The Funeral Style

Chapter Thirty Two

Chapter Thirty Two

"Oh my god." Was Maggie's response after I finished telling her everything that happened between Elias and me. She was driving me to Parity cemetery once again, and it was near eleven o'clock at night. I wondered what Elias was doing right now, or if he'd even be expecting me. "You're actually getting married. Oh my god, you're actually getting married! Avril do you know what you are about to do? You are about to get married. Like real-life marriage." She gasped, "And with Mr. Parity, of all men. Oh my god, oh my god, you're going to have a honeymoon."

"Maggie!"

"I'm just saying! I mean, you are going to have a honeymoon, right?"

"Hell no!" Pause. "I mean I don't know. God, shut up. You're going to make me sick."

"Sick?" She snorted, "The only sick you're going to be is sickly in love the night he rips your dress off and-"

"Shut up!"

She began to laugh, "Hey, either way, I'm proud of you for going through with this. God knows I wouldn't."

"You wouldn't?"

"No, genius, of course I'd do it are you kidding? You're going to be filthy rich."

I rolled my eyes and stared out the window, "You are so basic."

"I'm fat, ugly, and no man is gonna hit me unless I pay them a good ransom. Money is what I need to operate."

"Life isn't all about sex, you know."

"Life is nothing without sex. And now you're going to have a hot man ready to sleep with you every night. Lucky."

"Elias isn't like that, and neither am I."

"All married couples succumb to each other eventually, even if they don't like each other." She said, matter-of-factly. "Besides, he's never showed you his romantic side, you don't know what he's like. For all you know, he could be a freak." She raised her eyebrows as if I was supposed to agree with her.

I didn't.

"I'm beginning to regret telling you."

"If you wouldn't have told me, I would go on strike."

I grinned, "On strike?"

"Yeah. I'll hold picket signs and march outside the cemetery until Mr. Parity gives me my woman back. It'll be like the movies, eventually he'll get so exhausted from my non-stop arguing that he'll release you and you will run into my arms and we will have hot lesbian sex and use all your money to hire male strippers that'll let us touch their chests and use them as big manly pillows."

"You're disgusting."

"I'm right." She said, with a snap of her fingers. There was a small silence before she continued, "But, um, if he does anything to you, you'll tell me right? He may be a powerful guy with fame and money, and a lot of respect, but he's also still just a human who has to obey the law."

I smiled, thankful for her compassion and care, "Yeah, I'll tell you. But, I don't think you'll have to worry about it. He's not as insane as you think."

"But still pretty insane."

"Yeah, still pretty insane, but not enough to hurt me." I sighed, "I think he might even want to marry me, Maggie, it's strange, but I don't think he's just doing this for his cemetery."

"You're saying he actually loves you?"

"No, nothing like that." I couldn't quite think of the right word to describe him, "It's almost as if he's happy he won't be alone anymore." I thought back to all the times he'd get annoyed when I asked him for a day off. The rule he made, that I had to be beside him the majority of the day when guests arrived. acknowledging all of this was an eye-opener. Either I was assuming out of my place, or he feels he has some sort of attachment to me. Something I never realized before.

Maggie scoffed, "You read too many romance novels, I swear."

I shoved her and laughed, "Shut up." It felt good to laugh, to forget all the events that happened tonight. As horrible as it may seem, despite my parents practically disowning me, I wasn't scared. I knew Elias wouldn't mind me living with him now, and I knew he'd take care of me whether he wants to or not.

We pulled up into the cemetery, and Maggie and I said our goodbyes. She offered to walk me in, but I didn't want this to be more of a surprise to Elias than it already was.

He doesn't exactly 'like' Maggie.

I watched her drive away, and then proceeded to enter the stone building. It was dark, not even a candle was lit, which was weird for Elias even if he wasn't home. I called out for him, or for anyone, really. When I got no reply, I decided to wait on the sofa. The moment I laid down I closed my eyes.

I hadn't even realized I fell asleep until I was awoken by Elias, gently tugging my arm.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, though it wasn't anywhere near a scolding. His tone seemed of genuine concern.

I yawned, and sat up, my head felt dizzy, and it took me a few seconds to truly comprehend what he had asked me. I still felt half asleep, as if I were in a dream-state.

"My parents," I croaked, "kicked me out."

He didn't look even partially surprised. In fact, by the way he just nonchalantly nodded his head, I would almost assume that he was expecting it.

How could he possibly know my parents better than myself? I wasn't expecting them to kick me out. Never it a million years.

"You've already a room in the back. You have clothes to change into. I'd advise you to change into your funeral outfit, we have a burying today."

I narrowed my eyes, suddenly forgetting about the fact that I was still exhausted, "That's it? No, 'I'm sorry' or 'Everything will be okay, Avril', nothing?"

He stared at me for a long moment, before asking; "Did you want comfort?"

I opened my mouth to say something rude or sarcastic, but nothing came out.

Did I want comfort? And above everything else, did I want it from him?

My silence drove him to sit beside me. At first I felt tense, almost awkward for us being so close knowing we were to be married in just a few months. As soon as it came, though, the feeling vanished. I liberally accepted his invitation to get closer to him, and so I leaned my head on his shoulder.

We sat there in silence for a long, long while. Maybe twenty minutes passed, or maybe it was an hour I wasn't sure. It wasn't uncomfortable. It was tense. The atmosphere around us was of absolute nothingness -with a hint of solitude, maybe.

"The news of our wedding will be announced today." Elias said so quiet it were almost a whisper.

"None of it matters to me." I said back.

He made a slight noise, and I wasn't sure if it were a scoff or a laugh, "I think it does."

"Does it to you?"

"This is the fate of my everything." Was his response.

"Our everything." I corrected him, and he looked down at me for the first time since I laid my head on his shoulder, "This is the fate of our everything now."