NOVEL WEB Chapter 95: Almost Broken.
The funeral was over with the last shovel of dirt, and finally, they could rest in peace, at least, they could.
James was the first to turn his back and leave the graves, while his mother stayed with Bella and Charlotte.
He couldn't contain himself, and moreover, he couldn't stop thinking that it was all his fault.
As he made his way out of the cemetery, Hector and Benjamin followed him, which was a strange sight as they just walked beside each other, not even saying a single word.
James turned left toward the cars when he stopped, as before him stood people.
He looked up at them, and all of them were dressed in black, each holding a single white rose.
At first, he thought nothing of it. It was a big cemetery, and maybe someone else had been buried the same day. He stepped down from the sidewalk onto the road and tried to go past them, but one of them stopped him.
"Are you James Bellini?"
James turned toward her. She was a teenager, all of them were teenagers.
"Yes." He said it simply.
The girl's eyes flickered toward the ring on his finger, the signet ring, then back to James.
"We're here for Rafael's funeral." She said it with a shaky voice.
James straightened himself a bit, not believing what he heard. For Rafael? He didn't even have friends in school, and if he did, all of them were bullies.
So, he thought, these "friends" were probably his bullies trying to do something nice for once in their lives.
He stepped closer to her, pulling the sunglasses off his head and looking straight into her eyes.
She stepped back a little, her hand trembling slightly.
"How did you know Rafael, and more importantly, how did you know today is his funeral?"
Another girl stepped forward, the one who had more guts.
"We were friends from an online game." She said as she looked into James's eyes. "We played a lot and talked a lot with each other. We sent an email to Rafael's mother, and she replied back to us."
Online friends…
"What great friends he had…" He whispered, then turned away and began walking toward the car. But one of them didn't move with the others.
The girl with glasses spoke to James, her hands trembling slightly as she spoke. "It was true…"
"Leila!" One of the boys grabbed her hand but she didn't move.
James turned to look back at her.
"What?"
"You're a gangster…"
James smiled slightly. "What a mastermind you are." But then, his smile faded as he added, "But do you really need to say that to a grieving brother?"
"His mother said he died from a heart attack, but that's a lie…The news about the shooting and that a teenager died, it was—"
"Stop talking, lady." Benjamin's voice came from the side. "Before I arrest you for disturbing a funeral."
She immediately looked at him "I'm not disturbing anything—"
"And who's the witness?" Benjamin asked as he looked at the boy who turned his face away.
"What?" She asked.
"You have no witness. In fact, I could shoot you and say you attacked me with a knife."
"Are you threatening a teenager?"
"No, I'm just telling you the reality of our country. So, go grieve or go home before my patience wears thin. Or worse, this guy gets angry." He gestured toward James. "Teenager or not, you can still bleed."
She didn't know what to say…or even if she needed to answer. One of her friends came back and quickly dragged her away, while apologizing for her behavior.
"Are you okay?" Benjamin asked as James continued walking.
"Yeah…But what are you doing here, Benji?"
"I just came to—"
"To lick my ass deeper?" James cut him off, slowly turning his head to meet Benjamin's gaze. "It's okay, though. I wanted to talk to you anyway."
"James…" Benjamin started, but James cut him off with a wave of his hand.
"Don't start pretending to care now. You and I both know what you're here for." James said as the car door opened in front of him, and he sat down. "My legs are hurting like shit." He rubbed his hands on his knees. "Anyway, I'll work with you, Benji."
Benjamin was speechless as he thought it all over. He had expected it to take more time…more ass kissing, more gifts, more invitations to get James's attention.
"Really?" That was all he could ask.
"Yeah." James let out a big sigh, wiping his eyes and face with a tissue. "But here are some conditions I want."
"Of course, say it." Benjamin stepped closer, glancing around, but the only people nearby were the guards, and Hector who was speaking with one of them.
"First, I can kill whoever I want, and you'll make it clean. Second, we'll start a foundation to help bullied kids and children from poor backgrounds." He put the tissue down and looked at Benjamin. "Third, if I ever die, you'll make sure my mother and Charlotte fly out the country and ensure that no one ever finds them. But these are just three of the many, if you agree to this–"
"I agree!" he said, slowly bending down as if speaking to an emperor. "I don't care what your conditions are, I accept all of them."
"Then—"
"Who are you?" Charlotte's voice came from the side of the car as she looked up at Benjamin.
Benjamin looked at her, then back at James. "I'll contact you." He glanced back at Charlotte, gently patting her head, and without another word, he walked away.
"Who was that strange man?" Charlotte asked, looking up at James.
"A colleague, I guess." James said with a smile, leaning out of the car and picking Charlotte up onto his lap. "How are you?" He gently wiped the tears from her cheeks.
"I'm good." She said as he hugged him more and more. "How are you?" She whispered into his ear.
"I cracked a bit."
"A crack?"
"Yeah, and sometimes people break after the funeral and not during that, and I am that person."
She leaned back to see James face and with his little hand she cupped his face. "I feel that crack!" She said "So don't break!" She gave him a kiss on his cheek.
Yeah… I have a light too. Something that stops me from being swallowed by the darkness.