Like I was everything he could have ever wanted.
Like heneededme.
It was the best feeling in the whole fucking world, and literallynothingcould take this high away from me.
I may not have necessarily ever seen myself working in a funeral home… but if doing this job made Ryan look at me likethat, there was literally nothing else on this planet that I would rather do with my life.
After the wake,people started to slowly trickle out of Fairview. I stood by the door, saying goodbye to people as they filed out.
I had met Joanna’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell, and immediately understood why she had gone to such desperate lengths to please them. Mr. Caldwell seemed like a serious hardass, and her mother was unfriendly as fuck.
I supposed my first impression of themwasat a funeral, but still. I had a knack for feeling people out, and let me tell ya, these people werenotit.
While I kept myself busy saying goodbye to patrons, I kept one eye on Ryan. He was bustling about in‘Ryan mode’doing his Ryan things, but he kept talking to himself quietly, and it was honestly freaking me out.
I remembered the shadows that seemed to follow him around in the surveillance cameras. There had also been a few times I had been sparring in the basement with Theo while Ryan was in the other room working on Mr. Whitlock.
I could have sworn I heard him talking to someone then, too. But whenever I went to check and see who it was, no one was there, and he always got all red and awkward.
Brushing my fingers over the lump in my pocket that signaled Iris’s weird pouch of witchy goodies, I bit my lip.
For some reason, I had this super strange feeling that Ryan could see ghosts or something. Maybe I would have thought that was far-fetched before I met Iris, but after spending weeks sharing a space with her, it seemed more than plausible.
Resolving to ask Ryan about it when we were alone, I nodded at the last patron and made my way into the viewing room to help clean up.
I paused, however, when I noticed someone was still in here. Not justanyone.
Joanna.
She was sitting in one of the empty chairs, staring at the empty space where her grandfather’s coffin had been with tear-stained cheeks.
She looked so fucking sad, I couldn’t bring myself to just leave her there. So, I made my way over, doing my best to come off as non-threatening as possible.
I wasn’t sure if the non-threatening thing was working, considering her eyes widened in fear when she noticed me approaching, and she leapt to her feet.
“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to linger. I’ll go…” she stammered, and I shook my head, holding my hand palms up to show her that I wasn’t here to hurt her or be mean.
“No, no, stay. I’m sorry about how I acted last time. That wasn’t cool… I just… You were a bit of a shock, and I was angry and didn’t know how to deal with it. I’m sorry I took it out on you.”
She paused, eyeing me wearily, wringing her hands together.
“I promise, I come in peace. I just came to see if you wanted some company or someone to talk to. I’m sure today was rough.”
Her eyes welled with tears again, and she nodded. Gesturing to the empty chairs, I sat down, hoping she would follow suit.
She folded herself into the seat next to me and returned to her staring competition with the empty podium.
“So, you and your grandfather… you guys were close?” I asked, and she let out a breathy laugh that I couldn’t interpret.
“I guess you could say that.” She sighed. “My grandfather was a very… strict man, much like my father. He was very…involvedin my life. Whether I wanted him to be or not.”
She stiffened, then turned wide, fearful eyes on me.
“Oh my… that was a horrible thing to say…”
I shrugged. “I’ve heard worse.”
Her mouth parted, and I placed a hand over hers, giving her fingers a squeeze.
