She was my best friend

She was my best friend. Our parents grew up together so we've known each other since we were in diapers.

I remember how her smile would light up a room. Her laugh was contagious. I would always go to her when something was bothering me. She never failed to brighten my day.

"Mom, we're going to go see visit her now." I picked up the sunflowers from the table; her favorite flower. "Okay sweetie." My mom gave me a pat on the shoulder and a sympathetic smile. We walked to the car in silence.

We've been together through thick and thin, from first dates to broken hearts, and everything in between. The worst was when she caught her boyfriend of 1 year cheating on her with her younger cousin.

She wouldn't smile or laugh for a month straight. It was depressing without seeing her hear-warming smile or bubbly laughter.

She wasn't a quitter either. When I was first teaching her how to play the guitar, she never put it down. I spent hours on end practicing with her.

We got out of the car after we arrived. Slowly, we made our way to her.

I miss the way her chocolate brown hair laid on her shoulders, and how it would flow in the wind.

I miss the way I got lost in her deep brown eyes. And they way they sparkled when she was happy or excited. When she found a new book to read, her eyes sparkled the most. Reading was her favorite pastime. She would have read all day everyday if she could.

Most of all, I miss her. I would give anything to see her beautiful face again.

I laid the sunflowers out for her. We told her the things she's missed since she was gone. "We'll let you talk to her alone now." "Thanks Kevin, thanks Joe." They nodded their heads and went back to the car.

I looked down at the marbleized stone.

Nicole Cullen

September 3rd, 1992- June 20th, 2008

May she rest in peace.

"Hey Nicole. We miss you. I miss you. This is the longest we've been apart and I'm not liking it one bit. I need you back here with me. You've always been there for me. Whenever I needed cheering up, I'd go to you. Now who will I turn to?

"Not only that but you too, always came to me for advice. Who am I going to give advice to now? If you were able to say something, you'd probably say, 'Give advice to Joe, he'll need it the most,' but it's not the same.

"Man Nicole, why did you have to go? We were supposed to grow old together. Every since you've been gone, a huge chunk of me is missing. There's this hole in my heart and there's no way to fill it back up. I'm broken without you.

"I wish I would have told you this sooner, especially now, but I love you. I have for a while now, ever since that day in 5th grade when were dissecting frogs. I thought it was cute how you scrunched your face when you saw the insides of "Mr. Toad."

"At first I didn't know why I was thinking of you as cute, you were my best friend. I wasn't supposed to think that. I talked to Kevin about it and he told me that I was crushing on you.

"Everyday after that, I came home from school telling Kevin all the cute things you did. Days turned to months, months turned into years. I finally realized that I fell in love with you. I guess I never told you this before because I was afraid that you didn't love me back. I wish I would have taken that chance though. It's too late now.

"I still feel like I could have prevented you from dying. Like if I was there, I somehow, some way would have been able to stop it. Why did it have to be you?"

"Nick, mom called. She wants us to come home for dinner." "Alright Joe, I'll be right there."

"I miss you Nicole. I'll see you again one day. I love you."