Beyond Her Final Breath (Book 1- Shadowland Duology) | Wattys2015

.Chapter Three.

The morning was crisp and clear. The morning fog hung low over the dew covered grass, and the song of a morning dove filled the air.

Nathan gazed outside his bedroom window, lost in thought.

His wooden bedroom door creaked open. "Nathan, are you okay?"

His sister stood in the doorway. Her usually untamed blonde locks were put into a neat up-do, and her usual jeans and sneakers were replaced by a black dress and flats. A black tie was clutched in her hands.

Nathan just glanced at her before looking back out the window.

The bed dipped beside him. "Nathan... If you want to talk, I'm here."

Nathan regarded his fourteen-year old sister. She looked older with her hair pulled back from her face, and her blue eyes searched his with worry.

"I- I don't think I can do this, Sage. I really don't."

The younger sister's hands grabbed onto his. "I know. I know. But she would want you to go." She wrapped her arms around him tightly before getting up off the bed. "Just think about it." She laid the black tie next to him and shut the door behind her.

Nathan picked up the tie and smoothed it out before placing it back to the side. He ran hand through his messy hair and down his face. A sigh echoed throughout the room.

Nathan was empty- about as empty as his room looked. Everything that reminded him of her was gone. Face down picture frames littered every available flat surface. The wall next to his bed was empty and bare, the pictures and movie tickets and band posters that once hung there shoved underneath the bed. Even the bed was striped bare of it's blankets and sheets.

He looked down at his clasped hands and then the tie. Could he do it? Would she really want him to go? The answer was simple.

Guilt lodged itself in his throat. He could do this, right?

Mustering his energy, he pushed himself off his bed and to the closet. Inside lay the suit that she picked out for him. Little could she have known what he would wear it for. But he would wear it. Just this once. For her.

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The sun had risen above the mountain tops, burning away the last wisps of morning fog and dew.

Nathan fidgeted with the cuffs of his suit jacket as he made his way across the graveyard with his family.

Sage was quiet for once, not once looking up from her feet. His grandma was fiercely fighting against tears, and his grandpa held onto her hand tight. His dad was home from his latest business trip, looking the same as always in his slacks and button-down shirt.

"You okay, son?" he asked.

"Yeah," Nathan swallowed back the desire to tell the truth. "I'll be fine."

Sage silently made her way to Nathan's side and gripped his hand tightly. They continued walking that way toward the crowd of people in black.

"Chin up," she whispered as they approached. She squeezed his hand before slipping away.

All around him were pitying faces. Everyone pitied the boy who lost his girl. Closest to the hole in the ground were her family and friends, and there on the side was an empty spot for him.

He stood in the space. To his left was her mother. Her eyes were red and puffy from days on end of crying. She wiped her eyes with a lace handkerchief, gave him a watery smile, and burst into tears.

To his right was Olivia, one of her closest friends. She was staring blankly at the hole in the ground. Her face lacked all emotion, and her dirty blonde hair hung around her face in a protective curtain.