I stood alone in the middle of a mountain road, looking down at the spot I will forever dread. I walked closer, until I was crouching in the grass, next to a bouquet of decaying flowers. I took out the old ones and replaced them with bright yellow ones.
I backed away, admiring the neatly arranged flowers. They looked nice. I looked down at my feet and muttered, "Happy birthday Daddy." Then I turned away from the spot were he died and ran back to my car, tears running down my cheeks.
I threw open the car door, then slammed my head down on the steering wheel. The horn blared, startling a few birds, but I didn't care. I always had trouble on this day, as well has the day a couple months from now.
Today was my dads birthday and he had died almost three years ago at this place.
It was January, and there was a blizzard. He called and said he might come home late, but he never came home at all. They found him the next week in a ditch, still in his car, with his phone in his hand. He had it set to call home.
I came to visit his grave every year sense then on his birthday, but never on the day he died. It always snowed that day, and I didn't want to end up like him.
Eventually I stopped crying. I dug the keys out of my purse and jammed it into the ignition. I pulled the car off the curb and started back to town. I wasn't quite ready to go home yet, so I decided I would go to my best friends house.
Kelly always kept her house open to me today. School kept me busy most of the day, but the other six hours I couldn't bare to go home. Every time I saw my little brother, Carson, I saw my dad. He looked just like him, but he had never gotten a chance to meet him. My mom was six months pregnant when he died.
I also didn't want to see my moms new boyfriend, Jayson. I know she need help to support me, Carson, and my older sister Becca, but he was a total jerk. I don't know who she put up with him. I tell her everyday to ditch him for Henry, the guy who works at RadioShack and has a total crush on her, but she always says he's too geeky for her. Needless to say, she was popular, and she still his. So, she would rather date an asshole hunk over a sweet geek.
I pulled into Kelly's driveway and climbed out of the car. She was outside, hugging me before I could even get to the front steps.
"Are you okay, Jasmine?" she asked, not loosening her grip on me.
I hated my name, and Kelly only used it when a serious occasion arose, like today. Usually she called me either Jazz or Jassy.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I grumbled into her shoulder.
She pulled away from me and lead me inside, were a cup of hot tea a plate of cookies rested on the table. A half-smile formed on my lips as I saw the food. Kelly's mom, Darcy, was so nice. She was from England, spoke in a British accent, and was the best cook in town. She made the best chocolate-chip cookies ever, and that is what was waiting for me.
Kelly saw my smile, and she smiled too. "She knew it would cheer you up," she informed me, "She said she was sorry she couldn't stay to see you, but there was an emergency at work."
"Well, I wouldn't want someone to die because of me," I teased, shoving a whole cookie in my mouth. I washed it down with scalding tea, which burned my throat. I hardly noticed though.
"So you want to bring that in the living room? We can play Call of Duty if you want," Kelly suggested.
I shrugged. "Sure. Do you think Max will be okay with us playing with out him?"
Max was our other best friend. Our families had been friends for, like, ever. I had introduced Kelly to him in second grade and they hit it off really well. They even tried dating a couple times, but it hadn't worked out, so they stuck to just being friends. I'm pretty sure he still has a thing for her though.
