Don't Let Go || Liam Payne

18: Bedtime Stories

"Time for bed," I told Ella, shutting off the television she currently had her eyes glued to. She snapped out of her hypnotized state and pouted. 

"Just ten more minutes?" she tried. I shook my head. 

"You have school tomorrow," I reminded. "You have to get your rest. Come on." 

She sighed and followed me up the stairs to her room. The faded lavender walls surrounded us as my baby sister jumped onto her fluffy white bed. I smiled and said goodnight as she snuggled up to her blankets. 

"Jessie?" she squeaked, just as I was about to shut off the lights and leave. I glanced back at her. 

"Hm?" 

"Can you tell me a bedtime story?" 

There was no way in this world that I could say no to the face she was giving me, so I walked back over and sat at the foot of her bed. 

"What kind of story?" I asked her. 

"I want to hear one about a knight that has to save a princess." 

I smile and quickly come up with a plot to meet her standards. 

"Once upon a time," I began, suddenly knowing exactly what story I would share. "There was a princess named...Jill. She lived in a small castle and ruled over a small kingdom. She wasn't very happy, for she had been locked in a dark room in the basement of the castle for as long as she could remember. She was constantly surrounded by darkness, and dreamed that one day she would escape into the world of light. She always thought of the day that she would live a happy life free from the suffering that the chamber offered." 

Ella sat listening intently as I continued. 

"When Sir Leeroy heard news of princess Jill, he made it his mission to save her. Sir Leeroy was the greatest knight in all the land and had saved many princesses before. He was famous for his record of defeating dragons and slaying monsters. He was sure he could conquer the simple task of rescuing princess Jill from her dark chamber. One day, he travelled to the small kingdom in which princess Jill's castle sat. He spent days trying to find the chamber she was hidden in. The task of saving her was harder than Leeroy expected, but he didn't think to give up. When he finally found her, sir Leeroy slashed the locks with his sword and used his great strength to carry princess Jill out of the castle and into the light of the outdoors. She was forever grateful to Leeroy for his valiant efforts. No one had attempted to save her before. After he had rescued princess Jill from the darkness, she was overjoyed by the sight of light. He requested her hand in marriage, and together they lived happily ever after." 

Ella smiled, and I attempted to smile back. 

"You should get some sleep," I said to her. I got up and shut off the light. 

"Mommy told me why Aria isn't coming back." 

I stopped in the doorway. There was no way to stop the tears from instantly falling. 

"Did she?" I asked. I turned around and noticed her watery eyes. I didn't know what to do. How do you comfort a six year old about death? How do you tell her everything will be okay when all she knows is that she's never going to see her sister again?

You can't.

I walked over and bent down by the side of her bed. 

"Ella," I said. "You need to listen to me, okay?" 

She nodded. 

"Aria is gone, but we are not. Mom and Dad are still here. I'm still here. You're still here. And we are still a family. It is no one's fault. There was nothing we could do to prevent this. But it happened, and it's sad. It makes us cry. But you still have a bunch of people who love you and are here for you, okay? We aren't going to forget Aria, but we have to learn to live with just the four of us now." 

Silent tears travelled down her cheeks and she reached up to hug me. 

"I miss her," she told me. 

"I know. So do I." 

After a long while, the tears dried, and I tucked her into bed. We said goodnight, and I left my baby sister alone in her room with her thoughts. 

After returning to my own room, I cried for a solid hour. Except I am not a six year old girl with someone to comfort and hug me. I'm the big sister. The grown up. The responsible one who can handle it all. 

But can I actually? Can I really handle it all? 

That's a valid question. One I'm still working on the answer to. 

AUTHORS NOTE

not satisfied with this chapter but im under weird working conditions so DEAL WITH IT. if you dont already know about my laptop struggles, it's all posted on my message board. writing will basically be 10x more difficult for now until things go back to normal. until then I will try my best, but I have NO IDEA how often updates will come. THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING! and dont forget to VOTE for this story in @minnty's fan fiction watty awards! THe link it also posted on my message board if you want Don't Let Go to win :) Thanks again! I love you so much<3 x