Dear Jade Hansen

by Arrow-of-Ravenclaw

Lonely high school student Jade is tasked to write a nice letter to herself. When Aaron Mitchell, the brother of the girl she likes, steals the letter, she feels embarrassed. The next day, his parents visit. Aaron had died, the note still in his pocket. They believe Jade was his only friend. What starts as a simple way to comfort a grieving family changes Jade's life forever.

2. Chapter 2

"Can we please have Jade Hansen to the front office?" the lady said. It was the next day, and Jade was sitting in first period. She slowly got up from her desk and made it to the front office. "Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell want to talk to you."

"Why?" Jade asked.

"They'll tell you," she said. The lady led her to the counselor's office. The Mitchells were sitting on the couch. Jade could tell that they were sad, exhausted, or both. Jade sat in front of them.

"We found this on Aaron," Mrs. Mitchell said. She handed her the letter Jade wrote for herself. "We didn't know Aaron had any friends."

"Oh, he didn't write that letter," Jade started. "Aaron-"

"Took his life that night," Mr. Mitchell explained solemnly.

"What?" Jade whispered. Mrs. Mitchell burst into tears. "I thought he was fine. I talked to him during lunch."

"We found this on him," Mrs. Mitchell sobbed. "He wrote this for you. This was the only thing that was on him when Katie found him. He was long gone by then."

She buried her face in her hands. Mr. Mitchell rubbed Linda's back. "I'm sorry, but Aaron and I weren't friends," Jade said. She tried to give the letter back. Mrs. Mitchell rolled up her sleeve. She gasped when she saw her son's name written in bold.

---

"So what did you tell them?" Dirk, her lab partner, asked. Dirk and Jade weren't really friends. His mom was a friend of her mom's so they hung out a lot. They talked occasionally out of obligation.

"What was I suppose to say?" Jade asked. "That's the last thing they have of their son. I can't rip that way from them. They invited me over for dinner tomorrow. What should I say?"

"You smile and nod," Dirk explained. "They ask you a question about Aaron? You give them a simple answer. You can't dig yourself into this hole any deeper. If you survive one dinner, you should be fine."

The bell then rang. They left the science lab. Katie was leaning against a locker. She was wearing a baggy red hoodie. She had deep bags under her eyes. She was scrolling through her phone. Based on the fact that she was on the verge of crying, Jade assumed she was looking at photos of Aaron.

"Is that true?" Katie croaked. Jade turned around and noticed Katie was talking to her. "You knew my brother."

"Yeah," Jade said. She nodded. Katie walked over to her slowly. Katie wrapped her arms around Jade. She broke down sobbing. Jade returned the gesture, rubbing Katie's back.