I remember that night, that beautiful night that had turned rotten by this piece of jackass. Us three went together, as we always did. It was always Noah, Kat, and Phil. Never less, never more. We were heading to a party, the one down 34th street that had it's occupants out for the weekend. Her laugh, her gut-clenching laugh, was echoed throughout the night as Phil and I told her about the time us boys went to the mini-mart and blew up a hoagie in the micro.

As we approached the weathered stairs, Jake threw open the door and quickly ushered us in. I was steered to the to the keg of beer sitting on the mahogany table just waiting for a strong pair of arms (that would be mine) to open. I didn't see where Kat and Phil were going, for I was quite preoccupied with the stubborn metal keg.

I wanted to be sober that night, for it was the night for me and Kat... so I had only one chug once the keg was opened. I stood putting beer down my throat while fingering the condom inside of my left jean pocket. Unfortunately that one chug was all it took, for my vision was slightly obscured as I finished up and went to search for Kat. Hey, I was drunk, but not enough to ruin the night.

I heard Kat's laugh coming from upstairs (the same gut-clenching laugh that rang the previous moments), each wave of chuckles being muffled the door and space between us.

I started up the large stairs. Little did I know that each painstaking step would be in vain. As Kat's laughter turned to screams, I quickened my pace. That high-pitched scream quickly sobered me up. "Kat?" I called as I reached the second to the top stairs.

As quickly as the laughter turned to scream, it stopped. The eerie silenced sliced through me like a bread knife through freshly-baked dough. I grappled for the door knob, hefting my weight into the wood to jerk the door open. I got in and let my blurry eyes adjust to the dim lights. Then I stared, for on the bed was Phil and Kat.

Kat and Phil. My buddy and my girl. I realized that Phil was no more my bud than Kat was aware of her nakedness. Her eyes were glassy, the milk of them swimming to gloss the deep aqua. Her hair, her lovely strawberry-blond hair, was tangled into one large mess. Nostrils flared, bruises sprouting up everywhere. And Phil was the only one of us three not affected by the horrible scene.

Oh, the bruises. The sight of them just stopped my heart. "You..." I muttered out as I lunged for Phil. His scream was inaudible to my ears as my rage pumped through my blood, roaring through my ears. I landed a few punches when suddenly my red-stained sight cleared. It happened so quickly in an instant, my seeing Kat for the first time. I mean really seeing. Once I did, I landed one last blow to render Phil unconscious and called an ambulance.

Back in the hallways of the Hospital I paced. The scenes played over and over and over and over again in my mind. Playing, fast forwarding, slowing down, pausing, playing again, back tracking. When the paramedics had arrived, I was unfortunately a sober man. If I was drunk, maybe I wouldn't have chosen to ride with Kat in the ambulance. Maybe if an over-dose of alcohol was in my system, I wouldn't have had the chance to overhear the words "teenage girl", "drugs", "rape", and "dying" muttered from the workers mouths.

Upon hearing those words did everything else from then to now happen in one blur. The lights and colors has become one large and horrible nightmare. It was so clear now, it was scarring me to death. I stepped back into Kat's room when I realized that Phil had started showing signs of what was to come before the entire thing happened.

I was holding on to Kat's cold hand, trying to warm it up in mine as if it were to help keep her alive. The images of Phil came back, the way he had started to act a few weeks earlier. He had started to come around her house much more often, and I'd known for Kat had mentioned it to me. I'd thought nothing of it. When us three would go out he'd always find something to do to touch her.

The thought of Phil's grimy hands over my Kat had me running to the bathroom to retch. Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god. As I stared into the toilet, watching my puke swim around in the water sanitized by the hospital workers, I could only think of what Phil did to Kat. Phil slipping her E when she thought it was candy. Phil who had undressed her when she was buzzing on the drugs. Phil who had raped her while she was still high. Phil who had redressed then started to bruise and abuse her, as some sort of cruelly twisted pleasure.

I puked again, spilling green bile over the sparkling white toilet.

I had flushed away the puke and rinsed my mouth before I went back into her room. As I came into the room filled with the smells of blood and death, Kat's parents had taken occupancy in her room. When I saw them, I broke. They've been like my second parents ever since I met Kat. Now, seeing them like this, huddled together in the corner, ate at my heart. Mrs. Hanson was sobbing in uneven breaths while Mr. Hanson tried to console her as his silent tears flowed down the hard panes of his face. When I hobbled in they both turned. We nodded in understanding and I went to Kat's side. The Hansons went back to crying.

I went back to my attempt of rubbing life into her hands. Ten minutes into it she stirred. Everything inside of me, everything that made me, sputtered to life. At last! The E was just temporary, no real damage done! I stared at her, my eyes boring holes into her brain as to see what she was thinking at the moment. She didn't wake, didn't open her eyes. She just turned her head, like she could feel that it was I next to her and not her parents, and mouthed her last words. With that, the monitors that were hooked up to her started to bleep. Her heart and pulse monitor thinned to one line, a steady ring to wake me up.

As doctors and nurses rushed into the room, I went to the Hansons. They were staring at the commotion uncomprehending. Who could blame them? I stooped to plant a kiss on both their damp cheeks and walked out. My own salty tears rolled as it settled all in. Phil killed my girl, my love. I took the elevator down to the lobby and walked out of the hospital. Her words mouthed to me before she left filled my head with dread.

I knew she wasn't coming back. As pain settled around my heart and clenched, the only thing I heard were Kat's voice and those silent words: Love you Noah.