Dray by Tess Oliver

some as they lowered my dad into his eternal resting spot. There were no tears or squares of tissue being passed around, but people, casual acquaintances and two of my dad’s brothers, stood around bracing themselves against the occasional gust of wind and digging deep to come up with fond memories. Mom stood under her umbrella looking almost ashamed that she’d had nothing to say. I was sure I’d heard her breathe a sigh of relief as they lowered the coffin into the ground.
    My friends, my only real family, stood huddled together under two big umbrellas. Scotlyn held Nix’s arm tightly, and Clutch had his massive arm draped around Taylor’s shoulder. Barrett stood nearby, away from the shelter of the umbrella. Raindrops rolled down his coat.
    A yellow taxi pulled up to the curb several hundred feet from where we stood, and a blue and white umbrella popped open in front of the tiny person who held it. Cassie trudged up the hill to the gravesite trying hard not to slip on the wet grass and trying even harder not to be lifted away by the wind under her umbrella.
    She pushed her bangs out of her eyes as she looked over at me and lifted her hand in greeting.
    The moment the last prayer had been read, the handful of attendees dispersed. My uncles walked my mom down to the car, and I walked over to Cassie and ducked beneath her umbrella. Water dripped down from my hair and my coat was soaked.
    “You came without an umbrella?” she asked with that light tone that had always sounded like a smile to me.
    “Umbrellas are for sissies.” I inclined my head toward my friends behind me. “Like those guys.”
    She stared down at my wrapped hand. “Did you get hurt in a fight?”
    “Something like that.”
    She reached up with her gloved finger and wiped a long drip of rain from the side of my face. The unexpected gesture caught me off guard, and it took me a second to recover. I’d never really shown Cassie my other side, the vulnerable side that would prove I was human somewhere under the hard ass attitude. I’d never wanted her to see that side of me and now it seemed that had been a mistake.
    “I’m truly sorry, Dray. I know he wasn’t a good father, still—”
    “Nana always said it best— he was a monster. It’s weird knowing he’s no longer here, and it seemed that as each year passed, he’d gained a bit of decency. But I always figured at the rate he was trying to improve, he would have to hit the age of one hundred to wipe out all the bad. I won’t miss him, Cass.” Before I knew I was doing it, I reached over and trailed my fingers down her cheek. “Not like I’m going to miss you.”
    She pressed her hand against her mouth but I hadn’t meant to make her cry. A million times I’d told myself that I needed to beg. I needed to get down on my knees and tell her not to go. I wanted to tell her that a piece of my soul was leaving with her, but I couldn’t be the one to stand in the way of her dream. She wanted this career and she deserved it.
    A gust of wind shot across the cemetery, and I reached for the handle of her umbrella. “You’re about to float away with that thing, Mary Poppins.”
    A short laugh burst from her lips and her smile returned.
    “You know, Cass, I’ve always been one of those guys who no one expects much from.” She opened her mouth to protest, but I shook my head. “I’m not under any illusion about it. My high school named me most likely to have a police record, and for awhile I was living up to that prediction. The man that they just lowered into that grave made me feel worthless, and my mom wasn’t much help either. If it weren’t for Nix and Clutch, I would have ended up in jail for sure. But they weren’t the only ones who kept me from going over the edge.”
    She bit her bottom lip, a habit I knew too well and seeing it now under the secluded shade of the umbrella made my chest tighten.
    “I always thought that if someone as unfuckingbelieveable as Cassie could care