She couldn't believe it at first. Her hand was trembling as she subconsciously raised it to cover her mouth; her eyes scanned the e-mail again and again, three and four times before the reality set in.

-Efad,
Aaron didn't make it through the surgery. The doctors thought the damage from the wreck was repairable, but the internal bleeding was too much. The other driver hasn't said anything since the night of the accident.
The funeral is in two weeks.
Kathy-

She closed the window immediately, and slowly hid her face in her hands. No, this wasn't happening... This couldn't be happening!

Aaron's dead.

The words were so hollow in her mind. So meaningless. What was dead? The body no longer moved... the person no longer lived... she could never see him smile again.

Aaron's dead.

Her tears began now as her entire body was quaking uncontrollably. No. This can't be happening. She felt-- no, she WANTED to be inconsolable. Her heart was a shattered piece of glass, dripping shards of blood... her mind was heavy; it refused to think about anything past Aaron... oh, poor Aaron...

He had been her first love and her first heartbreak. He had been the first friend to help her through her worst tribulations. He had been everything and nothing, a blessing and a curse...

Now he's gone.

She couldn't control anything she did. She wailed, she sobbed, she curled into a ball on her chair and let out such inhuman, heart-wrenching groans... she drowned myself in her own tears. It felt impossible. How could he leave her like this? How could he do that to her? Her grip tightened on her hair and she let her mournful wails echo through the room. No. No! He wasn't gone!

Aaron's dead.

Dear God, take me now...!

--

Efad awoke in her bed, taking her wet hands away from her eyes. What... what had happened?

Aaron.

She didn't remember jumping out of her bed or running down the hall, but the next instant she was checking her e-mail on her laptop in the living room. There were no e-mails about a crash, or anything from Kathy since her two week old e-mail about Marti Gras. Efad sagged where she sat, letting the downhill slope of the adrenaline drag her body back to reality. It was only an awful dream... a nightmare, one she never wanted to relive.

Slowly, Efad rose and wiped her eyes. Sometimes, she thought, I really do miss him...