Aiden pulled Paul aside, "Look I was wrong. There was so much bad stuff going on I guess I wanted something to blame. Sorry I dragged you into my conspiracy."
This was surprising and unbelievable. Noah walked up to him and grabbed him on the shoulder to explain. For some reason, Paul felt this explanation was better and more believable. Paul forgave his friend and went straight home to bed. All his questions were answered. He wasn't suspicious about anything. He was glad he investigated so he could put all suspicions to bed.
He woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. It was Friday. As much as he wanted to be excited about the weekend it was Quinn's father's funeral. He was determined to do everything his friend needed. Paul was the first to arrive. He wanted to make sure he was available every second his best friend needed.
Paul arrived and hugged his bud. "Whatever you need bro."
"Thanks man. It's just about getting through the day. One day at a time."
The pair went off to check on Quinn's mother. She said she was fine. So they went to hang out in the study. They both parked it on a couch when Melissa walked in. Paul handed Quinn his flask and left them so they could talk.
He ran into Zane and Noah in the dining room. They were talking about Delilah, but Paul couldn’t make out anything specific. He approached the brothers.
"Ah, normal high schooler five." Noah greeted him.
Irritated he responded. "I do have a name."
Noah proceeded to just leave the room. Zane walked up to him and apologized on behalf of his brother. "Sorry about him, he's kind of not a big people person. How are you doing with all this Paul?"
"You know, kind of stressed out man. A lot of bad stuff has happened. It's just shitty thing after shitty thing.”
Zane shook his head in agreement. "Well hopefully it's all uphill from here. I mean we're at a funeral, how much worse can things get."
The service began. Father Tivy came in and led a prayer. He then invited others to stand up and say a few things. One by one people began standing up to talk. Paul wondered if he should, but he decided against it. Quinn was the last to speak.
"My father was a simple guy. Most people say I take after him like that. We live in the moment. He always said you can plan ahead, but you'll never truly know what's gonna happen. He also was a man who didn't get held down by his past. Most people don't know, but my father was adopted. He always said it inspired him to be more conscious of who he was in the moment. Not who he used to be or could be. I'd like us all here now to make a promise to be present and appreciate all we have in the here and now.”
Paul couldn't help but get choked up. He definitely cried more than he'd ever admit to anyone. Quinn's speech made Paul appreciate his friends and family more that day. He wished his mother could be here but she had to work.
The service concluded and the crowd dispersed. Some went straight home. Others stuck around for a few more drinks. Eventually everyone slowly left. Paul found himself alone with the priest. He had no idea what to say but he wanted to break the silence. "Great service father."
Father Tivy was surprised by this comment, "Thank you, my son. It is sad when you have to do a funeral but you hope your words will help. And over time what you've done will lead to happier things."
Paul opened up a little. "Everything is so messy now. It seems like bad thing after bad thing. I even thought it was someone's fault for a while, but I guess it's just random.”
The priest looked at him sincerely. "You mustn't give up hope for better days. Bad stuff will always occur, that's a given. Keep fighting against evil and keep the ones you love close and never lose faith my boy."
Father Tivy patted him on his back and left. Paul was glad he had this talk. It gave him a renewed faith in the universe. There was hope that everything would be okay. Of course he was skeptical. He felt like this before and then more bad stuff happened. His best friend's father died. How much worse could it get?
Paul left the room to see if any of his other friends were still here. When he heard two people fighting from behind a closed door. It took him a while to make out the voices, but he realized it was Tyler and Beatriz. He paused for a minute. Eavesdropping on friends was wrong, however he couldn't help himself.
"It's not my fault, I didn't ask for this stuff." he heard Tyler say.
"I know, it's just you are already the planned one, the favorite, the golden son. And now you get this too. It sucks." Beatriz replied.
When she opened the door she ran into Paul, who was mortified to be caught listening into his friend's conversation.
This embarrassed her as well. "How much did you overhear?"
Paul lied. "I walked up as you opened the door. I heard something sucks. What sucks?"
Beatriz walked away saying, "My existence."
Paul and Tyler stared at each other for a second. Paul pointed over his shoulder. "She doesn't seem good."
Tyler looked down as he responded, "It's not her fault." He then walked toward Paul and closed the door. The two teens went walking toward the exit. Tyler continued, "It's kind of clear I'm my parents favorite. Even my grandfather goes on and on about how she is the first granddaughter in our family line. He thinks her being her is a sign that the universe is unbalanced. So if I was told that I was a bad omen all my life I'd be annoyed too."
The pair made it to the front porch when they saw a odd sight. Delilah and Noah were sitting alone on a bench together, and they looked to be flirting. Paul was shocked.
"Is it just me or are those two too friendly?" he asked Tyler.
"Oh that, I witnessed that weirdness at the fair before the whole passing out incident. I'm just gonna avoid that teen drama. I don't like love triangles.”
"At least Zane is a decent guy. His brother seems like a crappy person. Plus he's like twenty-five and she's seventeen. That's creepy."
Tyler laughed in agreement. "Isn't it obvious, it's just like in the movies. When we first met Zane we liked him. He is a great guy so whenever he isn't prince charming it's noticeable. But Noah here is first introduced as a villain, the bad guy, so every time he doesn't slaughter a puppy, we think wow he's becoming a better person. Plus some ladies dig the whole he hates the world but loves me thing"
Paul was in disbelief, "That's dumb. I'm glad I live in the real world."
Zane walked up to the duo. "Hey everyone is gone, we're gonna start cleaning.....up."
There was a pause between cleaning and up. Paul noticed it and he knew why. Zane had just seen how cozy his girlfriend and his brother look. He felt sorry for him. Zane walked over to the two to gather them inside for help. Paul looked on, noticing how intense it looked between the two brothers. But it was none of his business so he went inside.
He found Melissa inside wrapping up the leftover food to put away. He went to help her. He grabbed some Tupperware and started putting food in. She thanked him, "Hey thanks for the hand."
"Well it's so I can secretly snack on the leftovers," Paul said, then picking up a cookie and biting into it. Melissa smiled and quietly laughed. He continued, "So you guys have a good talk?"
Paul was curious about what the former couple talked about. She was hesitant but eventually spilled. "Just a cliché post relationship talk. Both of us kind of admitted we were different people and gave each other permission to date other individuals. I basically told him it was okay to be with Rhea.”
He didn't want to spill any beans, so he just asked. "So you're okay with all that?"
"Yep," Melissa replied.
Paul followed up. "And you can date others."
"Yep." The girl replied a second time. "I mean we were cute together and had some fun, but that's all there was. We have different paths I think."
Someone his age being so level headed was impressive. He had no idea what to say next. He blurted the first thing that popped into his head. "Have you seen Delilah and Noah lately?"
Melissa laughed. "Weird segue, but yeah I have. And I am team Zane all the way."
Paul in agreement replied. "Me too!"
The friends finished putting the food away and helped Quinn with the garbage. Everyone said goodbye and went to their homes. Paul arrived home to find his mother there. He was glad for her. Seeing Quinn's father in his casket made him appreciate his mother even more. So he came in and hugged her before saying a word. She hugged him back. "How's Quinn doing? How was the funeral? "
He held on to the hug for a little longer. "Fine everything is going to be fine.”