My lovely Daisy

Chapter 23

Four days have passed. Four terrible since Maddie died. Ella did me a favor and got some volunteers to replace me and Ethan while we mourn. But today was the last day of my stay-at-home-and-be-depressed. Today was the funeral and my sister asked me to come back tomorrow.

I woke up early that morning, feeling a sense of dread wash over me. Today was the day we would lay Maddie to rest, and I wasn't sure I was ready for it. But I had promised my sister I'd be there, so I got dressed and made my way to the church. As I walked in, I was hit with a wave of sadness. The church was filled with people, all of them here to mourn Maddie's passing. In the back of the church, I spotted Helen and made my way to her. I haven't spoken to her since the hospital. To either of them. I can't even imagine how hard it's for her mother to lay her child to rest.

"Hi, Helen...," I trailed off, not really sure what else to say. Helen turned to me, her eyes red and puffy from crying.

"Hey," she spat out, her voice hoarse from crying. "Thank you for coming. I know it's a hard day for all of us."

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. We stood in silence for a few moments, looking around for the familiar face that could possibly make the situation even half a percent better. But he was nowhere to be seen.

As the service began, I couldn't help but feel a sense of anger towards Ethan. How could he not be here to pay his respects to Maddie? I shook off the thought and focused on the service, listening to the eulogies and memories shared by Maddie's loved ones. It was beautiful, but it didn't ease the pain that lingered in my heart.

After the service, we all made our way to Maddie's grave, and I felt the lump in my throat get bigger, making it nearly impossible to breathe. As I stood there, staring at her headstone, I kept thinking about Ethan and my anger grew. I called him multiple times, but he never answered.

Days passed and the grief didn't seem to lessen. But then, exactly a week later, Ethan walked into the bakery and approached me, clearly drunk.

"Where have you been?" I yelled, my anger boiling over. "You weren't even at Maddie's funeral!"

Ethan stumbled towards me, his words slurred. "I couldn't do it, okay? I couldn't face it."

I shook my head in disgust. "You couldn't face it? Maddie was your little sister! You should've been there!"

"I know, I know, okay? I messed up. My dad is also home and it's shitty, okay? Now can we talk about something else? I have something to ask you."

"I-" I hesitated. "Fine. What do you want?"

Ethan leaned in closer, his breath reeking of alcohol. "I want us to be together. You and me. I have been thinking about it a lot lately and I know we could be great together. What do you say?"

I took a step back, my eyes wide with shock. "Are you serious? Maddie just died and you want to talk about us being together?"

Ethan shrugged, his face contorted in confusion. "I mean, yeah, why not? It's not like she's coming back. Plus, you owe it to me."

"I can't even believe you right now. I owe you? What, you think I'm just some consolation prize because Maddie is gone?"

Ethan stumbled back, his eyes widening in surprise. "No, that's not what I meant," he shook his head, trying to clear the haze from his mind. "I just...I don't know what I meant, okay? I'm sorry."

I glared at him, my anger still simmering beneath the surface. "You're drunk. You should go home and sleep it off."

Ethan nodded, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "Yeah, you're right. I'll go home," he turned to leave but paused at the door and looked back at me.