From the Razor to the Rosary (Completed)

Chapter One - Give 'Em Hell, Kid.

  “Hadley?” mom’s voice is soft as she knocks on my bedroom door, she moves into the room slowly, as if she’s scared of being in the room with me, not that much of a surprise, considering she’s almost never in the same room as me. 

  “You nearly ready?” she asks me softly, she’s all dressed in black, a black hat with black netting covering her face, a knee length dress that clings to her thin frame. To a lot of people she’s probably pretty, but to me she just looks anorexic, she’s a fashion designer, a pretty good one too, which is why she’s never home and why we don’t really know each other. 

  I don’t answer her, only nod. I can’t remember the last time I spoke to someone, but I’m pretty sure it was Mikey, Gerard’s brother. Or it might have been telling someone I’m fine. 

  It’s been a week since his death. Today is his funeral. I look in the mirror with an air of disappointment, I wanted to wear my jeans, but Katherine, my mom, thought it wouldn’t be suitable. I don’t know why, Gerard wouldn’t have cared, he lived in black jeans, why couldn’t I wear them to say goodbye? So me and mom made a compromise, I could wear Gerard’s leather jacket and my Dr Martens if I would wear a dress. 

  The dress is made of a silky material, gathering at my ribs and flaring out to twirl around the middle of my thigh, lace is the top layer of the dress, and the lace winds down to my elbows, it is a nice dress, Katherine designed it and everything, but I can’t seem to find any interest in it. Katherine could have dressed me in a garbage bag and I wouldn’t have noticed, as long as I can pull Gerard’s leather jacket on over it I don’t care. 

  Katherine did my hair, she had to, or I would have just pulled it back into a ponytail, she curled my black locks so they fall in large ringlets to my ribs. I had to do my own makeup, considering she didn’t think it was appropriate to have all of my usual eyeliner on, but I did it anyway. 

  Katherine leads me from my room and downstairs, we’re going over to Gerard’s house first, and then to the church where he’ll be buried. I pull on my black boots, I should be wearing high heels or dolly shoes, but I haven’t worn shoes like that in years, Gerard would be disgusted if I showed up at his graveside looking like a school whore. So I zip up my Dr Martens and ignore the disapproving look Katherine gives me. 

  I go to wait on the porch, looking over to Gerard’s house, people are flocking into his home. Typical, I know most of Gerard’s family, I’ve known him since I can remember, and his family love me. He only has about twenty close relatives, and he hated most of them, they weren’t exactly fond of him either. He always told me the only people he actually considered family were his brother, his mom and me. 

  Katherine appears with a bowl of whatever nightmare she’s cooked up recently, I shake my head as we go down the porch steps, crossing the road and onto the Way property. 

  When we get to the porch Gerard’s mom Donna greets us, she’s dressed in a black suit, with a blazer and tight skirt. She gives an unsteady smile when she sees me. 

  “Hadley” she says, holding out her arms, I step into them gladly, giving her a tight hug. It’s more genuine than the one Katherine gave me when she arrived home four days after Gerard’s death. 

  “I’m so sorry Donna” I whisper when I pull away from her. She holds on tightly to my hands, she’s quite beautiful, with natural thick brown hair that’s turning only slightly grey and the same pretty eyes as Gerard, not to mention she’s quite tall too, she passed on that gene to both her sons. 

  “Oh Hadley, you’re grieving just as much as us” she gives me a tearful smile, she pinches my cheek affectionately “You were closer to him than most of his family,” she says with a sad laugh.