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c h a p t e r t w o
when the dead are buried

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THE WHOLE weekend was a blur for Calamity since most of it was spent in her bed, still processing the fact that Chase was murdered in the most brutal way possible it seemed. She had never been one to cry at the drop of a hat, but this was a big deal. She was scared to look in the mirror for fear of the tear stains all over her face. Her family was respecting her choice to be left alone in her room the whole weekend, knowing that she needed time alone to process everything. Her friends also respected her wish and didn't come by all weekend, knowing that she didn't like people comforting her at all.

She felt like a wimp crying in her room, but she had known Chase since they were in diapers. She grew up with him. He was too young to be taken away from the world. He didn't deserve to die, especially not by a murderer.

She also felt selfish for crying, as if she didn't deserve to mourn for him. Mr. and Mrs. Parker deserved to cry in their home for the rest of their lives. They were going to bury their son. No one should ever have to bury their own child. It is not supposed to work like that. That's not how the circle of life works.

When Monday morning rolled around, Calamity rolled out of bed and started getting ready for the funeral. She put on a black dress that had a few pretty pink flowers on it along with some plain wedges. She wiped her face of any tear stains and put some waterproof mascara on. She decided to just opt out of any other makeup and grabbed her purse before walking out of her room.

As she walked down the stairs, she noticed her parents and Kendrick, her fifteen year old brother, already downstairs waiting on her.

"Ready to go, dear?" Wyoming Taylor asked her daughter, offering her a smile.

Calamity sent her mom a half-hearted smile. "As ready as I'll ever be."

The Taylors exited the house simultaneously and all piled into the SUV. The funeral was at the high school gym since Shady River Baptist Church couldn't fit the entire student body let alone any extra people inside.

As they entered the gym, the air seemed to get cold and depressed. Everyone in the room was mourning over the loss of the beloved Chase Parker—students, faculty, and parents alike.

The cheerleading squad and the football team was to sit together during the service in respect of Chase, so when Calamity sent her family a grave smile and walked towards the front of the gym, not one of them questioned her.

Calamity sat down in the chair—the one nearest to the aisle—the team saved for her. The girls stared at her in concern, as if waiting to see if she would explode. Little did they know she was all cried out.

The funeral was as all funerals were: horribly depressing. Calamity hated funerals. She understood that it was good for closure and everything and maybe even helpful for the family, but she definitely didn't want one. Lots of funerals were way more depressing than they needed to be.

Personally, Calamity just wanted a small graveside service where the pastor said a few words and they bury her in the ground. She didn't want her death to be made into a big deal, and she didn't want her family to have a funeral and have to sit through a whole service of sadness. Calamity would be having a great time in Heaven while they sat there mulling over her death.

While Pastor Phillips read a few uplifting Bible scriptures about Heaven, Calamity managed to peer over the football player's head in front of her to see the casket. It was probably closed due to the multiple horrific stab wounds on Chase's body. Calamity almost immediately looked away from the coffin and focused her attention on the wall of the gym behind the podium set up at the front.

As soon as the funeral was over and the family exited the building along with the pallbearers carrying the casket, Calamity practically burst up from her seat to exit the building, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible.

She didn't even bother to find her parents before exiting the building, knowing they would probably mingle with the other parents and go pay their respects to Mr. and Mrs. Parker.

Finding a spot on a bench near the hedges in front of the gym, Calamity sat down with a deep sigh. She wondered if the sheriff's department had any leads on who murdered Chase. The murder was obviously planned down to the smallest intricate detail. Whoever did it must have thought about it a lot. The real question is why did the killer do it in front of the public eye? To make a point? To send some kind of message?

"This seat taken?"

Calamity glanced up just to see Grant Rogers, otherwise known as Chase's best friend. Realizing she never responded, Calamity nodded swiftly.

Grant ran a hand through his messy black hair as he sat down beside her. It was silent for awhile as they both just stared at everyone as they exited the gym. Practically the whole population of Shady River was there, which was not surprising considering what a wonderful boy Chase was. He was such a kind teenage boy and even though he was very popular, he didn't let it go to his head and was extremely humble. He treated everyone with the utmost respect, no matter who they were, and considered everyone his friend. That was why Calamity liked him. Not because he was the quarterback of the football team or because he was really popular, but because he was genuine. There weren't a lot of people like that.

"I keep wondering if all of this is actually real," Grant admitted as he stared off into the distance. "It's all so bizarre. He was killed right in front of my eyes, and I didn't do anything about it."

Calamity reached out and grabbed his shoulder to turn his attention to her. "You couldn't have known. None of us could. It was dark. The killer was smart."

He let out a huge sigh before nodding at her words, knowing she was right. He ran a hand through his hair again, messing it up even more. She noticed it seemed to be a habit of his. "Are you going to the graveside?"

She shook her head, glancing up just as he family finally exited the building. "No, but my family probably will. I just..." She sighed as she couldn't find the right words to say.

"It's okay," he reassured softly. "I'm not either."

As she stared at him intently, she realized she'd never seen Grant so vulnerable before, and then she realized he had probably never seen her so vulnerable either. She glanced down at her phone as it buzzed with a message from her mom asking of her whereabouts. She quickly responded by typing that she wasn't going to the graveside.

"I can drive you home if you want," he offered.

She nodded. "Thanks, Grant."

They both got up, and he led her to his truck. The ride to her house was mostly silent, the only sound being the low music coming from the radio. He pulled into her driveway and unlocked the doors.

"I'll see you at school tomorrow," she stated, sending him a small smile.

He managed to send her one back. "See you tomorrow, Calamity."

He waited until she was safely inside to back out of the driveway, and Calamity felt a fresh wave of tears to her eyes because that was something Chase would have done. She fiercely wiped them away, shaking her head. "Pull yourself together," she told herself, heading to the kitchen to find herself some lunch.

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