Rival Squad

Sophie

Back then. Three stupid years ago. It still feels like it happened only last week.

When I was born, there was a mix up at the hospital and I was switched with another child. Believable? Definately not. But factual? Yes. I went home with her mother and nobody knew there was anything different. After a week and a half of living with this family the hospital called to explain the mix up. My mother was livid. Her first (and only) born child – separated from her at birth. Raised by another family for the first 10 days of her life. The other lady’s anger equaled my mothers and together they fought against the hospital.

During the time that they sued the hospital, the two women became very close, and after it was all over, remained the best of friends. Four years later and we were still as tight as ever.

The other lady’s name was Stacy. She was absolutely gorgeous, and way too young to be a mother. Her daughter Sophie, was actually her third child. I could never understand how it worked though; Stacy couldn’t have been a day over thirty when she had her. Sophie and I were kindy buddies, then we went to primary school together. At one point, my family moved into their humungous home for about 4 months whilst we rebuilt. She was my absolute best friend and we did everything together. We were so close that Sophie was practically my sister.

By the time we were entering high school, Sophie had well and truly begun to take after her mother. They were identical, with long flowing chestnut colour hair, green eyes and the best body that a person each of their ages couldn't possibly acquire. Sophie was even a swimmer, like me. We had swam together our entire lives. I loved her more than anything in the world.

On Sophie’s older sister’s 15th birthday, a week before the start of high school, we were playing a game of tag around her pool. Gradually, our speed increased, the floors got slipperier and our excitement took off. But it eventually came crashing down when Sophie fell into the side of the pool and then into the water, cracking her head open. She immediately passed out, the ambulance was called, and her 17 year old brother had to commence CPR.

I went into shock the moment I realized that my best friend wasn’t opening her eyes. Blood gushed out and invaded the whole pool and the floor around it. Sophie was then hurried off to hospital in an ambulance.

Four hours later and visitors other than family were finally allowed in. She was awake and cracking her usual silly jokes although very woozy and highly medicated. But she was ok and that was all that mattered.

However, the blood tests that had to be done on her produced the worst news I have ever received. Sophie had leukemia which, due to the amount of time that it took until it was discovered, had spread too far to fix. That day we were told that Sophie had a maximum of a month left to live.

Words cannot describe how much it hurt when that happened. When she found out what was happening she cried and cried and cried. I wanted to cry with her so badly, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it in front of her. I felt like I owed it to Sophie to remain strong. She had been there for me when but Grandmother died, when my cat ran away and when I missed making the Queensland Swimming Team by o.o2 of a second. At all of the hardest parts of my life Sophie had protected me. I owed it to her to protect her.

Treatment began immediately, to try and make Sophie’s last few weeks as comfortable as possible. She missed her first day of high school. The walk in on the first day which we had planned to do together since forever was the excruciating. The look on her face when she found out she would never get to go broke my heart.

A day before it happened, while we were watching old reruns of SpongeBob Squarepants, Sophie turned to me and weakly said, “I’m not scared anymore Charlie. In my dream last night Tootsie, our old cat came to visit me. Don't roll your eyes at me I'm serious. He told me all these stories of people he's met in heaven and how wonderful the ice-cream is over there. I think that maybe everything happens for a reason you know? Maybe I am too young to die, but there’s nothing I can change about it now, right? If I accept it, it will make it easier to move on.”

I replied slowly, tears filling my eyes and voice cracking, “B-but aren’t you afraid to die?”

“Not really. I mean I’m a bit worried that it’s going to hurt. But if Tootsie, the most clueless and idiotic cat in the world is doing fine there, why can’t I?” she had said.

“You have no idea just how much I am going to miss you,” I said to her, taking her hand in mine. “Soph, you’re my rock, and you have been since forever. You’ve been beside me every single day of my life and we have grown up together. When you leave, I don’t know what I’m going to do,” I had blubbered out.

“Charlie, I couldn’t have possibly had a better person to grow up with. I feel so lucky to have such an amazingly wonderful best friends for forever. If I’m about to die before I even reach my teenage then you are going to have a hell of a lot of living to do for the both of us aren’t you?” Sophie whispered, eyes fluttering closed into sleep.

“I’ll do you proud sister. I love you,” I had said before placing a kiss on her forehead and going home.

My best friend passed away the morning afterwards, exactly three weeks after her diagnosis. Her funeral was heartbreaking, yet the next few weeks afterwards even worse. Everything reminded me of her everywhere I looked. Her family moved to Adelaide to live with their grandparents about a month later. I wish I could have gotten away to.

But unfortunately, I stayed and endured the life that we were both supposed to have together. It was then when Braydon swooped in and we truly became closer than ever before. Sophie used to train with us so he felt her loss almost as much as me. However, after her death it was too painful to continue swimming competitively and that was the time when I turned to running and pretty much gave up on the sport that we did together our entire lives.

A few months later I met Amy. As fun as a grade eight could be, Amy represented to me a way to escape the pain of losing my sister. She took me to real high school parties and showed me how to forget. I started off slow because heck, I was thirteen, but by the start of year 10 I certainly knew my way around. Sophie wanted me to live for the both of us and that was certainly what I was going to do. Live.

The great thing about Amy was that she could be a distraction from the pain. I don’t think that you could ever truly understand how it feels to lose someone that close to you so quickly unless you have felt it yourself. Even though she could distract me, I could always count on Amy to stop and listen when I was about to break.

For my first year of high school, I mourned the tragic loss of Sophie Highlang. But throughout the whole time my parents, Amy and Braydon were there. Not only did they listen to it, but they felt my pain in a way that only a true friend could. They stopped me from entering a place of no return. No thirteen year old should ever have to go through something like I did. But at the end, I got through it and grew as a person.

Mum, Dad, Amy and Braydon are my family. Those who were there when no one else was. And I couldn’t be anymore thankful for it. 

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HELLO EVERYONE I'M BACK!

Sorry that it has actually been forever and ever - i went camping and then discovered that stupid little show called the vampire diaries and well.. i haven't been able to stop

its addicting

But also, I'm lacking motivation and need all of your feedback to get this story rolling. i love it so much but its getting harder to write

SO VOTE COMMENT AND DO WHATEVER

I WOULD LOVE YOUR FEEDBACK MORE THAN ANYTHING IN THE ENTIRE WORLD <3

xoxo Kataa