Page 14 of Letters From a Broken Heart
“Easton, I’d like to invite you up here to say a few words.” The pastor motions for Easton to take his place at the front of the room and he blows out a long breath as he stands.
My eyes are glued to him as he tugs a piece of paper out of his suit jacket and swallows hard. There are already tears in his eyes and I wonder how he’s going to make it through this.
“Thank you all for being here to celebrate the life of my brother, Jack.” His bottom lip trembles and his eyes snap to me.
He’s looking to me for strength and comfort. I smile and nod my head, encouraging him to keep going.
“There are so many things I could say about my brother.” He clears his throat and tries to maintain his composure. “So many stories I could tell, but honestly, they’d probably get me in trouble.”
Everyone laughs and there’s a low murmur as people remember the type of person Jack was. They all know he got in a lot of trouble and they don’t even know half of what he did and got away with.
“I was always tasked with keeping Jack and Taylor in line.”
As soon as the words are out of his mouth, my eyes snap to his and I frown. He chuckles and shakes his head, like he was expecting it.
“Apparently, Taylor was unaware of that.” The crowd laughs again. “It wasn’t easy most days. I had to find the delicate line to walk. I didn’t want to take away their fun, but I couldn’t let them get into trouble either. More than once, I was on the receiving end of being told I was no fun. But no matter how much I’d try to prevent Jack from doing something stupid or something that could get him into trouble, he’d just smirk and come up with another idea of what to do. He was so carefree and adventurous. He made friends so easily and wasn’t afraid to just be himself.”
Easton pinches his lips together as emotion overwhelms him. He takes a moment to compose himself before he continues.
“I was always jealous of Jack, though no one really knew that. I wanted to be carefree, but I didn’t know how to. I wanted to be adventurous, but I was terrified. I wanted to be surrounded by friends, but I was too shy. He was the man everyone wanted to be around. The first person you called when you wanted a fun night out. That part, I wasn’t jealous of. I didn’t want to go out, I’d rather be home with my nose stuck in a book, but I’d always go with Jack if he asked.”
A tear trickles down my cheek as I listen to Easton. There were so many times I could tell he didn’t want to be at the bar or out with us, yet he came. I always wondered why.
“Growing up, it was always Jack, Taylor, and me. I think we spent most of our waking hours together. Mom and Dad thought they adopted a new kid, while the Gaines probably wondered where their daughter was most nights.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Dad mumbles from behind me, making me laugh through my tears.
“Jack never wanted to share his time with Taylor. She meant the world to him. I think he’d be happy to know his heart is continuing to beat inside your chest, Tay. I think he’d be thrilled to know his death wasn’t a waste. To know he was able to give you a second chance at life. You shouldn’t feel guilty that you received his heart, you should feel blessed to have a part of him inside of you.”
Easton smiles at me as he ends his speech and takes his seat next to me again. Tears are streaming down my face by the time he drapes his arm across my shoulders and tugs me into his side.
“I love you, sweetheart.” He presses a soft kiss to my temple.
I lay my head against him and squeeze my eyes shut as the pastor continues speaking. There are a few songs where people stand and sing, but Easton and I stay seated. He keeps his arm around me and keeps whispering things in my ear to try to comfort me.
Once the service is over, I excuse myself to the bathroom. I want to check my makeup and give myself a second to compose myself without anyone around to witness it.
I’m standing off to the side of the bathrooms, checking something on my phone when a woman’s voice catches my attention.
“Can you believe she’s here?” The voice sounds from just outside of my view.
“What did you expect? She was his girlfriend.” Another woman says with less sass. She almost sounds annoyed with the first woman.
Who are they talking about? If can't be me, right? But who else could they be talking about? I was Jack’s girlfriend and I don’t think there’s another funeral being held here right now.
“Yes, but he didn’t even care about her. The woman was too dumb to realize he’s been cheating on her for years,” she groans like I'm an annoyance to her.
Jack… was he cheating on me? No! He’d never do that. We were in love, right? There’s no way he’d ever cheat on me. We spent all of our free time together. When would he have the time to cheat?
“Lower your voice, Cassy. Someone’s going to hear you,” the second woman hisses.
“Oh, please. What do I care?” Cassy doesn’t bother lowering her voice. If anything, I think she’s speaking even louder now.
“I know you don’t care, but these are the people who meant the most to Jack. You can't ruin their memory of him.”
My hand flies up and covers my mouth as tears trickle down my cheeks. Jack was cheating? No! He’d never do that to me. Never.
I muffle a sob and try my hardest to keep quiet. I want to see what else they say. What other information they could possibly give me about the man I thought I knew.
