CHAPTER FOUR
ADAM
I waited at the door to her swanky penthouse. The girl really had done amazingly well for herself. I couldn’t believe that the wild teenage girl that I had loved my whole life had become the responsible one, while I couldn’t even sleep unless I was drunk off my ass. When she opened the door, I was struck dumb by how beautiful she was. Her wild red hair was clipped back away from her face but hung around her shoulders in loose waves. Her blue eyes shone with tears and I wanted more than anything to pull her into my arms and kiss the pain away.
I didn’t know how she would react to that though. We had broken up a long time ago. We both wanted different things in our lives and neither of us had been willing to compromise. We split, but we didn’t have any animosity toward each other like some ex-couples. It wasn’t a split either of us probably wanted, but it was something at the time we needed. We’d been so young and in love, but it wasn’t enough for either of us to build a future on. Kate’s quick mind and work ethic took her into the world of business, while I needed the life of a soldier. Looking back, it was the right decision, especially for Kate. She had grown into a beauty, both in body and spirit.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, seeing the frown marring her forehead.
“Jax won’t talk, at all, April butchered her hair and dyed it black, and the other two seem to be holding on by a thread. I don’t know what to do Adam.” She looked so broken that I pulled her to me, hoping the contact would be welcomed.
“It’ll be okay. We’ll all get through this. Should we take them to a grief counselor or something?” I asked quietly and she looked up at me with bright eyes, not pushing me away.
“That’s a brilliant idea, Adam.” She smiled a genuine smile at me.
“It was bound to happen eventually,” I teased and then heard a little voice.
“Uncle Adam. You’re here,” Jace said and ran up to me. He looked so cute in his little suit.
“You think I would be anywhere else today, buddy?”
“No.”
“Come on, let’s go get Jax and get going.” I patted his head. He reached up to check that I didn’t mess up his hair and I chuckled wondering why a six-year-old boy would even care.
Walking into the boys’ bedroom, I saw a frustrated Jaxon messing with the buttons on his suit shirt. Discouraged tears were leaking from his eyes. “Hey buddy. Let me help you with that.”
He looked up at me with wide eyes and nodded in agreement. “You wanna tell me what’s wrong?”
He shook his head, tears forming in his eyes again. “Shhh, it will be all right buddy.”
I helped him finish getting dressed and then we walked out into the living room. The mood was somber, and I did my best not to gawk at April’s hair. The girl really did a number on it. Checking my phone, I noticed a message from the driver saying he was downstairs and I looked at Kate. “The car’s downstairs. Are we ready to go?”
They all nodded and we walked downstairs to the waiting town cars. The mood in the car on the way to the cemetery was dark. No one spoke, which made me sad. These kids, who were so full of life and energy just a few weeks ago, who were bubbly and happy, were now nothing but filled with despair, and it killed me.
I hoped that there would be a way to help them get through this, to help make things better for them, but I had no idea how when I couldn’t get my own life straight. Looking over all of them, I knew I had to get over myself and my own selfish needs and do whatever it took to make Will and Bethany’s kids smile again.
We pulled up to the cemetery, there were only a few people milling around. Neither Beth nor Will had siblings, which was the main reason both of them had wanted such a large family. Their parents had all passed away, so there was no family in attendance other than their children. However, what lacked in family attendance was made up in friends, associates, people from kids’ schools. The support was nearly overwhelming but not surprising. Will and Beth had surrounded themselves with people, lots of people, and I hoped their children would come to understand how loved their parents really were. The grave side service was beautiful. Kate had gone above and beyond to make sure the last memory of our friends was perfect.
The tears in Kate’s eyes welled over as the preacher droned on. Reaching over, I wrapped my arms around her shoulder and she buried her face in my neck and cried. I hated that. I hated seeing her sad. When her mom died when we were in high school, she cried like that too. It killed me then as well. She was so strong, though. She didn’t cry often, so when she did it was horrible and tore my heart in two.
The rest of the funeral went by in a blur. At one point little Jaxon sagged against me and my leg almost buckled. Pain tore through me, but I sat down and let the little six-year-old curl in my lap. His face was buried in my chest and his little body shook with his sobs. The girls sat on either side of me laying their heads on my shoulders rubbing Jaxon’s back, comforting their younger brother.
When the funeral was finally over and time to walk by the graves, the kids didn’t move at first. I couldn’t blame them. It meant they really were gone. They finally started to walk, tears streaming down their faces and the girls helped the boys as they laid a single white carnation on each of the caskets. I didn’t know what to do but I prayed that those kids never had to feel pain like that again. I hoped that their parents would be watching over all of us as we fumbled our way through this life without them.