Glass Hearts [BL]

Downstairs, Diane and the others were waiting.

When she saw me, she didn’t comment on how uneven my tie was, instead she fixed it and patted my shoulder, then we all walked toward the door.

Ren, Casper and Jasper went straight to their cars.

Probably because nobody wanted to risk suffocating each other with grief in one vehicle.

The driver opened the door and I slid into the car with Diane.

The ride was silent except for the hum of the engine. She kept twisting the tissue in her hands until it looked like it might tear.

When we pulled up to the church, the sight of it nearly knocked the breath out of me.

It was full. Too full.

Cars lined the street, people in black walked in through the tall wooden doors. Liam hated crowds. He hated when more than ten people were in a room with him, said it made him itch. But now? Now the church was overflowing with them. All here for him. All here because he wasn’t.

I swallowed down the burn in my throat and forced my legs to move.

Murmurs fell into silence as I walked in. Eyes followed me, sympathy heavy in every glance, and I wanted to disappear under it.

Then I saw them.

Mr. and Mrs. Everhart, front row, right by the coffin.

Both dressed in black, both wearing sunglasses that couldn’t hide the way their shoulders shook. Mrs. Everhart dabbed at her face with a tissue, her hand trembling so hard she could barely hold it. Mr. Everhart kept his arm around her, as he kept patting her back.

I nodded faintly at them, but my chest caved when Mrs. Everhart started crying harder just from seeing me. That pain....that raw sound, was worse than any scream.

And then I saw him.

Liam

. Laid out inside, like he was only sleeping. Except it wasn’t sleep. It was too still. Too silent. His chest didn’t rise, his lips didn’t twitch like they always did when he was holding back a joke.

They’d dressed him in a black suit

His hair was combed too neat, plastered down in a way he would’ve hated. Liam’s hair was never neat. It was messy, wild, like he couldn’t be bothered to care. Seeing it like this made him look like a stranger wearing his face.

And his hands... God. They rested flat on his stomach, fingers laced together like he was praying. But they were pale, so pale they didn’t look like his hands at all. No veins running blue under the skin, no warmth. Just wax.

The flowers around him were white lilies. The smell choked me.

This wasn’t Liam. Not the boy who shoved me into pools, not the boy who laughed until he wheezed, not the boy who called me at 2 a.m. just to say life was too boring.

This was... absence.

This was what was left behind when a soul got ripped out.

The coffin wasn’t just holding him. It was holding every memory, every joke, every fight, every promise we thought we had more time to keep.

And as I stood there, staring, the unfairness of it sank in with a weight that nearly dropped me to my knees.

He looked like Liam.

But he wasn’t Liam.

Not anymore.

And then, out of the corner of my eye, I caught Ian.

Walking in. With June.

June and Ian. Together? Side by side?

Of all the pairings, that was one I never would’ve guessed. Not here, not today. And even though my lungs felt crushed, some small part of me almost smiled when she held his hands.

At least they had each other. At least Ian got a little light in this blackout.

Ian tried to smile, one of those soft ones that said it’s okay.

Somehow, in the middle of my chest caving in, I almost smiled back.

The pews were filled...friends, classmates, people I’d seen around in school but never really knew, all here. For Liam. The boy who hated being watched, hated being in the spotlight. And now he was the center of it all.

The priest stepped forward.

"We gather here today to mourn... and to celebrate." His eyes moved across the room, pausing on the coffin like he could see through it. "To mourn the life we lost far too soon, and to celebrate the light Liam brought into each of our lives."

My hands tightened into fists against my thighs. Celebrate. As if this was a party. As if I wasn’t choking on air.

The priest’s voice softened. "Liam was a son, a brother, a friend. To some, he was a constant source of laughter. To others, a confidant, a safe place to land. We may never understand why God calls some of us home so early... but we do know the love Liam gave, and the love he leaves behind. That will remain. Always."

Mrs. Everhart broke down, sobbing into her hands. Mr. Everhart bowed his head.

Seeing his parents....seeing the people who gave him life, crushed under the weight of losing him... it was unbearable.

The priest lifted his head. "And now, I would like to invite Dominic....Liam’s closest friend, his brother in spirit to share a few words."

The sound of my name echoed through the speakers, and for a second, I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe.

But everyone was looking at me now. Watching, expecting me to stand and speak.

So I stood. My knees shook as I walked down the aisle, past the pews, past the eyes, until I was at the podium.

My hands gripped the wood so hard it felt like it might crack under me.

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I stared at the coffin. At the flowers. At the boy I loved, lying too still.

The silence in the church was deafening. A few muffled sobs carried through the pews. I glanced at the coffin again.

"How do you say goodbye to the person you promised you’d get through everything with? The one who stuck by you even when you didn’t deserve it? The one who knew the worst of you... and loved you anyway?"

I paused, catching my breath, but forced myself to continue.

"Let me tell you what made Liam, Liam. Because he wasn’t just my friend. He was...he is...the best person I’ve ever known."

I let out a small laugh through my tears, shaking my head. "He hated black. Hated crowds. And yet, look." I gestured out toward the rows of people. "Now he’s managed to pull half the town into a church dressed in black suits. He would’ve hated this. Probably would’ve been cracking jokes right now, saying we all look like vampires."

A ripple of laughter moved through the crowd. Even the priest gave a wet chuckle, pressing a tissue to his eyes.

I smiled for a second, but it fell just as quickly. "Liam would always steal my fries, even when he swore he wasn’t hungry. He had this laugh...the kind that filled up a room before you even realized you were smiling too. He stayed up with me on nights I couldn’t breathe, saying the dumbest things just to make me forget why I was crying. He was... he was light. The kind of light you don’t know you need until it’s gone."

My voice broke on the last word. I gripped the pulpit tighter as tears blurred my vision.

Someone in the front row...his girlfriend Jade, choked on tears.

I pulled in a shaky breath. "If I could ask God for just one favor... just one... I’d beg Him to pluck a flower from the garden in heaven and give it to Liam. Tell him it’s from me. Tell him... tell him I’ll never stop needing him. That I still can’t believe forever ended before I ever got the chance to....."

My voice cracked so hard I couldn’t finish. My body trembled. The priest lifted his glasses, tears running down his cheeks openly now.

The whole church was crying, the sound of muffled sobs mixing with sniffles.

And then I saw him.

Ash.

Standing in the doorway, wearing a suit, his face was pale, his eyes were shining with unshed tears.

The second our eyes met, my voice broke completely. I gripped the pulpit so hard my knuckles ached, but it didn’t stop the sob that tore out of me. Tears spilled out, my chest kept shaking as I bent my head, unable to hold myself upright.

Ash’s eyes were locked on me. My best friend lay in a coffin in front of me, and the boy I’d never had the courage to love out loud was watching me unravel in front of everyone.

My hands were still trembling on the pulpit, but I forced them to steady. I had to. If I broke now, the whole room would crumble with me.

So I drew a breath and whispered the last words.

"Liam... I’ll carry you with me. Always."