Page 46 of Saving Wyatt

She cleared her throat, leaned into the mic, and looked at the closed coffin next to her.

“I didn’t know him long. I believe most of you knew him all your lives, but the little I did know him, he was nothing but an angel on earth. I’m devastated to lose him as a confidante, as a guide…as a friend, but I bet you he’s so happy to be reunited with his beautiful wife. She was all he could talk about. His Luna. I think the part of him I’ll always remember was his words. He’d offer fatherly advice to anyone willing to listen. He didn’t judge. He didn’t offend. I believe he changed anyone who met him with his kindness and his huge heart.”

She tried to stay composed, to speak with confidence and joy, but she had to stop to wipe her tears more than a couple of times.

Mine burned my eyes as they formed and fell down my cheeks, but it was my chest that ached with every word. Every picture she so beautifully painted of Mr. Rogers.

A hand reached for my shoulder. I turned behind me only to find Ari’s penetrating gaze staring back at me with a sorrowful smile. He squeezed my shoulder then let go of me, but the absence of his hand made me ache more than before.

“I know he wouldn’t want us to be sad. He’d want us to be happy. And I am. Because an angel finally got his wings, and he can look over us, look over all his children, and keep an eye out for us.”

My nostrils flared, and I sniffed before snot made me an utter mess.

“So let’s not be sad, friends…” she said. Her face had turned red, and she could barely keep her eyes open from all the tears.

Donovan stepped up behind her and held her with both hands, and she leaned into him a little but looked out at the pews.

“We’ve got the best man as our guardian angel now.”

And with that, she turned to Donovan and broke down. There wasn’t a dry eye in our row, which was as far as I was willing to look. All my guys had their heads dipped low and more than a few were wiping their eyes.

The only one missing was Joey who was sitting watch outside the school, though I believed that was only half the reason. Rogers had been the only other person to believe in him when no one else would. Hell, even I hadn’t believed he was entirely innocent when he first stepped foot on the island. But Mr. Rogers had never doubted him. I couldn’t imagine what a mess he’d be if he were here.

After Autumn, a couple others gave their eulogies, and then Parker, Slade, Azrael, Teddy, Donovan, and I carried the coffin to the cemetery. The weight on my shoulder was heavier than any weight I’d ever felt.

It only turned heavier when a young Black man approached us at the end, after people had dispersed, and smiled sadly at everyone. In his hands, he held Prince, Rogers’ old mophead of a dog, who also seemed to be in mourning.

“Thank you for everything,” he said. “I’m Kale. Kale Sinclair. Gregory’s great-nephew.”

I took a step back without meaning to as everyone else offered their condolences.

“Thank you. If I’m honest, I didn’t know him well enough. Not since I was a kid, but I remember him exactly as you described him. It seems he was very well loved,” he said, this time his smile reaching his eyes.

Yet that only made my chest tighter. More fragile. I couldn’t take this anymore. I’d caused this. This was all my fault. I needed…I needed to fix everything.

I excused myself and walked out of the cemetery, got into my car and drove like a maniac, getting angrier and angrier by the second.

I came to an abrupt stop in front of the town hall and marched inside.

“Where is Wilson?” I shouted at the first person I saw but didn’t stop.

I knew where the mayoral office was, and that was where I headed. People chased after me. A woman jumped out from behind her desk and told me the mayor was busy and I needed to book an appointment. I heard another employee call security. I ignored them all.

I opened the double doors to Wilson’s office and looked him dead in the eyes.

There was another man there. Someone from the council, though who specifically I didn’t know. Everything—everyone—else was a blur.

“We need to talk. Now!” I shouted.

The other man jumped. The group of people behind me tried to pull me back and only let go of me when security finally got there.

They started to drag me away, but I glared at the one man responsible for what had just happened. For the man we’d had to bury.

“Go,” he told the man sitting opposite him. “Let him in.”

The security guards eased their hold on me, and I could tell from my peripheral they looked at each other in confusion.

The man left the room. The guards looked at Wilson for directions, and he gave them one.