Just in Fifteen Days

27. Daddy's Little Girl

This song is absolutely BEAUTIFUL! Play it while you read the chapter.♡

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Ashton's POV

I opened the door for her and let her walk inside first. Her steps were slow and indecisive, timidity flashing through her demeanour. I could see the goosebumps on her bare hands, exposed by the loose, white cami top lightly hanging over her lean body. I knew the name because I had people like Emily and Myra in my life.

I wasn't able to see Talie's eyes but I was sure she was blinking rapidly, the one thing that I noticed she did when she was nervous or anxious. Either she transformed into someone like this every time she came here or maybe just today, because I was with her.

I still considered standing out of the room and waiting for her till the visiting hours were over but she dragged me with her as she held my hand tightly with her sweaty ones. I wondered how she handled her nervousness the other times.

I never understood how she was allowed with a guitar inside the room. I wasn't sure if hospitals allowed that. But, she was the daughter of one of the top gynaecologists here. I saw the doctors roaming around giving her smiles or a slight courteous nod. And anyway, the room was sort of isolated. On the whole floor, there were only seven to eight rooms. I was sure, it would cost me a fortune to afford something like this.

Her eyes were fixated on the man lying on the bed in the middle of the room. His body was covered with the pipes attached to it which seemed to come out of the huge machines standing around the head of the bed. She was still holding my hand as we walked towards the plush, white bed, but as soon as she reached beside the bed, she abruptly left my hand, dropping herself down on the ground as she held her dad's hand. It seemed like a heavy weight was taken away from me when her entangled fingers freed themselves.

Her dad - he looked like an old man, someone in his late fifties. His face was ashen, covered with wrinkles that started from one corner and ended far away, his eyes wide open, not moving even by a fraction while his nose and lips were hidden by the venturi mask. The medicines would have made him look this old.

Suddenly, all I could see was my mother's face - the same way she was lying on that hospital bed that night. I remembered myself tugging my grandfather's shirt, Myra's incessant crying because of the lack of knowledge of the surrounding and her unsteady little form hopping irritably on his hands and the way he tried to hide his tears from us. It was the darkest day of all.

Talie positioned herself with the guitar, that she might have taken away from my hold when I wasn't mentally here, as she sat on the stool, dragging it from the corner of the room to the nearest of the bed. There was no talking. I chose to walk over to the couch on the other side and just keep looking at Talie and admire all that she was doing.

Before playing, she ran her hand over her dad's salt-and-pepper, shining hair and whispered something like hi and I love you. Her fingers then touched the strings, melody erupting in the room. She made some adjustments with those little knobs and struck the strings again. Now, I was barely able to hear. I concentrated, perking my ears up, simultaneously switching on the camera of my phone to record her singing.

The smell of Old Spice
A flat cap on the dash
Windows rolled down in the wind
While birds fly past
Singing along with the radio
A little latitude
Hanging onto that steering wheel
Was the man who hung the moon

Used to wrap my hands around his little finger
Turns out he was wrapped around mine
He said "you can be anything you want to in this great big world"
But I'm always gonna be daddy's little girl