"How have you been?" I ask her,trying to be as positive as I possibly can. "I'll be honest…it's been hard…" I can here her fiddling with a piece of paper. "They say my spine is healing better than they've hoped,so I'm starting to walk again. It's small,but it's something," she says cautiously optimistic,"One of these days I'll be running circles around you." I laugh,happy that she's slowly beginning to sound like her old self. Then it hit me. She's never gonna be like her old self.
"So how have you been Lace?" she asks curious. I try my best to keep my composure,"I've been good thanks,I found this interesting leaf…" "You're talking to me about leaves?" she says interrupting,like the typical Natalie she is."You know Andrew and I still talk right?". I stay quiet for a second,then reply, "You guys talk about me?". "Yes,he's been filling me in on how you've been,since you never tell me," she says,upset. There's a moment of silent between us.
The silence lingers in the air for quite a while,before I decide to open up,"I..I don't talk to you,because… I don't know…I feel…" "…guilty?" she finishes my sentence. I take a moment to gather myself,but before I know it,all my emotions of that night come flooding back. I burst out in tears.
"It should've been me,Natalie! I should've chased after Andrew that night,not you! I should've pushed harder,I should've fought harder! It…it should've been me…it…" I try to stop,but I can't. I can't stop sobbing. My tears are like a dam that has just been waiting to overflow. "Lacey…" she says,and all I could get out was,"I am so sorry,Natalie." "Stop right there," she says,her voice sounding stern,"Lacey,I want you to listen carefully. What happened that night was not your fault. It's that drunk ass driver who's to blame,not you,so I don't want to hear you apologising EVER again,you understand?" I feel a wave of relief washing over my body. I knew she never blamed me,but I couldn't help but wonder if there was some sort of resentment she had towards me.
"And I thought I was the drama queen?" she says,causing me to burst out laughing,while I whipe away my tears."So fill me in! It's so boring in this place,I NEED gossip," she says,making me fill her in on all the highlights of the past month.
I tell her about James,and how weird he's been acting. "Huh,that's weird,he's been texting me every week since the accident," she says. "What,do you know where he is?" I ask,"Do you know why he's mad at me?". I can hear her contemplating about whether or not to tell me,until she finally starts talking,"Okay,don't freak out…"