Disclaimer: If I owned Higher Ground, would I really be writing fanfiction? NO!! I'd be writing the exciting next season of a wonderful show!!! Duh!
Author's Note: Hope you guys liked the last chapter. This'll be a tough chapter, but hang in there with me. Oh, by the way, they did have sex in the other chapter. I'm sorry if it wasn't that romantic, Kristen, but it had to happen... lol, I just needed to get it out. I just finished the chapter (I keep all my notes at the top, if possible, so I alter this message often). All I have to say is brace yourselves for the last bit. I nearly cried while writing it!
They all piled into the van after getting the rings. Scott and Shelby were seemingly happier than usual, but everyone just attributed that to the wedding preparations. They hadn't confirmed David's thoughts, and everyone took that for a "no," which it really wasn't.
When they arrived at Horizon, the Rivergliders, Emma, and Sophie were waiting on a patch of grass near the entrance. As the Cliffhangers got out of the van, they all looked curiously at the others.
"What are you guys doing here?" Jules asked.
"Well, we were hard at work, today," Sophie said. She got up and went over to Peter. She pulled him aside and spoke in a whisper. "It's done. Can we bring them over to it?" she asked, obviously excited.
"Yeah, take them over. I've got to talk to Andrew while you're doing that, though."
"Punishment?"
"Yeah, he's settled in, finally, now he's gotta work off his debt to society, or rather to Jules." Sophie nodded understandingly.
"What are you gonna make him do?" she asked curiously.
"Oh, I'll think of something. See what his story is." With that they went back to the rest of the group. Peter clapped his hands to get their attention. "Alright guys, all of you go with Sophie. Scott, Shelby, the Rivergliders have something to show you." The couple looked around, a little shocked. "Oh, Andrew, would you mind coming with me? I have to talk to you." Andrew nodded his head, looked at Leonie who squeezed his hand, and walked off with Peter.
Sophie walked to Scott and Shelby. "Alright, guys, we have a surprise for you. What we're going to do is blindfold you and lead you to it. Pick someone you trust, first."
"Dais?" Shelby asked, rather quickly. Daisy smiled and walked over to her to blindfold her best friend with what the scarf Sophie had given to her.
"Hey, muchacho, want to lead me?" Scott asked, laughing. Auggie laughed and blindfolded Scott. They were then led to the boys' dorm. Sophie made Ezra run ahead and clear the path. There were no big problems. Only once did David try to trip Scott, but Marc stopped him in the nick of time... fortunately, because Auggie was on a death path to David before Marc stopped him. They finally got to the room. Daisy led Shelby over to Scott.
"And here we are," Jess said excitedly.
"Can we take these dumb things off, then?" Scott asked, rather irritated. Shelby, who knew he was standing right beside him, punched him playfully.
"Calm down, Scott!" she said, grabbing his hand, and laughing. He just squeezed it.
"Yeah, go ahead," Sophie said. Scott ripped his off his head and gasped. Shelby took a little longer, but came to the same reaction.
"Guys, what is this?" Shelby asked, not wanting to get too ahead of herself.
"This seems to be a room, if I'm not mistaken," Daisy answered with a smirk.
"Thanks for that, captain obvious," Shelby answered, with an equal smirk.
"You mean, this is... ours?" Scott asked, exploding with happiness.
"Good job, there, muchacho," Auggie said, with a slap to the back. Everyone just silently filtered out of the room.
Scott turned to Shelby. "Wow, they can take a hint after all," he said laughing. Shelby smirked at him.
"Scott, look at this place," she said, turning around. She walked over to the bathroom. "Oh my god! We even have our own bathroom!" she squealed.
"That's cool," Scott said, lying down on the bed.
"You okay?" Shelby asked, coming back into the room from the bathroom.
"Yeah, I'm just tired."
"Alright, well, can you go and ask if there's anything we need to know about until dinner, and I'll take a shower. Some of those dresses were so itchy." Scott just laughed at that. He got up from the bed.
"See you in a minute," he said.
"Yeah, you too," she yelled from inside the bathroom. Scott shook his head, chuckling to himself when he heard the shower turn on as he opened the door and left the room.
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"Hey Jules."
"Oh, hey Auggie. How are you?" she squealed. She was so happy. Everyone around her was happy, and she had just been shopping... for real! This was the first time at Horizon that she'd been shopping.
"Wow. Calm down there!" he said laughing as she came to give him a hug. "I have to talk to you." This wiped Juliette's smile right off. "Don't worry, it's nothing bad!"
"Oh, alright. What is it, then?" she asked, still a little worried.
"Well, do you have anything planned..."
"Planned? For when?" she asked, a smile coming over her face.
"For... uh... after Horizon," he replied, looking at the ground.
"Auggie! Are you serious?" she squealed, jumping up and down.
He nodded. "Jules, would you like to move in with me after grad?" he asked, trying his best not to burst out laughing.
"Yes!" she screamed, or rather squealed really loudly. He just laughed, pulled her into a hug, and kissed her sweetly, but shortly, as there were counselors around.
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"Shel?" Scott yelled, walking into the bedroom. He heard the water going, so went into the bathroom. He hung around in the humidity.
"Yeah?" she called out.
"We don't have anything to do until dinner. Ran into Sophie." He stopped when he heard her scream.
"What? Are you alright?" he asked.
"Scott! What are you doing in here?" she asked, her voice reaching high levels.
"Calm down! It's all right. Anyways, I need a shower too."
"That's fine, I'm coming out."
"I'm coming in!" he said, pulling off his clothes, opening the shower door, and stepping in. Shelby tried to hide herself.
"Scott!"
"Don't hide, Shel. You're beautiful!" he said, checking her out.
She tilted her head to the side, looked him over. "As are you!" she said, putting her arms around him and kissing him deeply.
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"Hey there, how are you doing?" Kristen asked as she approached Marc who was sitting on a picnic table near the dorms.
"A little grossed out," he chuckled.
"What? Why?" she asked, confused.
"Cause I just heard Scott and Shelby doing unspeakable things to their dysfunctional teen-hood." They both exploded with laughter.
"Is that all?" she asked, putting her hands on hips. He looked away. Wow, he's so transparent, she thought. "What is it?" He looked at her as if to ask what she was talking about. "I can tell, you know!"
"Right. I have had a problem in the past with hiding things when I was really bothered."
"No kidding. How'd you fool the adults?"
"I didn't like the adults, now, did I?" he asked with a smirk.
"Suppose not. So what is bothering?" she asked.
He looked at her. Looked her in the eyes, and began his story. "Well, remember when I blew up at you?" She nodded. "Well, I had gotten into a fight with my brother. It was because he got me here."
"What do you mean? Would you like to remain at home?"
"I thought so before. I realize now, that it was good for me. But I used to get on fine with my life."
"Obviously not, or else you wouldn't be here," she pointed out.
"Yeah, well, I was surviving is what I meant. Anyways, I was mad cause my bro got me out of my life, my school, my friends. He disrupted my whole life. I'm glad he did, but it was hard to see that at first."
"So, what's bothering you?" Kristen asked, not seeing the point.
"Well, I got really mad at him, and we used to be really close, and I miss him... a lot!"
"And you want to know how to tell him?" she asked, smirking.
"Yeah. Do you know how?"
"Well, talking always worked for me. Just tell him how you feel, I guess."
"Yeah, right. Well, here goes nothing," he said. He walked off after he gave her a hug. She stared after her.
"Yeah, see ya," she whispered.
********************************************************************************
Later that evening, before lights out, Emma was in Belle's stall.
"Hey there, you might want to finish up here," Fred told her.
"Yeah, I'm nearly done. Just brushing her off... you know, bonding and such."
"Alright," he chuckled. "I'll be around in 15 minutes to give you a heads up. By the way, weren't you supposed to have group tonight."
"Nope, but tomorrow night Sophie said," she replied, with a roll of the eyes. "Fun."
"Don't worry, you'll be fine. See ya," he said with a wave.
"Yeah, you too." A little later she heard footsteps coming closer. "Look, I know for a fact that wasn't 15 minutes," she said, not even checking who it was.
"Oh, uh, sorry, I'll come back later then?" a voice she recognized all too well asked.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't think it was you! She said, turning around to see the figure of Alex staring at her through the bars of the stall.
"Do you want any help?" he asked, a smile playing at his lips.
"Sure, come on in. There's a blue brush in that box, take it on you way," she said, pointing it out.
He picked it up and walked in. Belle immediately went to check him out. "What's she doing?" he asked, backing up.
"Don't worry, she won't hurt you. She's just checking you out. You know, friend or enemy?" she said, laughing.
"Oh, what does she think?" he asked, as she moved her head away.
"Well, lets put it this way: if she didn't like you, you wouldn't be standing."
"She must really love you," he said, starting to brush Belle.
"Well, I was the first human she came in contact with, so... yeah, I suppose so. She's the only one I've ever been able to truly love."
"That's cool. So, what's your story?" he asked.
"Same as I've let on to before. Drugs, theft, running. You know, the 'usual'," Here she did her little air-quotes.
"Usual? Whatever. And what were you running from?"
"What else? Family. Anyways, what's your story?" she said quickly, avoiding the subject.
"Okay... drugs, gang problems, and... you know... what I told you."
"Yeah, I know. Well, I'm done here," she said, throwing her brushes over the side of the stall. Alex did the same.
"What went wrong in your family?" he asked, turning to her.
"You talk too much," she whispered. He leant forward and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around him, and deepened it. As they heard footsteps approach, they separated immediately.
"Em? Times up! Time for bed," Fred said, coming up to the stall and peering inside. "Oh, hey Alex."
"Hi."
"Hey Fred. Uh, we're done here, so... come on, Alex, lets go." She opened the door, let Alex out. She then turned around to Belle. "Good night, darling," she said, wrapping her arms around the horse's neck. She breathed in her scent. It was so comforting to her. It brought back the memories of happier times. Before all went awry. "See you tomorrow," she whispered into Belle's neck. Belle gave her a little nudge.
With that, she left the stall and walked off with Alex, hand in hand, following Fred, who chose to remain oblivious to what was going on between them.
********************************************************************************
"Daisy?" Sophie asked, walking into the girls' cabin.
"Sophie, we're going to bed. Sheesh, it's called friendly gossip. I mean you want us to bond..." she said, rolling her eyes.
"Daisy, I have something to talk to you about," she looked solemn.
"Uh, sure, hold on a sec," Daisy replied, understanding that this was something important for Sophie to get her after lights out. She grabbed her coat and left, after giving Emma a worried look. "What's up?" she asked, when they were at a picnic table outside the dorms.
"Daisy, I'm very sorry to have to tell you this."
"What is it? Sophie!" she practically screamed.
"We got a call from the hospital about ten minutes ago." Daisy wore a blank stare. Inside, her mind was racing 1000 miles a second. What is she talking about? "Your dad... he... uh... he died, Daisy." She looked like she was on the verge of tears.
"Alcohol related?" Daisy asked, her face still blank, but her heart tearing apart at the mere mention of that word. Sophie nodded. "Thanks for letting me know. If you don't mind, I'll stay out here a little longer, get my thoughts in order." Sophie nodded again and left, with a squeeze to Daisy's shoulder.
Daisy waited until she was out of sight, then got up and went in a beeline to the boys' dorm. She knocked on the window close to David's bed. He finally got up, knowing she was the only person who woke him up this way.
"Hey, Daisy, what's wrong?" he whispered. Daisy now had tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Just meet me at the docks," she whispered back. It was barely audible, but he caught every word. He nodded and watched her retreating form. He raced around getting dressed.
"David what's going on?" Ezra asked.
"Nothing, just go back to sleep, man," he said in hushed tones. No one was able to protest as David was out of the dorm quickly.
He walked out to the docks, looking for his girlfriend. When he found her, she was sitting, balled up, her head resting on her knees, looking out over the lake. He walked up to her and sat down next to her. He didn't want to push, so he just put his arm around her. She couldn't hold it in anymore. She turned her body to him and swung her arms around his neck and just sat there, hugging him, crying on his shoulder.
He didn't know what was wrong, but he could feel her pain. He absorbed it as she cried and before he knew it, he was crying too. He just held her as best he could and tried his best to comfort her. She clung to him for dear life.
"He died," she whispered into his neck. David didn't say anything. He didn't know how to handle this, and he didn't want to say anything stupid. "My father died. He died... of alcohol poisoning. He was the only family I had left, and now he's gone. He's gone because of his addiction. His stupid addiction!"
"Daisy! I'm so sorry! Is there anything I can do for you?" he asked, lifting her head so he could look into her eyes. Those beautiful eyes, which normally hid so much, were a door to her soul. One few people had seen before. She shook her head.
"Just hold me." He smiled a sad smile. Kissed her forehead and took her in his arms again.
"Now that, I can do," he said, holding her tightly.
"Thank you. I love you, David."
"I love you, Daisy. And I'll never stop." He felt an extra squeeze and knew she felt the same way. A silent tear fell down his face and he smiled sadly again. He knew he was doing the most anyone could do, and he did it full heartedly.
Author's Note: Hope you guys liked the last chapter. This'll be a tough chapter, but hang in there with me. Oh, by the way, they did have sex in the other chapter. I'm sorry if it wasn't that romantic, Kristen, but it had to happen... lol, I just needed to get it out. I just finished the chapter (I keep all my notes at the top, if possible, so I alter this message often). All I have to say is brace yourselves for the last bit. I nearly cried while writing it!
They all piled into the van after getting the rings. Scott and Shelby were seemingly happier than usual, but everyone just attributed that to the wedding preparations. They hadn't confirmed David's thoughts, and everyone took that for a "no," which it really wasn't.
When they arrived at Horizon, the Rivergliders, Emma, and Sophie were waiting on a patch of grass near the entrance. As the Cliffhangers got out of the van, they all looked curiously at the others.
"What are you guys doing here?" Jules asked.
"Well, we were hard at work, today," Sophie said. She got up and went over to Peter. She pulled him aside and spoke in a whisper. "It's done. Can we bring them over to it?" she asked, obviously excited.
"Yeah, take them over. I've got to talk to Andrew while you're doing that, though."
"Punishment?"
"Yeah, he's settled in, finally, now he's gotta work off his debt to society, or rather to Jules." Sophie nodded understandingly.
"What are you gonna make him do?" she asked curiously.
"Oh, I'll think of something. See what his story is." With that they went back to the rest of the group. Peter clapped his hands to get their attention. "Alright guys, all of you go with Sophie. Scott, Shelby, the Rivergliders have something to show you." The couple looked around, a little shocked. "Oh, Andrew, would you mind coming with me? I have to talk to you." Andrew nodded his head, looked at Leonie who squeezed his hand, and walked off with Peter.
Sophie walked to Scott and Shelby. "Alright, guys, we have a surprise for you. What we're going to do is blindfold you and lead you to it. Pick someone you trust, first."
"Dais?" Shelby asked, rather quickly. Daisy smiled and walked over to her to blindfold her best friend with what the scarf Sophie had given to her.
"Hey, muchacho, want to lead me?" Scott asked, laughing. Auggie laughed and blindfolded Scott. They were then led to the boys' dorm. Sophie made Ezra run ahead and clear the path. There were no big problems. Only once did David try to trip Scott, but Marc stopped him in the nick of time... fortunately, because Auggie was on a death path to David before Marc stopped him. They finally got to the room. Daisy led Shelby over to Scott.
"And here we are," Jess said excitedly.
"Can we take these dumb things off, then?" Scott asked, rather irritated. Shelby, who knew he was standing right beside him, punched him playfully.
"Calm down, Scott!" she said, grabbing his hand, and laughing. He just squeezed it.
"Yeah, go ahead," Sophie said. Scott ripped his off his head and gasped. Shelby took a little longer, but came to the same reaction.
"Guys, what is this?" Shelby asked, not wanting to get too ahead of herself.
"This seems to be a room, if I'm not mistaken," Daisy answered with a smirk.
"Thanks for that, captain obvious," Shelby answered, with an equal smirk.
"You mean, this is... ours?" Scott asked, exploding with happiness.
"Good job, there, muchacho," Auggie said, with a slap to the back. Everyone just silently filtered out of the room.
Scott turned to Shelby. "Wow, they can take a hint after all," he said laughing. Shelby smirked at him.
"Scott, look at this place," she said, turning around. She walked over to the bathroom. "Oh my god! We even have our own bathroom!" she squealed.
"That's cool," Scott said, lying down on the bed.
"You okay?" Shelby asked, coming back into the room from the bathroom.
"Yeah, I'm just tired."
"Alright, well, can you go and ask if there's anything we need to know about until dinner, and I'll take a shower. Some of those dresses were so itchy." Scott just laughed at that. He got up from the bed.
"See you in a minute," he said.
"Yeah, you too," she yelled from inside the bathroom. Scott shook his head, chuckling to himself when he heard the shower turn on as he opened the door and left the room.
********************************************************************************
"Hey Jules."
"Oh, hey Auggie. How are you?" she squealed. She was so happy. Everyone around her was happy, and she had just been shopping... for real! This was the first time at Horizon that she'd been shopping.
"Wow. Calm down there!" he said laughing as she came to give him a hug. "I have to talk to you." This wiped Juliette's smile right off. "Don't worry, it's nothing bad!"
"Oh, alright. What is it, then?" she asked, still a little worried.
"Well, do you have anything planned..."
"Planned? For when?" she asked, a smile coming over her face.
"For... uh... after Horizon," he replied, looking at the ground.
"Auggie! Are you serious?" she squealed, jumping up and down.
He nodded. "Jules, would you like to move in with me after grad?" he asked, trying his best not to burst out laughing.
"Yes!" she screamed, or rather squealed really loudly. He just laughed, pulled her into a hug, and kissed her sweetly, but shortly, as there were counselors around.
********************************************************************************
"Shel?" Scott yelled, walking into the bedroom. He heard the water going, so went into the bathroom. He hung around in the humidity.
"Yeah?" she called out.
"We don't have anything to do until dinner. Ran into Sophie." He stopped when he heard her scream.
"What? Are you alright?" he asked.
"Scott! What are you doing in here?" she asked, her voice reaching high levels.
"Calm down! It's all right. Anyways, I need a shower too."
"That's fine, I'm coming out."
"I'm coming in!" he said, pulling off his clothes, opening the shower door, and stepping in. Shelby tried to hide herself.
"Scott!"
"Don't hide, Shel. You're beautiful!" he said, checking her out.
She tilted her head to the side, looked him over. "As are you!" she said, putting her arms around him and kissing him deeply.
********************************************************************************
"Hey there, how are you doing?" Kristen asked as she approached Marc who was sitting on a picnic table near the dorms.
"A little grossed out," he chuckled.
"What? Why?" she asked, confused.
"Cause I just heard Scott and Shelby doing unspeakable things to their dysfunctional teen-hood." They both exploded with laughter.
"Is that all?" she asked, putting her hands on hips. He looked away. Wow, he's so transparent, she thought. "What is it?" He looked at her as if to ask what she was talking about. "I can tell, you know!"
"Right. I have had a problem in the past with hiding things when I was really bothered."
"No kidding. How'd you fool the adults?"
"I didn't like the adults, now, did I?" he asked with a smirk.
"Suppose not. So what is bothering?" she asked.
He looked at her. Looked her in the eyes, and began his story. "Well, remember when I blew up at you?" She nodded. "Well, I had gotten into a fight with my brother. It was because he got me here."
"What do you mean? Would you like to remain at home?"
"I thought so before. I realize now, that it was good for me. But I used to get on fine with my life."
"Obviously not, or else you wouldn't be here," she pointed out.
"Yeah, well, I was surviving is what I meant. Anyways, I was mad cause my bro got me out of my life, my school, my friends. He disrupted my whole life. I'm glad he did, but it was hard to see that at first."
"So, what's bothering you?" Kristen asked, not seeing the point.
"Well, I got really mad at him, and we used to be really close, and I miss him... a lot!"
"And you want to know how to tell him?" she asked, smirking.
"Yeah. Do you know how?"
"Well, talking always worked for me. Just tell him how you feel, I guess."
"Yeah, right. Well, here goes nothing," he said. He walked off after he gave her a hug. She stared after her.
"Yeah, see ya," she whispered.
********************************************************************************
Later that evening, before lights out, Emma was in Belle's stall.
"Hey there, you might want to finish up here," Fred told her.
"Yeah, I'm nearly done. Just brushing her off... you know, bonding and such."
"Alright," he chuckled. "I'll be around in 15 minutes to give you a heads up. By the way, weren't you supposed to have group tonight."
"Nope, but tomorrow night Sophie said," she replied, with a roll of the eyes. "Fun."
"Don't worry, you'll be fine. See ya," he said with a wave.
"Yeah, you too." A little later she heard footsteps coming closer. "Look, I know for a fact that wasn't 15 minutes," she said, not even checking who it was.
"Oh, uh, sorry, I'll come back later then?" a voice she recognized all too well asked.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't think it was you! She said, turning around to see the figure of Alex staring at her through the bars of the stall.
"Do you want any help?" he asked, a smile playing at his lips.
"Sure, come on in. There's a blue brush in that box, take it on you way," she said, pointing it out.
He picked it up and walked in. Belle immediately went to check him out. "What's she doing?" he asked, backing up.
"Don't worry, she won't hurt you. She's just checking you out. You know, friend or enemy?" she said, laughing.
"Oh, what does she think?" he asked, as she moved her head away.
"Well, lets put it this way: if she didn't like you, you wouldn't be standing."
"She must really love you," he said, starting to brush Belle.
"Well, I was the first human she came in contact with, so... yeah, I suppose so. She's the only one I've ever been able to truly love."
"That's cool. So, what's your story?" he asked.
"Same as I've let on to before. Drugs, theft, running. You know, the 'usual'," Here she did her little air-quotes.
"Usual? Whatever. And what were you running from?"
"What else? Family. Anyways, what's your story?" she said quickly, avoiding the subject.
"Okay... drugs, gang problems, and... you know... what I told you."
"Yeah, I know. Well, I'm done here," she said, throwing her brushes over the side of the stall. Alex did the same.
"What went wrong in your family?" he asked, turning to her.
"You talk too much," she whispered. He leant forward and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around him, and deepened it. As they heard footsteps approach, they separated immediately.
"Em? Times up! Time for bed," Fred said, coming up to the stall and peering inside. "Oh, hey Alex."
"Hi."
"Hey Fred. Uh, we're done here, so... come on, Alex, lets go." She opened the door, let Alex out. She then turned around to Belle. "Good night, darling," she said, wrapping her arms around the horse's neck. She breathed in her scent. It was so comforting to her. It brought back the memories of happier times. Before all went awry. "See you tomorrow," she whispered into Belle's neck. Belle gave her a little nudge.
With that, she left the stall and walked off with Alex, hand in hand, following Fred, who chose to remain oblivious to what was going on between them.
********************************************************************************
"Daisy?" Sophie asked, walking into the girls' cabin.
"Sophie, we're going to bed. Sheesh, it's called friendly gossip. I mean you want us to bond..." she said, rolling her eyes.
"Daisy, I have something to talk to you about," she looked solemn.
"Uh, sure, hold on a sec," Daisy replied, understanding that this was something important for Sophie to get her after lights out. She grabbed her coat and left, after giving Emma a worried look. "What's up?" she asked, when they were at a picnic table outside the dorms.
"Daisy, I'm very sorry to have to tell you this."
"What is it? Sophie!" she practically screamed.
"We got a call from the hospital about ten minutes ago." Daisy wore a blank stare. Inside, her mind was racing 1000 miles a second. What is she talking about? "Your dad... he... uh... he died, Daisy." She looked like she was on the verge of tears.
"Alcohol related?" Daisy asked, her face still blank, but her heart tearing apart at the mere mention of that word. Sophie nodded. "Thanks for letting me know. If you don't mind, I'll stay out here a little longer, get my thoughts in order." Sophie nodded again and left, with a squeeze to Daisy's shoulder.
Daisy waited until she was out of sight, then got up and went in a beeline to the boys' dorm. She knocked on the window close to David's bed. He finally got up, knowing she was the only person who woke him up this way.
"Hey, Daisy, what's wrong?" he whispered. Daisy now had tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Just meet me at the docks," she whispered back. It was barely audible, but he caught every word. He nodded and watched her retreating form. He raced around getting dressed.
"David what's going on?" Ezra asked.
"Nothing, just go back to sleep, man," he said in hushed tones. No one was able to protest as David was out of the dorm quickly.
He walked out to the docks, looking for his girlfriend. When he found her, she was sitting, balled up, her head resting on her knees, looking out over the lake. He walked up to her and sat down next to her. He didn't want to push, so he just put his arm around her. She couldn't hold it in anymore. She turned her body to him and swung her arms around his neck and just sat there, hugging him, crying on his shoulder.
He didn't know what was wrong, but he could feel her pain. He absorbed it as she cried and before he knew it, he was crying too. He just held her as best he could and tried his best to comfort her. She clung to him for dear life.
"He died," she whispered into his neck. David didn't say anything. He didn't know how to handle this, and he didn't want to say anything stupid. "My father died. He died... of alcohol poisoning. He was the only family I had left, and now he's gone. He's gone because of his addiction. His stupid addiction!"
"Daisy! I'm so sorry! Is there anything I can do for you?" he asked, lifting her head so he could look into her eyes. Those beautiful eyes, which normally hid so much, were a door to her soul. One few people had seen before. She shook her head.
"Just hold me." He smiled a sad smile. Kissed her forehead and took her in his arms again.
"Now that, I can do," he said, holding her tightly.
"Thank you. I love you, David."
"I love you, Daisy. And I'll never stop." He felt an extra squeeze and knew she felt the same way. A silent tear fell down his face and he smiled sadly again. He knew he was doing the most anyone could do, and he did it full heartedly.