Don't hate me for this chapter. I wanted to show you how I was ending this part of my saga. Love to all! PS, Kerry Muzzey does the love theme music in Glee (the instrumental piano music in the background to the majority of the scenes between couples titled "Looking Back") and I listened to "Sacrifice" and thought of these extremely sad scenes for this story. Depressing I know but this song inspired me to do this chapter.
Saturday morning didn't bring sunshine nor did it bring rain. It was an overcast day with the weather being the coolest the summer had to offer that season so far. Dave was standing in front of his full length mirror in his room putting on his suit that Kurt bought him the night before Nationals. No smile on Dave's face as he thought of Kurt which was something that never happened. Dave picked up his phone to see if he had any new text messages and saw none. He shook his head in response and threw his phone onto his bed. He looked back at the mirror as he was putting on his tie. After a few failed attempts he ripped away from his neck and threw it on his desk.
The sudden frustration was making his heart ache, bringing back some of those unexplained desires to break down and cry; the same feeling he had back in February right before he came out. Dave sat down on his bed as tears started to roll down his face. He leaned down into his hands and started to shake into sadness.
Everything has gone to shit, Dave kept thinking to himself. Finally his phone went off saying he got a text message. He looked at the phone and it said Riley. Dave wiped the tears off of his face and opened the text message
Hey. I'm outside waiting in the car. Got coffee for ya.
Dave stood up and put his phone in his pocket. He grabbed the tie and looked back in the mirror. Once he was full suited, he opened his bedroom door and walked down the stairs to an empty living room, kitchen, and life. As Dave put his hand on the door knob to the front door, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror to his left. He noticed his eyes were a little red from the crying, and he hadn't shaved in days so his beard and mustache was coming in relatively dark but otherwise, he seemed decent enough to go out in public.
He walked to the white Chevy truck that was in the driveway still running. The guy in the front seat gave a slight wave of the hand signaling a hello. Dave just returned a slight smile.
"Here's your coffee. I just did cream and sugar. Wasn't sure if you liked it flavored or not," said the driver.
"It's fine. Thanks," said Dave. Dave took his coffee and drank a sip of it, staring out the front windshield. Riley was looking at Dave, as if trying to say something telepathically. Dave realized they weren't reversing out of the driveway and looked back at the driver. "What?"
"Well, I just wanted to apologize…for what I said back in May. I was out of line and a complete dick."
"Dude, its fine. Let's just get there," said Dave, taking another sip of coffee. Riley still had an expression on his face that said he wanted to talk but figured to just drop the conversation there. They reversed out of the driveway and started down the road.
The two boys were going down the main street when Dave spoke up.
"Can we turn on the radio? I have heard enough silence for one morning."
"You don't want silence then talk to me."
"Nothing to talk about right now," Dave said. He was staring out the passenger window, looking at the pedestrians on the sidewalks. It was about 10:30 and for a Saturday morning it was a pretty busy day, especially a morning where the sun wasn't out and the weather was in the low 70s. Riley turned on the radio and surfed through the channels before finding an oldies station. Dave glanced over to the driver who had a small smile on his face. I don't know how he could smile right now. I get why, but I can't bring myself to do it. Don't think I could ever smile again.
"So have you talked to any of your friends from school?" asked Riley.
"No not really."
"Well do they know about today?" Riley seemed a little concerned that Dave hadn't been talking to anyone.
"Yeah, I mentioned it earlier this week." Dave started to feel his heart tug a bit the more he talked about the whole situation out loud.
"Are any of them coming?"
"I DON'T KNOW! JUST DROP IT RILEY!" screamed Dave. He put his hand to his head, trying to mask the expression on his face. Riley noticed that Dave was also clenching his jaw, which he knew meant Dave was trying to prevent himself from crying. Dave looked back up outside the window with his elbow rested on the door, and his hand rested on his jaw. Tears started to roll down his face again.
Riley understood the pain Dave was trying to hide and kept silent the rest of the way to their destination. They arrived ten minutes later at the funeral home. Dave noticed the parking lot was almost near full, which was surprising given the fact he had no idea so many people knew or cared about today. Dave got out of the car and saw his dad standing at the front of the building, greeting people inside. Paul made eye contact with Dave and Riley as they were approaching.
"Hi dad," said Riley, patting his father's shoulder. "You doing okay? Want me and Dave to take over?"
"Nah, why don't you guys head inside. Dave some of your friends are already here. They haven't gone in yet," said Paul. Dave, curious as to who could be here walked in to the funeral home. The inside was very warm and inviting. There were polished wood floors with area rugs throughout the hallway. Old pictures of what Dave assumed was the family that owned the building. Dave followed the people walking down the hallway and as they entered a room to the left, Dave saw ahead of him some of the kids from Glee, with Kurt at the front of the group. Dave stood in the middle of the hallway as the students walked towards him. Kurt came up to Dave and embraced him, which Dave hadn't felt in what seemed like ages. He returned the hug, wrapping his muscular arms around Kurt. Shit, here comes that feeling in my chest again. Dave was trying desperately to not show his vulnerable side as Kurt pulled away.
"Are you doing okay?" asked Kurt.
"Okay as I can be I guess," said Dave with a shrug. He looked at the others behind Kurt and nodded to everyone. "Thanks for making it guys." Rachel walked up in her black dress and gave Dave a hug.
"If there's anything," she said, as Dave nodded. Finn, Mike, and Puck all shook hands with Dave and patted him on the shoulder. Quinn, Santana, Mercedes and Tina gave Dave hugs and condolences before heading into the room on the left. Before he knew it, Dave was alone in the hallway until his brother came up.
"C'mon Dave, we should probably get in there," said Riley as he put his arm around Dave's shoulder. They walked into the room where a hundred chairs were filled with people, most of which Dave had never met before. Dave recognized some faculty members from McKinley, like Ms. Pillsbury, Mr. Shue and Coach Beiste. The Glee kids were sitting near the front, behind Dave's family. Dave sat down on the chair, sitting next to his dad and brother. He looked straight ahead, staring into a portrait of a beautiful woman. Dave was fixated on her green eyes the most, lost in his own mind. He looked around the picture and saw a poster board of smaller photos featuring the same woman with other people, a few featuring Dave. He glanced at the name under the bigger portrait, still unable to grasp what was happening.
In Loving Memory
Of
Denise Lorinda Karofsky
Sad I know! I'm a dick I know! To be honest, I have thought about doing this since Chapter 20. Don't worry, I'll be going back to where I left off in the previous chapter, but I just wanted to do this. Sorta change it up, give it a "LOST" kind of feel with some flashforwards. But now you have an idea of when this part will end. Reviews welcomed!
