by Kasi Blake
The hits kept coming for Bay-Lee. As if finding out Nick was dead wasn’t bad enough, she learned he was cremated on Van’s orders. There wasn’t anything left to bury. No way for her to get closure… or so she thought.
The day she was released from the hospital they had a funeral for Nick. He deserved one, a real one. Humoring her, Van purchased a coffin even though there wasn’t a body to bury. At first he’d wanted to use the coffin he’d purchased for Tyler Beck, but the suggestion sent Bay-Lee into hysterics as she remembered him crawling into the casket while drunk. Nick was not Tyler. He deserved his own grave, his own coffin.
Mourners stood in a circle around the open grave. The ashes were in the coffin and the coffin rested next to the hole, waiting for burial. Bay-Lee squeezed her hand around a red rose. Thorns bit into her flesh, drawing blood, but the pain felt good. For a second it lessoned the agony of a broken heart.
Van had chosen a nice place for Nick’s final resting place. There were rolling hills in the distance, covered with lush green grass. Flowers bordered a fence surrounding the private cemetery. It was a warm day, cloudless with a light breeze. In comparison to Tyler Beck’s funeral this one was a huge letdown. Only six people had shown up for it. Bay-Lee’s anger burned as she looked around at their faces. There was Van, Keisha, Mike, Jordan, Bruce, and Alec. Nick’s other band members hadn’t bothered to attend. If it wasn’t for the prophecy, he would have had hundreds of friends.
While Van read a passage from the Bible, Alec glared at her over the grave. His hands were clasped in front of his cheap suit as if he needed to hold onto them to keep from strangling her. His hatred had multiplied in her absence, but she didn’t care. Nothing mattered to her these days, not even her revenge plot. Van finished speaking. She stepped forward to lay a red rose on the coffin lid. The sleek black top was cool to the touch. Her fingers slid over it in an absent-minded caress. Tears blurred her vision. The crowd dispersed, people walking away, chatting quietly.
Her knees threatened to buckle.
“I’m right here,” Nick said. He was standing behind her, wearing the clothes he’d died in. Emotion made his voice huskier than usual. “Don’t cry. I’m still here.”
His presence gave her a burst of strength. She straightened her back, standing tall, and turned to face him. He looked incredible. Her fingernails dug into the flesh of her palms. Pain helped. It kept her from losing her mind and throwing her arms around his ghostly form. She couldn’t touch him. Wraith or ghost, he wasn’t a solid mass anymore. Her hand passed through him whenever she forgot and reached out. He didn’t look transparent. The whole thing was confusing.
“This is my second funeral this year,” he reminded her.
She winced. “Please don’t.”
He groaned. “I wish I could hold you and make you feel better.”
“Don’t.” She repeated the word, louder this time.
“You look absolutely incredible, so beautiful. You’re even beautiful when you cry. Did I ever tell you that?” He laughed without a trace of joy. “Being dead is freeing. You have no idea. I feel like I can say anything, be totally honest.”
Her life was weird. She was in the cemetery with her dead boyfriend while in the process of burying him. Not only could she see him, she could hear him. The only thing she couldn’t do was touch him and that was the worst part. Being with him and not being able to do something as simple as kiss his cheek was pure torture.
“I can’t believe you’re gone,” she said to the wooden box.
“I’m not gone,” he said, his impatience showing. “I’m right here, and I’ll stay with you for as long as you need me.”
Before she could argue the point, Alec Gallos returned to the waiting grave and shiny new tombstone. “You did this,” he said. Jabbing a finger at her the same way Nick had done in her bedroom during their first meeting, triple the animosity, he accused her of murder. “Did you kill my brother on purpose?”
She gaped at him in total shock.
Alec asked, “Was Van in on it with you?”
Nick stood between them, his gaze bouncing back and forth. His anger was a tangible thing. Bay-Lee was surprised Alec didn’t feel it. If Nick could, he would rip his brother’s head off.
When she didn’t answer, Alec said, “Everyone was so afraid Nick would become evil. This was the solution, wasn’t it? According to the prophecy you could stop him from going bad by killing him. The fortune teller saw a vision of you doing it, killing him to save the world. You and Van did this to him, didn’t you? Admit it!”
A vicious growl startled her. A quicksilver vision of werewolves raised the hair on the back of her neck before she realized it was Nick making the sound. Her heart pounded painfully in her chest. Although Alec couldn’t hear him, Nick yelled, “She didn’t kill me, you idiot! It wasn’t her fault. Leave her alone!”
Alec got in her face and shouted, “You don’t belong here! I want you gone. Go home, wherever it is you come from, before something bad happens to you.”
Van and Bruce appeared in a flash and sandwiched Alec between them. They each took an arm and walked him to his car. Bay-Lee watched, her entire body trembling with rage and grief. Keisha walked over and put an arm around her shoulders. Together, the girls left the cemetery. Bay-Lee refused to look back to see if Nick was following them. She told herself she didn’t care.
“It isn’t fair,” she mumbled.
Keisha agreed. “Death is never fair.”
“Tyler Beck got a funeral meant for kings and a nationwide memorial service. He was mourned by hundreds of thousands of people, maybe even millions, and he was only a musician. Nick is worth a hundred Tyler Becks, but no one cares he’s gone.”
“I care.” Keisha gestured to Mike who was waiting at the car for them, sunglasses hiding his swollen eyes from view. “He cares. Van cares. Alec cares, a little too much if you ask me.”
“Nick deserved better than this.” She glanced back at the grave. “He killed vampires and saved so many lives... we have no idea how many. He was a hero, but all those people out there in the world, they have no idea what he’s done to save them. They’re going on with their lives without a clue. They don’t care he’s dead.”
She started crying again. It was impossible to hold back the flood of tears. Feeling humiliated, she climbed into the backseat of the limo. Keisha got in after her. The girl pulled Bay-Lee into a tight embrace. “I’m sorry,” Keisha said, and this time she sounded like she actually meant it.
And that made Bay-Lee cry harder.
