Pretty Boy: The Lost Chapters

Extra: Brad's Ceremony of Life

Note: I never intended to fully write out Brad's Ceremony of Life when I was outlining for Pretty Boy. I did, however, consider diving into the type of reactions and emotional responses Marshall would have to go through when going public about his best friend's passing. I wanted to show how much the loss still impacted him even when trying to stay positive and hopeful of a better life to come.

This isn't going to be a super lengthy chapter because I'm really just going into this with the plan of showing how Marshall alone would have acted. And while there will be the occasional sweet moment, it will still be pretty sad. Grab your tissues 😭

***

Seeing everyone face to face like this was...overwhelming.

After coming to grips with the reality of the situation—with the reality that his best friend was actually...gone—Marshall knew he was going to have to make a public statement. The decision to do so was something he agonized over for a solid week. Because, even though not a lot of people were friends with or friendly toward Brad, he was known by many because of his prior status as an esteemed actor and dancer. His lacking presence at the theater would be noticed immediately; especially since he'd been casted as one of the main roles for an upcoming production. And while Brad just choosing to not show up anymore could've sold as a cover story, Marshall didn't want to tarnish his friend's legacy. He didn't want to slander the reputation of someone who was genuinely passionate about their craft.

So, in Marshall's eyes, it was up to him to come up with a believable tale about the sudden departure. It was his job to come up with a concrete story that wouldn't give anyone room to question anything or give them a reason to try and pursue more answers on their own.

Surprisingly enough, all it took was a text message to the production manager to set everything in motion. A mandatory meeting was scheduled, presenting an opportunity for Marshall to break the news. 

But now, as he was sitting in front of a large group on the theater's stage, his tongue felt weighed down. He couldn't look anyone in the eye. He couldn't keep his hands from trembling and had to hide them inside his hoodie's center pocket.

The mere thought of happy, delighted faces morphing into distraught ones because of him made his chest ache.

Marshall cleared his throat. "Uh, before we get started here, I just wanted to apologize about all this. Mr. Richard didn't schedule this meeting for work purposes. He did so because...something really...unfortunate has happened. Something that you guys have the right to know about."

A firm hand settled on Marshall's upper back. He gave a quick glance to the production manager beside him before looking back at a sea of anxious faces. 

"There really isn't an easy way to ease into this, so I'll just get right to it." A necessary breath was taken to unfurl the ball of tightness forming in his throat. "...You all know Brad Romero- either from working in the theater or the Dance Company. You all know that our off season is a time for us to take some nice vacations. Well, for his time off, Brad went overseas to Spain with his girlfriend for a few weeks. The night they came back, the weather kind of took a really bad turn. It was during that crazy storm, if any of you can remember. When they were driving back to town, Brad...accidentally got into a car accident. Trying to break caused the vehicle to flip multiple times. It only stopped when rolling into a rock face.

"After getting to the hospital he was at, I was told by his girlfriend's family that she died before the ambulance could complete transporting her. Brad's injuries were really bad too. The doctors did everything they could for him, but..."

The hand on Marshall's back began rubbing gentle circles in between his shoulder blades. 

"...Brad knew he was running a losing race. He felt like, no matter what the doctors did, they weren't going to be able to save him. So he told them to stop trying. And a few minutes after they gave me permission to see him, he..."