I love you Chloe XXII

July 27th, a day I will never forget. It was a normal Wednesday night, I was on my way home from softball games in Cicero. We were just getting into Auburn. Above us in the sky there was a helicopter and on the road next to us there was an ambulance racing to its destination. I didn't think anything of it so I sat in the car peacefully. But out of nowhere, in a scared voice I heard, "There was a bad accident; they think it was Chloe." In that moment, my heart was beating out of my chest and my jaw was dropped to the floor. Trying to make sense of the situation, I reassured myself that it wasn't her and that it was probably just a rumor. Still, in the back of my mind, I couldn't help but think about it being her.

I finally got home and, via social media, I learned that my worst nightmare had come true. Yes, there was a bad accident and yes, it was Chloe. A drunk driver had hit her car from behind near Tom Thumb. After finding this out, I was a nervous wreck. I couldn't stop shaking and tears were rolling down the side of my face. All I could do was hope for the best and pray that she was going to be okay. Falling asleep was not easy knowing that my best friend was fighting for her life. All through the night I sat up wondering why do the worse things happen to the best people. It did not make sense to me that something like this would happen to such a beautiful (inside and out), kind, and supportive person.

Eventually it was 2:00 am and I hadn't heard anything new about her status. In my head I kept saying: "She's going to be okay. She's a fighter." With all of my heart, I truly believed that Chloe was going to make it out of this mess alive. So, I then decided to go to bed, hopeful to wake up to good news. I was sound asleep, until 5:00 am came around. At 5:00 am, I was awoken by a crying voice saying "Syd, she's gone." Even while being half asleep and groggy, I knew exactly what my mom was talking about when she said that. I couldn't help but hope she was playing a sick joke on me. I knew she wouldn't do that, but I wanted it to be a joke so bad. Facing the reality of Chloe actually being gone was too hard to bear with, I wanted it to be a joke or a bad dream. My mind was racing, I didn’t know what to do or how to feel. I have never really experienced a death of someone I love before, let alone one of my best friends. Chloe was such a huge part of my life. She was my inspiration; I looked up to her like a big sister. There was a never a moment when she wasn’t a good friend to me. I could always count on her to cheer me up. I and everyone else were so excited to see what she was going to do in the future because she had so much to give. But on June 27th, within minutes, she was taken away from all of us. That once bright future, beautiful mind, and positive attitude was gone.

In the blink of an eye she was gone, everything she worked for and hoped to achieve was gone. It all happened so quickly; you don’t expect things like this to occur. You never truly know when your last moment with someone is going to be. People always say don't take anything for granted because you never know when it could all be taken away from you. When I was told this I never really got why it was said because nothing important has never really been taken away from me. But at 5:00 am on July 28th, I finally understood why you have to cherish the people important to you and I realized the importance of being appreciative.