Team Babysitters | Daniel Ricciardo

Prologue

Putting a hand on the coffin, knowing your best friend is in there, was not how I thought my life was going to look like at twenty-six. Voices were surrounding me, talking to me, but nothing seems to come through. I couldn't stop the tears, I didn't want to stop the tears. I don't want her to be gone, because what was I supposed to do without her? My heart was pounding louder and louder in my ears and head and it almost felt like it was gonna explode anytime soon. My parents were here, my siblings were here, but I still feel so god damn alone. Mourning about my best friends death, without the supporting warm arms everyone expected to be around me. No, even that was death. I felt like I was going through this all, all alone, but I know I wasn't. A hand on my shoulder made my eyes that were so focused on the coffin look away as I put my hand on the hand on my shoulder. I turned around and saw James, trying to smile at me, but failed. More tears started to well up in my eyes as I realised how James must feel right now. Without his wife that he loved so dearly. Having to raise three kids. A six-year-old, a three-year-old and a baby of seven months. I shook my head at those thoughts and put my arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. He started to shake as I felt him put his arms around me too.
"She's really gone..." I heard him say in a shaky voice as he hides his face in my neck. James always felt like family to me. No, James was family. He was my next-door neighbour when I still lived at my parent's house and we grew up together, even though we were seven years apart I was closer to him then he was with any of my siblings. It also helped when my best friend Sarah who was two years older than me, started dating him when she was eighteen. I remember her walking straight into my room being pissed at her mom because her mom thought James was too old for her. I remembered it so good as it was yesterday. Oh, Sarah... Why did you have to leave?
"She will always keep on watching us from above," I told James just like Sarah had joked about a few days before she died. She knew she was going to die. The doctors knew she couldn't beat the brain cancer Sarah had. James and I knew, but both didn't want to believe it. Sarah was the strongest human being that lived on this planet and she was a fighter. She kept fighting against the cancer for six months, for her three kids. I still couldn't believe mother nature was so cruel to let her go like that. Let the best husband I know lose his wife. Let three kids who needed the amazing mother that Sarah was, lose their mother. I let go of James as the thoughts all just got too much for me. I tried to wipe away the tears with my flat hand, but the tears never really stayed away for long.
"How are the kids doing?" I asked as my heart keeps feeling like it broke over and over.
"Flynn is starting to understand what's going on. Victoria is confused and keeps asking where her mom is and Hazel... My baby isn't going to remember how her own mother looked like or sounded like." Tears started to well up into his eyes again, and I already cringed at myself for asking that question. "I don't know how I'm going to do this all without Sarah, Saf. I really don't know."
"Hey," I told him immediately, connecting my eyes with his. "You're gonna be the worlds greatest dad to those three kids. And you don't have to do this all by yourself. I can come and help. I can make them breakfast in the morning, take them to school in the morning and collect them in the afternoon, I can watch them when you're at work. It's not the same as having Sarah here and doing all of that, but I want to help. I promised Sarah I would help you out."
"Savannah, I can't ask that from you," James said, putting both hands on my shoulder as we both forget about the people around us. I nodded.
"Yes you can and I will help you. You're family James. The kids are family to me. Sarah is like a sister to me. Always have been, always will be. Don't go through this alone, please." My voice kept breaking as I kept making long sentences. I wanted to sound confident, be strong for James, but there were just too many emotions going on through my mind and heart. Part of me wished this was all a nightmare. That I would wake up right about now because I fell asleep again in the hammock Sarah gave me and she woke me up by text, telling me to get ready because we would go picknick with the kids like we did a lot on sunny Wednesday's. But the truth was; that was not going to happen. This was real life and I had to find a way to live my life without my best friend being next to me. I couldn't help but look back at the coffin again. Please Sarah, help me out here. How was I going to do this without you?

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A/N: And so a new Daniel story has begun! 
I'm actually very happy with this first 'chapter' as it was really hard to write. Meanwhile, the rest of the story will have more light-hearted chapters (just to let you know). 
I hope you're as excited to read the rest of this story as I'm excited to write this story. Let me know if you have any tips or anything else 😊.