A.N. This chapter features some traumatic events and is one of the main reasons this story is rated T. I'm not a brilliant writer so the situation isn't captured very well, but it can still cause bad memories for some people. Read with caution.

Chapter 18

Claire

Claire killed herself when she was only sixteen years old. I lost my hearing trying to save her.

Flashback

"Let's go to the beach, Jilly." Claire said one morning. She was at my house, sprawled out across my bed.

" I'm tired Claire." I whined. "Let's just sleep in." Claire sighed and glared at me.

"You're such a party pooper Jill. Why don't you ever want to do anything?" Claire had become genuinely upset in a matter of moments, but I just shook it off as another one of her mood swings.

"You've been so moody lately Claire." I snap at her. "Are you ever gonna be done with your period?" Claire gave me the finger and pulled the blankets over her head. I sighed. We'd been having arguments like these a lot lately. Claire had grown especially irritable toward me and her parents, and personally, I was sick of it. She'd cry at the smallest things, get angry over nothing, and was always judging herself in the mirror.

"Do you think I'm pretty Jilly? Tell the truth,okay?" She'd ask. I always rolled my eyes and brushed off her antics, always blaming her period or teenage hormones, but her parents were genuinely worried. They took her to the city for doctors appointments, but she never told me anything about them.

"They just ask me stuff about my life Jill." She'd say. "It's nothing serious." But it was. Soon, she didn't want to hang out with Rick and Karen. I was the only person she would truly talk to. I didn't mind, I loved her after all, but Rick and Karen were hurt. They stopped talking to both of us as much, and I let them, because I'd always been closer to Claire. Now, as I look at the blanket covering her small frame, I sigh again. I guess a couple of hours at the beach wont hurt anybody.

"Fine, let's go." I tell Claire, and she peeks her eyes out over the cover.

"Yay!" Claire screeches. She gets out of bed, slips into a pair of silver flip-flops, and grabs her swimsuit. " Let's go."

We end up spending the entire day at the beach. It turns out to be really fun, and the old Claire I knew and loved came out. We drew pictures in the sand, danced along the waves, and sang stupid songs at the top of our lungs.

"What do you want to be in the future Jill?" Claire asks me as the sun sets.

"I don't know." I say. " Maybe a vet? I've always loved animals." I pause and look at her. " What about you?" Claire turns her face and looks at me. She stares for a long time without saying anything, and soon I become uncomfortable. "Claire?" I ask, and she smiles sadly at me.

"I wish...I wish I could be a farmer forever." She says at last. I look at her inquisitively.

"And why can't you?" I ask. Claire turns to look up at the sky. She stares up at it for a long time, before turning back to face me.

"Because farming isn't for everybody." I about to tell her that I don't understand, she's great at farming, when she stands up. "I'm gonna go for one last swim." She says. She smiles at me. It's a natural smile, one that lights up her entire face even though it's growing dark. It's so beautiful and so Claire, and I want to take out a camera and capture it. "Pack up the stuff would ya?" she asks, and I nod at her and turn to pick up all of our stuff. I bend down to pick up her towel when I notice something under it. It's a note, and on the front it says, 'To Jilly'

"First of all, I want to say I love you. Second of all, I want to say sorry I can't be your best friend anymore." I stop reading the note and frown, and terrible feeling building up inside of me. I glance at the next line. " I just don't feel like life is worth living anymore."

"Claire?" I call out. I look for her frame on the beach, but I don't see it anywhere. "Claire?!" I get up and start walking toward where she went. When I still don't see any sign of her, I begin to run. "Claire!" "Claire!" I'm screaming her name over and over at the top of my lungs. "Please Claire! Please!" I look around madly for her, when something catches my eye. Her silver flip flops are at the edge of the shore, right where the water reaches the river. Right where the current becomes strong. "Claire!" I screech, and I run toward the spot. I'm about to jump into the flow of water, when my foot catches and I fall head first into the stream. I don't even have the time to react, when my head hits a rock, and I'm out cold.

When I wake up, I instantly know I'm in a hospital. I can tell by the scent. The room is blurry, but I can make out a few figures surrounding me. They must notice I'm awake, because the energy in the room changes, and the people start to shuffle.

'Why aren't they talking to me?' I slowly think, my mind still hazy. I lift my hand and feel a bandage covering my head. 'When did I..' Then suddenly, everything comes rushing back to me. The beach, the towel, the note. Claire. "Claire! Claire!" I start screaming over and over. I can feel my vocal chords moving, and I know my voice is making sounds, but I can't hear them. Soon I don't know what I'm screaming, and people are touching me, trying to calm me down. I sob, but I don't know what I'm sobbing for. Suddenly, I feel a needle in my side, and the room slowly starts to fade.

"You liar." I whisper slowly as the room becomes blurrier. "You...liar."

Present Day

I'm sitting in the run-down farmhouse. Even though it's old and uninhabited, I can still sense the life that used to be here. I feel Claire's love,her hate, her passions. Her sadness. Her joy.

"Sorry I can't be your best friend anymore." Her voice says in my mind.

"Yeah," I whisper. "Me too."

A.N. Hey everyone, sorry it took me so long to update but I've been dreading this chapter for a long time. I know you probably have all sorts of questions, but they'll probably be answered in due time. I did my best to capture the events, and I know they're not perfect. I tried not to drag it out, because to be honest, it's kinda hard to write. On a brighter note, the next chapter will be happier and it will be out SOON. Thank y'all so much for reading, and please leave a review.

-Goldengirl