Five Minutes

Chapter Three

10 Years Later

I looked down at my phone and typed the message:

To: Chris<3 "hey babe i gtg, text you in a few hours"

I put my phone in my pocket and got in the car. I put the key in the ignition and pulled out of my driveway. Today was September 23rd, my least favorite day of the year. The weather matched my mood perfectly. The rain hadn't stopped all day and the only light in the sky you could see was the occasional strike of lightening. On this day, 10 years ago, I found out that Evan died in a car crash.

Evan was my best friend and next door neighbor. We met when we were only a couple months old. We did everything together. We were inseparable. Ali and Evan. Evan and Ali. When I was six, he and his parents were in the car coming home from the grocery store. While crossing an intersection, a drunk driver ran a red light and hit their car. All three of them were rushed to the hospital, but none of them survived.

So here I am, 10 years later, driving to the grave of my best friend. I stopped at a flower shop on the way there and bought a single orange chrysanthemum. Growing up, that was our favorite flower, because our parents would always read us the book "Chrysanthemum" by Kevin Henkes when we played together.

On the way to the graveyard, I thought about where I was without Evan. I had a pretty good life, I guess. A few years after Evan and his parents passed away, though, my dad started drinking. I think he went to alcohol because he was so close to Evan's father, and he tried to drink away the pain. Soon, he was addicted to alcohol, and he lost his job because of it. My parents were constantly fighting about addiction and money, and one night when I was nine, my dad left. I never knew where he went, but my mom stayed in contact with him for a few months. They finalized a divorce, and I never heard from him again. I don't know how I could have handled all that without my older brother though. Brandon is three years older than me, and he's my rock. He held me every night as I cried and always helped get through everything. He's at college now, but we still talk all the time. I'm 16 now and just started my junior year of high school.

One year ago, I met Chris. He had just moved to Texas, and it was his first day at my school. The day was September 23, what are the odds? I had 2 classes with him, but I didn't talk to him until after school. I was waiting for my mom to pick me up, and I was thinking about Evan. I was sitting under a tree, just about to cry, when he walked up to me and asked what was wrong. I never told him why I was upset, and he still doesn't know about Evan. I smiled at him and said, "Just deep in my thoughts."

That afternoon, he sat with me, and we talked until my mom came. After that, we talked every day and became very close friends. After a few months, he asked me out, and we have been dating ever since.

My life is pretty good overall, though. I mean sure, I haven't talked to my dad since I was nine, and I lost Evan when I was six, but I have an amazing mom and brother, I have great friends, and I have an amazing boyfriend.

Even though I have a good life, I wonder what would have happened, if Evan and his family had never died. If they had left the store just 5 minutes later, they wouldn't have been hit by that car. Would my father still be with us? Would Evan and I still be best friends? Would we be more than friends? Once I got to the graveyard, I realized I was crying.

I got out of my car, and stood in the pouring rain. I didn't care that I was in the middle of a thunderstorm, I just wanted to talk to Evan again. I walked past all the graves, straight to the three small graves in the corner of the graveyard. I looked at the graves of Evan's parents with a sad smile. They were like a second mother and father. I sat down cross legged next to Evan's grave with the single flower in my hand. I had always felt silly actually talking to Evan's grave, but sometimes I couldn't help myself. Even if Evan couldn't actually hear me, it was nice to just say what was on my mind. I sat in silent for a few minutes, holding tight to the flower and crying. After a few minutes, I mumbled the words "I miss you."

I laid the flower in front of his grave, wiped my tears, and said "5 minutes. 5 minutes could have changed our lives. What would have happened if y'all left 5 minutes later?" I walked towards my car, and wiped the rain and tears off my face. Then, I sat in the car, crying for about 15 minutes.

I drove away from the graveyard, and it began to rain harder. I started driving home, and I passed the intersection where Evan and his parents got in the accident. I took a deep breath and kept driving. Suddenly, I saw a car swerve off the road. I slammed on my breaks in attempt to avoid hitting the car, but my car slid on the wet pavement, and I hit the car. I'm not entirely sure what was happening, but I felt something hit my head, and everything went blank