The next day passed like a blur.
Around seven in the morning, as Mrs. Neverly and I were consoling one another while Zach slept, we saw him take his last breath. He flatlined.
The doctors began throwing a bunch of terms our way that I just didn’t understand and couldn’t bring myself to figure out what they were trying to say. All I knew was that my dear, sweet Zach was gone and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to bring him back.
I felt my heart literally stop beating, my lungs stop breathing, and my brain stop functioning when I realized he was gone.
I don’t know how much time passed by or how long it took me to get home, but somehow, I managed to get there.
My parents had no idea about the summer romance that had blossomed between Zach and I, but when they saw me at the house as devastated as I was, I broke down on my mother’s lap, and let her know everything. My father watched from the doorway, heartbroken for his daughter’s very first heartbreak and loss of someone that was so special to her. Molly walked over and placed a hand on my back as I was still sobbing into my mother’s lap. She had no idea, nor could she understand what was going on, but her words meant so much to me.
“Sorry, Rae, Rae.”
The following Wednesday was Zach’s funeral.
I sat in the front row next to Mrs. Neverly, while Misty and my parents stood behind us to pay their respects. Everything since Zach’s death had been a blur. Minor details here and there completely skipped my mind. Saying goodbye that day was the hardest thing I had ever had to do.
The Friday after the funeral, I spent the whole day sitting in the sand, watching the waves. Memories of the summer I had just spent with Zach flowed through my mind; the tears were inevitable.
Around three that afternoon, Misty finally caught up with me.
“Hey, I’ve been looking for you all day. Have you been here the whole time?” Misty asked, taking her seat right next to me.
“Huh? Sorry, what’d you say?”
Shrugging, she said, “Nothing, it’s not important. How are you holding up?”
I shrugged and wiped a tear that had fallen onto my cheek.
She offered me a sad smile and said, “It’s going to be hard. The road ahead of you will be long. But you’ll get through it and one day, when you’re ready, you’ll love again.”
Her statement made me giggle for the first time in days. How could this girl sitting right beside me be just seventeen-years-old, yet, have so much wisdom beyond her years? I knew her words rang true. I had heard them a million times before in romance movies and read those same lines in my romance novels. And still, I didn’t want to believe them.
“How do you know that? I can’t picture myself ever falling in love again… just to possibly lose something so beautiful all over again and have it so easily taken away from me?”
She smiled at me.
“Because, Brae. People have been down this road before. It’s all over the novels you read, and all over the movies you watch. But I don’t have to tell you this. You know this. You know it’s true. It happens. You don’t think scriptwriters make all that stuff up, do you?”
“I don’t know,” I said, shrugging.
But I knew the truth and she was right. Hadn’t I just thought about that same exact things she was mentioning just mere seconds ago?
“Chin up, girlie. You gave him the best days of his life. That alone should be enough to make you smile.”
And for the first time since Zach’s death, I knew Misty had been absolutely right about that. He had told me pretty much the same thing the night before he passed, but I hadn’t listened, and it hadn’t dawned on me. Now, I saw things in a new light. She was completely right.
I gave her a small, grateful smile, “Thank you, Misty. I think, with time, I’m going to be alright. Things will be okay.”
“You got it, Brae.”
The following day, Mom, Dad, Molly and I loaded back into our SUV and headed out of Waverly and back toward New Jersey. I would be starting college the following Thursday.
As we pulled out of our driveway, we passed by Mrs. Neverly’s house where she sat with Sampson on her front porch. I waved to her and she waved back with a sad smile.
“Sapon!” Molly shouted, recognizing Mrs. Neverly’s Golden Retriever.
“That’s right, little sis,” I said, smiling at her. The wonder in her eyes never ceased to amaze me.
I kissed the top of her head, closed my eyes, and leaned my head onto the side of her car seat, quickly falling into the deepest slumber I’d had in the past couple of days.