Read Beyond Death for Free Online Page B

yourselves. She adored you, Jay and Tash. Claire would have trusted the both of you with her life.’
    Tash ran out of the church sobbing. Other guests turned and stared, wondering about the commotion and assuming that the loss of her best friend was all too much for the poor girl. Jay looked at Graham and Marion.
    ‘I shouldn’t have told you. I’m so sorry. You have to believe me that it was a mistake early on in our relationship and I’ll always love Claire. I’m so, so, sorry.’ Jay put his head in his hands and sobs wracked his body. It was the second time that he’d cried since she’d died, the first when they visited her body. He wished he hadn’t told Marion about his mistake. He’d been so drunk and couldn’t even remember how he told her. Alcohol was the only thing that numbed the pain and he knew he’d relied on it too much since Claire’s death. He still couldn’t believe that he’d never see her again and he promised himself that he would stay sober on the day of her funeral, so there was nothing to numb the pain today. Graham put a supporting hand on his shoulder and Jay tried to get a grip. Graham seemed a lot more understanding than Marion, which was funny in a non-humorous way as Claire had been a Daddy’s girl and idolized by her father. Graham had given him a proper bollocking but seemed to know that it had been a one-off mistake - a stupid reaction following a horrendous argument - and was able to forgive him. He didn’t think that Marion would ever forgive him. He’d got on well with the twins up to now but assumed that Marion had told them, as they were both cold and distant. Saying that, Jay knew that the twins had loved and always tried to protect their little sister and they all had a weird sixth sense thing going on between them. They’d arranged for her to move to her flat which was only a 5-minute walk from their own. They seemed to have turned inward since she’d left, communicating almost telepathically with each other, and only talking to others as and when it was absolutely necessary. Jim was lucky that his girlfriend was so understanding. At least he had her support. Jay turned and watched Tash re-enter the church. He couldn’t forgive himself for cheating on Claire and, after going to the flat to clear out her belongings with Graham the following week, he never wanted to see Tash again.
    The coffin bearers, Graham, Jay, the twins and Claire’s twin cousins placed the casket at the front of the church and the service began. It took approximately one hour for family and friends to say goodbye to the 24 year old who had had so much going for her and been taken so cruelly from this world to the next – according to the minister. I Will Always Love You rang out from the CD player as Claire’s casket disappeared behind curtains. It now seemed real and final to Jay and the family and Marion was inconsolable. The men tried their best to retain some composure while saying goodbye to some of the family who had to return to their homes in Yorkshire ready for work the following day, and were unable to attend the wake. The remainder of the solemn guests returned to their transport and headed for the hotel where her father was determined that they would celebrate her life, as well as grieving her death.
    *****
    Gobsmacked was the first word that sprang to mind as the image below blurred and the scene slowly faded away. Just when she thought that nothing could possibly make her feel any worse she’d been wrong yet again and the volcano inside her started to well up once more. So her fiancée had cheated on her with her best friend. Claire almost felt like a cliché. She could forgive her parents for holding her funeral in a church – even though she was a non-believer she understood that religion was a crutch for her mother and she might have found some comfort in it. Following her upset the realization of what Jay and Tash had done to her hit home. Claire felt as cold and hard as