The Game

11 - Do Your Best

She took a deep breath, hand to her chest, "David... please listen-"

"Listen to what? You're bullshit, meaningless apology for ruining my life almost every day! Gee thanks!" I checked my watch, figuring we need to get moving if I wanted to see Daisy one last time, "Now, get out of my fucking way so I can take a few things that probably won't help me at all cuz I'll be dead before I use them!"

Primrose looked... heartbroken, almost. She just stared at me, nodded, and said, "W-What do you need?"

"Why do you care?" I snorted, walking inside.

"Because... I'm your mother."

"Really?" I growled, "Well it's about fucking time you started acting like you care about me. Thanks for nothing."

I went up to my room, noticing how Primrose didn't follow me.

Entering my room, I grabbed my backpack, turning it upside down and spilling my schoolwork everywhere. Not that it mattered much now. I shoved some spare clothes in my backpack, and I was looking for my laptop, but I realized that it was in my bag last when I dropped it onto the street the day I was kidnapped. It was under the pile of binders and papers, but the screen was cracked. Fucking great. Fine. The flash drive and the stupid pink laptop will have to fucking do. I'll never see any of this shit again, all my stuff, all my schoolwork. I'll never live long enough to experience my first job or drive a car. What a weight off my shoulders, Primrose had been pestering me about that.

I stormed past Primrose, who had just made it to the top of the stairs. Out of the corner of my eye, or maybe I imagined it, it looked like she was still crying. Probably wishful thinking. I went into Daisy's room... and just stood near the door, looking over my sister's things for a moment.

Drawings covered the majority of free wall space, and now that I'm looking, they're mostly of me and her. So many times she had drawn me and her, smiling, holding hands, me lifting her up to spin her around... she drew so many good memories of us. As I went closer to and looked at each drawing, I could vividly see the memory playing in front of me. That one looked like me pushing her on the swing set in the park... There's me making sure she climbed a tree safely, then she jumped down onto me and tried to wrestle me but ended up making us roll down a hill... A close up of her up on my shoulders eating ice cream that was melting and dripping onto my nose... Daisy always looked like she was smiling or laughing in these drawings, and I was as well. We had so much fun together, over the years. She always called me Davie, come to think of it, she rarely said David, but I couldn't care less. It was adorable. She was adorable. She was the absolute best little sister a guy could ever hope to ask for... I just wish things didn't have to be this way... I won't get to see her grow up, get smarter, taller... I won't get to see her graduate or her first job or... anything.

The drone had been in here, panning around the room at first, but I saw that it was focused on me now. I finally looked at the very last picture on the wall, the one she drew a few days ago of the whole family holding hands on a sunny hillside. I gently brought my hand across the drawing, careful not to smudge the crayon. This was her best work so far, and it showed not only me and her, but mom and dad as well.. Mom and I were holding hands in this... we were all smiling, all of us. We... looked like a family that actually loved each other...

I knew I was crying, I had been for awhile. But now, I really had to try hard to stop myself from breaking down completely. I rested my head on the wall beside the drawing, so my tears wouldn't ruin it, as I tried to pull myself together. I took deep, shaky breaths, my fists clenched and my whole body almost trembling. I don't think I even need to try to describe my thoughts to the camera. They probably know what I'm thinking.