Hi! Enjoy the latest chapter!
ultimateCCC: Very true, especially when the family member in question is a parent, or someone very close. Thanks for reading and reviewing!
Steel Fairy: Thanks for the review!
aiai3668: I'm glad you like how I portrayed Luigi! I was a little worried, especially since that chapter was very different in terms of content, ie less lighthearted. And about spoiling future chapters, I don't really mind since I didn't give away that much of the plot! Thank you for reviewing!
Colorful and Free: I'm glad you thought everyone reacted well! Thanks for reading!
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It was eighteen months since her mother's death. Eighteen months, and six days. Not that she'd been counting.
Okay, maybe she had.
Daisy still missed her mother. She'd be lying if she said otherwise. She'd matured considerably after all that time. And she'd begun to realise things that she hadn't even thought about before. Things that were the main source of her guilt.
Daddy, or Dad, as she called him now, had always been her favourite parent. She should have appreciated her mother more. She shouldn't have been so cheeky and difficult. She should have good, a model daughter.
But she hadn't. And now it was too late. Now, she'd have to face the consequence - guilt. She normally kept those feelings well hidden. Daisy, the ten year old, tomboy princess, bawling her eyes out where the whole schoolyard could see her? Unheard of.
She glanced at Luigi, sitting on the ground next to her, silent, staring vacantly at nothing in particular. Luigi, her best friend. Luigi, always ready to listen. Luigi, who'd been there for her through thick and thin.
Suddenly, she wanted to talk. Let it all out. Get it off her chest.
"Daisy?" Luigi asked Daisy, sensing her eyes on him. "Everything okay?"
The redhead turned away. No. She wasn't ready. She wasn't ready to talk to him about Mommy. It wasn't the time. Daddy never wanted to talk about the Queen, on the rare times she tried. Maybe Luigi wouldn't want to either.
"Luigi, I... I want to talk about Mommy."
The words were out before she could stop them. She wasn't ready. Now was a bad time. She wasn't ready.
She was.
He nodded slowly, prompting her to continue.
"I don't know, Luigi. I..." She swallowed hard. "I feel bad, Luigi. I feel bad. Daddy was my favourite. I should have been a better daughter when she was alive. I should have-" She choked, starting to sob. She placed a hand over her mouth, trying to contain it, but instead, more sobs made their way out of her mouth, accompanied by a tear or two streaming down her cheeks. A year and a half of pretending she was okay, making out she was fine, all being released in the worst, most public way possible.
She felt a tentative arm around her shaking shoulders, and looked at Luigi.
"It's not your fault she died, okay? Don't cry..."
"I know, but..."
Luigi remained quiet as she could no longer speak, her face drenched with tears. His arm tightened around her, and he looked at his friend. He hated to see her suffer like this, and wished he could do something about it. Maybe he couldn't. Maybe he could only lessen her pain, not make it disappear. But he'd try. He'd try to always be there for her, no matter what.
He'd try.
That was super short, sorry about that. Please review!