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“No, you’re just getting old.” Casey snorts. “You don’t see Hayden complaining.”
Hayden, Brady’s brother, chuckles mirthlessly. “That’s cause I’m not a wimp.”
The only two who don’t speak are Graham and Cam. The both of them stay as silent as I do while we walk through the chapel, surrounded by the crowd that has come to say goodbye.
It isn’t until we are sitting on the grass at the cemetery three hours later, watching as a machine finishes burying Keegan, that I find the courage to say anything. Neither Mom or Dad have come. Instead, Mom has gone home with our aunt, uncle, and Grayson’s son, Lake, to rest.
“This fucking sucks.” Cameron breaks the silence, surprising the hell out of me. I figure he’ll be the last person to speak.
“Yeah, it does,” Brady agrees.
Casey stands up suddenly. “I need a drink.”
“I guess we’re just gonna drink away our problems tonight.” Graham holds out a hand for me to take, and I do it with a grim expression.
Even though the last thing I want to do is drink, I take his hand and get up. None of us will be okay, not for a long time. Despite that, the least we can do is spend the night together and have a drink or maybe six.
“Sounds like a plan.”
6
AVERY
Bria shoves me out of the way in her haste to order a drink at the bar. After the funeral, Chris and I take one look at her and decide she isn’t spending the night alone.
She may not be with Casey and their estrangement has broken her heart over and over again, but she still loves his family fiercely. So, the three of us make quite the trio as we stand in the middle of the bar. Chris, still wearing a suit, the tie slightly askew. Both Bria and I are wearing the same black dresses we wore earlier for the funeral. With red eyes and puffy faces from all the crying, I’m sure we look exactly like a hot mess express.
“Two shots of vodka and a Bloody Mary, please.” Bria wipes a stray tear from her eye as she orders, and the young woman tending bar gives her a pitying look.
“Sure thing, sweetie.” The bartender reaches out and grabs Bria’s hand to give it a small squeeze. Her tattooed one seems so out of place as it covers Bria’s pale skin.
Chris follows his sister sedately, and I stay at his side, trying to keep it together.
“I didn’t expect her to sit with them,” he says quietly. “She’s only had negative things to say about Casey since he left. But she didn’t hesitate going to them and offering the support she could.”
“That’s Bria,” I whisper, as my only way of an explanation. We stop a few feet back to let her get drinks. Bria’s alcohol order doesn’t strike me as odd in the slightest. She is our resident tank and can drink mostly anyone in our crowd under the table if the situation calls for it.
“Keegan was a good one,” Bria says suddenly, holding only the glass with her mixed drink in it. “He checked on me every week, without fail. And he always made sure that he had my back, no matter what Casey had to say about me. He was there for me.” She sniffles. “Let’s get a table and watch.”
Chris still has a date, after all. We’ve driven all the way to a bar out of town so that we can cut loose. As a teacher, the elementary school nurse, and one of the most vocal social workers in the state, there aren’t many options in town that we can go to for a drink and not have to watch ourselves carefully. Plus, there is the added benefit of him already being dressed up, even if he looks a little sad.
“It’s not too late to cancel.” Chris looks down at his feet. “I feel a little bad that I’m having a date on the same day as a friend’s funeral.”
I don’t say anything, because I don’t know what to say. Honestly, I’ll probably feel the exact same way if I was in his position. But Bria isn’t having any of it, and she pushes herself right up to her brother’s chest.
“That’s bullshit and you know it.” She takes a long drink from her glass. “You’re not looking for forever tonight, Chris. And you have the chance to take a moment just for yourself. To take comfort in someone else. You’re not backing out.”
Bria, just like always, makes perfect sense. Even if she has gotten a jump start on her alcohol intake for the night.
I order a round of drinks for me and Bria before pushing past Chris, who is now sitting on a stool at the bar. “Have fun, and don’t worry about me. I’ll crash with Bria tonight.”
He flushes slightly. “That’s not gonna happen.”
“Hey,” I tell him seriously. “If you can, and you want to, you should. Don’t let whatever anyone else thinks is right fuck with your head. You do you, boo. I’ll handle anyone who says otherwise.”
Chris nods, letting go of whatever self-doubt had set in for a moment. Just as fast as the cloud of doubt had appeared, it is gone and Chris is smiling and self-assured once more.
“There,” Bria giggles. “We fixed you.” Both Chris and I watch her head to a table.
