Sydney is the last in the car. "Oh. My. Gosh. That was the best concert I have ever been to."

"Oh yes. I officially love The Fray," Jackie says.

"Ha! Same here," Talynn chimes in. When Sydney and I saw that The Fray was playing in Arlington, Texas, we immediately though of Jackie and Talynn, who had never heard the Fray, but would love it. Almost against their will, we dragged them 119 miles from Ardmore, Oklahoma to the concert.

"Say it," I say, turning to face Talynn and Jackie in the back seat.

"Say what?" Talynn says innocently.

I glare at her jokingly. "Say that Sydney and I were right and you guys were wrong."

Jackie sighs. "Fine. Sydney, Simone, you were right."

I nod and glance at Talynn. "You were right," she mumbles.

I'm sorry. What was that?" Sydney says from the driver's seat.

"You were right!" Talynn yells.

"Oh my gosh! Simone, did I hear that right? Did Talynn Anderson just admit defeat?"

"Why yes, Sydney. I believe she did." We bust up laughing causing Talynn to glare at us before laughing herself.

"Ha, ha, ha. Very funny," she says sarcastically. "Can we stop somewhere and get something to eat? I'm starved."

Jackie's head shoots up at the mention of food. "Me too. Hey look!" She points at a Chick-fil-A. Let's stop there."

Twenty minutes later, we were back in the car eating chicken sandwiches and waffle fries.

"Dude," Jackie says with a mouthful of food. "This salad is awesome."

"It's just a salad," I say. "How awesome could it be?"

"Here," she says giving me the container. "Try it."

I place a forkful of the stuff in my mouth. "Wow! This is one awesome salad." I roll my eyes and Sydney starts laughing.

I hand the salad back to Jackie who is glaring at me. "That is not cool," she says.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." I roll my eyes again smiling.

I wake up. "Sidney." I glance at my friend who is asleep at the wheel. "Sydney!" I say shaking her.

"Huh?" she says groggily. But it's too late.

Two weeks pass before I wake up in a room that is too white. My nineteen-year-old brother, Marvel, is sitting asleep in a chair in the corner. My father is leaning against the wall staring out the window.

"Dad?" The single word sounds like a hoarse whisper, but he still manages to hear it.

"Simone," he says as he walks over. His eyes are red and puffy. "How are you?" he asks kneeling by my side.

"I ache all over." I sniff. "Where's mom?" I ask. "And Sebastien?"

"Mom's with the triplets. Sebastien is at school." A tear slides down his cheek.

"Dad, it's okay." My mind goes to my friends. "What about Sydney and Talynn and Jackie; are they all right?"

My brother is awake now. "Simone," he says, "Jackie died."

A lump forms in my throat. "What about Talynn? And Sydney?"

Marvel sighs. "Talynn is fine. She's at home with her parents." He pauses. "Sydney is in a coma."

Tears begin to form in my eyes. My cousin was in a coma two months ago after his motorcycle accident. He died four days later.

"Simone," my dad says, "I'm sorry."

I shake my head. "It's not your fault. It's no one's fault." He grabs my hand, shaking.

The doctor walks in a moment later. "It's good to see you awake, Simone."

"It's good to be awake," I say to Dr. Taylor, a long-time family friend.

He walks over to stand beside me. "How are you doing? Any aches and pains?"

I nod. "I ache all over."

He smiles softly. "Well, that's to be expected. You were in a car wreck barely two weeks ago." He pulls something out of his coat pocket and hands them to my father. "Take two every six hours, and you'll be virtually pain free," he says to me.

"Thank you." Dr. Taylor turns to walk out of the room. "Um, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course." He turns to face me.

"Will Sydney be okay? I mean, I know it's hard to predict these things, but is she getting better? Do you think she'll pull through?"
He looks at me sympathetically. "I sure hope so."