Forever Yours

Anna's Death

My sister died in 2012 when I was 14.

 It was race day. Anna had stayed back at the hotel getting ready but I had gone to the track with Jules because his godson, Charles, was coming to see him race. He was a year older than me and was also into karting. We've known each other since we were little and I saw him all the time, especially since he and Jules would practice together at the track. I had a bit of a crush on him but was too scared to ever say anything. I usually just watched him. I could tell that he wasn't really into me but at least he was friendly. He would let me race him on the track, give me pointers on what I could improve on; stuff like that. Jules knew that I liked Charles and would tease me about it all the time. He was nice about it, though, and would try to get conversations started between the two of us.

I was sitting in the team's garage as Jules crossed the finish line. I hadn't even noticed the race was over until everyone around me jumped up and started cheering. I had spent the whole race sitting next to Charles and was so lost thinking about it that I forgot to actually watch the race. Jules comes out of nowhere with the biggest grin on his face.

He runs up to me and picks me up into a bear hug.

"Put me down, you crazy man!" I screech with a smile on my face. I'm so happy for him, he truly deserves it. He has worked so hard to get to where he is today.

" Oh shut up squishy, " He says, " you know you love me."

"Squishy?" Charles says with closed smile.

"Shut up, Charles." Jules and I say in unison.

Charles and I make eye contact and smile. I love his smile, those dimples are the cutest thing I have ever seen.

It's not until Jules says something that we realize what we're doing and snap out of it.

"What did you say?" I look over at Jules who is now looking at me with a concerned face.

"Where's Anna?" He looks around confused.

I freeze for a moment then start to look around the garage. She's not here. I was so lost in thinking about Charles during the race, that I had completely forgotten about Anna.

"I don't know, " I say looking around " She never showed up to the garage."

Before he can respond the team pulls him away to go to the podium ceremony. I pull out my phone to dial her number.

No answer. Again. No answer.

I look up at Charles who is staring at me, " Maybe she forgot it, or it's turned off." He says hopeful. I'm sure he sees me starting to worry. This isn't like her. She would never miss a race.

4 hours later

Anna hasn't come back. We're back in the hotel room, Jules, Lorenzo, Charles, and I are sitting around the couch. We found her phone on the counter by the door, so we know that she must have left in a hurry and forgotten it.

" That's it, I'm calling the police," Jules says, way too quickly. I can physically see the pain in his eyes as he looks around. Desperate. This isn't like Anna, she is never gone for this long. She would never miss a race. She has never missed a race before.

"Come on mate, maybe she just stepped out and got lost." Lorenzo states.

Right as Jules is about to say something, there is a knock at the door.

Jules Sprints to the door and swings it open. I see his body instantly go rigid. His hand falls to the side as he lets go of the door handle. Something is wrong, I can feel it.

2 hours later

We are at the hospital. 2 police officers greeted Jules at the door back at the hotel. They informed us that they had found a key card to this hotel in Anna's wallet. They proceeded to tell us that Anna was here, at the hospital. The taxi that she was in was speeding and tried to run a red light, which led to them getting t-boned at an intersection. By the time we got to the hospital, she was already gone. When we made it to her room Jules and I completely broke down. Words cannot explain the pain that was going through me at that moment.

We have been sitting on the floor in a hallway for the last 2 hours. Jules is to my left. He hasn't said a word since they made us leave her room. Charles was to my right. He let me rest my head on his shoulder and he held my hand as we just sat there. I wasn't even crying anymore. I couldn't cry. I just felt empty. Maybe it was the adrenalin, or the shock, but I for sure wasn't moving.