Chapter 1: The News

Hot tears made their way down my cheeks, wetting them... as the news replayed again and again in my head. I felt my hands crash down to my sides, clutching my phone. I saw blurs of people around me, shuffling to get to their determined destinations. And here I was, standing in the middle not knowing what to do. It was as if, in that moment, the world had stopped for me. No, my world didn't stop, it had crashed down heavily.

I felt a pair of soft hands wrap themselves around me, embracing me with warmth. I cried into the shoulders, wetting the dandelion yellow shirt of my best friend and half-sister, Emma Seviour. "Why, Em?" I sobbed, feeling as if this was all my fault. But I knew it wasn't. But, I could've and should've stopped him from leaving that evening.

"I'm sorry, Kris. It'll be alright. You have me. I'll be there for you, always," I heard Em whisper in my ear. She was right. She would always be there for me and I would always have her. But, it would never be alright. It is never going to be alright. Nothing would be the same again, without him.

This had been the second terrible news we had received within the past three days. We couldn't bring ourselves to digest this news. The news wasn't normal. It had come in the most shocking way.

Slowly, I felt myself walking with Em, leaning on her to support me. We walked through the streets of our well-known town of Addison. I could feel my heart pounding as we kept getting closer to the place I dreaded the most. The place where you lose everything you once could've had. The place from where no one comes out of, alive. The Hospital.