Version 2

Longer short story
Niki Stahlberg


Kayla was sobbing. Her world had fallen apart all over again. She couldn’t take back the things she said or did, although she wished she could. It had been one year exactly since Joey had died and she still blamed herself. He haunts her dreams and is with her everywhere she goes, and she can’t seem to get rid of the image of his face inside her head. It gets worse at night time, since that was when it happened, and especially on cold, rainy nights. Now that a new school year has started, people don’t stare as much and it’s rarely even mentioned anymore, but if Kayla had a penny for every time she thought about his name, face, smell, taste or touch, she could buy all the heartbreaks in the world.
“Kayla! Hunny, its time to get ready for school!”
“Okay Mom, just a second!” Kayla said wiping the tears away. “I’m so sorry” she says as she folds up a picture and puts it back into the box.
She wished she didn’t have to go to school. The further away from people she is, she figured, the less she could hurt them. Ever since the accident, she isolated herself so much her friends don’t even bother calling anymore. Kayla is strangely okay with it, and doesn’t mind that the only people that talk to her are her family. They have stuck by her side throughout the whole ordeal. Although it’s hard to watch, they figure whatever can make Kayla happy these days is something worth keeping around.
Every day is always like the last. She does her morning routine and drives to school with her brother Greg. Kayla is a senior this year, and has been forced to help her freshman brother adjust to the crazy world of high school.
With the school now in sight, she couldn’t help but think of Joey’s laugh. He always hated coming to school. He never was the smartest kid, but he didn’t get into much trouble either. He just didn’t like coming. He always said that when he went to college that he and Kayla would push each other to go to class, but that it probably wouldn’t work. She always liked that about him. He was always joking, always laughing. He didn’t let life get in his way of having a good time. They both found that out the hard way.
With every day that passes she only misses him more. He told her that they were going to build a life together. High school drama would mean nothing anymore once they moved away and lived together. She always believed that he was the one she was going to spend the rest of her life with. That dream ended one year ago today. And Kayla’s world is still upside down. How do you just come back from that? How do you move on? She wondered these things everyday. Joey is gone. And she blamed herself.
Life with Joey would have been great, and now she will have to learn what it will be like without him. She knows that he wouldn’t want her to be stuck on him. He would want her to move on to bigger and better things. Regret is a very powerful emotion, and Kayla knows she will have to learn how to cope.
“Hey, Kayla?” She heard a voice coming from the classroom. She turned to see Rachel, her former best friend.
“Hey, what’s up?” Kayla said, with awkwardness so thick you could cut it with a knife.
“I just wanted to know how you were. I mean, I know what today is, and I know it still has to be hard, and I want you to know that I’ll always be here for you. No matter how hard it gets, I’m here, okay?”
“Thank you. Really, I think I’ll be okay. This past year has been the hardest in my whole life, and I’ve missed you. I’m sorry for not calling. I just needed to be alone. But, I think I’m ready. I’m ready to move on.”
“Are you sure?” Rachel says, reaching out to touch Kayla’s arm.
“Yeah…” Kayla looks up and sheds a tear. “I love you” she whispers, and walks into the room.