ℳ𝒾𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓁𝑒 𝒩𝓊𝓂𝒷𝑒𝓇 𝒯𝒽𝓇𝑒𝑒 | Top Gun Maverick

Chapter 7: Goodbye

Emily knocked on the door impatiently, again and again, but nobody seemed to answer. Her mind was racing and her heart was thumping so fast that it seemed to pop out of her chest. Finally, Sarah opened the door, her eyes were red and puffy, alarming Emily even more.

"What happened? Where is he?" She asked, storming into the house. Sarah didn't say anything, she just sobbed and brought her to his room. He was lying on his bed, the room was dark. The only source of light was a lamp on his right nightstand and a window on the left wall. He was laying there, on his bed. He seemed to be resting, his breathing shallow.

Emily looked at Sarah, she just shook her head without saying a word or making a sound and left her with him, closing the door behind her. For a minute, Emily couldn't walk. It was like her legs were made out of concrete. She just stood there, watching him as he slowly withered away. She tried to say something, God knows she wanted to but it was like her voice had been ripped out.

Then he opened his eyes, his gaze fixated on her as he offered her a weak smile. Even on his deathbed, that man found the strength to smile. That was one of the many things that Emily admired about him.

"Hey." She whispered, smiling back at him. He waved her to come over, and she obliged and walked over to his bed. She sat on the edge, looking out of the window just a few feet in front of her, the only thing she could see outside was one window from their neighbours, it was the only one that was lit up. You could see a silhouette of a father putting his child to sleep, making her smile a little as she remembered the time her dad would put her to sleep. Iceman's soft voice as he read her a bedtime story, his delicate touch as he caressed her cheek and kissed my forehead. The comfort he made her feel. Now she was the one by his bed, and he was about to fall asleep, but this time she feared it was forever.

Her focus shifted to him as soon as she felt his hand touch hers, his thumb moved slowly up and down her hand. She looked at him but his eyes were lifeless, his hands were cold and his grip was weak. She was trying so hard to be strong and not cry in front of him but she didn't know how much longer she could hold the tears in.

"Promise me-" He began to speak, obviously struggling to do so, hurting even.

"Sssh, don't waste your breath." She said softly, leaning over to caress his forehead.

He just shook his head "Promise me...that you'll forgive Maverick." His voice was hoarse. Emily looked at him, not knowing what to say. She tried to say something but the lump in her throat prevented her from doing so, she was sure that if she even tried to say a word, all the tears would flood out. "Promise me!" He said once more, it was a stern tone but you could hear a slight hint of hope.

All she could do was nod, but then she finally managed to let out a small "I promise." it was hardly above a whisper but he heard it and smiled with contentment. His smile, even if weak, warmed my heart. "I lo-" Her voice cracked, and all the tears she was fighting so hard to hold in started to flow down her cheeks the moment she realized that this was the moment she had dreaded the most, she realized that she was going to lose him forever and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She was helpless, desperate for a miracle. "I love you so much, dad." She cried out, squeezing his cold hand tighter than ever as if he would run away from her if she didn't.

"You will always be my daughter." He smiled once more, weakly.

She smiled back through the tears "And you will always be my dad. Always!" Then she felt his grip getting looser, his smile slowly fading, his eyes shutting down. "No, dad." She whispered. "Dad!" This time it was louder, she shook him slightly, hoping to see even a small sign of life. "DAD!" She shouted and shook him but nothing would work. "SARAH! HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!" I called out for her, for anyone. "Dad! please wake up! WAKE UP!"