Chapter 10
The next day was mine and Luca’s funeral.
Family and friends filled the funeral home, their faces heavy with grief.
Luca and I shared a small, cramped coffin.
“Mommy! Look how many people came! Why won’t anyone talk to me?” Luca chirped, zipping around the room and zooming through people like a little ghostly ninja.
Meanwhile, I hung back, watching Bill like a hawk.
There he was, Mr. Picture–of–Grief, in a black suit with a white flower pinned to his chest. People kept coming up to him with those classic funeral lines:
“Stay strong, Bill.”
“My condolences, man.
Bill just stood there, locked on my black–and–white photo.
Then he muttered, voice all wobbly, “Why? Why did you have to hold a grudge against me? If you’d just swallowed your pride and coaxed me a little, I wouldn’t have ignored you.”
His eyes shimmered, tears right on the edge.
Wait. WHAT?
fault you bailed
‘You’re blaming me? Was it my fault you shacked up with Ima? Was it my fault you on your own kid?‘
I shot toward him, ready to slap that fake expression right off his face, but my hand went straight through him.
The anger burned so hot it felt like I might ignite.
Luca could’ve lived. He had a shot. But Bill–his father–checked out. He ditched us for his
mistress.
I’d given up everything—my career, my time, my sanity–to hold our family together. And now here was Bill, soaking up sympathy while spinning this whole thing as an “accident” caused by “work trips.” Ugh.
Worse? Everyone bought it. Even my parents were comforting him. MY parents.
Bill stood at the altar like a statue, refusing to eat or drink. Trying to look like he was holding it together.
“Bill, you should rest,” my dad said, his voice heavy. His hair was even whiter now.
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Chapter 10
“I just feel like I’ve failed them,” Bill croaked, ils voice thick with emotion. Then, he slapped himself hard across the face.
+25 BONUS
My dad took a step toward him, but before he could, an uninvited guest barged into the funeral hall.
Ima Pegg strutted in.
“Bill, you’re heartless!” she snarled, glaring daggers at my photo. “You killed my baby, and now you’re here throwing a funeral for them?” The jealousy in her eyes practically lit her up like a neon sign. She couldn’t handle Bill mourning me when her own child was gone.
The second Bill saw her, he stormed over and grabbed her by the throat.
“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have lost my wife and son! This is all your fault!” he roared, his grip tightening as Ima’s face turned all shades of blue and purple.
My dad jumped in, alarmed. “What do you mean by that?”
Ima, of course, decided to drop the whole truth bomb, smiling like she’d won. “Old man,‘ she sneered, “Bill and I have been together for over a year. He’s been dying to ditch your daughter for ages!”
Then she turned to Bill. “And the day Rhea died? You were too busy messing around with me to answer your son’s call. That’s why he starved to death!”
11
She threw her head back, laughing hysterically. Tears ran down her face as she clutched her stomach, completely unhinged.
Her confession? Yeah, it aired out everything. Now everyone in the room knew Bill had bailed on his family for this woman–and that his neglect had killed us.
Luca tugged at my hand. “Mommy, Daddy’s scary. Why is he choking Miss Pegg?”
“It’s okay, Luca,” I whispered, trying to steady my voice. “Don’t look.” But when I glanced down, my hands were trembling, and my feet were starting to fade, going see–through like mist. Our time here was slipping away.
My dad, fueled by sheer fury, slapped Bill across the face. “Get out of here!” he barked.
“I know I was wrong!” Bill cried, pounding on the doors after they shoved him outside. ” Please, let me come back in! Let me send them off properly!” His screams cut through the air, raw and desperate.
A few people hesitated, their pity kicking in, but even they couldn’t stomach what they’d just learned. Instead, they hurled insults through the doors.
Three days later, my dad carried our ashes to the crematorium. When he returned, he held two urns–one small, one large.
Chapter 10
He chose a quiet, beautiful spot for me, a place where peace finally felt possible.
