Losing Lily

Prelude

My life was like a stained glass window. It was a beautiful picture, and I never knew - never even thought about - what might be on the other side. Then, there were a few shards missing in the glass, barely even noticeable. I could ignore them but then, there were a few more. Soon my view changed. The pieces started falling. It happened so quickly. Too quickly to even try to stop. Very soon, every last piece of my beautiful scene was gone. The very last shard, Lily, tore at my life, my happiness, my sanity. I crawled over to the window ledge and peered out. And all I saw was black.

October 3rd was just another day. Lily and I were on our way to the mall to get some new clothes for the coming winter. Lily, getting her license before me, was driving.

"Shall we listen to some music Hannah dearest?" Lily asked.

"We shall!" I shouted.

She turned on the radio and I put a CD in. A few moment later Have Faith in Me by A Day To Remember started playing. We sang along as we continued down the street.

"I love you, Lily Nova!" I said.

"I love you too Hannah Marie. Always!" She replied.

"And forever", I said, looking at her.

We turned the corner at an intersection. Lily didn't see it, but I did. A truck was coming at us.

"Lily, look out for the truck!" I yelled in panic.

"What?" Lily said.

But it was too late. The truck slammed into Lily's side. She lost control. We swerved and went off the road. I heard her screams as we flipped into a ditch. Our car stopped by the trees. I looked at Lily, she had a cut on her upper forehead and there were little bits of glass in her curly hair.

"Are you hurt? We're okay." I breathed.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little banged up." She replied, weakly.

"Come on, we can crawl through the windshield." I said.

Using my jacket sleeve, I cleared some of the glass away. I unbuckled my seat belt and crawled through, carefully. I took Lily's hand in mine and helped her through. We slid off the hood of what used to be a car. We turned around.

A man stood before us, his truck a few feet away from him. Noticing his bulging coat pocket, we were struck with fear. The man laughed and gestured to his pocket. He quickly took out his gun and fired. When I opened my eyes and few seconds later, the man was gone. I looked down and saw her.

Lily was on the ground. I dropped down next her. I was crying.

"Lily, stay with me! Come on! Stay awake," I screamed "Help! Somebody help me!"

I put my hands on her chest, trying to stop the bleeding. I kept pleading for her to stay awake. I reached for my phone and dialed 9-1-1.

"My best friend has been shot. Help me, there's so much blood. I can't stop the bleeding. Help me...I'm on McKinley Avenue. My name is Hannah Redman. Hurry!" I cried into the phone.

I tore off my sweater and used it for pressure. I was crying so hard I couldn't see. All I could see was red.

"Lily... come on..." I pleaded.

I put two fingers on her scar covered wrist. Nothing.

"No...no! Lily" I cried.

A pool of blood was next to her. The blood had trickled up her neck in little streams. Bloody smudges were on her right cheek. Her skin was so cold beneath my touch as I brushed back her hair and closed her eyes. I took her hand in mine. My hands were stained with her blood. I heard the sirens.

"I love you, Lily Nova. Always and forever" I said between tears.

The ambulance came and put her in the back. A police woman approached me and lead me to the curb.

"We contacted your parents", She said. "I know it hurts. You did the best you could..."

I couldn't speak from the crying so I nodded.

My mom pulled up next to one of the squad cars. She ran towards me and pulled me into an embrace. I was numb.

She walked me to our car and buckled my seat belt for me. We drove home, carefully. What I knew was that Lily was gone. What I didn't know was that I pretty much died with her.