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I walk down the aisle, not paying attention to anything or the people that fill the church. Annalise helps me sit right at the front next to Momma before taking a seat behind me with Amy before my dad takes his seat next to Momma and Hunt—crap—Snake takes his seat next to me, his arm firmly around my shoulders as the priest starts to speak about my sister and how full of life she was, showing videos and pictures of her dancing; the whole room is full of sniffles and sobs all while I sit stoic, praying this is just a dream, but when the priest speaks again after saying a prayer, I know its wishful thinking.
"Hailey has asked if her daughter, Sarah, could speak."
I swallow hard. Annie mentioned that Momma had sprung this on the priest two days ago and that my father didn't know about it. I was shocked. She thought I was strong enough to speak, but I wasn't. I had the speech already written, but I don't know how I will get through this.
Why would she put this on me when she knew she couldn't? Am I not her daughter, too?
I hear my father growl as I stand while my mother apologizes repeatedly to him for making me do this, but I ignore them as every eye in here goes my way.
I feel sick; my stomach is churning, and not eating this morning is not helping the situation. As I get to the podium and look out at all the faces here to mourn and say goodbye, my stomach drops. I place my paper on the podium and take a deep breath, ready to read the words I'd written. Still, as my eyes go to the coffin, I see the picture of my little sister sitting on top, smiling wide at the camera, her red hair all over the place, and I know.
I can't do this.
Chapter 20
Snake
I swallow hard as Sarah freezes on the podium, her eyes focused on the coffin.
Shit.
"How fucking could you, Hailey? She hasn't spoken in a week, and you put her up to speak here, now, at her sister's funeral?"
I hear Hailey suck in a breath at her husband's words, flinching at him cursing in a church. Neither of them has noticed that Sarah has frozen. "I'm sorry, but we couldn't go up there, and Sarah is strong; she always has been. Mary deserved a family member to speak for her."
I shake my head before looking at her. Her hair is in a low bun, her face is red and blotchy, and I hate that I have to do this today of all days, but I think this woman needs a reality check and realize Sarah is her daughter as well and that she can't keep being strong for her parents, so I lean over and growl lowly, "She's only been strong because she didn't want to burden you. Did you not witness her breakdown last week? That was years of suppressed fear and pain unleashed. She wasn't ready for this, Mrs. Reynolds, and the fact you pushed this on her when you knew, as Mary's mother, you also couldn't do this makes you selfish, especially when Sarah stopped being a sister at seventeen and became a guardian too." I look at Sarah before sneering, "Look at your daughter; go on; look at your beautiful daughter."
Hailey's face goes from red at my calling her out on her bullshit excuse to confusion before looking at the podium before her eyes widen, seeing Sarah completely frozen in place, her eyes on the coffin that holds her little sister, who, let's face it, she has been financing since she was seventeen, and Hailey gasps, "Oh god, what have I done?"
I hear Gerry growl at his wife for her antics while I shake my head. Axel, who is sitting behind me, pats my back as his old lady tries to control her small cries for my woman as I stand. I'm grateful he and Dagger made it down today to show their support for my future old lady. I know I fucked up, but I won't give up on us, and Axel's and Dagger's relationships are proof that it can be done. A brother can be forgiven if they fuck up, although I don't think I fucked up as much as them. I mean, Axel played the field while trying to court Annalise, while Dagger, yeah, that fucker, actually cheated on Mel, his woman, and is lucky she gave him another chance.
Sarah's mine and I'm hers; I just need to prove it to her.
I make my way to the podium as every brother places a hand over their hearts to show respect for my woman, and my pride in my club members climbs higher than ever. Things haven't been easy since Hairy's betrayal, but every day, they prove themselves, especially since Clipper.
I walk up the steps before going behind my woman, who I must admit looks absolutely gorgeous in her all-in-one black body suit that crosses on her back, her light jacket just covering her. I wrap my arm around her waist and gently pull her back. She doesn't jump; instead, she melts into me like she knows it is me behind her, like her body is entwined with mine—which it is—and I look over her shoulder, seeing the speech, which means someone had prewarned her that her Momma was going to do this, making my anger spike before looking out to the people who have shown up. In the back, I can see Shelby, her eyes teary as she looks at my woman, making me scowl in her direction before I catch a glimpse of Helena.
What the fuck is she doing here?
I make eye contact with a prospect in the back and nod her way. David looks before nodding back and goes to her with Liam following, so I know they'll remove her. I clear my throat as I look around the room; family and friends fill it, all here to say goodbye to the sassy girl who died before her time.
"I'd first like to thank everyone for coming. Today is hard; we're saying bye to a spirit that should still be here with us dancing around in circles."
Everyone smiles as my girl turns into my arms, my right arm tightening around her as I step forward, keeping her close to me as her head goes into the crook of my neck, her tears staining my skin and breaking my heart.
It's time she sees that I am her strength and will always be here for her.
"My girl here was supposed to speak, but as you can imagine, it's probably the hardest thing for her to do right now. Mary wasn't just her little sister but also her best friend. If my girl here wasn't at work, school, or with me at night, she was with her sister." Her parents look down in shame, and I hate that I had to point that out to them, but Sarah's main priority was her little sister; she gave up her teenage years so her parents didn't feel all the burden, and they, mainly her mother, needed to see that.
I take a deep breath and say, "Because my girl can't speak and is consumed with grief, then I'll do it for her."
Everyone nods while her father looks at me with appreciation before I look at the words my girl wrote.
"Today... today we're here to say goodbye to a sassy-spirited young woman, my best friend, and Tiny Dancer. Mary was full of life, love, and laughter. She was one of those people who, if they laughed, you couldn't help but laugh with them. It doesn't seem real that she's no longer with us. It feels like I'm missing a part of myself; when she fell ill, I was only seventeen. I had to grow up quickly, and to this day, I'll never regret my choice to put that brave seven-year-old first."I take a deep breath as my girl's body shakes against mine with silent sobs. I kiss her head before continuing, keeping her close to me,"When she was born, and Momma brought her home, I held her for the first time as soon as they walked through the door. I was so scared that I was going to drop her that when she cried, I actually almost did drop her, my dad only just catching her head,"the room chuckles."I thought my heart had stopped, but when she grabbed my finger, her bottom lip pouted out, her blue eyes sparkling with tears. I vowed then and there that I'd do anything for her, including replacing our mother's shampoo with green hair dye when she was six."
The whole room laughs while Hailey's eyes widen, and she shouts, "I KNEW IT," making the room laugh louder while Gerry grins, making it obvious that he knew. I smile a little and shake my head before looking down again.
"Mary had those big blue eyes that, when she looked at you, you just couldn't say no, and I can admit, I never could. The little tricks we did on our parents were proof of that.
