Deserving | ✔

Chapter 2

3 Days Later

I hear someone open the door of my house. I don't care about who it is anymore. It's certainly not Stephanie.
I hear a knock on the bedroom door.

Silence.

And then the door slams open.

"Phillip?"

I don't respond.

"Phillip, I know you are wide awake. Get your ass out of the bed before I come and grab your ear and make you my puppet," I hear Ian say.

"Ugh, what do you want Ian?"

"What do I want? I want my step sister's boyfriend to attend her funeral. I want to send her off with all good things and guess what? You're one of them. So get up from that bed and get ready. You've got some last words to tell her, haven't you?"

"What is the use, Ian? She's not going to actually listen to what I had to tell her. Why waste time and energy?"

"Because we love her, dead or alive. And we must pay respect to her by acknowledging her death."

I get off my bed after hearing that.

"I take your silence as approval. Good. Now brush your teeth, shave, take a shower, I've laid down your clothes on the dresser, eat the sandwich kept on the kitchen counter and call me, okay? Don't go to bed in this process or I'll kick your ass."

I smirk at his confidence. "Yeah, right."

"Please, Phillip. For her."

"Okay, for her."

If that's what she wants, I'll do it.

***

"Today we have united for Stephanie Scott, the brave little girl who has faced more difficulties than an average 23 year old. Christopher Scott was my best friend since kindergarten. A brave little bright soul, he was. And whenever I saw Stephanie, I saw Christopher in her.

"Life is really good at giving you sorrows and it certainly did for Christopher and his lovely wife Amelia. Chris and Ames died in a car accident when Stephanie was just 10 years old. I remember seeing her waiting patiently in the hospital waiting room for her mum and dad to come. But they left her long ago.

"It was heartbreaking for me to tell her that the two people she needed the most in her life are not going to be there for her anymore. I couldn't even get my words out when I kneeled in front of her and I broke out in tears.

"But do you know what she said? She said, 'Don't cry, Uncle Denver. Everything's gonna be alright. I'll be your friend and take care of you if you want.'

"That little brave girl surprised me. I still don't know how she got those words out of herself. She somehow knew her dad isn't there for me as my friend and she told that she'll be my friend in his place. That little girl was as strong as an iron.

"I, being her godfather, took her in my care. Life was beautiful with her under my roof. People say losing a person in your life changes a lot of things. But I never felt like I lost Christopher. He was right there in Stephanie's form. I really hope she felt the same with Emily and me. And I also do hope, for the love of God, that she's wonderfully happy with Christopher and Amelia wherever they all are."

His voice falters a little and he clears his throat. I can empathize with him that moment. It is very tough to acknowledge someone's absence. It is incredibly tough to say out loud that a person you love is not there any more. Especially if you haven't digested the fact that she is in fact gone. I pull myself to the scene in front of me as I do not want to backtrack to that piece of hell I've been in for the past few days. My fingers automatically interwined as I get concious about not going into that world of mine.