen's house numbly heading upstairs and ignoring Jasper as he asked me a multitude of questions, one after the other. I had pulled my covers up around my ears and tried to drown him out.

It had been easy. I was already sinking in my own thoughts. 

Three. 

Four.

Five.

Days passed in a blur of staring blankly at the wall, the sun setting and rising repeatedly. On the fifth day I arose. I had to be strong, for Dylan's sake and my own as well as Harris'. It wouldn't do good to any of us if I sat in bed for months, no matter how much I desired to. 

As I laced up my last shoe, my fingers weak with hunger my phone chimed. It was one of the first sounds I had heard in days. Jasper had come to check up on me, I had felt his presence in the doorway but he stayed silent as though he knew why I was sad. Nessie stayed away and I hadn't heard anything form Seth. Illuminating my phone and quickly tapping in the code I scrolled through the texts that I had received in the past few days. 

Harris: I can't be too sure but I think I may have discovered something. Meet me in the forest clearing at 7pm on Monday. 

Ava: Did you hear what happened? Of course you heard what happened... it's all over the news. I just can't believe it. Ollie's heartbroken, and I am too. I can't imagine what you are feeling. Please call me, I could use a friend and I'm sure you could too. xx stay strong. 

Ollie: THIS HAS TO BE A JOKE

Ollie: DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?

Ollie: WHERE ARE YOU? We had a mourning ceremony for Dylan and you were the only one not there. His funeral is on Sunday at 5pm...Please show up. 

Seth: I'll be at the funeral. We'll talk more then. 

Seth: I'm so sorry this happened. 

I turned off my phone without replying to any of the messages. I couldn't get my fingers to move. Mindlessly, as though I were a drone I unlaced my shoes throwing them on the ground one by one. I stripped of my clothes changing into a simple black dress matched with a black cardigan and black ballet flats. I attempted to brush out the snarls in my hair and eventually gave up, pulling it into a braid. If I owed anything to the McBride's it was to go to their funeral. 

I slipped downstairs like a ghost. I had five minutes according to my wrist watch to get to that funeral but i was never going to make it if I didn't get something to eat. Grabbing a plastic cup I quickly filled it up with one of the blood bags that Carlisle had. I was thankful my family was out hunting, it would save me from being interrogated. 

Gulping it down I hardly waited for the liquid to settle in my stomach before rushing out the door. I headed towards the church which was in the city centre, near the school. Practically everything in the city centre was near the school as it was so small. I pulled on to the church path just as people were heading inside. I joined the end of the line, it looked as if the whole town had come here. 

Once I was inside I scanned the dim interior, searching through the rows of unfamiliar faces for someone I knew. I recognized several of my classmates, some teachers and even Mrs. Cadden until my eyes finally lay on Ava and Oliver who were sitting in the front row. They both looked as miserable as I was. 

Ava made eye contact with me her eyes brightening through her glasses as she waved me over. Oliver looked over to see who she was calling over, and gave me a quick nod of his head. Ava was wearing a black top that was paired with a black skirt. Her hair was pulled back form her face with a simple clip and her face was blotchy from crying. She kept lifting her glasses to dab at her tears but she smiled as I sat down beside her on the bench.

"Hey  Gabby" said Oliver giving me a weak smile of his own. 

"Ollie."

He too had seen better days. There were deep shadows under his eyes, his red hair was messy and the sparkle in his eyes had died. The corners of his mouth were pulled down, a contrast to the mischievous  smirk he normally wore. The button up black shirt he wore and the black jeans gave his freckled-skin a sickly look. We all looked bad. 

Once everyone had settled in the priest rode to the podium, and tapped on the microphone once or twice. "We have gathered here today to celebrate the life of a brave young man. Dylan Christopher McBride's life came to a brutal and tragic end on the..." The priest went on to talk about the beauty of life and what laid beyond before opening up the floor to anyone who wished. Ava took a deep breath before standing up. She brushed off her skirt and I moved my legs to allow her out of the bench. 

"T...This is hard for me to do" said Ava in a small voice, tears already staring o fall. "D... Dylan annoyed me sometimes, when i would try to do homework. I would always..." She let out a noise that was a mix between a sob and a laugh. "I would always bug him about not doing his homework...and I...I never told him about what he meant to me..."

Ava collapsed in a bout of sobbing, a middle-aged women with glasses and brown hair who I assumed was Ava's mother came to help her away from the podium leaving it empty for the next speaker who happened to be Oliver. 

"When a  man dies ... only a few circles in the water prove that he was ever there. And even they quickly disappear. And when they're gone, he's forgotten, without a trace, as if he'd never even existed. And that's all. But with Dylan, he left so much more than a ripple, he left a tidal wave. He affected all of our lives in so many ways and we owe him so much..." 

I couldn't take it anymore. The guilt overwhelmed me, flooding through my veins. I left my seat, turning my back on the sermon ignoring Oliver's and Ava's cries as I ran from the church. 

It was my fault.

But I wasn't allowed to feel guilty.

I knew what I needed to do.

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A bit of a different format with more spaces and such but all in all a satisfying chapter to write. Hopefully I'll post another one tomorrow, I'll see how my schedule is.

_ellexx