Dead & Gone (DARAGON)

Every breath you take~

The bonfire burned long into the night. I
watched the stars twinkle and fade while
the others slept, and felt a strange sort of
peace come over me.

I think I'm ready.

Ready for what?

To go back to Slice. To move on.

I wish it were that easy, Angel.

A little before dawn, I leaned down and
tried to squeeze Sadie's hand. My
fingers went right through hers, but to my
surprise, her eyes fluttered. She sat up.
Stretched. Leaned over and checked her
phone. Then she rubbed her eyes, threw
on an extra sweatshirt, and climbed
quickly, quietly out of her sleeping bag.

Careful not to wake Emma and Tess,
Sadie slipped on her Converse sneakers
and began to walk.

I walked with her.

We went north on the beach for a while,
until we finally rounded the dunes. She
took a familiar path toward the place
where all the picnic tables were set up.
A spot we'd all been to a million times,
where kids from school would get
together for barbeques and beach
volleyball on holiday weekends and
during the summer.

Sadie chose a table and sat down,
crossing her legs. I sat down next to her
on the bench. Even in all of her
sleepiness, she was so beautiful. Long,
curly dark hair. Tan, perfect skin. The
brownest, warmest eyes. Full of spark.
Full of life.

I wish you could see me. I wish you
knew I was here.

Together, Sadie and I watched as the
soft glow of morning began to spill out
across the sky in sleepy pastels—a
symphony of violets and blues and
ballerina pinks. A perfect sunrise.
Emma and Tess would be sorry they'd
missed it. Lazies. Those two could
probably sleep forever if you'd let them.

"It's so beautiful," Sadie said, breaking
the silence.

And then she began to weep.

"Sadie?" I scooted closer as she began
to sob and shake in a way I'd never seen
before.

"Oh, sweetie." A lump rose up in my
throat. "Don't cry. I'm right here."

"Brie." Her voice was full of pain. "I'm
so sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

It was then that I realized just how hard
my death had been on her. How hard it
had been on all of them. It was one thing
to leave. But to be left. That had to be
even worse.

"It's okay, it's okay, shhh, don't be
sorry," I whispered, trying to rub her
back. "It's not your fault, Sadie. Please
don't cry." I wrapped my arms around
her—even if she couldn't feel me—as
hot tears ran down her cheeks and
slipped through the cracks of the old
wooden table.

It's going to be okay. Everything's
going to be okay.

Maybe it was because my eyes were
closed. Or maybe it was because she
was crying so loudly. Either way, I
never noticed the person coming up over
the dunes. I never heard the sound of
footsteps in the sand.

"Sadie?"

That voice.

I turned and felt her break from my
embrace. Heard her cry out as she began
to sob even louder. And then I watched,
in devastating slow motion, as my best
friend in the whole, wide, wondrous
world ran straight into Jacob Fischer's
outstretched arms.