Lydia’s P.O.V
“A graveyard?” Lyric gave me a narrow eyes glance.
“I promise to kill you gently.” I gave him a sideway glance before getting out of the car. “And thank you for not getting us killed on the way. Your car driving skills are way better than your bike driving skills.”
“Why, thank you! I’ve never been so flattered in my life.” Lyric put a hand over his heart and batted his eyelashes at me. If I could, I would’ve smiled but I simply shook my head at his antics.
Lyric came around the car and came to stand right next to me as I stood in front of the cemetery gates. My heart was beating so fast I was sure he could hear it too. My palms were sweaty from nervousness so I wiped them on my dress. Lyric must have noticed the movement because he took one of my hands in his and held it tight in a silent show of support. I think by now, he must have guessed why we were here.
I hadn’t told my parents where I was actually headed after we had finished breakfast. Instead, I had told my mom that I needed to get some jewellery to go with the dress they had picked out for me for tonight’s party. And in the process, I could show Lyric around. In fact, I hadn’t needed much convincing because my mom and Ivy had practically shoved Lyric and me into a car and sent us out. Now that they knew Lyric was welcome by the boys, god only knows what my mom and Ivy were plotting.
But right now, I had something very difficult to face right in front of me. Gathering as much strength as I could from within myself and from Lyric, I took my first step towards the cemetery.
Lyric walked silently beside me, my hand clasped tightly in his. The entire place was empty and even though it was a cemetery, it didn’t feel creepy or disturbing. There was an odd sense of peace in this place where the dead rested and passed on to the afterlife, leaving behind only empty shells. I saw flowers on some of the tombstones, some fresh, some wilted and wondered if I should’ve brought some myself. But then again, what I had brought was far more relevant.
After about five minutes of walking, we came to a stop in front of a simple grave that didn’t have any flowers on it. Dried grass and fallen leaves were scattered all around the tiny grave and it made me sad how he was still being ignored even after he was gone.
Letting go of Lyric’s hand, I dug into my purse to retrieve the shell that belonged to the bullet that was still stuck inside my brain.
“Hey, Roy.”I spoke to the grave, hoping that maybe he was listening. “I’m not giving you this to make you feel bad. But I’m giving you this shell as a promise that someday, I’ll return the bullet as well and it’ll be the sign that I’m okay. I’ve finally moved on.”
I bent down made a small indent in the ground and buried the shell inside so that no one finds it and panics. Then I placed my hand on the head stone, skimming on the cold surface with my fingertips. “I’m doing a lot better now, so you don’t have to feel guilty about anything anymore. Rest in peace, Roy. I hope we can be friends when we meet again.”
I stood up and turned to face Lyric. The expression in his eyes were unreadable but he took my hand in his and wiped away the dirt with a handkerchief. He then intertwined our fingers together, just as he had when we had first walked in and we began making our way back out of the cemetery, to where our car was parked.
Lyric didn’t say anything as we walked back to the car, but once we were inside and buckled up, he turned to me with a frown on his face. “You still feel guilty over his death.” It wasn’t a question.
It was pointless lying to Lyric; somehow he always knew what was going on inside my head.
“Yes.” I told him the truth. “I regret being friends with Calvin and the group. If I hadn’t been part of that group or been nicer to Roy…things could’ve been very different right now.”
“Why were you friends with such a jerk anyway?” Lyric frowned. “I thought you hated bullies?”
I shook my head. “You have to understand that this was before the incident.” I looked down at my hands on my lap. “Back then, I was friends with the popular crowd, a group of rich spoiled brats whose folks had money and they had no trouble bullying people they thought were inferior to them. I didn’t participate in the bullying but I didn’t stop it either. I used to be a superficial person just like them, caring more about my clothes and hair and my appearance than other people’s feelings. I’m ashamed of the way I acted and I wish I could’ve come to my senses earlier.”
I thought Lyric would probably loath me after this confession. After all, I had been hard on him from the start thinking he was a bully too, when I had been no less only three years ago and my foolishness had caused someone’s death. But instead of getting angry or mocking me, Lyric asked something that had me surprised.
“And what happened to your group after that?”
“Huh? My group?” I looked up at his eyes to find the intense green orbs focused only on me. “We never met after that.”
“So Calvin showed his true face as the loser he truly was and turned tail, but no one else was with you at such a difficult time either?” He asked incredulously. “You have a bullet in your head because of them and they didn’t stick around? Did they really not care that their idiocy got a guy killed?”
I winced. “It wasn’t just them…I wasn’t myself either.”
“Of course you weren’t!” Lyric snapped angrily. “That’s because you had a bullet in your head and were going through tough rehabilitation. Even my enemies aren’t such insensitive bastards! Some friends!”
It took me a second to realize that Lyric wasn’t angry at me, but for me. He was angry that my so-called friends had betrayed and abandoned me when I had needed them the most.
“Well…at least something good came out of it.” I told him to lighten the mood. “I got to know that superficial stuff don’t matter at all and the people I had considered as friends had never really been my friends at all.”
Suddenly, Lyric turned in his seat to face me, his face in harsh lines but when he touched his fingers to my cheek, it was warm and gentle. “Never feel ashamed for other people’s fault, Lydia. What happened with Roy wasn’t your fault. Yes, if you knew what he could do, I’m sure you would’ve done everything in your power to prevent it, but what happened has already happened and you’ve already suffered enough.”
“Maybe…I deserved it.” I told him hoarsely, my throat thick with emotions as tears well up in my eyes, making them blurry.
“No, you didn’t.” Lyric defended immediately, lifting my chin gently with his fingers so I could look into his eyes. “And I’ll keep on reminding you of that until I no longer have you. You are good person, Lydia, inside and out. Don’t let anything or anyone change your mind on that. And as for your so-called friends, I’m not a religious person but I believe in karma. What goes around comes around and that’s why I’m sure they’ll get their share of karma when the time comes.”
Wiping under my eyes with his thumb, Lyric finally turned to the steering wheel, making me miss the contact instantly. “Let’s get you home before your parents send out a search party.”
I nodded as he started the car, feeling a lot better than I had been this morning, before I arrived at Roy’s grave. “One more thing though.”
I looked back at Lyric questioningly.
“There’s also another thing that happened because of that incident…I got to meet you.”