Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
The Funeral
Bella POV
I sat on the shower floor with my knees pulled tightly to my chest. I let the hot water run down my back as tears ran down my cheeks. Today was the day I had to put my father in the ground. I had already been in the shower for 40 minutes so I stepped out and wrapped a towel around my trembling body. I wasn't ready for this. I wasn't ready to let Charlie go.
I dried off and slipped on my black dress. I laced my black converse up and stepped out of the bathroom. My hair was messy at the moment but I didn't care. I passed Alice in the hall on my way to Edward's room and she didn't comment on my hair. Once in Edward's room, I shut the door behind me and collapsed on the bed that had been set up for me almost a week ago.
Edward came in the room just as I fell and he wrapped his arms around me. "Bella hunny… I know you don't want to do this but… you have to." His voice was soft and caring. He was dressed in black as well.
"Edward…" I sobbed. "Don't leave my side… ever." I felt his arms tighten around me.
"I won't Bella. I promise." I continued to cry in Edward's arms.
**1 Hour Later**
I stepped out of the car with Edward and took a long, deep breath. We were standing in front of the church where Charlie's funeral would be held. I tried to hold back the waterfall of tears that was threatening to spill. A few tears slipped as I walked in the church full of people; Edward's hand in mine.
As I walked in the door, heads turned in my direction. Charlie's friends from the police station, people from around town, Mike, Angela, Jessica, and Ben, Billy, Jacob and his imprint. My eyes lingered there and I felt more tears slide down my face. Why on Earth would he bring her here?!
I closed my eyes and suddenly a new pair of arms wound around me. My mother's. She was crying but neither of us spoke. She took my other hand as me, Edward, and herself walked to the front row of the church. The rest of the Cullen family sat behind us in the second row. I tightened my grip on Edward's hand as I heard the church doors open again.
I couldn't hold back the mass amount of tears anymore as I watched five men carry in a casket. My father's casket. As the men walked in, Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton was playing. The men set the casket down at the front of the church. The priest didn't speak until the song had ended.
"Friends, family.. We are gathered here today not only to grieve, but to celebrate a life. A life of a man that we all held dear to our hearts. Charlie Swan. To some of us, he was a respected police chief, a friend, a man, but most importantly he was a father. He protected our town, cared for it, made it safe. If only we could have kept him safe. Today we all shed tears for our beloved friend, and we all feel sadness. Loosing Charlie, is loosing a part of ourselves. No matter what he was to you, he was important." The priest read from the bible and said a few prayers. Tears streamed down my face the entire time and I didn't let go of Edward's hand once.
"Charlie's daughter Bella would like to say a few words." With that, I stood up but didn't release Edward's hand. He stood with me and we walked to the front of the church. I needed him and he knew that.
I took a deep breath and tried to hold back the tears that refused to stop spilling. "I have a poem for Charlie. I speak from my heart… I will miss my father deeply." I closed my eyes for a moment and when I opened them I spoke. "Gone yet not forgotten, although we are apart, your spirit lives within me, forever in my heart. I thought of you with love today but that is nothing new. I thought about you yesterday and days before that too, I think of you in silence I often speak your name. All I have are memories and your picture in a frame, Your memory is my keepsake with which I'll never part, God has you in His keeping I have you in my heart. No farewell words were spoken, no time to say goodbye, you were gone before we knew it, and only God knows why. I love you Dad." My voice was trembling and my hand was shaking.
You Raise Me Up by Josh Groban came over the speakers of the church. I stayed at the front of the church with my face buried in Edward's chest until the song was over. Edward helped me back to our seat. He kept his arms around me for the rest of the service. My mother was crying beside me, and I looked around to see everyone was crying from my words. I heard a tearless sob come from Esme behind me. Alice was holding onto Jasper tightly, her expression full of sadness.
The priest then recited a poem, "He is Gone. You can shed tears that he is gone, Or you can smile because he lived, You can close your eyes and pray that he will come back, Or you can open your eyes and see all that he has left. Your heart can be empty because you can't see him, Or you can be full of the love that you shared, You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday, Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday. You can remember him and only that he is gone. Or you can cherish his memory and let it live on, You can cry and close your mind be empty and turn your back, Or you can do what he would want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on." I felt like I couldn't cry anymore but the tears kept falling. "May we close with the Lord's prayer." We all recited the Lord's prayer and once we finished, In the Arms of the Angels played.
The five men that carried the casket before came up to the front of the church. They lifted the casket and began, slowly, walking out of the church with the music playing. Edward, Renee, and I walked behind them. We watched as they put the casket into a long black car and drive away towards the burial site. I got in Edward's car with him as we drove after them. As we drove away from the church, everyone else was exiting and getting ready to follow us.
The next chapter will be the burial and after the funeral. Please Review.
