A Poem By Walt Whitman

𝐶𝒉𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝘟𝑉𝘐𝘐: 𝐵𝑒𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑠𝑛𝑜𝑤

Nicole trembled at her father's earlier screams. Her mother, with teary eyes, knelt next to her to see how her daughter cried silently.

-I was good. -She said, while noticing her mom was next to her. -I was really good. -

Her mom just nodded and answered:

-Go on, get some sleep.

Nicole just watched her mother leave, as she smiled sadly.

Mr. Perry took off his robe in his room, while his wife looked at the floor, thinking about it all. He turned off the lamp and lay back on the bed, shivering. Mr. Perry put his slippers in order and turned off the light, so that everything became dark.

Nicole was looking at her bed full of clothes, ready to go to Branden. She left her jacket on her bed as she slowly removed her T-shirt, while she picked up her straw hat that she wore in the play.

She went to the window and opened it slowly, without making a sound. The cold air of that December night hit Nicole's skin, who was wearing a short tank top. She sighed before putting the hat on her head, and Nicole closed her eyes, letting the cool air into her body.

Nicole went down slowly and silently to the cellar, which with the light of the moon could be seen the way. Arriving downstairs, Nicole picked up the key that unlocked a small drawer, and opened it. And when she opened it, what she could see was millions of papers, and a white cloth, and something wrapped inside.

Nicole put the cloth on the table and sat down. With trembling hands, the girl unfolded the cloth, closed her eyes, and breathed one last time, before making the worst decision of her life.

Mr. Perry trembled at an unusual sound.

-What was that? -He asked, trembling.

-What? -Her wife asked.

-That sound.

-What sound?

Mr. Perry switched on the small lamp beside him, and with a frown, rose to his feet. He noticed a cold air from his daughter's room, and knocked on the door. When opening, she was not there, just an open window and a cold entering. After closing the door, he nervously headed to the basement. Mrs. Perry was yelling her name, since she didn't understand what was happening.

-Nicole? -Mr. Perry asked when he found out the basement's door was opened.

He turned on the light and saw the cloth on the table. She slowly leaned over the table and saw a red liquid coming out of it. And he made a mistake, when, leaning closer, he saw a gun, and his daughter's hand, white, on the ground, dead.

Everything happened as if it were slow motion, Mr. Perry quickly approached the vanished body of his daughter, while his wife entered the door, and saw the husband hugging Nicole's body.

-Oh, my daughter! Oh, my God!

-No, no, no. She 's all right. -Her wife begged, almost crying.

-Oh, my daughter. My daughter, my poor daughter...

The last thing that was heard in the Perry's house was the screams and sobs of pain that both parents released, seeing the death of their happy little daughter.

A trembling hand brushed Taylor's neck, who was fast asleep. She felt how they moved her. She opened her eyes and what she saw was Charlie, almost freaked out by seeing her with her new haircut, who was crying at her.

-Taylor. -She trembled.

-Oh, Charlie. -She stretched, and yawned, turning around. That was when Charlie didn't want Taylor to go to sleep again. Charlie's pink cheeks feared tears and her mouth trembled. Taylor then got worried and got up to take a good look at her. -What is it?

Meeks, Pitts, and Kim were there too, all just like Charlie, crying, or at least with tears and sad eyes. Kim was leaning against the door, her brows knitted sadly. Meek's glasses were wet and foggy from crying, and Pitts was looking at Taylor with concern.

 But Charlie. She had never seen Charlie cry so much. Her eyes were filled with dark circles. Taylor grew even more concerned when she saw the others crying.

-Nick 's dead. -Charlie answered, nodding, in a quiet voice.

The snow was still falling when Taylor came out of her room, in her pajamas. Her steps quickened more when her friends followed her. Meeks, Pitts, Kim and Charlie looked at each other, while Taylor looked beyond. Her blonde's hair had white flakes. She looked at her friends with a slight smile, watching each flake that fell.

-It's so beautiful. -She confirmed. Charlie looked at her, with a small smile, but her eyebrows were still furrowed. Taylor looked at each of her friends as she started to feel something weird in her stomach. Goosebumps broke out on her skin and she began to gag. When Charlie saw that Taylor wanted to throw up, she was the only one who reached out to her friend to stop her from throwing up.

-Taylor...-Charlie walked over to her as Taylor tried to vomit on the floor. Her other friends did the same. -It 's okay, Tay. -

Kim and Pitts began to hug her telling her to calm down, Meeks held her arm and Charlie raised his head to look at her, reassure her and put snow in her mouth, while Taylor just sobbed.

-Tay, it 's okay. -Charlie repeated, worried. -It 's okay, Tay. It 's all right.

-She wouldn't have done it. -Taylor sobbed.

-You can't explain it...-Meeks intervened.

-It was his father. -Taylor's blue eyes began to fill with tears. -She wouldn't have left us. She wouldn't have... Her dad was- Her father did it.

-Tay....- Charlie began to cry when she saw her friend crying too. Kim hugged her from behind, also crying.

-Her father killed her. -Taylor repeated. When she saw her friends trying to change her mind, she broke away from Kim's hugs and ran out of there. She slipped several times while still crying.

-Taylor! -Meeks shouted, trying to get her back.

-Leave her be. -Charlie stopped Meeks from going after her, placing a hand on her, sniffling and crying, seeing how her friend ran. The snow had footprints of Taylor, who was running aimlessly calling out her friend's name.

-Nick! -She shouted, she screamed so loud her voice was torn apart, and all that could be heard were Taylor's screams and sobs of pain. Her friends watched her go, all with expressionless faces. Except Charlie, who with tears, looked at her friend with pain, and felt that she was the one who died instead of Nicole.