It was a dark breezy night. I remember coming home from a haunted forest and getting dropped off at home by my friend Bailey. As soon as I got home, I went to sleep on our living room floor. I woke up around two o’clock A.M. to my mom screaming and crying. I was confused but didn’t move. I don’t know why, but I didn’t want anyone to know I was awake.

My mom soon left and drove to Erie. After she left I quietly walked to her room. When I stood up I noticed that my mom’s old friend Kenny was sitting on our couch wide awake. He had a shocked look on his face. I didn’t want to ask but I did.

“Where’s my mom going and why is she crying? Why do you look so sad?”

Kenny replied with a fake smile and said, “Everything is going to be alright, Trina. Go back to bed, we will talk in the morning.” I rolled my eyes and walked into my mom’s room.

  I sat on my mom’s bed and got on my phone. First I checked my messages, then I got on Facebook. The first thing on my newsfeed made tears roll down my face within seconds. I didn’t want to believe what I was reading. It couldn’t be true. It didn’t even seem possible. But it was, she was gone. I would never see her again, never hear her laugh, see her smile, ever again.

Ashley passed away October 25, 2015 in a car accident. She passed away around the time I got home that night; she was also on her way home from a Halloween event. Ashley had just gotten her license so she couldn’t have more than one person in the car while driving. Instead of breaking the law, Ashley had another friend go with to the haunted house so whoever went could drive her sister Brittany and brother Jordan. Her other friend with her siblings were driving in front of her. Ashley was driving her friend Sam. Ashley got lost and didn’t know where her other friend went so she and Sam started calling and texting people to get directions. She started speeding up to catch up but lost control.  She swerved off of the road and flipped into a creek. She and Sam both were both killed instantly less than two miles from Ashley’s house.

The next day my family and I drove to Ashley’s dad’s house to support the family and friends. There were many people there.  I tried to stay strong in front of everybody but I just couldn’t. Most of the time that we were in Erie I stayed in my mom’s car. I cried on and off all day. The one time I did get out of my car was when Ashley’s mom       Tracy got to Ashley’s dad’s house. When she got out of her car she was crying so bad. She had an object in her hand. I didn’t know exactly what it was so I got closer. It was Ashley’s shoe. Tracy had found it on the side of the road of the scene. Tracy caught a glimpse of me and yelled my name. She seemed kind of relieved to see me. I didn’t know why, but I just went with the flow. Tracy grabbed me and hugged me for what felt like ten hours. We were both crying together.

I had known Ashley since I was in second grade. Her parents were friends with my mom since they were in middle school. Ashley and her family moved across the street from me. We used to be close. After I moved, Ashley and I stopped talking and weren’t as close. I still remember when we used to have “concerts” in her basement for our parents. I remember the endless nights where we would talk on walkie talkies from our houses. We walked home from the bus stop together. We were pretty much always hanging out.

After Ashley passed away, I stopped singing. I stopped laughing and talking. I skipped at least a week of school. I was devastated. I barely went out of bed to eat. I ignored my friends when they texted me. I no longer wanted to play with my dog or little brother. I barely went outside. When I finally realized that I needed to move on, the people that helped me were my best friends Jenna and Jose. Somehow they made me feel better like Ashley was still alive. They were there with me through everything.