Her dull green eyes had widened disproportionately to the size of her head when the words had escaped my lips. Somewhere in her expression, I had seen her wonder if this was a cruel trick, conjured by her semi-rival, me, to spite her for building an infatuation for the friend I had taken into my life as my big brother. You're lying. A moment later had passed, however, and the tears in my eyes had confirmed that I was indeed speaking the truth.

"Jackson is dead."

Despite our past differences and the partial rivalry we had created in our earlier middle school years, she leaned on me for comfort, helpless. Her sobs echoed through her quiet house in such a way that they became cold knives stabbing me relentlessly through my heart, the heart that had warmed since our last encounter. I, broken somewhere, only wept with her with my arms wrapped about her trembling form.

"I'm sorry. I thought you should know. I'm so sorry."