The Death of Me (COMPLETED)

Chapter Twenty Three

Tessa

It was the weekend. I didn't have to worry about school or missed assignments, which was nice. This morning was nice, too, because my boot was exchanged for a walking cast, which meant no more crutches.
However, Jem's funeral was scheduled for Sunday.
Cecily and I were trying to decide on a movie to watch. The girls were both sober now, thank goodness.
"How about The 5th Wave?" I suggested.
"No," She protested. "I've seen that a million times. How about The Fault In Our Stars?"
"No."
"Why?"
"That'll make you cry. Especially with everything that's going on."
"I don't cry."
"Oh, but Cecily, you do," Will said, entering the room. He looked tired and was wearing a blue sweatshirt that complimented his eyes. He threw himself on the couch.
"Hey, sweetie," I said, leaning down and kissing his temple.
"Hi, babe," Will replied, pulling me down on top of him. His lips met mine.
"Why must I always get a front row seat to these kind of things?" Cecily groaned, sitting down on the other couch. Will and I broke apart and I sat down on the floor. He combed his fingers through my hair, sending shivers down my spine.
"What were you up to?" Will asked. "Trying to find something to watch," Cecily sighed, heading back to her shelf stuffed with DVDs.
"Why don't we watch Annabelle?" She asked. "That's scary." "No!" Will yelled. "I will never be able to look at another doll again!"
We ended up watching Groundhog Day. Cecily complained the first fifteen minutes about wanting to watch something creepier. She sat on the other couch sipping a drink called a slushee. Will and I cuddled on the other couch under a fluffy blue blanket.
None of us had changed out of our pajamas. Will wore his sweatshirt and and black sweatpants. Cecily wore a big T-shirt with the Hogwarts logo on it and fluffy red pants. She had loaned me a pair of pink, white, and blue fluffy pants that I wore along with one of Will's T-shirts.
We were silent other than the occasional remark about the movie here and there.
Nobody spoke of Jem.
Near the end of Groundhog Day, there was a knock on the door. Cecily paused the movie. "Come in!" She called. Charlotte walked in the room, pushing Henry, who was in a wheelchair. I'd never really spoken Will's adoptive father much, but he seemed like a nice man.
Charlotte's eyes were red and puffy. Henry looked miserable and exhausted. Despite their appearance, they plastered on smiles. "Hi," Charlotte said. "What are you watching?" "Groundhog Day," Will replied. "I enjoyed that movie," Henry said. "Where's Jessamine?"
"I'll call her," Cecily volunteered. "JESSAMINE, GET IN HERE, YOU THING!" Charlotte glared at her. "Cecily," She said sharply.
Cecily just shrugged.
Jessamine stormed into the room. "I'm not a thing. That's you, Cece. What do you want?" "Actually, they wanted you," Cecily replied, nodding at Charlotte and Henry. Jessamine sat down on the floor. She wore a white camisole and pink flannel pajama pants.
Henry took a breath. "You kids know that Jem's funeral is tomorrow, right?" He asked.
I froze. I felt Will go rigid next to me.
"We just wanted to make sure you children were ready," Charlotte said. "You don't have to attend if you aren't."
"I'm going," Will said. "I'll regret it forever if I don't. You guys will come too, right?"
"Of course," I said automatically.
Jessamine started at the white polka dots on her pajama pants. "Yeah, okay. I agree with Will." "Ditto that," Cecily agreed.
Charlotte looked relived. "Alright. Just checking in with you. We wanted to make sure you're ready."

. . . .

The next day came too quickly. I woke up around 8:00 in the morning. Jessamine, Henry, and Charlotte were already awake. I ate breakfast and listened to Jessamine talk about boys and clothes for an hour. "Jessamine, will you wake Cecily up? Tessa, would you mind doing the same for Will?" Charlotte asked. "Sure," I replied. Jessamine sighed dramatically and stomped upstairs. I walked into Will's room quietly, shutting the door softly behind me. His room still smelled like Christmas, but the scent was fainter. Also, there was a new aroma.
I could smell blood.
It might've just been a lingering smell of the blood from the day Jem died, but I climbed the ladder to Will's bed in a hurry to make sure he was alright. I crawled over to him.
On his left forearm were six fresh cuts.
I shook him awake. "Will! Love, what happened?" I cried. His eyes flew open. "Oh, hello, Tess," He said. "What happened?" I asked. His eyes drifted to the scars and stayed there. "Oh, nothing too big. Church just got me last night," He replied quickly. "Church is, er, was Jem's cat." I nodded. "Do you want me to tell Charlotte so she can look at them? Make sure they're not infected?"
"No. I already did that."
"Didn't this happen last night?"
"Yes..."
"Then how could've you already checked?"
"I did it before I went to sleep."
"Okay," I replied, not quite believing his story.
I'd have to keep an eye on him.