Chapter 7

"So, are you excited?" Carla ran up to me smiling.

I gave her a confused look, "What?"

She laughed, "You know, for your birthday."

"Oh right! Completely forgot about that…"

She mocked, "How do you forget your birthday?"

I raised my shoulders, "I don't know." I giggled. The truth was that my mother committed suicide on that day… It's not that I forgot my birthday; I just don't want a birthday. Every birthday only reminds me that my mother hated me so much, she decided to cause me pain by abandoning me.

She giggled as well, "Well, I know I'm excited! I even saved up and got you a little something!"

I smiled. I truly appreciated everything she's ever done for me. I didn't want a single thing from her, "You didn't need to do that."

"I don't care. I want to get you something."

I nodded, "Considering how stubborn you are, I shouldn't even bother trying to change your mind."

"It's not called being stubborn. It's called determination."

I tapped her lightly on the back, "Whatever you want to call it, you're still the best."

"I know."

I laughed, "Anyways, let's go get dinner."

She nodded.

We left for the cafeteria. Everything looked nasty as always. After spending four years in the orphanage you would think I would get used to the food they served. Nope. Not yet. Every time I take a bite I feel a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.

After dinner, Carla and I talked a bit. As we were talking, I noticed something off.

"So, how old will you be?" She asked.

"Sixteen."

"…"

"Uhh… Carla?"

She snapped back to reality, "Oh sorry… So, how old did you say you were?"

I paused, "Sixteen… Carla, are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fi-" Then, Carla collapsed.

My eyes widened and I screamed, "Carla? Carla! Somebody help me! Help me!"

Moments later, two kids came along to see what was up.

"Get an adult, fast!" I yelled at them.

They hesitated but eventually they ran.

A minute later, a lady came by. She asked me what had happened and when I told her, she instantly called the emergency line.

The ambulance came shortly afterwards and dragged her away. I hopped in the back of the ambulance and stayed next to her motionless body. We arrived at the hospital and they rushed her into the emergency room. I waited in the waiting area along with the same woman who dialed 911.

Though after 15 minutes of waiting, the doctor came, it really felt like over an hour.

"Hello," a woman in a white coat said, "I'm Jennifer."

"How is she?" the woman from the orphanage asked.

Jennifer hesitated, "Carla has a severe case of leukemia…"

"Can you treat it?"

The doctor shook her head, "No, I'm sorry. If we had known she had leukemia earlier, she could've had a chance but it's too late now."

I began to cry. This was it. I was going to lose my best friend. My only friend.I'm on the verge of losing everything I ever cared about.

She turned to me, "Do you want to see her?"

I wiped my eyes with my sleeve, "Yes, please."

She led me into a room, "Take as much time as you need." She then closed the door behind me.

I sat next to her bed. I wasn't sure if she could here me cause she was unconscious but I talked to her anyways, "I still remember the first day we met, you know? It was the first day I got the orphanage. I was sitting on the ground with my things sitting next to me and you came up to me talking about how you've never seen me before. I remember that I was in an angry mood and I yelled at you to leave me alone. Most people would've thought that I was a complete bitch, but not you. Instead, you came to help me when I couldn't help myself." I began to cry. "You would support me. I can't imagine how life would be when you're gone."

"Gone? I'm not going anywhere."

I looked up and saw Carla smiling. She wasn't looking very good.

I smiled and hugged her.

"Can you give me my clothing?" Carla pointed to a shelf with a pair of jeans and an orange t-shirt.

I nodded and handed them to her.

She took her jeans and pulled two necklaces out of her pocket, "Happy birthday." She smiled as she gave me one of the two necklaces.

I took it and looked at it. It had the letters BFF on it.

She continued, "I got us two necklaces that say Best Friends Forever because that's what we are, right?" She coughed.

I smiled. My face was still red and puffy from the crying, "Hell yeah we are."

"Thank you, Malerie."

"For what?"

"For being my friend. I, like you, never thought I would make any friends. I pretend to be tough but the truth is I felt horrible. That was until you came along. Sure, you were a bitch to me at the start." We both laughed. "As the days went on we slowly became close friends. I had someone to talk with, someone to argue with, and someone to laugh with… Thank you, Malerie. I'm glad… I got to meet you. You truly are my best friend." Carla closed her eyes with a smile on her face. She didn't move… She didn't breath… The machine that calculated the heart rate began to beep like crazy. Doctors rushed through the door and asked me to leave the room.

I have lost everything.