Perfect

Chapter Five ~ Ali, Lily, & Michael - Blake & Aylin

Ali, Lily, & Michael

Ali waited anxiously for Lily to arrive. Michael's words had really gotten to her. She needed to forgive Lily. She needed to forgive her friend. Her best friend. Before the night of the accident, Lily had been Ali's best friend. They were so close that they were like sisters. And the truth was, Ali actually really missed talking to Lily. They used to talk to each other every day, but now Ali had not talked to her since that life changing day months ago.

At first, Ali had avoided her because she was angry and hurt. She couldn't understand why this had happened to her, why she had lost the use of her legs while Lily had walked away with only a few scratches. Ali had hated her for it. She was the one who was responsible for the accident, and yet she had gotten off pretty much scott-free. Ali had wanted to make her pay. She wanted her to feel her pain. So she did the only thing that she could do. She shunned her.

It started with ignoring her phone calls and text messages. Then she refused to see her when she came to visit. Then she did something really drastic. She de-friended her on Facebook. Ali thought that she needed to be punished for what happened, but what she didn't know was that Lily was being punished, more harshly than she ever knew.

Everywhere Lily went, people would stop and stare at her, pointing and whispering, "That's her!" Her, the girl who had caused her best friend to become handicapped, stuck in a wheelchair forever, unable to ever walk again. Lily's cheeks would flare with shame and embarrassment and she'd lower her head to avoid their leering eyes.

But Ali never knew about this. How could she? She barely ever left the house.

Ding Dong.

The doorbell. Ali felt her heart starting to race. She was here.

"Ali, Lily's here!" her mom called out.

"I-I'm in my room!" Ali replied, her insides twisting up into nervous knots. A couple seconds later, the door slowly opened and Ali saw caramel brown hair. The other girl slowly looked up at her, cautious of how she would react.

"Lily," Ali whispered softly, her voice cracking slightly as she said her best friend's name.

"Oh Ali!" Lily cried, hurrying forward and throwing her arms around the small, blonde girl.

"I'm so sorry!" Lily sobbed into her friend's shoulder. "I'm so sorry! It's all my fault! I'm so-"

"Shhhh," Ali hushed, gently stroking Lily's hair. "It's okay, Lily. It's okay." Lily slowly pulled away, looking at her with tear-filled eyes.

"I forgive you, Lily," Ali said softly, surprising herself. Did she? She thought about it for a moment. She didn't fully forgive her, but at the same time she did. "I miss my best friend."

"Oh Ali!" Lily cried again, throwing her arms around the girl again. "I've missed you so much!"

"Can we go back to being friends again?" Ali asked softly. "I just... I just really need my best friend again. I've missed you. I've missed talking to you. I miss the way you could always make me laugh. I miss how you always knew what to say to make me smile. I missed you."

"I've missed you too," Lily replied softly, pulling away to look her in the eyes. "I am so sorry about what happened. I will spend every day of my life trying to make it up to you. I-"

"Please," Ali held up her hand, silencing her. "I don't want to talk about that anymore. I just want to go back to being friends."

"Okay," Lily nodded slowly, moving over to the bed and sitting down on it. "So what do you want to talk about?"