Godfather-Grethan

Chapter 13

Third POV

It's the day of the funeral, Kate's funeral. Two weeks passed since the kiss, nothing similar occurring since, it wasn't exactly an 'I love you' kiss, not completely at least, more of a reassurance from them both, that they have each other, that they're here

Grayson brought Ethan to Anne's Tuesday after school, they were all there as promised; Harry, Anne, Zayn and now the two of them

The photos were stacked on the dining room table, each taking a seat as they looked through the past, sometimes it felt like they were reliving them, could remember that freeze frame moment in time, would bring up other memories throughout that day, sharing laughs and fond looks, eyes twinkling with the remembrance of their angel in heaven

Ethan found a picture of his mom not too far from the present, even now Anne would take pictures with that old camera of hers, always was one to stay more in the past with certain things, she wasn't too much of a bother with technology, sometimes having to ask Harry how to work something when getting past the basics

It was on Kate's Birthday, she looked beautiful and so happy, Ethan remembered it like most of the other pictures, she was wearing a white blouse with a pair of jeans, it was simple but so was the party, quaint but fun nonetheless, friends and family, not much but the ones who mattered

Ethan wanted to use it for the picture to use at the funeral, the one they place next to the casket for everyone to see, a picture of what once was

"She looks really happy" Anne stated, the picture helped, showed Kate happy and lively, took away from the fact that she's gone, drew more towards that moment the picture captured, the crinkles in her eyes, her lips spread to her ears, stature strong and proud, happy

Grayson was helping Ethan with his tie, the rest of his clothes already on, a nice fit it was too, black slacks and a white dress shirt they both wore, the black tie last to be put on

"Are you ok" Grayson asked, looping the tie around

"Yeah, I'm fine" Ethan had gone kind of numb, he accepted her death after a couple days passed, skipped the denial stage that came with mourning, convincing himself that she was in a better place, it made him feel better about it, that she's gone

The news of the one who was at fault for Kate and Stacy's death was found guilty and sent to jail for some time, that helped too, the justice of the whole situation, glad he got what he deserved, what was right

He'd still cry about it, skipped two days of school with Grayson's permission, had to get dismissed too after a breakdown in the bathroom, calling Grayson with a weary voice, he took off work and spent the rest of the day with him

Harry would come over, Zayn too sometimes, they talked and played, was a good distraction, keep him stable and comforted, normal. Though when they left it felt empty, he started to sleep with Grayson to avoid being by himself, Grayson didn't question it, liked it in fact, but that's when it hurt the most, when he was alone

"You got your letter?" finishing up the tie and tightening it up to the connecting collar of his shirt

"In my pocket"

They walked to the door, keys in hand as they got into the car, driving to the cemetery

They got out of the car, few others parked nearby, it was a bright day, sun casting an uncomfortable heat amongst the people dressed in black, the cool wind helped at times, not very strong but enough to bare

They were last to show up, Ethan kept saying how he couldn't find this or that, needed to go to the bathroom or forgot to spritz some cologne when he already smelled like his natural self, Grayson was opposed to the musky scent Ethan rarely used, sure it smelled good but it covered what was already perfection, to him at least. Grayson knew them to be excuses, he let them slide and helped as much as he could, they both didn't really want to go, as 'fine' as they say they are this is their last goodbye, her final resting place and it was hard, leaving her like that when they knew she had so much left

They walked hand in hand, Ethan's grasp tighter than usual, afraid

Her casket was a beautiful chestnut brown with gold accents, a bouquet of baby breaths, Kate's favorite flowers laid on top, and her picture carried on an easel to the left, everyone circled the casket, they walked to Harry's family, stood beside them as Anne nodded her head to the priest, telling him to start in silence

He started, saying how wonderful Kate was, how loved she was, her difficulties in life, the ups and downs, praying to god to take care of her, a mother, daughter, sister, friend

People started to go up next to the casket to speak, talking about Kate, personal experiences they shared, their view, they all cried, even just a little

Grayson was second to last going up, talking about how Kate was his closest friend, how thankful he was for her to have moved in next to him that day, to give him a friend and let him become a godfather to such an amazing person, looking at Ethan with teary eyes

He stood by Ethan again, looking down at him seeing he wasn't moving, "if you don't want to go up you don't have to" he whispered, a hand warming his shoulder for comfort

Ethan reaches into his pocket scrunching the paper, tears building up, breathing stopped for a couple seconds before he goes up, next to the casket, staring at the head of it, imagining what his mother would look like, he would lift it and see his mother untouched and beautiful, but they left it closed for a reason, better to see the picture of her from years ago and remember her as youthful and happy, not broken and bruised, her final moments taken away in such a brutal way

Ethan took out the paper, looking over his messy handwriting, blotches of wrinkles from the tears that fell while he wrote it, he folded it in half, again, and again, took the paper and tucked it in the tie that held the flowers together, walking back next to Grayson, head down as he waited for everything to keep going

The priest continued, the coffin lowered after a couple minutes, people came up taking a handful of the mound of dirt, dropping the lump down the hole of several feet, final goodbyes from all

Ethan didn't need to give a speech like everyone else, didn't want to, wanted his mother and her only to know what he had to say