Guilt (21 page)

Quietly withdrawing from the crowd around Leslie's tombstone, I headed towards the person. If he heard me coming, he didn't react to the fact. I stepped up beside him and squeezed his hand in greeting.

Matt turned and smiled at me. He knew I'd make my way over here eventually. I think maybe he wanted to be here to lend me his support if I needed it.

We stood there, hand in hand, gazing at Corry's epitaph: 'may he find peace at last'. Dear God, I hoped he did.

For my own part, I decided that the beauty of an eternal rest could wait. I wasn't ready to understand the concept of infinite silence just yet. I had plenty of living to do first. With Corry past me, and Matt beside me – the Freak, my hero,
my
Freak – I was ready to move forward. And that's when I found my closure.

"Hey," I broke the solemnity, "you wanna go grab a cup of coffee?"

He smiled at me, but didn't say yes, so I attempted to persuade him. "I know a great little diner. . ."

He laughed. "Coffee sounds great."

We turned and walked out of the cemetery together, talking about what we did after high school and about how we lived our lives in general. It turned out to be a good day.

That day, we both left the past behind us.

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