I Love You Best - Short Story

Hey guys! Just a heads up, this story is saddening so please don't kill me. I don't usually write these types of stories, but hey, why not try something new? This is my first story in Wattpad as well, so bear with me please! Alrighty, I think I'll stop babbling and let you read it already. ENJOY!

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Short Story: I Love You Best

Third Person P.O.V (Throughout whole story)

The sight of it made Ellie feel suicidal. Layered under filthy dirt and misery, rested the man that sustained her life. The man she wholeheartedly loved and admired.

No. No! It's just a dream, Ellie. Obviously he's not dead. Pinch yourself and you'll see him grinning again. Don't be such a coward, she reassured herself. Surely it was, wasn't it?

"Are you okay, sweetie?" asked Nanna with a hopeless expression, as she slowly clasped her gnarled hands on Ellie's rigid, stiffened shoulders. Nanna smiled, attempting to brighten up this clouded situation. But there was really no use. She, too, was overwhelmed with sorrow. After all, her only son is now gone. She'd hoped that the cancer would be less painful after the countless chemotherapy, but it was really the direct opposite. Keith died an agonizing, slow death that no one would want to experience.

"No! Let go of me! I want daddy. He's alive, Nanna. Daddy's alive. Can't you see?" Ellie vigorously shrugged her Grandmother's hands off and turned to face the grieving woman with a desperate look. She raised both her arms, an action to explain her point. "He's at home. Let's go home to dad, Nanna. Let's go ho-o-me," her voice broke as she was unable to properly pronounce the 'm'. She slowly leaned toward her Grandmother's comforting chest. Once that first tear was released, the rest followed in an unbroken stream. She sobbed uncontrollably, gulping for breath and moaning with sadness. He was gone. There was no more of him. Zilch.

Nanna couldn't stand seeing Ellie weep hysterically. She embraced her granddaughter as a few tears slipped cunningly from her own eyes. This was their only escape at the reality of their situation: hugging each other. It brought them comfort and Ellie sighed softly into her grandmother's chest, completely aware that such bliss and comfort will never be the same as to how it was when Keith was still alive.

Even though she vowed to never release a tear, Ellie's grandmother couldn't hold it back anymore. It was her complete right to cry anyway. Her son is underneath her feet, lifeless, who wouldn't?

"It's okay, sweet cheeks. He's in a better place now, free from the evil of this world. Don't cry, El," affirmed Nanna, rubbing her aged hands on Ellie's stuttering back. Ellie tightened her hold on her grandmother's waist securely, fearing that at any moment, she, too, will abandon her.

She released herself from the hug and read,

'Keith Adams, 1975-2016. Loving father, son and husband' inscribed on the dull grave, four sinister words that smirked at her as if to say, 'you'll never survive without daddy now, will you?' It made her doubt her own existence, sending goosebumps crawling onto her pale arms.

Oh, daddy. I'll miss you so much. More than you could ever imagine.

All of a sudden, she felt vulnerable. Helpless. Torn apart into a million pieces. "Let's go home, Nan. Please." She awfully pleaded. Grandma nodded and Ellie locked her damp hands that had been wiping the tears onto the wrinkly surface of her Grandmother's. Together, they made their way to the polished white Lexus her father purchased a month before passing away.

Not this car. No, Ellie thought. But it's our only way to get home. Ugh. She frowned in sorrow and sat down hesitantly on the plush leather seats.