Impact

When Delaney showed up, she had a speech in hand. Listening to her comrades’ speeches had definitely put her writing into a death-coma.

She knew it wasn’t a competition, but she had barely known the kid. What was she supposed to say?

“Um, so I guess I should start off with how Riley was basically just my best friend’s little brother to me. God, that sounds terrible,” she chuckled, sounding like a nervous wreck already. Public speaking wasn’t really her strong point.

The room silently stared at her; it was true that silence sometimes screamed louder than words. At that point, her voice could not make it over the raging noises.

“I’m partly the reason he split his head when he was younger. The only time I talked to him after that was to throw my best friend her surprise party. Riley… Riley really loved his sister and friends. I could tell, that day. He had this kind of shine in his eyes when Aimee walked in. Like, her happiness was his drug,” Delaney barely choked out.

She could see Aimee’s eyes glazing over. The tears had literally run out – a feat that Delaney had not thought possible.

“I’m going to miss Riley’s smiling face every single day. I’m so sorry, Aimee. I really am,” Delaney apologized, as the water welled down her face. In the next three seconds, Delaney had suddenly gone from the speech to hugging Aimee for a prolonged amount of time.

The worst was over – they were all going to get through this.