Funny the way life works. One day everything is fine and dandy, you're laughing with your friends, sitting around drinking, talking about life, unaware that things are about to change. Forever. Then for the next two weeks it's like you're trapped in a dream. No a nightmare. A hellish nightmare that you just wish someone would pull you out of. How could this be real? Why in the world did this happen? This doesn't make any sense.
I'm twenty-one years old. A senior in college. Part of an amazing sorority. My biggest worries are homework and making sure I don't get too far behind in my wedding planning. Life was good. Sure there were some sucky days, but never like this. It's been twelve days now. Twelve days since I recieved that phone call. All I could hear was, "Ariel" "bus" "prounounced dead". Katie was sobbing. I immediately broke down. Hoping, praying I heard her wrong. It couldn't be true. How could it. I was just with Ariel. I just saw her two nights before. We were sitting on her couch laughing. She was so full of life, so alive. It couldn't be true. I floored it back to my apartment and met Joan and Cheyenne in the parking lot. I opened my door to go to them. "It's not true. Tell me I heard her wrong". They had gotten the same call. We all just stood there sobbing and holding one another. Life as we knew it was over.
Cheyenne was the only one who had it together enough to drive so she took my car and the three of us made the journey to Hurely Hospital because that's where everyone was going. That's where we were gathering to figure out what was going on. I didn't know what to do. I have never cried this hard. I just kept praying that it wasn't true. I couldn't stop shaking, I couldn't breathe. I look to Joan and Cheyenne. Both crying and on their phones trying to figure out what is going on. I call Bree to she if she knows whats going on, my mother because I don't know what to do, and Taylor whose voice I desperately needed to hear but couldn't because he was stuck in an exam.
After what feels like forever, we finally made it to the hospital with beat red, swollen eyes. Some of our other sisters are already there, and more are on their way. I see Katie walk up and my heart breaks all over again. Feeling this pain myself is hard enough, but seeing that look on my Little's face and knowing I can't do anything to take away her pain makes it even harder. I hug her and try to hold it in, try to stay strong for her but I lose it and we stand there and hold each other, not knowing what to do. Everyone is hugging; everyone is holding one another. Staring. Wondering what we were suppose to be doing. We see some of her family come out. Her Aunt comes to us, hugs us, and confirms the worst. Our amazing, beautiful Ariel was gone. Three little words, "Yes it's true".
I need to do this. To write this all down. To get it all out there. I'm keeping too much in. It hurts to much. This is all I can muster for now. Maybe tomorrow I'll be a little stronger.
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