If only I was there

Chapter 23

We were half way to New York and I was getting tired. I stopped the car at the roadside and tapped Ben.

"Wake up. You slept enough." Ben groaned, refusing to wake up. He eventually woke up and we switched places. I slept through the night.

I woke up to find myself sleeping on my bed. I walked to the living room and saw Ben sleeping on the couch. I went to the kitchen and made breakfast. The smell of eggs woke Ben up and he was sitting at the kitchen counter waiting for the food. I gave him his eggs and started to eat mine.

"I like you, Megan. No offense but when I bumped into you the other day I was terrified of you."

I chuckled "why?"

"You looked scary with those dark circles." He said pointing at my eyes.

"Thanks" I said sarcastically.

"I'm joking. You look beautiful as ever."

"Stop it mister." I said while punching his shoulder playfully.

"Well, I should get going. See you later Meg." He said as he walked out my apartment. Seconds later, he texted me "thanks for everything :)"

I smiled and put my phone away. I was driving to Rachel's. I arrived and they were outside,preparing a barbecue.

"Aww! It was supposed to be a suprise!" Rachel said as she saw me walking towards them. I laughed and hugged the three of them.

Since it was summer, they wanted to have a family activity. They thought it would be a great idea to make a barbecue party for me because I liked barbecue. Besides, it was my final year and they wanted to celebrate it.

Dad was grilling the burgers while mom was preparing the table. Rachel was talking about prom and she said she wanted to see me in a dress. I told her I wasn't going. She seemed upset but she shrugged it off. Rachel could still see me in a graduation gown.

All of us sat down and ate. Dad and Rachel was fighting over the last chicken and mom was trying to break  them off. Dad noticed I was quite.

"Meg? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Everything's fine."

They didn't believe me of course. They waited for me to continue.

"I went back to California yesterday, visiting Claire and Connor."

"How were they?" Mom asked filled with excitement because she loved both of them.

"They uh..died" I finally said after hesitating.

"Claire had an accident on the way to New York and Connor killed himself." Mom covered her mouth and dad started to comfort her. Rachel was crying and I find myself walking towards my car. I had to ruin the day with my big mouth.

I drove to the nearest park and sat there. Alone. My mind was blank.