Page 89 of Shattered

Once the officiant finishes talking, some people place flowers on top of the casket, but I put the picture of the five of us guys together on top—the last photo of us guys together before everything changed.

When I turn around, I see Campbell walking off to stand behind a tree, and I decide to follow him. I’m not even surprised to find him drinking from a flask.

I lift my chin once when he notices me. “Hey.” It’s been years since I’ve seen him, yet that’s the only word that seems to come out at first. I adjust my glasses, and then think, fuck it and lift my hand out for the flask. He doesn’t hesitate to hand it over, and I swallow some down, trying not to gag on the straight alcohol before handing it back. “How have you been?” I decide to ask, because he kind of looks like shit.

He shrugs, drinking some more.

“He looked a lot like you do, you know?”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

I run my eyes over his face, looking at the bruises and cut lip, that pained expression in his eyes that seemed to be ever-present in Jason’s. “He liked getting into fights and partied too much. But it’s the haunted look in your eyes that’s mostly the same.” I don’t know why I tell him that. Maybe so he can make a change or get help before it’s too late.

Campbell jerks his attention away with a scowl, but seems to think about it. “What happened to him?”

He’s not asking about the overdose, but maybe what led to it.

“He started going downhill after that night, but it got much worse when he went to college.” In that time when we were no longer friends.

“How come?” Campbell asks quietly.

“He ended up at the same college as Jennifer Lapmor and her friends. I don’t think Jennifer ever said anything to him, but I know her friends did. They harassed him for being friends with a rapist. Said he should have known all along; how he should have done something about it. I think it really started getting to him and messed him up more.”

He was doing better, though. That is, until he found out his best friend and sister were screwing around behind his back. We should have handled things differently.

“I wonder what pushed him over the edge,” Campbell muses, and I shake my head, trying to swallow the boulder in my throat. “He sent me a text not too long ago. Asking if I ever thought about what things would be like if we had gone to that party.”

“He mentioned that to me a few times as well.” Even as recently as when we went to dinner. “Can’t say I haven’t wondered about it myself.”

I see a black figure step into my peripheral right before Mase jumps into the conversation. “And we’ve been over it so many times. It wouldn’t have mattered. If it wasn’t that night, it would have been another.”

Mase steps further into view, and by the look on Campbell’s face, I know this isn’t going to be a good reunion. “Fuck off, Mase,” Campbell grits out.

They’re immediately up in each other’s space, puffed up and full of testosterone as they argue. I glance over to the Morgans to see if they’re watching whatever shit is about to go down, but they’re busy observing the casket being lowered. Thank goodness.

My gaze snags on Sienna, and for a moment, I can’t look away from her. She’s kneeling on the ground with her hands limp in her lap, and her face looks so incredibly heartbroken. I want to wrap her in my arms and take away all her pain.

A grunt pulls my attention back to the guys, just in time to see them tumble to the ground, wrestling and throwing punches. They almost roll into me, and I have to jump back to miss getting knocked over.

“What the fuck are you guys doing?” I hiss out, furious that they’re making this about themselves.

I’m no stranger to breaking up fights, thanks to Jason, so once they’ve stopped rolling around and Campbell has Mase pinned to the ground, I grab hold of Campbell’s collar and throw him off to the side. Blood rushes through my system and angry breaths burst from my lungs.

“We are at a funeral, for fuck’s sake.” I didn’t mean to say it quite as loud as it came out, but my emotions got the best of me. A little more quietly, I add, “Jason’s family is right there. They just buried him. Have some goddamn respect.”

They both look over at his family, as if just now realizing where we are and what they are doing. Unfortunately, everyone in attendance noticed what was going on, and are now all staring at us with horrified expressions. My stomach drops when I see Kate’s shoulders shake with sobs as she looks at the guys.

Both Mase and Campbell get to their feet just as Harley walks over. Mase spins around with a huff and walks toward the parking lot, but Campbell turns and staggers off through the cemetery.

“Do you need me to do anything?” Harley asks, moving his gaze back and forth between the two.

With a sigh, I turn to watch Mase. His movements are sure and precise as he makes his way to leave. He may not be prone to fighting, but he isn’t under the influence of anything. He’ll go and cool off somewhere else.

Turning the other way, I see Campbell gripping a headstone to keep himself steady while holding a phone to his ear. I don’t know how he got here, but he’s not in any position to drive himself to a hotel.

“Come on. Let’s go make sure he gets home.”

After one more glance at Sienna over my shoulder and watching her hug her mom, I turn and walk with Harley over to deal with Campbell.

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