A/N: Before anything else, I wanna thank all the people reading this ❤️ Only ten more chapters to go before the ending. Also don't rush read this chap, you'll thank me later... or not 😬
Sam's POV
My sister was an idiot.
I mean, first she tells me she has no plans of coming home. Then she tells me she has no plans of going back for my birthday. And now, my birthday was almost over and still no gift or greeting from her.
My sister was such a huge idiot.
Luckily, I was the smarter one out of the two of us. Mom asked me this morning if I wanted to have a party but I declined. I didn't even hangout with Sofi so my sister better appreciate what I'm doing.
I crept into my mom's room to make sure that she really was sleeping. Honestly, I don't know what the deal is with old people and their afternoon naps. She'll probably buy me a cake once she wakes up which is even more perfect. I shaped my pillows around until they resembled a body, then covered it with my blanket. Underneath it, I put a recorder that played me snoring on a loop. Once my mom hears and sees me 'sleeping', she wouldn't bother me anymore and that would give me more time.
Grabbing my bag, I made my way downstairs and into the parking lot. It was a good thing Macy wasn't here because she would've stopped me for sure. Once I glanced at my watch, I knew I had to hurry. I found who I was looking for laughing with another bodyguard near the pool.
"Drew!" I called out, making sure I had the sweetest smile on my face. He and the other guard looked at me but it was only him that walked up to me.
"Yeah? Is there a problem, little miss?"
I had been practicing this day since I bought those tickets with my mom's credit card. It was kinda easy to guess the passcode-me and my sister's birthday. I should tell my mom about changing it when I came back.
Nine year old charm, don't fail me now.
"So, let's go, my sister's waiting."
He tilted his head to the side. "Uh... what?"
I mirrored the confusion on his face. "Wait, she forgot to tell you?"
"I... guess?"
I sighed and shook my head. "Typical of Y/N. Do you know she almost forgot my birthday? Tsk." I clicked my tongue and smiled at him again. "You're supposed to take me to LA today because she can't come here."
It was his turn to shake his head. "No, I-I wasn't told about this."
"Yeah, that's why I'm telling you now."
"But-"
I almost giggled but stopped myself. I feigned annoyance and crossed my arms. "Drew, what're you doing? We're about to miss our flight."
"Wait, wait, I-"
"Okay, fine," I huffed, whipping out my phone. "I'll call my sister." I pretended to tap something on my phone and held it up next to my ear. "Sis, listen... no, I'm still in Miami... I know right? Drew is just here standing like an idiot while we're just about to miss my flight."
I saw his cheeks redden and knew a little more poking would do it. "Yeah," I continued, whispering this time. "I told you to get someone more experienced... What? Are you sure? Well... I don't want to fire him..."
"Okay, okay!" Drew shouted, reaching for my phone. But I was too fast for him and dodged his hand.
"Looks like he changed his mind. Bye," I said and pretended to hang up.
Bodyguards were too easy at this point. I knew that because Drew was new, he would want to impress my sister. And what better way to impress her than to impress her little sister? I watched him study me as he tapped his foot.
"Yeah, I-umm-I think I remember your sister telling me about this."
Yup, too easy.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Time is ticking," I said.
Drew was still hesitant but led me to the car nonetheless. We arrived fifteen minutes before the flight and I was thankful we didn't get any problems. The tickets I bought were for first class and I watched Drew ogle every single thing it had to offer. I could only roll my eyes at a mature man looking at first class accommodations like a kid in a candy store.
My bodyguard didn't say much until we were in the air. "Hey, Sam uh-are you not afraid of flying?"
I smirked. "I'm more afraid of falling." Drew's eyes widened which made me laugh. "Don't worry, it's safe. Probably."
I was about to put in my earphones when I heard Drew's voice again. "Hey, can I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"I mean, this is not an interview so you don't have to answer but uh-what's it like being the sister of Y/N L/N?"
"I hate it."
Drew was taken aback, understandably, but then he laughed thinking it was a joke. When he saw the seriousness in my face, however, he immediately stopped and looked at me inquiringly.
I smiled and crossed my arms. "My sister is probably one of the most famous people on the planet and I hate that. I hate that she's famous. Because that means she doesn't have time for me anymore."
Drew scratched his chin and looked away from me. "I'm sure she still thinks about you. I mean, she is still working for you guys."
"But when does it stop?" I gave Drew a sad smile. "When does she stop and come back?"
"I'm sorry, Sam."
I looked out the window and noticed that the sun was already setting. It would be dark once we arrived in LA. "She's changed," I found myself saying after a while. I didn't know if Drew was still listening but I just needed to get it off my chest.
"Before, she would always be beside me," I continued. "I remember a time when she would pick me up after school and we would jam out to songs on the radio. Sometimes she-" I stopped as I tried to remember the memories we had before she was famous. For some reason, they were a bit hazy, like something was blocking my access. "Sometimes she would sing me some of her songs. There was a time I was her biggest fan-her only fan."
I turned around, thankful that Drew was listening intently to my every word. "Now, she barely talks to me anymore. She gets angry when I always call when before, she would always tell me that my voice was the only thing that gets her through the day. I feel like she's getting farther by the second. I'm afraid she's going to leave like-"
Before I could finish it, I managed to bite my lip to keep myself from spilling anything more. Y/N and I have never talked about my father but I knew she was hurt. I barely remember my father and I didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing. I just know that he left-and was never coming back again.
"But I still love her," I said with a smile. "At the end of the day, she's still my big sis and I'm her cute little sister. So don't tell her what I told you today, okay? She won't hear those words from me until I'm dead."
"I won't," said Drew with a grin.
I nodded and pulled out my earphones. "Now, let me listen to my music in peace."
I closed my eyes and dozed off, dreaming of distant memories with my sister.
-//-//-//-//-//-
Five hours of flying later and we were in Los Angeles soil. Drew was getting my baggage as I bought a drink. After a few minutes, he walked over to me with my bag in tow. We were almost out of the airport when Drew suddenly stopped. I looked up at him and saw him looking at me uneasily.
"What's going on?"
"Sorry Sam but... I feel a bit anxious," he said.
I tilted my head to the side. "Why are you anxious?"
"I just... I just think I should call your sister... to confirm."
Crap.
"You know she's gonna get angry," I said, sipping my drink. But Drew already had his phone in his hand.
"I know but... I just need to make sure."
He was already scrolling for my sister's phone number and I knew I was too late to stop him. So while he was busy dialing for Y/N, I did the only thing I could do.
I grabbed my baggage and ran.
Luckily when I was waiting for Drew, I already called for an Uber to pick us up. Once I was outside, I saw the car immediately. I opened the backseat and tossed my suitcase inside then hopped on the front seat and buckled myself.
"Umm... Samantha?" asked Jason, the driver.
"Uh huh."
"Where are your parents? Are they coming out soon?"
I looked at him and crossed my arms. "No, it's just me." Before he could speak I pulled out some hundreds from my pocket courtesy of mom's purse. "I have money, see?" The moment I glanced at the rearview mirror, I immediately saw an exasperated Drew looking around for me.
"Drive!" I screamed at Jason and soon enough we were on the road. I leaned back on my seat and heaved a sigh of relief. Jason kept stealing glances at me so I called him out on it. "What?"
"Are you-are you running away?"
I laughed and kicked off my shoes. "No, I'm here to visit my sister."
"You rode on a plane by yourself?" he asked with raised eyebrows.
I scoffed. "Of course not. I rode with my bodyguard. But he was being a killjoy so I left him."
"Bodygua-are you like a mafia's daughter or something?"
"What?"
"I read it in this book on Watt-"
"That's fiction, Jason," I said and rolled my eyes.
After that, Jason and I began talking about our families. He told me about his two daughters, one older than me and one younger. He was also expecting a baby boy with his wife in about three months. I told him about my family, careful not to drop the Y/N L/N bomb. I liked him more when he agreed with me that my sister needed to spend more time with me.
"Speaking of my sister, I gotta call her. Hold on a sec," I said, pulling out the phone from my pocket. She answered on the first ring which was unheard of these last few months.
"Sam, where are you? Why did you leave Miami?" Y/N was screaming in my ear and I had to put some distance from my ear to the phone so I wouldn't go deaf.
"Whoa, calm down Y/N. I'm fine."
"How did you even get to LA?" she asked.
"I tricked Drew," I said with a laugh, remembering his face back in Miami. "You know you should get me better bodyguards next time."
"No! You are grounded until you're eighteen!"
I rolled my eyes at her tone. "Sheesh, chill out. You're not dad." The silence on the other end clued me in on what I just said. I practically compared her to our absent father. I decided to just change the subject before it could get anymore awkward. "Anyway, I'm okay. I got an Uber at the airport and the driver is nice. Here," I said, facing the phone near Jason, "tell my sister your name."
"Umm... hi, I'm Jason." I shook my head at Jason's poor attempt but he just shrugged.
"Sam, listen," my sister said, her voice icy, "You are going to tell Jason to pull over right now and you are gonna wait for me. Tell him right now!"
I groaned and rolled my eyes. "I know where your hotel is. I'll wait for you there." I remembered the conversation I had with Drew. "If you don't want to come home then I'll just come to you."
I wished she would hear the emotion behind my words but she just brushed it off and continued to yell at me. "No! Sam you are telling him to stop the car right now or I swear to God I'll-"
A sudden jerk of the car made me drop my phone on the car floor. "Shoot."
"Sorry," Jason whispered.
"I dropped my phone, gimme a sec." I tried reaching out for my phone but to no avail. Stupid little girl arms. "I can't reach it. Wait," I said, fumbling on my seatbelt. Once I got it off, I bent down to try to reach it again.
"Hey, wait, it's not safe," Jason called out. "You can't just take off your seatbelt like that!"
"Wait, I'm trying to reach..."
Jason glanced at the road in front of him then bent towards me. "Let me help, here..." He reached out his hand just as I looked up at the road.
The moment I saw the truck coming towards us, I knew it was too late.
"Jason, look out!"
The crunch of metal versus metal was loud in my ears as the impact shoved me around the car. I felt my whole body being toyed with-thrown in every direction like I was a ragdoll.
The last thing I heard was my sister's voice calling my name before everything went black.
-//-//-//-//-//-
Your POV
My heart was racing as I got nearer and nearer the stationary red blinking dot on my GPS. The sound of cars crashing was still fresh in my mind and I was trying so hard not to think about the worst. It was probably just a movie they were watching. Or it was probably just another car crash near them.
Anything but the worst.
A few meters from my destination, I was already stuck behind a plethora of cars. People were outside and looking at something in the distance. I made my way out of my car with my heart in my hand. Ever so slowly, I inched my way forward, noting the few looks I got from people. There were two ambulances in the distance with paramedics running back and forth from the car wreck to the ambulance.
I stopped just before the police barricade and watched them pull out a middle-aged man from the wreck. It was at that moment that I had hope. I knew it was bad to have hope because of someone else's demise but I couldn't help it. Not when I was on the verge of losing my sister.
However, what was hope but a temporary feeling? I learned that first from Camila when she kept me hoping for a chance that never came.
And I felt it now as they pulled my sister's body from the wreck.
"Sam!" I cried out, not even recognizing my own voice. I pushed forward but a police officer stopped me.
"I'm sorry but you can't pass here."
"That's my sister! That's my sister you asshole!" I yelled, shoving him to the ground. I ran forward, thankful no one was stopping me and climbed inside the ambulance they carried Sam in.
I studied my sister and it took everything in me not to fall apart. Blood was all over her face and her body. Her blue, satin dress that I remembered buying for her when I wanted to distract myself over making that wish about Camila, was tainted with red. A metal pipe protruded from her side, the result of clashing her soft body against metal. I watched her once gentle face, now rough from the cuts she endured.
My sister. My friend. The girl I vowed to protect was now fighting for her last breath.
The ambulance lurched forward as the paramedics continued to contain the massive blood loss. I grabbed her soft hands and tried to channel my warmth to them. It must've acted as a catalyst because soon enough Sam's eyes slowly fluttered open.
"Sam? Sam?" I called out, tears brimming the corner of my eyes. "Sam can you hear me?"
Her eyes surveyed the roof of the car before settling on me. I was still holding her hand in mine and I had no intention of letting go. "Y/N?" Her voice was so frail, so unlike the voice that kept telling me to go home-to be with her. She sounded like talking took an insurmountable amount of effort and I wanted to tell her it was okay not to anymore. If not for the fact that I wanted to keep her awake-to keep her with me.
"Sam, Sam, I'm here. Your sister's here."
"Y/N," she called out again and I held her hand against my cheek. "I finally... saw you again." I nodded and did my best to smile. I needed to be strong for her.
I needed to be her big sister.
"Sam, I missed you so much. I'm-I'm sorry."
She weakly shook her head. "It's not your... fault. I'm just glad... I got to see you... again."
I took my other hand and gently brushed her hair. "You'll see me everyday, Sam. I won't leave you this time."
"I'm sorry... Y/N." She smiled at me-through the blood and through the pain. "It looks like... I'll be... the one that leaves... this time."
"No, no, Sam," my voice cracked and by this time, I was done pretending I was strong. "You'll be okay, I promise. You're strong, Sam. You are so, so strong and these people are gonna save you."
"I know... I ask a lot... of you... Y/N."
"You don't, Sam, you don't."
"But I... I want to say... something... before it's... too late."
"Sam no..." I cried out, the tears starting to fall.
I felt her grip tighten around mine and I knew the effort it took for her to do just that. "You are... the best sister... I could ever... ask for. You were always... there for me. Even if you weren't... your heart was still... with me."
"I couldn't have asked for a better little sister," I said, caressing her hair again. I've done it a thousand times when she woke up from her nightmares but I never imagined doing it for the last time.
I could faintly hear the paramedics scramble because her heartbeat was slowing down but I didn't care. I didn't want any second of this moment to pass.
"You always... told me... how strong I was... when dad left... because," she coughed a bit but continued nonetheless, "...because I didn't cry. Do you... know why?"
I shook my head. "Why is that?"
"Because... you were still there. No matter who... leaves... I won't cry because... you're still there. You said... you would always... protect me. R-remember... that?"
I nodded and placed a kiss on her cold hand. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you this time, Sam."
"You... did. You protected me... from leaving... without saying goodbye." My whimpers could be heard inside the whole ambulance. "Thank you for... protecting me."
I shook my head furiously. "It shouldn't be you, Sam. You still have a future. You still have a life. It shouldn't be you."
"It's okay," she said, her words slurred. "At least I got... to meet... Sofi... Camila... Lauren... Jason..."
She closed her eyes and I froze. No, this couldn't be the end. I didn't even say goodbye yet. However, as if answering my plea, she opened her eyes again and focused on me.
Sam was trying so hard to stay awake for me. She was trying her best for us to have the time to say goodbye to each other. She was probably in so much pain but she was battling all that just so we could have our last time together.
"I could say... I lived... a full life."
"Sam..." I called out, dreading the answer to the question I was about to pose. "Are you getting tired?"
She smiled at me. "I'm getting... sleepy, sis."
I nodded and tried to stop anymore tears from flowing. "You can rest-now," I said, my voice cracking. "You can close your eyes if you want to, Sam."
"Not until... you stop crying. I want... our last... goodbye... to be... happy." I nodded and wiped the tears from my eyes. When I did, she finally smiled again. "There... that's my big sis."
"Are you-are you going now, Sam?"
"One last... thing." I nodded and urged her to continue. "Don't be... like dad. Don't... leave. Stay with... mom. Stay... with... Camila. Stay with... the people you... love. No matter what... happens... love them... as much... as you loved me. Promise me that... Y/N."
I leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I promise, Sam."
She weakly nodded and closed her eyes. "I love you, Y/N."
I took a deep breath, just so the tears wouldn't fall. "I love you too, Sam. I love you so much."
Her lips formed into a smile. "When I... see God... I'll thank Him... for making you... my sister."
Even in her last breath, she still thought of me.
The paramedics scrambled around and brought in the defibrillator to try and revive Sam but I knew she was gone. Sam was in a better place now-a place where she wouldn't be in pain anymore. She was up there now, looking down upon me, guiding me like an angel.
My little angel that was now God's angel.