"I'm sorry." Those are the words that have plagued me since the doctor arrived at my room in the hospital. "We did everything we could but we couldn't save her. Sarah's injuries were too severe, we thought that the surgery would help but it just did more damage."
The doctors words blurred together as I felt my brothers arms tighten around me. We've heard this exact statement three times in two years. My parents were the first one, they died in a car accident two years ago. My uncle followed shortly after, he died due to a heart condition. Now here we were losing another loved one. I hate to say this but I think this one might be the worst death yet.
Sarah Ashley Dupre, my brothers fiancé and my best friend. Sarah who is, or was, 19 and myself, 17 year old Brooke Davis-Evans, were driving home from a day in the city when a car smashed into us. It caused our Subaru to roll over; we were rushed to the hospital immediately. It's been about 6 hours since the accident, my brother got to the hospital right away. My arm was broken in four places and my nose was broken as well. But the worst injury I had received had just escaped the doctors mouth. My best friend, my sister-in-law to be had died.
Sarah's family which consisted of her sister Alexandra and her father, a very respected businessman, Cam Dupre. Cam was currently overseas dealing with a new business trade, he had been gone for almost three years. When he left Sarah and I had been fifteen and Alex was 14, the Dupre sisters had basically lived in our house since then. The last time we had seen Cam was 18 months ago when the accident that had claimed my parents lives, they had been best friends for over 30 years and with their children being best friends and dating each other, we had morphed into a close family.
Cam had been helping my brother and I with everything we needed since our parents death and now he would be getting a dreaded phone call involving his oldest daughter. Alex was on her way to the hospital from school.
"How about the baby?" I asked referring to my 3 month old godson Logan Scott Davis-Evans. "Please tell me that he's okay!"
"Logan is fine, he's in the pediatric ward getting checked out. Clay if you want I'll take you to your son." Our uncle Doctor Eric Green, a family friend and lifelong doctor to our family, said to my brother. My brother looked at me, I knew he was torn between waiting with me to find out more information about my injuries and going to be with his infant son who just lost his mother.
"Clayton, go see Logan and make sure he knows his auntie loves him very much." With that said my brother left with Dr. Green. For the first time since the accident, I was alone. How could Sarah be gone? Why did they take her and not me?
Sarah and Clay were getting married in two months, Logan was only a baby why did he have to lose his mother? As I sat there thinking about everything that had happened today, I heard three soft voices.
"Brookie." I heard the familiar voice of Alexandra Dupre. My other best friend and Sarah's baby sister, she walked over to the bedside and sat down holding onto me with strong grip. Alex wasn't alone, she had the rest of our makeshift family with her. Chris Keller and Owen Morrello, they were standing at the doorway watching Alex and I.
"They won't tell me what's going on with Sarah." Alex's voice pulled me back to reality. "All I know is that it's bad, but I want to see my sister Brooke."
How did I tell my 16 year old best friend that she had lost yet another member of our family? Alex and Sarah's mom, Kyla Dupre, died from breast cancer when Alex was 3 and Sarah was 6. When Aunt Kyla died, Cam and the girls began to spend every moment at our house. My mom, Victoria Davis- Evans had no problem taking in her now deceased best friends family into our own. Cam had gone back to work when Alex was 5, he started traveling internationally for long periods of time shortly after that. But he was always okay leaving the girls because he knew they had family with them at all times. Sarah and Alex were living with us at this point, years later our parents would joke that it was a bad idea leaving Clay with three girls all the time.
Kyla was only the first heartbreak in our lives, but we as a family had overcome it. By the time we were teenagers the Dupres had been living with us for over a decade. Then the unthinkable happened. My parents were involved in a horrible accident, my father died right away due to impact. My mother died three days later, she was surrounded by family when she died. Cam had flown in the night of the accident to make sure his two daughters and two surrogate children were okay. Cam stayed a month after the funeral to help my brother and I with all of the law related aspects of our parents deaths. Now 18 months later, Cam would again have to take a leave of absence to take care of his remaining family. Cam was planning on being home in a month to meet his grandson, it was going to be a happy time to cancel out his last visit. But now he would have to return home to plan yet another funeral.
"Brooke, tell me where Sarah is!" The impatient voice of my best friend again pulled me out of my mind.
"Lexi it's bad." I said for the first time, Alex blinked and told me to continue. "The car rolled over and Sarah made sure that Logan and I were okay. She and I had been talking until I blacked out. Her injuries were really, really bad. They rushed her into surgery to try to help her, but the injuries were to severe Lex."
I had to take a moment to breathe, it hasn't hit me yet that my best friend is really dead. But now I had to tell my best friend that her sister was dead.
"No Brooke please tell me you're kidding. It isn't funny Brookelyn!" Alex knew what was coming next.
"She died while they were trying to save her. Baby girl I am so sorry. I wish it was me and not her." I say heartbrokenly to Alex. Alex's face plummeted and she fell into my arms. "Alex I am so sorry, it should have been me, not Sarah."
"No Brookie don't think that way. Sarah wouldn't want you to feel that way." I hear Alex whisper. "Brooke?"
"Yeah Lex?" I reply to my remaining best friend.
"What now?" Alex asked. I knew she was expecting me to have a long thought out answer, one that she and Sarah would have teased me about for the rest of our lives.
"I don't know Alex." And for the first time in my life I didn't know what to do. I shifted in the bed to make it more comfortable for Alex and I, as it was clear she wouldn't be leaving me anytime soon. She and I sat in a comfortable silence thinking about Sarah, soon we both drifted off.
