Phantasm (Phantasm, #1) - Camila/You

Chapter 21 [📱]

Sam's face looked just like any other night I would come to her room and see her sleeping.

Her eyes were tightly closed and a small, carefree smile painted her lips. She was in the same position as the time I read her a story to get her to sleep. Cinderella, I think. She always loved princesses. The way she laid there quietly was also reminiscent of the time I calmed her down after a fit of crying because she woke up from a nightmare. She fell asleep in my arms and I fell asleep content I protected my sister from her monsters.

The only difference now was that I looked at her from beyond a pane of glass.

Turning around, I was met by the sad glances of the people who came for Sam or to support my family. Macy was here, along with some of the other bodyguards. Some of the friends I made were also here like Shawn and Nick, even the girls of Fifth Harmony. Sofi was crying in the arms of her parents. I can only imagine the pain she was feeling right now. She just met a friend and now—now she was gone.

The sound of my shoes on the tiled floor of the church broke the serene silence inside it. Macy walked over and joined me on the front pews.

"Is she—is she okay?" I whispered. Macy looked at the other pew next to us and shook her head.

My mom was seated alone at the corner and had her eyes drawn to the floor. Macy told me that she passed out when she found out about Sam and that she hasn't talked since. She wouldn't even talk to me even when I tried so hard to reach out to her. She couldn't even look at Sam's body and that's what hurt me the most.

"I heard her murmur something on the plane," Macy said.

"What is it?"

"She probably thought no one was listening but I heard her say 'everyone's leaving'." Macy looked up at me with reddened eyes. "What does that mean?"

First, dad, and now, Sam. My mother was right, everyone is leaving and never coming back. She must be feeling betrayed, the same way she felt when dad left. When I came home to Miami, she told me how broken she was when my father left and now, she was feeling that again ten-fold.

"Don't leave her, Macy," I croaked out. "Please."

Macy wrapped her arms around me and buried her face in my arm. "I won't. I'll be here." She pulled away after a few minutes and rummaged through her pockets. She suddenly pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to me.

"What's this?" I asked, reaching for it.

"That's the letter Sam left your mom before she went to LA."

My fingers traced along the smooth stationary paper. I felt a smile tug on my lips as I remembered her asking me for it constantly when I was still working at the convenience store. Stuart got a shipment of stationary paper right in time before school started so he knew it would sell well. Sam came to visit me and saw them immediately. She ran to me and asked me to buy it for her and I refused. Stuart even told me he could give it to Sam for free but I declined which left my sister huffing and puffing out of the store.

Little did she know that on the morning of her first day of school, she would get all the different kinds of colors and styles of stationary inside a brand new bag I bought for her.

Before I could stop it, a wayward tear falls on the paper I was holding. I quickly wiped my eyes and hugged Macy.

"Thank you, Macy. Thank you for giving me this memory."

I was about to open the letter and read it when I heard murmurs from the back of the church. Once I turned around, I immediately found the source to be Drew's sudden entrance. He had a suit on with messy hair and bloodshot eyes. Macy noticed me grit my teeth and immediately gripped my hand.