Created By

atavanhalen

Rate this Story

Embed

Chapter 6 - The Funeral

Bella Jenkins made her way up to her room. As she changed out of her uniform she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Two years ago there was a completely different girl in that mirror. A sweet, innocent girl with a head full of dreams and goals. Now, all that she saw was a broken 18 year old teen mom, who held a C average and worked as a waitress at a bar the next town over.
She held no regrets about what happened or about Landon being born, she just wished things could have been different between her and Landon's father. As she sat at her desk, and ran her fingers over the letter that Mark had sent her. She knew soon she could change all that and all she had to do was make sure Mark's plan gets seen through.

The rain steadily trickled down from the darkened clouds that morning. The air was crisp and chilly. How fitting for it was a day of mourning. A day of shed tears and philosophical, 'what if's and 'if only's. Today was the day Mark Sans would be eternally put to rest.

The loud electric buzzing of the digital alarm blared through the awkward silence of Jaydens room. He reached over to quickly turn it off. It was of no use anyway, for he didn't sleep much that night. Too many thoughts, memories and even some regrets, clouded his mind and left him at unrest. His tired eyes drifted towards the suit hung from his closet door and a deep sting in his heart vibrated him to the core.

A soft knock, followed by the creaking noise of his hinges, brought his mother in view.

"Would you like some breakfast before you go?" She questioned softly. Jayden shook his head, "All right." She turned to leave, "Are you sure you wouldn’t like me or your father to come with you?"

"No, its all right." He looked over at the letter on his nightstand, "I think I’m going to see some friends afterwards."

Bella walked into the nursery and over to the crib. She looked over the railing and smiled lovingly down at the cooing infant.

"How's momma's boy this morning?" She whispered. Then, after a quick look around, she reached in, picking Landon up gently. Bella cradled him in her arms. A calming sigh escaped her lips.

Soon after he was born and her mother had taken it upon herself to claim Landon her own, her mother also often denied Bella the simple pleasures of motherhood, as well as the burdens. Bella could count on her fingers the number of times she has held Landon. That on its own made it all seem not worth it. The peaceful innocence she once possessed was now locked away in the depths of her heart, but as she held Landon close, she could feel those emotions sneaking out once more.

"Bella? What are you doing?" The shrill voice of her mother pierced her silence.

"I came to check on him." She replied.

"Well get the move on. We have to leave in an hour."

"Mother?" Bella called as she laid Landon back in his crib. "I uh... I don't want you to go with me to the funeral."

"What?"

"I don't want you to go. I think you should stay here." Bella stated.

"Well what you think and what is are two different things."

"Mom, please."

"I'm not leaving you alone. I mean look what happened the last time I didn't keep an eye on you!" She spat. Bella glanced down at Landon and smiled.

"He's not a horrible mistake, mother. There was nothing wrong about what I did and you have to forgive me sometime." Her mother hardened her look.

"Fine. If you want to act grown, go ahead. I'll be right here with an 'I told you so' when you realize you can't handle it." She left the room and Bella looked down at Landon once more.

"Don't worry Landon, all we need is each other."

Amanda made her way down the road of the cemetery. The soggy ground beneath her bending to her sway. She looked around at all the people gathered. Many faces were familiar. Most of them were kids from school. She spotted another familiar face and let out a sigh of relief. She made her way another few feet until she reached said face. He turned to her with a mournful smile.

"Long time..." she spoke softly. "How are you Gagent?" He shrugged slightly.

"To tell you the truth I could be better." He paused. "Its good to see you, Amanda." He reached for a hug, Amanda nodded.

"Good t see you too!" She accepted his embrace. "So..." She began as she pulled away. "You couldn't quite make it there either." He shook his head.

"I've been waiting to see if any one else will show. It doesn't seem right to be here without everyone." He confessed. She nodded.

"Yeah, I feel it to!"

"Mandy!" Amanda turned to the voice as well as Gagent as another name flew out. "Gage!" They watched on as Jayden made his way over to them. Jayden embraced them both and they returned the gesture.

"Jay..." Gagent replied. Jayden looked from one to the other.

"God, it great to see you guys again." He paused. "Taylor? Bella?"

"Haven't seen them yet." Gagent stated.

"They'll be there." Amanda stated. "Don't worry."

Bella rushed through the house looking for her shoes. She had sworn she placed them by the door. But when she looked they were not there. The thought of her mother hiding them to prove a point wasn't completely unreasonable and just as she was about to question her. The door bell rang. She reached over and opened it. The young man, stood in black slacks, a hunter green shirt and as he turned towards her, she saw his black tie. Bella looked to his face and couldn't help her smile.

"Taylor."

"Hi, Bella!" He smiled. She quickly embraced him. He wrapped his arms around her as soft sobs escaped her lips. She pulled away slightly.

"I'm sorry. It just feels like its been so long. Its nice to see a loved face." She caressed his cheek softly.

"Yeah, I've missed you so much as well." She nodded slightly.

"What are you doing here?"

"Thought we could go together." He replied.

"Yeah. All right. I just... need to find my shoes." She let Taylor in. "Momma? Shoes?"

"They're in your room by your dresser!" She snapped slightly as she came into the room.

"Thank you." Bella rushed off to get them as her mother met eyes with Taylor.

"Mr. Miles..." She acknowledged.

"Nice to see you again, Mrs. Jenkins." He smiled.

"Yes, how long as it been now?"

"A little over a year." He replied.

"Hmm.. feel like less." She scorned slightly as she left the room. Bella came back in.

"You ready?" Taylor questioned. She nodded as she grabbed her jacket.

They left the house and hurried off to the funeral. They arrived some odd minutes later and as they walked up towards the crowd, Taylor began to speak.

"How's Landon?" Bella looked up at him, unsure how to answer.

"He's a... great... wonderful actually." Her words were soft. Taylor nodded.

"That's great." He smiled. Before Bella could speak again, another voice called out to them.

"Taylor! Bella!" They looked and saw Amanda, Gagent and Jayden standing together close to the crowd. They hurried over to greet everyone.

"Oh my god, you guys..." Taylor embraced Amanda and Gagent as they laughed lightly and embraced him back. Jayden looked down at Bella and she smiled up at him.

"Jay-Bird." She spoke softly as she grabbed his hands. Jayden linked his fingers with hers and smiled.

"Silver-Bells." She laughed lightly and he leaned in and kissed her forehead.

"Jay!" Taylor called.

"Tay!" Jayden replied as he reached over and hugged him.

"You guys ready?" Amanda asked. They all looked around at each other, giving soft nods. Joining hands, they all made they're way over to say goodbye to Mark.

Chapter 7 - The Aftermath

After the funeral, they all said their good-byes to one another, with the usual 'I'll keep in touch' attached and the exchange of numbers. The letters from Mark had not been brought up the whole day and with said letters still an open issue amongst them, it was clear they could all soon meet again.
Taylor pulled into the drive way of Bella’s home. A few moments of silence later, brought his words.
"Bella? Are you ok?" Taylor questioned. She glanced up at him.
"Yes, I just..." She paused, "Taylor, how did you know about Landon?"
"What do you mean?"
"No one knows about Landon. My mother made sure of it. How did you know?" Taylor sighed.
"Mark..." He began, "It was in the letter he sent me. In fact, the whole letter was mostly about you." Bella looked at him confusedly. "That's why I came over today. I thought he had sent us the wrong letters."
"I think he planned it that way."
"What do you mean?"
"My letter is about Jayden." Bella laughed lightly.
"But... why would he send us letters about each other?" Taylor questioned baffled.
"Cause he knew that was the only way to get us together." Bella smiled. She abruptly turned to him. "Are you free Saturday?"
"So far that I know of."
"Keep it free. I have an idea." She got out of the car. "I'll call you later." Taylor nodded. Bella started away as Taylor started to pull out, but then another question urged her on. "Wait. Taylor!" She rushed back over. "What's the matter?" He asked.
"Did... uh... did Mark mention who Landons father was?" Taylor looked at her worried face.
"No, I'm afraid he left that part out!" He replied. heavily nodded.
"Good-bye, Taylor."
"Bye, Bella."
Bella made her way into the house and found her mother sitting on the couch.
"How was the funeral?"
"Sad..." She replied, "How has Landon been?"
"He's napping right now." she stated as she set the magazine she was reading down. "You also got some mail today..." She handed her something. "Another check I suppose?" Bella looked over at her mother and sighed.
"Why must you be like that?" She asked.
"Why must you accept this hush money?"
"Its not hush money mother!" Bella began.
"What is it then? Him taking responsibility for his actions?"
"Yes! Why does everything have to be something bad with you? When I started dating, all you ever talked about was the bad things that could happen, when I had Landon, all you could ever worry about was how much of a burden it was to you, and now, all you can seem to do is look down on me for the way I’ve decided to live my life. You've been like this ever since dad left and I can't take it anymore." Bella stated.
"Fine. If you don't like the way I’ve decided to handle things, then go on and tell everyone you'd like about you're little year of misguided judgment. I'm tired of trying to show you the error of your ways."
"Good. Cause I don't need you to show them to me." Bella stated and then made her way upstairs to check on Landon.

"Amanda, sweetheart, is that you?" Her mother called from the other room as Amanda came through the door.
"Yes, mom."
"How was the funeral?"
"Well, uh, it was a funeral mother, it was mournful and depressing." Amanda replied as she came into the room.
"Of course, dear, I only meant how was the turn out, your friends?"
"Crowded, lots of people where there. He was very well liked." Amanda paused. Her mother sighed.
"Look Amanda, about what I said about you and Mark... I didn't mean for it to seem like I wasn't approving of what you guys had. I just didn't want to see you in more pain. I assumed it was a goodbye letter and I just knew that would have broke you." Amanda nodded.
"I know you were just looking out for me. I over-reacted a bit. But what I don't understand is the letter itself."
"What do you mean?"
"The letter was about Gagent." She replied. Her mother looked at her.
"Gagent Daniels? Wow, what a long lost name that is."
"Yeah. I saw him today at the funeral. The other too."
"What a sad reason for a reunion." Amanda nodded. "Did you ask him as to why your letter was about him?"
"Never came up." She stated, "And I didn't want it to seem like that was the only reason I went." She sighed heavily. "I think I'm going to go lat down for a few."
"All right dear, just let me know if you need anything."
"Thanks mom." Amanda ascended the stairs and headed to her room. She pulled a box from her closer and smiled. sitting on the bed, she opened the box. It was full of odds n ends, things other people would find completely random to have around. There were just four things in the box: A soda cap bottle, the Taco Bell talking dog toy, a candy necklace and a charm in the shape of half a heart. All these things were from Mark.
Right before Mark fell into the worst of his sickness, him and Amanda had fallen as in love as two kids in high school could. The bottle cap was from thier first official date. They had gone to a drive in theater. This theater still served the glass bottles with pop tops on them. Needles to say, removing them was not his specialty and it popped right off and into Amanda's eye. The Taco Bell toy came to her as a joke when she had her pet gecko. It said "Here Lizard Lizard Lizard" when you squeezed it. Mark was always the cheesiest person in the world. The candy necklace was the very first piece of jewelry Mark had given her on their 2 month anniversary. Then, the half a heart. The last thing Mark had given her. When he grew really ill, Marl had given the charm to her as a symbol of the only amount of love he could afford to give her. That was also the day they broke up. He said the last thing he wanted was to see her broken heart as the last thing visible before he past. He had insisted it was for the best and she could do nothing more than agree with his wishes. So that day they went their separate ways.
Amanda went back home, to school and cheerleading.
Mark checked into a hospital, where he stayed until he passed three months later.

Jayden pulled up to his house and saw an unfamiliar car in the driveway. He hurried inside and called out to his parents.
"In the kitchen!" He heard the soft voice of his mother call back to him.
"Who's car is in the driveway?" He questioned as he walked into the kitchen.
"That would be me, sorry." He looked over and say Gagent sitting at the other end of the counter.
"Gage... Hey, what are you doing here?" Jayden asked.
"I know its been kind of a rough day, and I'm just exhausted from thinking about Mark and I kind of need some guy to guy advice on some thing." Gage replied. Jayden nodded.
"Yeah, of course. We can go in the basement." He replied. Gagent followed him down in the basement and laughed lightly.
"Not really what I had in mind when you said 'basement'" He stated. Jayden looked around with a laugh. He was right, it wasn't much of what a basement was suppose to be. He's father had turned into a small movie theater with a concession stand and all.
"Yeah, this is what happens when your father goes through a mid-life crisis and had more money than he needs." Jayden began, "You should see the custom built Harley and the Jag in the garage. After that, my mother took his credit cards and checkbook away." Gagent laughed.
"Wow..."
"So..." Jayden handed him a soda, "How can I help?"
"Well, its a about Amanda." He stated. Jayden nodded.
"Still haven't told her?" He questioned.
"Dude, seriously, what was I suppose to say?"
"Well, I would have said something that would let her know that i'd be there for her... like 'I know this is a hard time for you, and if you need anything and to talk, I'm here for you.'"
"You're such a smart ass!" Gagent replied. Jayden laughed lightly.
"Gage, buddy, listen in situations like this, especially when Mark was as sick as he was and how close we all once were with each other. Its hard to say 'I like you' to someone whose first love just passed away." Jayden paused. "So, don't just yet, you know, give her time to work it through, to be ok with what's happened, but in the mean time, there's nothing wrong with being there for her as a friend. I'm sure she'll be glad to have you around."
"Yeah, I suppose you're right." Gagent sighed.
"You want to hang out a bit? Watch a movie?" Jayden asked.
"Sure, my dad has by sibs, I’m pretty much free the whole day for a change."
"Yeah, how’s your mom doing?"
"I'd rather not talk about it." Gagent stated as Jayden went over to pop in a movie and turn on the screen. "What's up with you and Bella? I saw the two of you googling at each other as we were leaving the funeral?" Gagent asked as he played with the cup hold in his chair.
"Nothing, we just haven't seen each other in a while that’s all." Gagent looked up when he heard some disc fall to the ground. He laughed lightly.
"Yeah... OK!" Gagent stated. Jayden frowned at him.
"Shut up!"
"All I'm saying is that I didn't see you kissing Amanda's forehead, or holding her hands."
"You wouldn't understand." Jayden stated, "Can we just get back to being losers all day?"
"Sure, if you can manage to hang on to a disc, butterfingers." Gagent stated with a laugh. Jayden picked up a disc and threw it at Gagent, before finally putting one in and sitting down. "You will eventually tell me about it, right?" Gagent asked.
"Eventually." Jayden replied with a smirk.