Page 86 of Always Us

“I know, but they didn’t get along.”

“Yeah, but—”

“Harper, he’s not going. I can’t change his mind and I don’t want to. This is his decision to make. But we’re still going out there. There’s a private memorial at Garret’s house on Friday so we’re going to that instead of the funeral. It’s just for family and close friends.”

“My parents are going to the funeral. They’re flying out Wednesday.”

I sigh inside my head. Of course they’re going, because they’re part of the inner circle now. Part of the organization. Or if they’re not yet, they will be soon.

“So are you just going for the memorial?” she asks. “Or are you staying a few days?”

“We’re staying for the weekend.”

“Do you think we could get together? Just for an hour or so?”

“Yeah. Of course. If I’m out there, you know I have to see you.”

Harper and I make plans to meet for coffee on Saturday. I’d love to spend more time with her, but I need to be with Garret and his family.

The next few days we return to our normal routine. Garret doesn’t mention his grandfather so I don’t either. Pearce calls on Wednesday just to confirm what time we’ll be there on Friday, but other than that, we don’t hear from him. Garret’s been calling Lilly every day to check on her. She’s still sad, and with so much to be done for the funeral, I’m sure Pearce hasn’t had much time to spend with her. She’s probably all alone in her room.

Now it’s Thursday and Garret and I are having breakfast at the coffee shop before class. I just checked my phone and noticed it’s eleven-thirty on the East Coast, which means the funeral for Holton is about to begin. Garret hasn’t said anything about it, but it was all over the financial news channels this morning.

“Garret, it’s almost time for the funeral.”

“I know.” He reaches in his pocket and takes out his phone, swiping through the screen. “Shit, there must be 500 people there.”

He shows me a photo from a news website. It’s taken from outside of a large church and shows a long line of people filing in. I don’t know who all those people are. I can’t imagine Holton having that many friends, unless they’re evil like him.

Garret puts his phone away, then gives me a kiss. “I need to get to class.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you later.”

He grabs his backpack and takes off. I hope he’s okay. Even if he’s not sad about Holton’s death, I feel like he’s still on edge from all the stuff that went on the past few weeks. He’s still not sleeping well or eating much. I’m hoping he’ll feel better after the memorial, when all of this is finally over.

The next day we leave for Connecticut early in the morning and arrive there late afternoon. A car service picks us up at the airport. Eleanor hired them. Maybe she thought we wouldn’t show up if we weren’t driven there.

When we get to the house, luxury vehicles are lined up out front. All black. The black car thing freaks me out. It seems ominous, like the owners are all members of the organization.

Eleanor told Garret she invited friends of the family but she didn’t say who. I’m guessing at least some of them are members. I don’t know if I trust Eleanor. She doesn’t seem to be like Holton, but they were married for more than 50 years so they couldn’t be that different, could they?

The front door is unlocked so Garret and I let ourselves in. A woman in a maid’s uniform walks up to me, waiting for my coat. I give it to her and Garret hands her his and she walks away.

The caterers are running around with trays topped with glasses and tiny plates. As we walk farther into the house, I see that they’re setting up drink and appetizer stations, like it’s some kind of party. I guess you have to serve something, but it seems weird to stand around eating fancy appetizers after someone died.

I have almost no experience with funerals or memorials. My mom was cremated and her funeral was nothing more than Frank, Ryan, and me standing in a church while a minister said a few words. Nobody else came because my mom had no friends and no other family. It was depressing. I didn’t even want to go but Frank made me.

Garret and I make our way to the living room. There’s an easel with a large framed photo of Holton on it. I shudder as I see his stern face looking back at me. He’s not smiling in the photo. Not even a tiny bit. I don’t think I ever saw him smile. Next to the easel are two huge floral arrangements coming out of a tall stand.

“Garret.” I hear Pearce and look over and see him giving Garret a hug. “Thank you for coming.”

“Jade.” He gives me a tight hug, almost like Garret’s hugs have been the past couple weeks.

“Hi.” I don’t know what to say. I’m so bad with death and grief and all that type of stuff. So I just say the words that I seem to be saying a lot lately. “I’m really sorry.”

He nods as he steps back. He’s wearing a black suit with a white shirt and silvery-blue tie. He looks handsome as he always does, but his face looks like he hasn’t slept for days.

“How are you doing, Dad?” Garret asks.

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