Short Stories

Best Friend

Amelia Ray was a beautiful girl. The way her black hair fell just below her shoulders and its contrast to her pale skin. She was a petite girl, and always wore a dress. She was always smiling and she was just a sociable person. And her eyes. Oh, her eyes. She had these bright blue eyes that always seemed to sparkle. That was until about a year ago.

Her eyes became clouded. Her smile showed up less and less until it was gone. She started to wear jeans and a sweater. She avoided people more and more every day.

Eventually, she started avoiding me.

I remember hearing the gossip about her. Many said she was just trying to be "emo". Now, I knew that wasn't true. She still acted like her normal self when we did talk, but that was rare. But something about it was fake. Was it the smile? Was it the fog in her eyes?

I wanted to know what was wrong. Every day, I would text her. I would private message her on everything. I rarely got a response, but it was always the same.

"I'm fine."

A month ago, she stopped showing up to school. This made me worry, so I went to her place after a few days of her absence. Her mom answered the door.

"Oh, hi sweetie," Amelia's mother greeted me with her usual false smile. "What do you need?"

"Um, I'm worried about Amelia. May I see her?"

"No," her mother's blunt answer already worried me, but what worries me more was the way her smile fell into a frown. "She's busy. Scat."

"Alex?"

I hear my name from behind Amelia's mother, and I recognized the voice, but it didn't sound like her at the same time.

"Amy, how are you," I inquire and look over Amelia's mother's shoulder to see a girl with a red face and tears tracks on her cheeks. Her blue eyes looked dull against the redness and puffiness.

"I'm fine," Amelia responded, almost no emotion in her voice. "I will be back at school soon. I'm just sick. Thanks for the visit though. You should leave."

"Um, okay. Bye."

And I walked away.

I texted her every day. She'd never respond. I'd visit only to be sent away.

I remember one night that I visited. Her bedroom window was open and I heard a scream. It was Amelia. I looked through the window and what I saw horrified me.

I should have called someone. I should have ran up and helped her. But, instead, I ran away because I was too scared. I never told anyone about it.

Now I'm here, sitting on my couch, watching the news.

"Amelia Ray, sixteen year old student at Jamesville High, was found dead today at 7:37 p.m. Several witnesses have said that she walked into the middle of the street, the only thing indicating something was wrong were the tears in her eyes. Other than that, she was calm. She had then pulled out a small handgun and brought it up to her head. Someone ran up to her, but it was too late. She had pulled the trigger seconds before the person ran up to her..."

I'm crying. I should have helped her. I should have known. I should have called someone, but god damn it, I did nothing because I was scared! I could have saved her... But I didn't. It's my fault my best friend is dead.