The Wrong Path_Smashwords (24 page)

It was an expression Annabelle was all-too familiar with. She longed to throw her arms around him and comfort him.

But she couldn’t. Even if Trevor knew about her and Will, she couldn’t do that to him. Not at his mother’s funeral. It would be impossibly cruel. She could never forgive herself for something like that.

So instead she stood between her parents, silently sending her strength and support to Will.

“Oh, there’s Patrick,” Annabelle heard her mom say, surprising her. “Let’s go see how he is.”

Annabelle felt her heart fall into her stomach as she dutifully followed behind her parents to go talk to Mr. Scarlett. She wanted to hide behind her mother’s skirt like a little girl as they approached, her mother hugging Mr. Scarlett and her father shaking his hand. She hesitantly lifted her eyes to Trevor, unsure about what type of greeting she would receive.

To her vast relief and overwhelming appreciation, Trevor smiled tiredly at her, nodding. She returned the greeting, then looked over at Will. He stared emptily at their parents, watching their exchange through emotionless, unfeeling eyes.

As a new group of people joined them, Annabelle seized the opportunity and slid quickly over to Will’s side. Under the cover of hugs and greetings between the others, she reached out and squeezed his hand.

Will stiffened in surprise, but then, to her vast relief, he relaxed slightly and squeezed back.

Her parents excused themselves from the group, and reluctantly, Annabelle tore herself from Will’s familiar side to head into the church. As people filtered in, filling up the expanse of pews, Annabelle felt an overwhelming sense of saddened pleasure at the number of people who had been touched by Mrs. Scarlett. She really had been an incredible woman.

The procession started with the Scarlett family—Mrs. Scarlett’s brother, sisters, nieces, and nephews. Then came Mr. Scarlett, followed slowly by Will and Trevor, who led in the casket. Trevor’s face was strained, as if he were trying desperately not to cry, but Will’s face was calm and dispassionate.

Annabelle watched as the group of six men carried the casket down the aisle and set it down in front of the altar. They silently turned away, taking their seats in the front row.

The pastor gave a wonderful sermon about Mrs. Scarlett’s life and assured them that she had gone to a better place. Several people got up to speak about Mrs. Scarlett, including Trevor, who became so choked up he almost couldn’t continue. Annabelle’s heart ached for him as he forced himself to go on, half the church crying with him. By the end of his speech, Mr. Scarlett had his head in his hands, his shoulders shaking violently. Will just continued to stare at the ground, as if he were in another world.

When the ceremony was over, Annabelle’s parents pulled her to leave. She resisted, searching for Will through the crowded room. At the very least, she wanted to catch his eye before she left.

She finally spotted him near the front, where the family was escorting the casket out of the church—to be buried, she guessed. She hesitated, knowing she shouldn’t follow, and yet, even as she watched, Claire, Claudia, Zach, and some others followed through the doorway.

She turned to her parents. “I have to go,” she told them, half-desperately, half-apologetically. Her mother’s tender eyes were all the approval she needed before she broke through the upward stream of people, chasing after the small cluster of mourners headed to the burial plot.

She forced herself to slow down to avoid drawing attention to herself as she approached. The group had stopped walking in front of a plot facing a stream, a large tree hanging above it. Annabelle smiled slightly at the sight of the beautiful area, sure that Mrs. Scarlett would be pleased to be laid to rest in such a nice place.

Will stood at the front, to the left of his father. She slowly stepped around the crowd, nodding at Claire when the blond girl caught her eye. Claire’s eyes flickered with confusion, and then settled on another emotion, one Annabelle could barely recognize. It was almost…

Almost akin to admiration.

Will didn’t acknowledge her as she joined his side, his eyes fastened on the coffin in front of them. She held her hands clasped together in front of her to keep from reaching out to him, trying to feed him strength just with her presence. It was all she could do for him—to be at his side when he needed someone.

The pastor said a few words, and then it was over. Mr. Scarlett and Trevor both cried heavy, heartbroken tears, but Will, as dispassionate as ever, merely stood there staring emptily at the grave.

Slowly, knowing it was the worst possible time, Annabelle reached out and took his hand.

Almost as though a spell had been broken, his eyes fell closed and his chest exhaled. Then he turned and looked at her with dark, pained eyes.

“Let’s go,” she said softly.

He cast one last look at the grave before nodding. She led the way, holding his hand, acutely aware of the stares following them. She didn’t turn back. This wasn’t about her, and it wasn’t about them. It was about Will. She wished she could have talked to Trevor before so publicly walking off with his brother, but he would be okay. He had a group of people around him to support him. Will was the one who needed someone to be there for him.

Will didn’t release her hand until he had unlocked the passenger door to his car and she was climbing in. She reached across his seat to open his door for him, watching as he climbed into the driver’s seat. He stuck the key in the ignition and they were off, leaving the church and the cemetery behind.

He didn’t appear to have a destination as he drove, tugging at his tie to loosen it around his neck and undoing the top few buttons. He slid out of his jacket and tossed it in the backseat, never taking his eyes off of the road. As she stared at him, she realized he was driving differently than normal. He was too focused on the road… too intent.

Will was trying not to cry.

He stopped the car in the forest, at a location she could never forget. She followed him out of the car, taking his hand as they walked up to the overlook. He slowly sat on the wall, leaning against the pillar, and then pulled her down to him, placing her against his chest.

She finally released his hand and wrapped her arms around him. And there, buried in each other’s arms, Will cried.

EPILOGUE

“Would you hurry up? You’re going to make us late.”

“I can’t find my book.”

“What? You had it ten minutes ago!”

“Well now I can’t find it.”

Annabelle Priestly slowly let out a deep breath, trying to control her temper. She pursed her lips, ran her hands through her long brown hair, straightened her t-shirt and jeans, and shifted in her sneakers. Then she exploded.

“Will Scarlett, if you don’t get moving in five seconds, I’m going to leave without you on your first day of college,” she threatened.

He paused in rummaging through the dorm-issued desk, then looked across the room at his brother. “Did you hear that?” he asked Trevor, who paused in combing his hair and looked up, distracted.

“What?” Trevor asked, frowning.

“Belle just threatened to leave me here. After she promised to show me around on my first day.”

Trevor arched an eyebrow, then flashed a grin. “You know she’s not going to leave you,” he countered, ever the optimist. “Just get going. You’re going to be late.”

Annabelle fidgeted. “I might leave him,” she declared warningly, glaring at Will, who still couldn’t seem to locate the missing book.

Will crossed the few feet between them, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her. “No you won’t,” he assured her.

She looked up at him through her lashes. “Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven,” she counted, even as Will quickly pulled away and continued ransacking the room.

“Is this it?”

They both turned to look at Trevor, who calmly picked a book up from his desk on the other side of the room. Will slowly set the couch cushion in his hand down, frowning at him. “How did it get there?” he asked, walking over and taking the book from his brother, who held it out to him.

Trevor eyed him. “Don’t know. Wonder what else I’ll discover in my stuff that you’ve mistaken for your own.”

Will bounced on his toes and looked around the small dorm room in irritation. “It’s these tiny rooms. You can’t even breathe your own air!”

“Then let’s get out of it and
get to class
,” Annabelle insisted, grabbing his arm. “Bye, Trevor. See you later!” she called, as she tugged Will from the room.

“Bye!” she heard him call back from inside.

Will wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they walked, hugging her close. The sun was warm on their shoulders as they crossed the campus to their classes, and she couldn’t resist smiling happily at how everything had worked out. She hadn’t been sure about Will and Trevor sharing a room, despite their attempts to mend their relationship over the last few years, but it seemed to be working—at least for now. Trevor, who was a dorm manager as an upperclassman, loved helping the incoming students and showing them around, and for his part, Will seemed to appreciate getting at least a slightly larger room than the others, which was one of the benefits of rooming with the dorm manager.

It had been Will who had caved in to Trevor’s constant cheerfulness and obliviousness to other people’s feelings, though through the years he had gotten better. Will had never admitted it, but Annabelle believed it was Trevor giving them his blessing years before that had initiated Will’s change of heart. She didn’t think they would ever be best friends, but at least they were friendly with one another. The hostility from so long ago was a thing of the past.

She’d chosen a college close to home, not deliberately picking the same one Trevor had gone to, but just the one that would allow her to drive back to see her family and Will on the weekends. Everyone else she knew had gone away to larger, more prestigious schools, but that had been fine with her. It had been nice to start anew.

She paused outside of Will’s class. “Here you go,” she said, grinning up at him. “I’ll meet you back at your room when my classes are over.”

He leaned down and kissed her, then hugged her tightly. “Love you,” he said, grinning back.

“Love you, too. Now
go
.” She flashed a smile up at him, gave him another quick kiss, and hurried away to her own class with a smile, the future looking brighter than ever.