2:24 P.M.
Somehow the days had flown by. Julie didn't know how three days had passed and she didn't even realize it. She didn't remember much; And what she did remember wasn't pretty. Closing her eyes for only a moment, the grieving mother remembered waking up the previous night with a horrible stomach ache. She had spent the entire night in the bathroom, vomiting until she passed out on the floor.
Neil had found her there around six A.M. and after woken her up, had helped her into the shower. She stood in the hot water until it ran out. As she got out and wrapped a towel around herself, her skin was red from the burning water but she didn't care. Moving slowly so not to make herself sick, Julie returned to their bed and fell back asleep.
And now here she was. At her daughter's funeral. She clenched her jaw as the words flashed in her head. Her daughter's funeral. She felt sick again but managed to fight the feeling down.
Out of the corner of her eye, Julie saw the Cohen's enter. Kirsten and Seth were the first to be seen. They sat behind Julie and Seth moved forward to whisper something to Julie.
"I'm really sorry about Marissa."
Julie turned around as she managed a weak smile. Seth sat back on the pew, observing the woman. He'd never seen her look so horrible. Puffy red eyes, pale cheeks. No, this was not the Julie Cooper he knew.
Ryan, accompanied by Sandy, very slowly entered next. Ryan looked devastated, heartbroken and angry. Sandy took the seat next to his wife while Ryan sat on the other side of him. Both of the men gave Julie sympathetic looks just before funeral started.
Neil took his seat next to Julie. She immediately buried her face in his shoulder, muffling her sobs, and didn't stop crying until the minister began speaking.
After nearly an hour, everyone stood up and remained silent. Neil very gently helped Julie stand up; She wasn't sure what was going on and was too upset to really care. She watched in slight horror as Neil, Sandy, Seth and Ryan walked to the front of the church, then with the help of two other men she didn't know, lifted the casket up. They began carrying it down the aisle, passing the rows of Newpsies with mock-worried expressions on their faces.
She swallowed hard to keep the bile rising in her throat. They didn't care. They didn't care that her daughter was dead. Everyone though Marissa was just another spoiled brat from Newport Beach. Why were they even there? It was her dead daughter lying in the polished wooden casket.
Julie sat down on the pew as everyone else remained standing. She didn't want to cry in front of all those people but she couldn't hold the tears back anymore. Her hands covered her face as she sobbed quietly.
Out of the corner of her eye, Kirsten saw that the brunette was no longer standing up. Instead she was sitting down, her shoulders shaking violently. She walked around to the front of the pew and knelt before the crying woman.
Julie looked up at Kirsten, tears still streaming down her face. She just wanted to go back home, get into bed and sleep. She wanted this nightmare to be over, but realized it wasn't a nightmare. This was real.
"It's almost over, Julie. Just a few more minutes," Kirsten comforted the grieving mother. She decided to sit there with Julie, for no mother should be alone at a funeral. Especially when it's the funeral of her daughter.