You'll Always Have Me

[CHAPTER 1]

Author's Note:

1-2 Chapters will be published every week around Tuesday and Thursday (depending on my schedule). Please comment and like. This is the first story I've ever written and I expect it to have 15 - 25 chapters.

“Walk faster, you’re almost there... Just a little bit more,” I whispered to myself as I picked up the pace; I’m shaking uncontrollably. I quickly make my way up the porch as I dig through my bag to find my house keys, but struggle to do so since the freezing wind is causing my hands to shake. As soon as I get ahold of my keys, I drop them. ” Ugh, damn it!” I let out a frustrated sigh, picked it up, and opened the door. I’m finally in the comfort of my own, warm home. My teeth are chattering and my hands are still freezing. The heater is often turned on during this time of the year – that is something I’m thankful for every time I get home; hopefully, my body adjusts quickly.

“Grandma, I’m home! I bought us dinner... Although, we might have to heat it since it’s cold.” I called out to her as I removed my shoes, scarf, and coat. No response. “She must’ve not heard me,” I mumbled. I softly knock on her door a couple of times, yet, no response. I opened her bedroom door, quietly peeked, and found grandma asleep, lying down on her side with her back facing me. “Oh, grandma... Always sleeping,” I chuckled, “I bought our favorite foo-o-o-od!” I said with a tune. I walked in carrying the bag containing our dinner while singing the song she used to sing to me and my little brother when we were younger. “Food is ready. Darling, let’s eat! You better hurry or you’ll get your ass beat.” I was so excited; I probably danced a bit, but I stopped smiling. It seemed like something was wrong, I simply don’t know what it was. I tapped her shoulder and shook her a bit.

“Grandma?” I shook her a bit more, but she wasn’t waking up. My heart started beating rapidly, a thought that came into my mind that made me gasp. “Could she have d-” I shook my head “No, she can’t be, she’s not that old... But I have to check.” I took a deep breath, collected myself, and reached towards her seemingly lifeless body, to check for a pulse. She had none. I cradled her in my arms as my eyes started to water - I couldn’t do much for her in this situation and I, a 16-year-old, didn’t know what to do. I pulled out my phone from my pocket to call for help. As I waited for help to arrive, I only closed my eyes, hugged her, and I sobbed.

A few minutes passed, the paramedics arrived and I managed to stop crying. “Rest easy, grandma. Thank you for everything.” I wiped my tears, kissed her on the forehead, and let the paramedics do their job. I reached for my phone again and called a number I did not expect myself to be calling anytime soon. It took 2 missed calls and a few rings before my call was answered. “Kaya? I’m so glad you called; you haven’t answered any of our texts or calls for a few months now but... I’m about to go to a meeting, is this importa-”

Before he could finish his sentence, I said, “Grandma is dead. I came home, and she was on the bed, lifeless. I already called for help.” Dad was silent- probably shocked – so I spoke again, “I suggest you guys book a flight now because we might have to make arrangements right away. She died in her sleep.” With a soft, weak voice, he replied, “I- I’ll book a flight this instant. I’ll call you once I book the next available flight.”

I hung up as one of the paramedics – a good friend of ours, Kent, - approached me and asked questions about my grandmother’s health history if there were any issues or if she mentioned feeling anything unusual in the past few days. After answering all his questions for a couple of minutes, he comforted me and gave me options on what I could do next. He took the time to write down instructions and telephone numbers of people I could call on a piece of paper. I thanked him and kept the paper inside of my phone case. “I’ll give it to my parents and let them handle it.” Everyone wore gloomy expressions on their faces as they carried her body out of the house. Shortly after they drove away, my father called to inform me about their flight details. “We’re on our way home to pack our bags; our flight is in 2 hours. I’ll send you a screenshot of the details in case you forget. If there won’t be any delays, we’ll arrive before 4 am.” I asked, “Do you need me to pick you up from the airport? I can use Grandma’s car.” He replied, “No, the company hired a driver for us and you don’t have a license yet. Simply charge your phone and unmute it. We’ll call when we arrive.”

I spent the next few hours texting my parents to fill them in on the details concerning my grandmother; matters regarding the arrangements, her cause of death, and what the professionals told me about it, and answering plenty of their questions. I’ve also been answering calls from people giving me their condolences – it wasn’t something I wanted to hear repeatedly – but as much as I wanted to be alone at the moment, I had no choice but to pick up because I’m waiting for a few important calls. So many things are going through my mind at the moment – you’d expect I’d be crying and bawling my eyes out, but I’m just thankful my grandmother’s passing was a peaceful one, and she didn’t have to die in a hospital bed of some disease or illness. Several neighbors came over and gave food for the next day – they know I barely have time to cook due to my busy schedule and my grandma was the one who prepared my food daily - but judging by the amount I’ve received, I might have enough for the whole week. Others welcomed me into their homes if I ever needed a change of environment tonight. It was, after all, hard to stay in a place where you’re reminded of someone who recently passed away but I did feel a bit down. I received a text from Marcus, a great friend of mine, saying I should go outside of my house. He was outside holding a basket with my favorite snacks, fluffy blankets, some face masks, and a projector. He smiled and said, “I bought your favorite snacks and brought my projector so you won’t have to spend the night alone. I know you might not want to be around people at the moment and I understand if you want me to leave but at least accept these.” I took the finely arranged basket of snacks and welcomed him. Shocked by the amount of food on the dining table, he exclaimed, “That is a lot of food, you aren’t capable of finishing this alone.” I picked up the most delicious-looking food and heated it in the microwave. “Then you’ll help me finish some of it. Besides, my whole family is coming over, they’re on their way.’” I set the table for Marcus and me and took the food out of the microwave, “I have not eaten dinner yet, let’s eat together.”

After dinner, we cleaned up and talked - catching up with him reminds me how important friends are. We set up a movie in the living room; before we knew it, we had finished 3 movies and stayed up until 2 in the morning. He decided to stay until tomorrow since we were both sleepy, and he felt lazy to get up and drive home. I’m grateful, Marcus spent the entire night with me and it cheered me up. “Goodnight, Marcus.”

“Goodnight, Kaya.”