since eighth grade. → markiplier

Chapter Sixty-Seven: The Story

Chapter Sixty-Seven: The Story

Ellie

From the gurgling, kicking little princess, all wrapped up in a pink onesie, sprouted a young girl with a thousand possibilities awaiting her. The first few years had been rough, for I had been recovering from my once depressive state. It was much easier, though, as I had the strong guide of Mark and the blinding hope that blossomed from my daughter.

Bryony was the name we chose. She sheltered me with her warmth and cradled me with protectiveness, which is all I ever vowed to do with my little daughter. I knew that one day she would grow into a beautiful woman, and nothing would get in her way.

"Mum?" The young girl called, dark curls bouncing around her head. "I drew something for you,"

For her age, she was extremely intelligent and well-spoken. It brought tears to my eyes to think about just how alike she was to my former best friend though they were tears full of joy and happiness. Bryony was human perfection - all I ever wanted to be. 

I looked up from the warm, bundled little baby boy in my arms and squinted at the colourful art piece she had scribbled down with a rainbow of crayons.

"Sweetheart, it's beautiful," I said, smiling sweetly. "How about you go show daddy whilst I put this little one to sleep? Maybe then I can put it on the fridge with that magnet we bought when we were on holiday,"

Her little eyes gleamed with excitement, and she nodded with gleeful anticipation before bounding off in pursuit of her father. I sighed softly, feeling a wave of content wash over me as I carried the small baby to his crib. Bryony was old enough to move out of her small nursery when Luke was born, so we redecorated to the 'Star Wars' theme. After seeing the new movie - and having to buy Bryony a Rey Halloween costume - we fell in love with the franchise all over again and just had to go with it.

I could almost imagine my red-headed friend shaking her head at me from wherever she was, and hollering "nerd!" at me, and it caused me to chuckle. 

***

"Happy Birthday!" We all cheered, smothering our daughter with hugs. She'd officially turned twenty, and it was such a big age for her that she couldn't help but feel like a little kid all day. Which, technically, is completely ironic.

"Thanks, guys!" Bryony grinned, her red-painted lips spreading over her flushed cheeks as she glanced around the room. 

Her younger brother, a fine, handsome boy at the age of eighteen, moved his fringe across his face shyly before presenting her with a gift we'd all put money into. She frowned at the small box, curious, before reaching out eagerly and letting it rest in her palm. Bryony popped the small lid off, face blank as she looked inside. She plucked the keys out, and then her face lit up and she looked across at Mark and me with a gleeful gaze.

"You guys..." Bryony started, the excitement evident in her face. I took her hand, grinning, and lead her to the window before letting her peer out to see the car on the drive, a big satin bow wrapped around it. She practically squealed, before racing out of the house and clicking the button on the keys. The car beeped, and she dove inside.

Mark appeared at my side, eyes more worn and tired than they were a few years ago, and he threw an arm around my shoulders.

"Is there a 'slow down' button on this life thing?" Mark pondered. "I can't believe how fast the time has gone,"

"I know, it's insane," I agreed, nodding. Mark pulled me into his side as we watched Bryony fiddle with the wheel of her car, her eyes shining with happiness all the while. "I'm scared for the day she turns twenty-one,"

"Why? Are you afraid she's going to do what we did?" Mark chuckled.

"As a matter of fact, yes. We were idiots, Mark! We got kicked out of a mall," I said, groaning and planting a hand on my face. 

"At least, we had fun," he said. "She's smart enough to be more sensible than that, though. We were just dumb kids,"

"No, you were just a dumb kid who had a bad influence on me," I corrected. "But I'm glad. We wouldn't be here, otherwise,"

"You know, I was just thinking about that," Mark told me. 

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Like, what if we hadn't gone out that night? Do you think things would've turned out differently?" He questioned.

"I mean, I suppose so," I rubbed his back as I spoke. "I think we would have still ended up together, to be honest. Just... there'd be more denial,"

"I get that. We'd just hide away from each other until we finally found the courage when we were fifty or something,"

"We're nearly fifty, Mark," I said. "Oh, Jesus. I don't like the sound of that,"

Mark pressed his lips to the side of my head with a soft sigh. "We still got a bit of time left yet, sweetpea. Don't worry too much,"

***

The time had come. My heart was thudding in my chest as I tapped away on my keyboard, the blank, white screen flooding with the thousands of words that whizzed around in my mind along with the memories that continued to make me feel sentimental and nostalgic. I finally felt free of all stress, and I knew that it was time to tell my story. 

Bryony and Luke had a very vague idea of what happened in Mark and I's past. They knew about where we met, how we got together, that I was sad... the very basic things. I didn't think that either of them would be ready to endure the weight of our full story before they'd gone through the basic things in life, which, as they had both passed the oh-so-excited age of twenty-one, I thought it was just about that time. 

They'd anticipated this day. Luke was there first, and he'd remained still and emotionless for the entire thing. The moment that hit him the hardest was when he'd heard about Caleb's passing, for he'd always longed for another male in his life. Being a child of two, with no other boy - except Mark, of course - he'd always wanted that connection. And it's been cruelly snatched from him.

And here was Bryony, her doe eyes wide as I continue to type away furiously, trying to fit in as much description as possible before finally handing it over. It was like handing my entire life over, but it was the least this girl deserved. Whether or not she knew it, she was one of the main sources of my happiness and I would forever be eternally grateful.

***

Hi Bryony I know you're going to read this so I just wanted to say that you suck 

Lots of love,

       - Luke.

***

Gee, thanks, Luke. Is this what I get for lending you money? Anyway...

Oh, um, wow. So this is what mum's been doing with her time, huh? I guess she was locked away in her office all day for a reason, then.

I didn't expect all this. How could anybody? It feels like a tonne of bricks has been dropped on me, but I can't even begin to imagine how my mum felt. She tried to put it into words, but sometimes emotions are so strong and heartbreaking that they're beyond description. I get that. I think everyone does.

I didn't realize how much weight the name 'Bryony' held. I thought that mum had just picked it up from an old classmate or something because I remember her talking about a friend called Bryony once. But this... good God, I never thought it'd have so much damn meaning. 

I suppose that's one thing I can take from this. Even a name as simple as 'Ellie', or 'Mark', can hold a million untold stories. Our lives are just representatives of past experiences, and our names or our appearances, or first impressions, for that matter, should ever make anybody think that we're empty, meaningless (or bitchy, because I get that first impression quite a lot). We're all human and nobody is perfect, but we can all try our goddamn hardest.

Smile today. It looks good on you.

***

FIN~