The ocean crashing against the shore was a sound they had never heard before. Although it seemed chaotic, the noise was also… Peaceful. The sun hit the water in such a way that it twinkled, sparkling in a way the lakes they were used to could never. While she observed her friends goofing off, Avery stood with her arms wrapped around her waist, a sad smile on her face.
It was difficult to enjoy a moment you worked hard for when your entire world had been crushed. Nothing she thought she knew had been true and it broke her heart into a million pieces. She had been shown the light several times and the moment she finally had it within her grasp it was taken.
Someone wrapped their arms around her shoulders, no doubt trying to comfort her. She recognized this person as her sister and the moment she looked up to her, the tears escaped her eyes.
As hard as she tried to fight it, to keep herself from ruining this glorious moment, she was losing the battle. Losing wasn't new to her, considering the number of things she had lost in this past year alone. Friends, people she considered family, the love of her life. This would be another loss to claim.
The quiet and muffled sounds of her cries slowly grew louder as she opened herself up even more. The once stoic and withdrawn girl was no more; she had become vulnerable and was letting everyone she cared about see her vulnerability. Their laughter stopped and they fell silent, letting her cries and the ocean fill the ambient silence.
Their anchor, the one person who managed to keep them all grounded, had broken.
"What is this?" She gasped, burying her face into her sister's jacket to hide the pain.
The word love was whispered into her ear, causing her to look up again at her sister with red, desperate eyes.
"But why does it hurt so much?!"
"Because it was real."
Her sister's words only caused more pain as she thought to herself; when had it become real?