Was

"Shoot! I forgot to pick up my boutonniere from Annie. It'll only take a second, I promise. I know a back way that will shave 5 minutes."
I sighed and let my head fall back on the headrest. He wasn't the best brother in the world, but I had to give him credit for putting up with me and my picky taste all day. Garrett drove me to seven different stores to find the perfect dress for our Spring Fling. He held all of my unwanted dresses and stood outside of the dressing room for hours. My brother searched the entire store for the right size of one dress that I was in love with. Granted, this wasn't his ideal way of spending a Saturday, but he stuck with me, and, finally, we were successful. As we headed down a dirt path, I wondered why I didn’t see any light ahead.
“Are you sure this road is safe?” I asked uncertainly.
"Totally! I go down here all the time.” he reassured me.
    I decided to let him handle the driving, while I tried to catch a quick nap. When I closed my eyes, I could my brother trying to run up the down escalator in attempt to make me laugh after my frustration with the first dress store. They snapped open when I felt the heat of headlights on my face. I felt a sudden lurch and everything seemed to move in slow motion. My seat flew into the windshield and my head smacked against the dashboard. My arms and legs went numb, and I tried frantically to get the feeling back. My mind finally snapped back to reality, the only thing I cared about now was if my brother was okay. I looked over to the driver seat to see that Garrett’s feet were the only thing left in the car. The rest of his body was through the windshield and I was suddenly hysterical.
    “Garrett?... Garrett!” I shouted frantically. No response. Memories started flooding through my head as I tried to move my arms. I can see him pushing me up onto the couch because I was too little to do it myself. Laughing at me when when I fell out of the treehouse. Crying with me when we learned our dog had just died. Every major event in my life, my brother was always there. Now looking at him, halfway through a windshield, I wondered if he could say the same about me. Was I always there for him when he needed a shoulder to cry on, or a smiling face when he needed someone to laugh with? My brother is my number one role model and seeing his face now, his checks covered in cuts and broken glass, his mouth oozing with blood, makes me wonder why that’s him and not me.
    Hours had passed, and I hadn’t moved an inch. The thoughts kept pouring into my brain. He’s dead. My brother is dead. I was the one who should have lost their lying on the hood of the car with several broken bones. Garrett understood all of my problems and we would talk for hours about them and how I could fix them. He always knew what to say, and when he didn’t, he would still find a way to explain. My brother did everything in his power to make me happy because that’s the type of person he is… or was.