Glad you all liked the first chapter, this one's a little sad, but it will get much happier, I promise! 

 Pic of Colton to the side>>>

As soon as the words left my father’s mouth I knew I would never be seeing my sister again. The thought nearly destroyed me at that very moment, but I stood in place and tried to calm my breathing down. Sometimes when I got really nervous or upset I would get panic attacks, and the last thing I wanted was to end up in the hospital.

It was always a little fear of mine, way in the back of my head, that one night my sister would go out partying and never return. But every time she left I would tell myself that sort of stuff only happened in the movies. But this wasn’t a movie, and it was happening to me.

The pressure of two hands on my shoulders brought me back to reality and I looked up into the grim eyes of a cop. I shook off his hands and controlled my breathing quickly. “She’s dead isn’t she?” The words slipped from my mouth but were barely recognizable.

Somehow my father understood what I said and nodded his head.

“No, she can’t be gone. Oh God, Melody can’t be gone,” my mother wept, burying her face deeper into my father’s lap.

“You should go upstairs, Sutton. You don’t need to hear this,” the other officer told me, motioning towards the staircase to my right.

Too tired and shocked to fight with the man, I nodded my head and found myself shifting closer to the stairs. My feet came forward in short choppy movements, my legs numb of any feeling. Somehow I managed to pull myself up the stairs and out of view before I plopped down on the top step and listened to the conversation downstairs.

“When we got to the site there were only two people. Your daughter Melody and Mark Bockman. Melody had gone through the windshield after the car rammed into a side barrier. She was barely recognizable, sir. The only way we knew it was her was from her license and Mark’s statement. I’m deeply sorry for this terrible loss; Melody was an outstanding young girl.”

The officer’s words soured the air around me so I held my breath until little dancing dots appeared in my vision. My mother’s weeping grew louder as my father and the cop talked.

“Is Mark okay?” my father finally asked.

“He’s has a broken arm and he’s a little roughed up, but he was wearing his seat belt,” the officer stated.

Unable to digest anything else, I pulled myself up from the ground and made my way towards Melody’s room. I pushed open her door and inhaled her familiar scent. I knew that soon enough the room would be cleaned out and all the memories in here would be gone.

Finally, a little tear leaked from my eye and slid down my cheek. I felt my legs buckling underneath me, so I quickly rushed over to the bed and let my body fall onto the soft comforter. Flashes of our sleepovers rushed through my mind all at once.

I saw as little girls, crouched in the corner playing Barbies in her big pink and blue Barbie mansion. Melody’s golden locks were pulled up with a neat blue bow and my frizzy auburn hair flowed down my back while fighting over which outfit each of our Barbies got.

A sudden nausea passed over me, and I leaned over the side of the bed and emptied my stomach. How could she be gone? My best friend, my sister?

How could this happen to me, to the little ugly duckling?

*****

The next week went by in a blur of flowers and “I’m sorry for your losses”. The first night, I stayed glued to Melody’s soft blankets, unable to let myself out of the surreal dream world that had been built up around the bed. The walls were sturdy and unbreakable, and after two days straight of lying in her bed, my father had to physically remove me from the room.

That same day, family had come by to see how we were doing. My grandparents had been hysterical when they got to the house, Melody had been a dream granddaughter to them, and now she was gone and they were left with me.

Then came Melody’s Godfather and Godmother. They were my aunt and uncle, and had been married for about twenty years. Loaded, they were able to spoil her on every occasion possible. I guess not anymore. Cousin after cousin after strange relatives came by to tell us their condolences, but the whole time I felt like I was stuck in some really bad dream.

And by the end of the dream, I was sick of the word sorry. Why should any of them feel sorry? They didn’t cause the accident, they weren’t driving under the influence. As much as I would have loved to have someone to blame, I knew it was Melody’s poor choices that got her killed, not Marks.

Mark had stopped by too. He actually joined me in Melody’s bed for a few hours the first day. I had cuddled up against his arm and managed to drift off for a few hours. I woke to find him bawling his eyes out like a little baby, and for some reason I felt like a horrible person because I had only shed one tear.

“Sutton, please put on some blush or anything, your sister would want you to look good for her memorial service.”

The sound of my mother’s soft voice filled my ears and I looked up from my tangled hands. She was standing in the doorway of my room wearing one of her pretty black dresses. Her hair was clipped up into a neat bun, and I saw the overpowering resemblance between her and Melody.

It was day four, the day of the memorial, and I didn’t even want to leave the house. I hadn’t shown up to school for three days and I knew after this week I would have to face the world again.

Nodding my head, I walked over to my small mirror and applied a light layer of blush and mascara. I looked over my pale reflection for the first time in a few days and nearly didn’t recognize myself. My skin was paper white—paler than usual—and I almost looked like I had aged, or grown up too fast.

I looked like a different person, not the innocent little Sutton with vibrant green eyes. Now my eyes were dull, almost lifeless.

Taking in a deep breath, I fixed my dress before heading downstairs where everyone was waiting. The house was big enough for any event really, and so my mother and father decided to hold the memorial here. On the dining room table sat Melody’s ashes and next to it one of her senior picture options. I didn’t even recognize half the people in my house, but most of the town had come by to pay their respects.

“Sutton babe, I’ve missed you so much.”

Somehow, the sound of my best friend Vee’s voice actually made me feel a little warm inside.

The tiniest bit of a smile formed on my lips as she walked over and pulled me into a bone crushing hug. The embrace seemed like it lasted an eternity, and I wanted it to. Even the smell of her calmed me down. Somehow, I had managed to only go through one panic attack since Melody’s death, but with Vee around I knew I’d be alright.

“It really sucks, doesn’t it?” she stated, pulling away and looking into my eyes grimly.

Her very words were the reason she was my best friend. All everyone had been saying to me was “I’m sorry” or “you poor thing”, but Vee was truthful and absolutely right, it did suck.

I nodded my head and Vee pulled me through the crowd of people and into the living room. My mother and father stood side by side and my father’s mouth opened and the whole house went silent.

“Melody Jane Bran was our eldest daughter as most of you know. She had the heart of an angel and the face of one too. Wherever she went, she changed people for the better. Everyone here can say they were somehow positively affected by our daughter. She was outgoing, and just a great person overall. All through her childhood, me and my wife knew that she would grow up and achieve the best, work her hardest, and she did. We only wish that we could have seen her do more. We’re here to celebrate the life of our daughter, not dwell on the fact that she is no longer with us.”

The sound of weeping filled the room, and my father nodded his head at me. Everyone turned around to face me, and even though I had dreading this whole speech thing for a day now, I knew it was necessary. Clearing my throat, I began. “Every little girl wants an older sister, someone to look up to and idolize; someone that they can strive to be when they mature, and for me Melody couldn’t have been a better role model. She was my best friend, as well as my blood. We shared so many amazing memories together that I will never be able to forget, not matter how old I get. There will always be an empty hole in my life where she was, because no one can replace her, she was one of a kind. But she will always be remembered, not for her tragic death but her beautiful life.”

Right after the last words left my mouth, I pushed my way through the crowd and out the back door. The warm air greeted my sun deprived skin and I almost groaned at how good it felt.

“You look like you’ve been locked in a cellar for a couple days.”

I was startled as a voice sounded a few feet away from me. Clutching my fast beating heart, I turned to face none other than Colton Jones. He was wearing a clean pair of tan pants and a dark blue vest. His muscles looked like they were about to bust from his shirt and I scolded myself for thinking about how cleaned up he appeared.

“What are you doing here?” I finally asked.

“Paying my respects of course,” he replied briskly, standing up from the patio chair he was lounging in.

In two big strides, he was towering over me. I felt like a little elf standing next to him. “Well everyone’s paying their respects inside.”

I nodded towards the door I had just come from and looked out into the back yard. Past the pool and picket white fence was a dense tree line, the start of Willow Wheel Park. My father owned half the land, and all I wanted to do was get lost in the forest like I always did during the summer time. I would find a good tree to sit against and get lost in one of my fantasy books.

“Do I look like I’m everyone?” Colton asked, finally answering me. I shrugged my shoulders. “Let me guess, you just want to be alone,” he said.

“Actually, I do,” I sapped. “Why are you being so rude to me anyway? Aren’t you supposed to be nice to someone who just lost their sister?”

“Well actually, I personally wouldn’t want everyone to feel like they had to treat me like something breakable, but if that’s what you want th-“

“So you normally rude to people, regardless if they lost a family member or not?” I questioned, my glare cutting deep into his eyes.

Colton smiled. “I like you Bran’s, you’re different. Most people wouldn’t talk to me the way you do,” he admitted.

At least he was being truthful. “Most people wouldn’t talk to me the way you’re talking to me either. It’s called being nice, something you should try.”

The bad boy stepped away with his hands raised in the air. “Okay, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, you’re right.”

After he was finished talking, silence lapped over us and I found myself staring down at my shoes. “And Colton, I’d like to restate my answer from the other day, when you asked me if I would ever want to go a day without Melody, the answer is no.”

I know this one is a party pooper but it will get better I promise! Please don't forget to vote!