February 14th, the day my world ended

It was a tragedy, it ruined the whole town. How could this happen? They were so young. Oh, and the girl, that dear girl has to live with it. 
That’s what everyone was saying. Not to my face, what they said to my face was, “Hallie! You’re so strong!” I guess you could say that. I didn’t do much except slam into the airbag that was deployed when we crashed. Zach was the real hero; he was the one that called 911. Zach was always prepared and cautious. That made it even more shocking when we ran off the road. 
It was Valentine’s Day. We had gone over to Layla Mason’s house to see the rest of our friends. It was dark when we left, around 10 I think. He took the back way to my house, the way through the woods with all the twists and turns. He was a safe driver. I was never worried. We would laugh and scream the lyrics to whatever song was playing. We always had the windows down. I would look outside most of the time, maybe if I had been looking at the road…
It would not have changed a thing, at least that’s what the cops told me. 
“No, you don’t understand,” I sobbed to the detectives in my hospital room after the crash. “He would never.”
“Miss Armstrong, I know you're upset right now but can you think of another reason?” The taller of the two detectives asked me.
“What do you mean another reason? I can think of plenty. Deer, maybe even a bear! We were in the middle of the woods!!”
“He was also 17, maybe he just… Lost control.” The short one said solemnly. 
Needless to say I didn’t talk to the cops much after that. Zach’s parents were in shambles. His older brother and I were talking at his funeral.
“Hallie, I just don’t think I can go back to school with them like this.” Mark, Zach’s older brother, told me.
“Mark! You have to, it’s what Zach would want. He was so happy you finally got out of this town, he always said you were meant for bigger things,” I tried my best to console him.
“To be honest I don’t know how I’m going to get past this,” I knew exactly what he was saying. Zach wasn’t just my boyfriend he was my best friend. I had no clue how my life would look with him not in it. 
Monday came too quickly. Weeks passed, then months. Next thing I knew it had been a year. A year since my world ended; a year since life changed forever. It was hard waking up everyday. For a moment in the mornings I would forget that he was lost to me. In reality I was the lost one. The pain was too much, he was my life. One day everything was torn from my grasp. I wish I could end this happily but I don’t think I know what happiness is anymore.

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