Rainbows after Hurricane

7. |p a s t|

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Song of the chapter/ Give me love by Ed Sheeran

As the weeks passed, Dianna's anger gradually faded, dissolving as if it had never been there at all. Though the sting of betrayal still lingered—gnawing at her whenever she remembered that no one had told her about Ashley's death—she couldn't hold onto it forever. She knew that clinging to her fury would only consume what little joy she had left.

But thinking about Ashley brought a different kind of pain, one that felt like a dagger twisting deeper with each passing moment. The grief was relentless, making it hard to breathe, as though her chest could collapse under the weight of it. Without Ashley, there was only emptiness—a hollow ache that echoed with every reminder of the truth she wished she could escape: Ashley was gone. Forever.

There would be no more afternoons spent doodling their names on foggy coffee shop windows, a silly tradition they'd started as kids. No more late-night walks in the park down the street when sleep eluded her, with Ashley's laughter breaking the quiet of the night. And no more whispered confessions about the pang of jealousy Dianna felt when she saw Asher chatting with other girls.

Dianna wouldn't be able to do any of those things anymore, and it hurt. It hurt so damn much it felt like her chest might split open from the weight of it.

Every time the thought crept in, the anger surged back like a tidal wave, making her want to scream until her voice gave out. She wanted to rage at the world, at Zach, at Lilly, at Asher—for keeping the truth from her, for letting her live in ignorance while they carried the burden. But now that she knew, now that the truth was laid bare, she could finally see what she had been blind to before—what she hadn't understood.

The lifelessness in Zach's eyes, once so full of energy and warmth, now dimmed to a cold, distant stare. The faint, mechanical smile that never quite reached his face. The hollow sound of his laughter, brittle and empty, like it belonged to someone else. The unspoken longing in his gaze whenever Ashley's name was mentioned, a pain he couldn't hide even if he wanted to. The distant, detached expression that seemed to say he wasn't truly here anymore—as if a part of him had left with Ashley and would never return.

The pain etched into Zach's every action and movement was so raw, so painfully evident, that Dianna couldn't believe she hadn't noticed it before. How had she missed it? It was all there—clear and unmistakable, written in the slump of his shoulders, the hollow cast of his eyes.

After crying and mourning her best friend for three days straight, Dianna made a decision. It was time to let go of her anger, to honor Ashley in a way that truly reflected her spirit. Because if Ashley had been there, she would've told Dianna to stop wallowing, to find strength in the love they shared rather than drowning in the bitterness of her loss.

And so, she did. She sat down with Zach, her heart still heavy but no longer filled with rage, and forgave him. They talked, and for the first time since Ashley's death, they cried together—not in anger or guilt, but in shared sorrow, reminiscing about the precious moments they had spent with her.

But as the days passed, a quiet realization grew within Dianna. This wasn't how Ashley's memory should be carried. Ashley's life had been vibrant, filled with laughter, mischief, and endless joy. The memories she left behind weren't meant to be drowned in tears but celebrated with smiles and laughter—just the way Ashley would have wanted it.

From that moment, Dianna and Zach decided to do just that. They remembered Ashley not with mourning but with joy, reliving her infectious laughter and the bright energy she had brought into their lives. They shared stories, laughed at her quirks, and carried her spirit forward—not as a loss, but as a light that would always shine in their hearts.