Chapter fifteen

By Pippie

(Jack's POV)

Cole's funeral was an intimate one; just family and close friends. A few people from school; students a couple teachers and the principal, showed up as well. All of whom really admired and thought a lot of Cole. Jordan and I had the job of greeting and seating people. It was so hard for me to get the words out to tell people who came in "Thanks for coming." And "I'll help you to your seat." Both should have been such easy phrases for me to say, but speaking at that moment was a really difficult thing to do.

I glanced toward the front of the room where Cole's casket was and then I had to quickly look away. I looked down at myself and pretended to fuss with my suit jacket. I admit that I'm like my dad, Bam, when it comes to dressing up. Normally I would be so uncomfortable and picking at my clothes the whole time, but today I was in such a daze I hardly noticed what I was wearing. My dads could have made me wear a dress made out of a potato sack, clown shoes and a Mexican wrestler's mask and I wouldn't have been phased by it.

Jordan stood by the door with his hand on the frame and his head down. He looked so sad I almost couldn't bear looking at him. I looked at his suit and then down at mine. This was one of the rare occasions where the two of us were dressed alike. It made it seem even weirder to me when I saw that Chris and Corey iweren't/i dressed alike. As they walked by I watched them closely. They appeared as though it was the hardest thing in the world for them to set foot in the building. They both kept their heads down and they shook. Their faces were pale and streaked with tears. There were even dark circles under their eyes from lack of sleep. I knew that out of everyone here, Cole's death was hitting them the worst. I couldn't and didn't want to imagine what it would be like to lose Jordan. I think that when Jordan does go one day I won't be far behind him. Even once we have our own lives one day it would be too hard for me to live without my twin. Jordan has even told me that he'd "die first" so he wouldn't have to feel the pain of losing me, and then he'd add "Don't make me wait long for you when I'm in heaven."

I sighed and felt my lip begin to quiver. Jimmy placed a hand on my shoulder and I looked at him. He nodded his head and put an arm around by back. I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face into his chest. He rubbed my back and whispered to me saying that it would be alright. No actual tears came out but I felt them in my eyes. The tears weren't going to come out as long as my dad held me. I glanced over at Jordan and saw that Bam was holding onto him as well. Except for the different parents in place, and the mole on my chin, Jordan and I looked exactly like a mirrored image right then. We all pulled apart to see our Finnish friends come in.

Right away the mood of the room changed. My cousins went over to Ville and Jussi and began bitching at them and blaming them for Cole's death. Jeremey pointed a finger at Aila and called her a really hurtful name in Finnish. She burst into tears and ran outside. Ville ran after her and Jussi looked like he was about to strike Jeremey across the face. Jussi cursed at him in Finnish and then Uncle Novak stepped in between them to calm them both down. I looked around but I didn't see Aunt Jade anywhere. I guess that once she saw Ville, she took off in the other direction.

(Jordan's POV)

I don't know why but I felt the need to go look for Aunt Jade. I found her outside near the back entrance of the building, sitting on the steps. She looked up at me and scooted over so I could sit down. I sat by her and she rested her head on my shoulder and then she sadly began to sign to me. I had a feeling that this was the most she would be able to communicate with anyone today. She knows three languages, English, Finnish, and sign language, and right now she was only able to "speak" in one language. We sat there for a few minutes talking to each other and then she gave me a hug. I stood up and hooked my arm so she could hold onto it. She stood up slowly and then I escorted her back inside.

When we were inside we saw Ville and Aila. Ville stood behind Aila with his hands on her shoulders. He looked up at Aunt Jade and Aila looked down at her shoes as Jade approached them. I saw Jade and Ville speaking softly to each other. Ville nodded his head and then Jade reached out for a hug. Ville held her close and kissed her on top of her head. I grinned slightly as I saw this. I knew Aunt Jade wasn't going to put any more blame on any one for why Cole died. The sad truth is, Cole died because it was his time to go, and I think that at that moment Aunt Jade was trying to accept that.

Everyone sat down and the funeral began. A few people went up to speak about Cole, but I think it was the hardest seeing Uncle Novak give his little speech. It felt like sharp knives entering my heart when I saw how hard it was for him to hold himself together. A really sweet, heartfelt moment happened when Dusti went up to sing. She sang a stripped-down version of one of Cole's favorite songs while Andy accompanied her on his acoustic guitar. It was funny seeing Andy up there because he seemed so out of his element. I think that this was the most he had ever been dressed up, and surprisingly he looked awesome. Dusti even pulled his hair back into a braid for him, which even I have to admit was a nice touch.

As Dusti sang I looked around at everyone around me. Even my dad, Bam, was crying and it takes a lot for him to cry. Jack put an arm around me and we leaned forward, pressing the sides of our heads together. I put my arm around him and we comforted each other.

Dusti and Andy sat back down and I saw Jimmy pull Dusti over to him. She leaned her head against his chest and began to cry. It was easy to tell that she waited to cry until after she was done singing. I just wish I knew how she managed to keep herself from crying that long. Jimmy grinned a little and told her, jokingly, that her hair was going to make his white shirt turn blue and purple. This caused her to lightly laugh and then she gave him a hug. I don't think it was inappropriate that once in a while that day when he let out a small joke or funny comment, because with all the tears going on we all needed a bit of lighthearted comfort. It really does help to laugh now and then and we all could use a good laugh right now. Hopefully now all the drama is over for a while.