Silence

Silence. That’s the only thing I hear with my ear pressed against the door. Tiptoeing over to my window, I open it, hoping, praying, that no one will hear me. The window creaks open and I pause, listening for any sign that someone heard me. After ten seconds of silence, I step out onto the roof and slide down onto the freshly cut grass.
All I can hear is the pounding in my ears as I start my car and back out of the driveway. The drive isn’t long, but I still go over the speed limit, Trying my hardest to get to Taya’s house on time.
Although it’s only been five minutes, it feels like an eternity when I finally pull into Taya’s driveway. I hop out of my car, making sure to close the door quietly for fear that someone hears it. I sneak around the house, the soft grass being padded down underneath me. When I reach the back door, I pause, listening to Taya’s parents taking somewhere deeper in the house. Knowing that they probably won’t hear me, I bring my hand up and tap on the door three times. Almost instantly the door is opened, and Taya’s big brown eyes are staring back at me.
Her parents' conversation is changing from normal to full-on yelling. Taya flinches when we hear something that sounds like glass shattering, so I pull her out with me, not wanting her to change her mind about going to the party with me.
The drive to the party is silent. I glance over at Taya, and I see her looking out the window, not making a sound.
“You okay?” I ask her.
Her answer comes after a long pause. Finally, she says, “Ya, I’m fine. Just stressed.”
“Well, then it’s a good thing that we are going to this party. You can drink till there’s not a care in the world!”
“Ya I guess you’re right,” she sighs and goes back to looking back out the window.
As I turn onto the street where the party is being held, I hear the music getting louder by the second. I park the car across the street from the house and walk alongside Taya into the biggest party of the year.
As soon as we enter, I’m separated from Taya by a mob of sweaty and drunk teenagers. Thinking that she will probably find some of our other friends to hang out with, I head over to the kitchen and grab myself a beer.
After my third beer, I start wondering where Taya is, seeing that I haven’t seen her since we entered the house 45 minutes ago. I make my way outside, partly because I need some air, but mostly because I need to find Taya.
I hear some commotion coming from inside, and being the curious person that I am, I go inside to check it out. Seeing that it’s only a couple drunk guys in the middle of a brawl, I go upstairs to use the restroom. It’s a good thing that I’ve been here before or I would have no idea where to go. The door is locked, so I wait outside until whoever is inside comes out. After a good ten minutes of waiting, I finally go find my friend, Jackie, the girl who’s hosting the party, to unlock the door because it doesn’t seem like anyone’s in there. She unlocks it and walks away, leaving me alone outside the bathroom. I knock on the door for the third time and when no one answers, I slowly open the door and step in. The light blinks on, and once eyes finally get adjusted to the light, my heart nearly stops beating because what I was expecting to see was nothing compared to this.
My best friend, who I have known for fifteen years, is crumbled up next to the toilet, with a half-empty bottle of pills laying scattered next to her. Her eyes are open, just staring into empty darkness. I can’t move. My legs feel like jelly, and the only thought on my mind is, how could she do this to me.
She’s my best friend, has been since before we started school. She had to have known how much this would hurt me.
I crumble down next to her, my body heaving with sobs as I numbly reach for Taya’s wrist, praying for any sign that there is still hope. But no, her eyes look as if they are looking straight through me and the hands that used to wipe away my tears when I had a bad day, are still and cold as ice.
A slip of paper falls out of her hand onto my lap, and with trembling hands, I reach for the paper, trying my hardest not to scream. Although my vision is getting blurrier by the second, I manage to read the note through the tears running down my cheeks.
Adalie,
This is hard for me to write, and I’m sorry for making you go through this. But if you really think about it, it’s almost exactly what you made me go through. You are the only person I ever told about my situation at home with my parents but you didn’t care. You were never there for me when I needed a shoulder to cry on or a hand to hold. I’ve come to school with my body covered in bruises more times than I can count. I’m not surprised that you didn’t notice. Everything always has to be about you. If my boyfriend had just dumped me and I needed someone to comfort me, you would probably have gone to the mall instead because the shoes you wanted were on sale. That’s just the kind of person you are, and nothing you or anyone else could have done could have stopped me from doing this. I hope you have a good life without me.
~Taya
I stand up to leave the room and figure out who to call. Just before the door closes, I look behind me with guilt and regret in my eyes and as if for the first time, I see Taya for the person she really was.
“I’m sorry,” is all I can say before I leave and try to go on with my life.