Never The Same

• Jamie-lee Wallis, Grade 11
• Poetry
• 2011

The wind blew a steady galel around my slender body as I raced inside to answer the ringing phone. ôHello?ö I gasped out of breath. ôZane? Its JessÆ mum. She needs you-ö I hung up before she could finish her sentence and tried to take off towards the door when my adoptive fatherÆs hand grasped my forearm, halting me in my tracks. My typically soft green eyes turned a darker green at the thought of someone stopping me from helping Jess when she needs me the most. Dad was stopping me and I wouldn't stand for it. I snatched my arm away from DadÆs rough hold and pushed Dad out of range and I took off at a dead bolt down the asphalt road. I walked and ran for four and a half hours through the strong winds and pelting rain to reach Jess. Jess needed me and I was determined to help her, no matter the cost to my own body. Her mother swung open the door before I even had a chance to climb the few steps leading up to the front door. I hastily climbed the stairs as her mother whispered with tears running down her face. ôShe is in her bedroom.ö I took quick, calm breaths as I quickly walked through the brightly lit house and towards JessÆ bedroom door. Before I opened her door I could hear her sobbing. I quietly opened her door and sat on the bed beside her, taking her in my arms. I told her I would always be here for her, I wasnÆt going anywhere. Soon we both fell asleep clinging to each other. I woke at 2:14AM to find I was alone. Turning on a light I noticed patches of blood on the bed. I bolted from her room, screaming her name. I noticed a trail of blood leading to the garage. I quickly opened the half closed door to find Jess swinging slowly from the rafters and a chair lying on its side as if it was kicked from beneath her. I stumbled into the garage and gently took her hanging body down. Blood coated her wrists from where she had cut herself. My legs collapsed and I lay in a heap on the dirty ground with Jess in my arms. I silently cried. Behind me I heard her mother scream and stumble to where I lay. She tried taking Jess from my arms, but I would not let go. I promised I would always be there for her, and I had failed her. Time seemed to drag, but yet I still did not let go. Those we love don't ever leave, they walk beside us everyday, unseen, unheard but always near, still loved and still missed.