Dangerous Love

33||Fear

Petra Ramirez

Two weeks later..

It's been almost two weeks since Audrey's death, two weeks since everyone has heard her laughter, her sarcastic jokes. It was weird not having her around the house.

Today is the day of her funeral, I can tell that Brandon was dreading every second of it. He hasn't even spent any time with his daughter, he's been busy signing papers and getting things ready for her funeral.

Xavier and his family have been a mess, I've just been helping take care of the new addition to the family along with Natalia.

As we arrive at the cemetery I look out the window and in the distance, I see a bunch of limousines, and random people gathering by Audrey's coffin.

John opens the car door as I step out with Ellie following behind me, the sun is shining bright. I like to think that it's Audrey since she was such a bright person in everyone's lives.

It's pretty chilly out, it is the start of January. Sadly, we have to start the New Year off without her, she deserved to see her beautiful baby girl.

Xavier shuts the door behind him and we begin walking towards where everyone else is at. Audrey is being buried next to where her grandfather and uncle are.

We stop next to Elena and Carlos who are just staring at the coffin, I look over and see Natalia and Alessandro as they are holding Maddy with tears streaming down their faces. They lost their youngest daughter, I don't blame them for being upset.

The night when Audrey died, Natalia was hysterical; she couldn't stop screaming and crying for her daughter.

The priest walks up and everyone's attention goes to him as he stands beside her coffin. The priest starts talking, I turn my attention to Xavier who seems to not pay any attention to him and what he is saying, I gently place a hand on his back and rub it trying to comfort him.

As I stood there in the cemetery, surrounded by friends and family, my heart felt heavy with grief. Audrey had such an impact on me.

The air was filled with a somber silence, broken by the whispers and occasional sniffles as the white flowers adorning Audrey's casket seemed to contrast sharply against the dark clouds that started to cover the sun.

I tried to focus on the words of the priest, but my attention kept drifting. My eyes scanned the crowd, seeking solace in familiar faces. I tried to find Brandon in this crowd but he was nowhere to be seen.

That's when I noticed him, a tall, mysterious man standing at the edge of the gathering. He was more muscular and had sunglasses on, but I could feel his intense gaze fixed on me, as a shiver ran down my spine.

My instinct started to scream at me to look away and ignore his unsettling presence. But curiosity got the better of me, and I couldn't help but wonder who he was and why he seemed so fixated on me. Was it just a coincidence, or was there something more to it?

I shook my head and forced myself to shake off the unease, quickly reminding myself that this was about Audrey, and everyone saying their final goodbyes. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. I decided to make a mental note to keep an eye on him, just in case something happened.

As the service came to an end and people started dispersing, I glanced back in the direction where the man had been standing. To my surprise, he was gone. A mix of relief and curiosity washed over me, who was he? Why was he at the service?

After the funeral everyone goes back to Xavier's house, I put Ellie to sleep and head towards the stairs before I bump into Brandon who looks like he hasn't gotten any sleep.