ShaymieTheShaymin
eepy...
- 676
- Posts
- 12
- Years
- Age 26
- She/they
- musical land
- Seen Dec 23, 2024
Welp, this is a story that I've been working on for the past few weeks. Hopefully it isn't crappy. Enjoy~ Or, you know, hate it. Your choice.
"Are you okay, Grace?" he asked the blonde. She sniffled softly and turned towards him, a watery smile on her face.
"I'm fine, Riv…" she said. "At least she's not suffering anymore, you know? Let's go home… Caroline's probably waiting for you."
"Gracie, you can cry if you need to… It's okay to cry…" Riven murmured gently. Grace shook her head, blonde locks flying into her face.
"Crying won't bring her back… Come on, Isa," she called to her sister. The little girl pouted and plopped down in front of the gravestone.
"No, Gracie!" she huffed. "I'm not leaving until Mommy comes back! She has to come back! She said that she wouldn't leave us!"
"Isabel, come on," Grace said, tugging on her sister's arm. The girl looked away and shook her head.
"She's not coming back, Isa!" Grace insisted.
"How do you know?" Isabel challenged, glaring up at her elder sister.
"Because she's dead!" Grace yelled. "She's dead and she's never coming back! I never got to say goodbye… We never got to… But we… We can't just sit around crying for her, because she won't come back!" Tears started to stream down her face as she choked out a sob.
Riven closed the distance between them in three long strides and had his arms wrapped around Grace almost instantly. She buried her face in his only dress shirt and sobbed loudly.
"Shh…" he murmured soothingly.
"It hurts so much…" she whispered.
"I know, Gracie…" Riven said softly, rubbing her back gently. "I know… It'll be fine… She's not in any more pain…"
"I'll miss her… Why did she have to die?" Grace asked. Riven shook his head at the question.
"Why did my mom die in that bombing? Why did Caroline get sick with that stupid plague? Why have we been at war for eight years? There's not a definite answer to everything…" He took a deep breath to calm himself down. More importantly, why did my dad leave us when he knew that it was dangerous?
"Is Caroline going to die?" Isabel asked innocently. Riven ground his teeth and let go of Grace. He knew that there was no cure for the plague, that the only option for Caroline would be for her to die.
"She's not going to die," he hissed, though he wasn't sure who he was trying to convince more: Isabel or himself.
Riven awoke to the sound of coughing. Really loud, sickly coughing. He frowned as he opened his eyes and looked over at the other bed where his little sister Caroline was. She blinked and looked at him with hazy eyes.
"Hi Rivvy…" she murmured with a smile. Riven frowned slightly. She looked even paler than normal. He glanced down at his arm, and then at his sister. He was as pale as he normally was, but Caroline was even paler. He saw that she had dark shadows under her eyes and frowned even more.
"Caroline…" he said sadly, noticing how she winced when she shifted her weight. "How are you feeling? Do you need me to get Grace?"
Caroline shook her head and gestured to the phone on her bedside table. "I already called her over while you were sleeping…" she muttered sadly.
"Why?" Riven asked. "I could have helped you. What happened?"
"I'm dying," Caroline whispered sadly. She coughed violently, and Riven was horrified to see a bit of red near her mouth. She looked over at him, and he frowned at how dead her eyes looked.
"Riven, you can't deny it anymore…" she said, wiping the blood on her sleeve. He stared at it sadly and knew that she was right. He couldn't keep lying to himself and say that this was just a cold. No, this was the plague that was slowly infecting their country. He wished that more information was known about it. He thought back to when Caroline was first infected, before everything started to fall apart.
"It's almost like it has a mind of its own," Grace said as she blew a bit of hair out of her face. Riven frowned down at the blonde.
"What do you mean?" he asked, hoping, for once, that Grace didn't have the answer. Why did he ask her to help him research the plague? Why would he want to know how his little sister was dying? She could just be sick, a small voice in the back of his mind said. He wanted to scoff at it.
"It's not contagious," Grace murmured as she flipped through her mother's journal. She bit her lip as she skimmed through the writing. "It's almost like… like a virus," the girl said softly. "It infects different parts of the body… For some people, it's the brain… Others their… their lungs…" Riven frowned. Caroline had been coughing a lot more recently...
"Is there a cure for it?" he asked. Before Grace could answer, her little sister Isabel skipped into the room with a handful of flowers.
"Look what I found, Gracie!" she said excitedly. Grace smiled at her and turned to Riven. His heart broke as she shook her head at him.
Caroline entered the room then, holding a book that belonged to her and Riven's father. Riven looked at the journal and grabbed it, hiding it behind his back. Caroline raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything about it.
"Caroline…" Riven muttered, his voice cracking. He swallowed and forced back his tears. She couldn't see him cry. He had to be strong for her.
"It's okay to cry, Rivvy…" Caroline whispered. Two tears streamed down her cheeks as she stared at him, her dull gray eyes unfocused.
"Why are you crying, Care-Bear?" he asked as he walked over to her. She sniffled and hugged him. Her skinny arms wrapped around him tightly, and he hugged her back gently, being careful not to hurt her frail form.
"I don't want to die," she said, her voice barely audible. "I don't want to leave you… I don't want you to be alone…" Riven's breath caught in his throat. Of course she would do this… She wasn't worried about dying at all… She was worried about him. How stupidly selfless could she be? She's the one who's dying. She should be the one worried about being alone.
"Caroline… I…" He was lost for words. How could a ten year-old be this selfless and mature? He knew grown men who only cared about themselves, like his father. What kind of a man abandons his wife when she's about to give birth to their daughter?
"Rivvy?" Caroline whispered. He looked down at her and said the first words that came to his mind.
"You're not like him." Caroline looked confused and put her hand on Riven's forehead.
"Are you feeling okay?" she asked. "I can call Grace… Just please don't throw up on yourself again so that she doesn't have to—"
"That was one time, and I didn't give her permission to do that!" Riven yelled. Caroline smirked as she pulled away from him. He sighed. She had been spending too much time with Grace lately, although what could be expected when the girl was his sister's unofficial doctor? At least he got to see more of her. She had been acting weird lately, even weirder than usual.
"Ding dong!" he heard from the front door as someone knocked. He sighed. Speak of the devil and she shall appear. At least she brought Isabel this time. Caroline had been feeling slightly depressed recently, and Isabel was the perfect cure for that. If only there was a cure for this dumb plague, he thought bitterly as he kissed Caroline on the forehead and walked to the door.
"Isa, you don't say ding dong if you're not ringing the doorbell!" Grace said as Riven opened the door. He smiled down at Isabel, who immediately skipped down the hall to his and Caroline's room. Grace sighed.
"She walks around like she owns the place," she muttered as she walked into the house. Riven rolled his eyes.
"Look who's talking," he said as he closed the door. Grace took a shaky breath and turned towards him. He was surprised by the intensity in her emerald eyes.
"Gracie, what's wrong?" he asked. She hesitated and suddenly found the carpet more interesting than Riven's face.
"I thought it would be easier than this," she murmured, her voice quivering slightly. "God, I thought that I could just walk right in and tell you…"
"Tell me what?" Riven interrupted. Grace looked up at him, her eyes blazing.
"I'm pregnant, Riven. With your child," she said, her voice steady.
2 Years Ago
Riven stood back as his best friend and her little sister stood at their mother's grave. He couldn't help but think about how much this mirrored what had happened ten years ago with his own mother."Are you okay, Grace?" he asked the blonde. She sniffled softly and turned towards him, a watery smile on her face.
"I'm fine, Riv…" she said. "At least she's not suffering anymore, you know? Let's go home… Caroline's probably waiting for you."
"Gracie, you can cry if you need to… It's okay to cry…" Riven murmured gently. Grace shook her head, blonde locks flying into her face.
"Crying won't bring her back… Come on, Isa," she called to her sister. The little girl pouted and plopped down in front of the gravestone.
"No, Gracie!" she huffed. "I'm not leaving until Mommy comes back! She has to come back! She said that she wouldn't leave us!"
"Isabel, come on," Grace said, tugging on her sister's arm. The girl looked away and shook her head.
"She's not coming back, Isa!" Grace insisted.
"How do you know?" Isabel challenged, glaring up at her elder sister.
"Because she's dead!" Grace yelled. "She's dead and she's never coming back! I never got to say goodbye… We never got to… But we… We can't just sit around crying for her, because she won't come back!" Tears started to stream down her face as she choked out a sob.
Riven closed the distance between them in three long strides and had his arms wrapped around Grace almost instantly. She buried her face in his only dress shirt and sobbed loudly.
"Shh…" he murmured soothingly.
"It hurts so much…" she whispered.
"I know, Gracie…" Riven said softly, rubbing her back gently. "I know… It'll be fine… She's not in any more pain…"
"I'll miss her… Why did she have to die?" Grace asked. Riven shook his head at the question.
"Why did my mom die in that bombing? Why did Caroline get sick with that stupid plague? Why have we been at war for eight years? There's not a definite answer to everything…" He took a deep breath to calm himself down. More importantly, why did my dad leave us when he knew that it was dangerous?
"Is Caroline going to die?" Isabel asked innocently. Riven ground his teeth and let go of Grace. He knew that there was no cure for the plague, that the only option for Caroline would be for her to die.
"She's not going to die," he hissed, though he wasn't sure who he was trying to convince more: Isabel or himself.
Present
Riven awoke to the sound of coughing. Really loud, sickly coughing. He frowned as he opened his eyes and looked over at the other bed where his little sister Caroline was. She blinked and looked at him with hazy eyes.
"Hi Rivvy…" she murmured with a smile. Riven frowned slightly. She looked even paler than normal. He glanced down at his arm, and then at his sister. He was as pale as he normally was, but Caroline was even paler. He saw that she had dark shadows under her eyes and frowned even more.
"Caroline…" he said sadly, noticing how she winced when she shifted her weight. "How are you feeling? Do you need me to get Grace?"
Caroline shook her head and gestured to the phone on her bedside table. "I already called her over while you were sleeping…" she muttered sadly.
"Why?" Riven asked. "I could have helped you. What happened?"
"I'm dying," Caroline whispered sadly. She coughed violently, and Riven was horrified to see a bit of red near her mouth. She looked over at him, and he frowned at how dead her eyes looked.
"Riven, you can't deny it anymore…" she said, wiping the blood on her sleeve. He stared at it sadly and knew that she was right. He couldn't keep lying to himself and say that this was just a cold. No, this was the plague that was slowly infecting their country. He wished that more information was known about it. He thought back to when Caroline was first infected, before everything started to fall apart.
"It's almost like it has a mind of its own," Grace said as she blew a bit of hair out of her face. Riven frowned down at the blonde.
"What do you mean?" he asked, hoping, for once, that Grace didn't have the answer. Why did he ask her to help him research the plague? Why would he want to know how his little sister was dying? She could just be sick, a small voice in the back of his mind said. He wanted to scoff at it.
"It's not contagious," Grace murmured as she flipped through her mother's journal. She bit her lip as she skimmed through the writing. "It's almost like… like a virus," the girl said softly. "It infects different parts of the body… For some people, it's the brain… Others their… their lungs…" Riven frowned. Caroline had been coughing a lot more recently...
"Is there a cure for it?" he asked. Before Grace could answer, her little sister Isabel skipped into the room with a handful of flowers.
"Look what I found, Gracie!" she said excitedly. Grace smiled at her and turned to Riven. His heart broke as she shook her head at him.
Caroline entered the room then, holding a book that belonged to her and Riven's father. Riven looked at the journal and grabbed it, hiding it behind his back. Caroline raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything about it.
"Caroline…" Riven muttered, his voice cracking. He swallowed and forced back his tears. She couldn't see him cry. He had to be strong for her.
"It's okay to cry, Rivvy…" Caroline whispered. Two tears streamed down her cheeks as she stared at him, her dull gray eyes unfocused.
"Why are you crying, Care-Bear?" he asked as he walked over to her. She sniffled and hugged him. Her skinny arms wrapped around him tightly, and he hugged her back gently, being careful not to hurt her frail form.
"I don't want to die," she said, her voice barely audible. "I don't want to leave you… I don't want you to be alone…" Riven's breath caught in his throat. Of course she would do this… She wasn't worried about dying at all… She was worried about him. How stupidly selfless could she be? She's the one who's dying. She should be the one worried about being alone.
"Caroline… I…" He was lost for words. How could a ten year-old be this selfless and mature? He knew grown men who only cared about themselves, like his father. What kind of a man abandons his wife when she's about to give birth to their daughter?
"Rivvy?" Caroline whispered. He looked down at her and said the first words that came to his mind.
"You're not like him." Caroline looked confused and put her hand on Riven's forehead.
"Are you feeling okay?" she asked. "I can call Grace… Just please don't throw up on yourself again so that she doesn't have to—"
"That was one time, and I didn't give her permission to do that!" Riven yelled. Caroline smirked as she pulled away from him. He sighed. She had been spending too much time with Grace lately, although what could be expected when the girl was his sister's unofficial doctor? At least he got to see more of her. She had been acting weird lately, even weirder than usual.
"Ding dong!" he heard from the front door as someone knocked. He sighed. Speak of the devil and she shall appear. At least she brought Isabel this time. Caroline had been feeling slightly depressed recently, and Isabel was the perfect cure for that. If only there was a cure for this dumb plague, he thought bitterly as he kissed Caroline on the forehead and walked to the door.
"Isa, you don't say ding dong if you're not ringing the doorbell!" Grace said as Riven opened the door. He smiled down at Isabel, who immediately skipped down the hall to his and Caroline's room. Grace sighed.
"She walks around like she owns the place," she muttered as she walked into the house. Riven rolled his eyes.
"Look who's talking," he said as he closed the door. Grace took a shaky breath and turned towards him. He was surprised by the intensity in her emerald eyes.
"Gracie, what's wrong?" he asked. She hesitated and suddenly found the carpet more interesting than Riven's face.
"I thought it would be easier than this," she murmured, her voice quivering slightly. "God, I thought that I could just walk right in and tell you…"
"Tell me what?" Riven interrupted. Grace looked up at him, her eyes blazing.
"I'm pregnant, Riven. With your child," she said, her voice steady.