Toxic [Richard Kruspe]

The funeral (Part 1)

*Long chapter*

A strong thunderbolt makes me pop up from my bed and wakes me up. I breathe heavily. I pull the curtains to the side and look out of the window just to see a typical London thunderstorm being noisy and messy all around my neighborhood. The roads look like small rivers and the wind is blowing heavily, causing the trees to bow from the pressure. What a great day, really. The funeral is going to be conducted under the worst circumstances possible.

Bringing the funeral in my mind ties my stomach into a tight knot. I bite my bottom lip to refrain myself from crying and I lean back to my pillow. I watch Richard sleeping peacefully, looking like an angel and a small smile appears on my face. No words can't describe how lucky and blessed I am to be his girlfriend. If anyone asked me to talk about my feelings for him, I would write a whole freaking encyclopedia.

I come closer to his face and I kiss him on the cheek. As soon as I do that, I spot a light smirk, showing me that he's awake. I smile back, snuggling next to him.

- "Bad weather?", he mumbles sleepily.

- "Bad month.", I comment. "It's like a premature Apocalypse out there."

- "Is it that bad? Oh... That will cause problems later."

- "You tell me. The funeral is going to be a total mess. Like it isn't bad enough that's it's happening at the first place.", I state sadly. Richard stretches his arms and leans over me, standing above my face and takes me in his arms.

- "Look at me. Everything is going to be alright. What happened, happened. We can't go back in time, but I wish we could, just to erase that sad face of yours...", he cups my face and caresses it. "You have me."

- "As long as it takes?", I ask dolefully.

- "No. Forever."

Before I even attempt to respond, he kisses me tenderly, not giving me a chance to answer to his touching statement. His body is so warm and his kiss is so perfect, that he manages to relax me almost instantly and make me leave my sadness to the side. When our lips part, he looks into my eyes, all serious.

- "I love you Anna. Never doubt it."

- "I love you too Reesh. How will I ever repay you for...-"

- "You don't have too.", he smirks and looks at the clock on the wall. "It's 9 already? Jeez, time flies."

He stands up from the bed and I follow him into the bathroom. Without second thought, we undress from our clothes lazily and hop into the shower together. After that time at Paul's mansion, I don't feel shy anymore. Besides, I'm in need of a person next to me almost every minute, as the huge gap in my heart is in desperate need of company and affection, something that will be one hell of a difficult task.

**********

The funeral hall in the church is filled with distant relatives, friends and random people from our neighborhood. They are all chatting in a low voice, until the priest orders them to stop, as the ceremony begins. I spot my mother's coffin in the centre of the hall, filled with flowers of every type and I frown, trying not to cry. As the priest talks, I see Melanie nodding from the opposite side of the hall, grimacing sadly and I nod back. She arrived in London at 11 am and Richard drove her straight to the church, as the plane got a little late. I also watch Andy, sitting five seats away from Melanie, looking down at his feet, with my aunt by his side. His words come back to my mind and I shove them away. This shouldn't be bothering me now.