Amara Gilbert

Chapter 6

Caroline gave herself a moment to compose herself. Breathing deeply before plastering a bright smile on her lips and pushing the car door open.

"Oh my God, Caroline! It's so good to see you! I haven't see you in like ages! How was you summer?!" Kate Miller said dramatically as her eyes run over Caroline's figure looking for imperfections. Kate Miller was a wanna-be cheerleader.

Caroline smiled, forcing down the anger the girl had coursed from her comment about her summer of grieving.

When her mum had first told her the new she didn't believe her. These things happened but not to people she knew!

When Caroline finally understood that it wasn't some wicked-up joke, she'd been....it hadn't been pretty. She hadn't come out of her room for days and refused to eat. Her mother spoke to her through her bed room door asking her to come out to talk about it.

She didn't want to! What was there to talk about?! Amara was gone! Her mum couldn't change that! Talking wasn't going to change time and stop Amara from getting in the car!

She did nothing but lay on her bed and listen to Amara's voicemail over and over again for five days. Her mum finally decided she need reinforcements.

"Care-bear?" Caroline heard the warm, car tone of her dad's voice. "Care-bear, it's me....dad."

Caroline clamped a hand over her hand to muffle the sound of a sob escaping her throat.

"Go away!" She shouted through her sobs, "Leave me alone!" Her parents were on the other side of her bedroom door listening to their daughters sobs.

Bill's voice was filled with grief when he said "I know your sad, we all are. We all miss her just like you. Locking yourself away won't make the pain go away."

Caroline felt anger rise in her when she heard her father's words.

"If I open the door it will all be real and Amara won't be there," Caroline said.

"Oh, darling," Her mother said in a tearful voice. The Caroline suddenly realised that her mother had loved Amara too. Her best friend was always at the Forbes house. She basically lived here. Caroline felt that she had been a little selfish she wasn't the only one that loved and missed Amara.

"It's your choice to open the door Caroline, but you'll never forgive yourself if you miss your chance to say goodbye," Bill said.

"It's today?" Caroline asked afraid.

"If you want to go we'll leave in forty minutes," Her mother said sadly.

Tears well up in her eyes as she thought about her last chance to say goodbye to her best friend. The funeral was today.

"Yes, Kate," giving the girl a fake smile. "I even had time to make-up a new cheer." Caroline said and as expected Kate's face dropped.

She knew kate had practiced the old routines over the summer, determined to learn them before try-outs came around. But unfortunately for her Caroline didn't like her and she didn't like the pointed comment about her having to cancel cheer camp this summer after the news.

Did the girl think she'd gone soft?

"W-w-what? B-b-but!" Kate stuttered with her face filled with devastation.

"See ya round, Kate," Caroline said with a bright smile and walked off to her locker.