Camp It Up!

Chapter 11

-Elise's POV-

She's alright.

I hugged her, and held her in my arms. She's my beautiful idiot.

"I'm so happy you're okay!" I pulled away from the hug to look at her. She looked uneasy.

"What's the matter, babe?"

"Why is life so unfair?" She chuckled, looking up to the sky.

"Well, there really isn't anything fair in the world. The concept of fairness is a bullshit concept." I sat next to her, and put my arm around her as she leaned her head onto my shoulder.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you I loved you earlier, Elise." She looked up to me, and I saw the tears forming in her eyes. I brushed them off with my thumb off of her cheeks.

"It's okay Ali. We've got plenty of time." I tried to comfort her but it was no use.

"But the thing is, we don't. Elise, there's something I've got to say to you."

"Yeah?"

"Promise me you'll take care of yourself."

"Wait wh-"

"Just promise me," she said, grabbing my hands. She looked me straight in the eyes, and then I felt what love was for the first time in my life.

It wasn't anything like what I felt when I looked in Eli's eyes. It was even stronger than I had imagined.

"I promise."

"...and promise you'll take care of camp, and love yourself just as much as I do, even more."

Her eyes pleaded me to agree.

I repeated the same phrase.

"I promise."

She started to chuckle and cry simultaneously, and grazed her hand against my cheek.

"That's all I needed to know." Slowly, I felt her hand lower, and then she fell asleep.

"Al, don't go to sleep. We need to talk," I laughed. She looked so peaceful. I shook her, but there was no movement. "Al, I know you can hear me," I poked her playfully. But there was no movement.

"Ali, stop playing. You're scaring me." I shook her once again. Still no movement. I checked her throat for a pulse, and started to cry.

"Ali?"

I kissed her, but there was no reaction.

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Allison's funeral was the next week, the day after the camp session entered. She requested to be cremated, so we spread some of her ashes in the woods, in the lake, and near her old cabin.

"I cannot even begin to comprehend how hard this must be for you," a familiar voice said behind me.

"Maxine, you scared me. And you were her best friend, too." I hadn't seen her out of her camp outfit in a while. She wore a completely black outfit, and put her arm around me.

"But, she wasn't my crush, and I wasn't hers." I looked shocked, and she gives me a 'bitch-please' look.

"Allison told me right when she came back. And I could tell you still loved her. I just didn't think it would end like this. I always thought you guys would be here with me forever." She wipes her eyes, and bear hugs me.

"Hey, I'm still here, Max." We stop hugging, and head over to where the ceremony was being held.

Out of camp, Allison didn't have many friends, so we invited most of our cabin members from over the years. The ceremony was beautiful. It was on the dock at the lake. Jamie and Penny both attended as well.

They asked me to prepare a little speech or something for Allison, so I wrote it the night before.

"Hello everyone. If you don't remember me, I'm Elise Miller. Allison was my best friend, and my rock. She was one of those people who put others before herself. She was a gifted chef, who graduated at the top of her class. Most important of all, she was the woman I loved." I looked over to Penny, who I saw was sobbing, and Jamie was there to comfort her. Demi Black raised an eyebrow at me, and mouthed 'I knew it."

"The good die young, as many would say. But Allison wasn't the good. She was the best. The nicest people always have the hardest situations, they just make the most of it. I will always love her."

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Looking back on these events thirty years later, I cry, cringe, and smile at the memories. Maxine married Chet twenty-three years ago, and they currently run the camp, along with their little Takota girl, Allison. Jamie and Penny work in the kitchen. Their fifteen year wedding anniversary is coming up soon. Eli married the woman he cheated on me with. They're getting a divorce after ten years of marriage. Whatever, I never shipped them anyways.

As for me, I never married anyone. After her death, I distanced myself from mostly everyone. I call Maxine once a week, though. To this day, I still wonder what would've happened if I had gone up with her up to the cliff. Out of all the mistakes I made in my life, that was my biggest regret. The reason why I am writing these events down on people is to teach readers to not take life for granted. Enjoy every moment like it will be your last, and tell your loved ones how much you care about them. If I had done that, it might have ended differently.