The Heart Stealer

Kelly Veneziano was the craziest, loudest, most annoying person Rebekah George had ever met. She still couldn’t understand why they were the best of friends.

“It’s because you’re just like me,” Kelly had said. Rebekah shook her head. “There is no way I am anything like you,” she argued. “You are a fucking mentalist.” She turned her attention back to the road, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder and reaching for the stereo. “We’re basically the same person, you poop,” Kelly argued, slapping Rebekah’s hand away. She laughed. There was no way she was going to be able to change the song when Fall Out Boy was playing.

“Where exactly are we going?” Rebekah asked, glancing sideways at Kelly, who was slumped in the passenger’s seat, a map open in her lap. She held it up and unfolded it more, spreading it across the dashboard of the car. “Keep going straight,” she said with a nod. They were on a seemingly endless stretch of highway. The two girls just looked at each other, and that was enough. They both burst into fits of laughter, Kelly gripping at her stomach, Rebekah struggling to see wit the tears in her eyes.

“You’re an idiot,” Rebekah said once they’d quietened down. Fall Out Boy still played through the speakers of the car, Rebekah’s favourite song coming on. “I love this one,” she said, turning it up. Kelly folded the map up haphazardly and threw it in the backseat before winding down her window She stuck her head out of the window and screamed into the early morning air, the wind whipping her blonde hair around her face. Rebekah laughed ad leant back in her seat, singing along softly to ‘She’s My Winona’ as the song worked up to the chorus.

“Hell or glory, I don’t want anything in between!” The girls both shouted, their voices loud enough to be heard over the impressive sound system Rebekah’s boyfriend, Matthew, had installed in the car. “Get back in the car, you maniac!” Rebekah said with a laugh. Kelly did as she was told for once, and got back in, a huge smile on her face. “This will be amazing,” Kelly said. “Seriously.” Rebekah shook her head. “I still can’t believe you talked me into driving to New York City,” Rebekah said. “You know I’m no good in traffic.”

“Oh, stop complaining, you marshmallow. You’ll be fine,” Kelly chided her, slipping in an All Time Low CD to shut her up. They were Rebekah’s favourite band in the entire world. She’d convinced Kelly to go to a concert with her in a few month’s time. Kelly wasn’t that big a fan, at least, not compared to Rebekah.

No words could possibly express the love Rebekah had for All Time Low. Or maybe it was just an obsession. Either way, Kelly had agreed, paying for their tickets as a birthday present for Rebekah. They were going to go together, just the two of them, but that was another day, another adventure.

Right then, they were in Rebekah’s beat-up car, entering New York City on their quest. It wasn’t a very good quest. It wasn’t really a quest at all. It had been Kelly’s idea. Rebekah was Australian, and had always wanted an ‘I Love NY’ shirt like all the pretty girls wore in the movies. The girls now lived together in a small studio apartment in a small town an hour away from the city. Kelly had said it was important. “Everybody needs an I heart New York shirt,” she’d said that morning, as they’d piled in the car. “It’s our quest.”

Now, they drove through the city in silence, Rebekah marvelling at the place before her eyes. She had always wanted to go to New York City. She’d written about it, drawn pictures of it, seen it in the movies and heard about it in songs, but nothing could have prepared her for this. Seeing the city she had always loved, but never been to, for the first time took her breath away.

“This is amazing,” Rebekah whispered, still taking it all in. Kelly just nodded solemnly, not wanting to ruin the moment by saying the wrong thing. She turned the music up and switched the song. ‘Hello, Brooklyn’ came blasting through the speakers. “This is perfect,” Rebekah breathed, slowing in traffic. And it was. Until…

The truck driver didn’t know. He should have. He’d been given enough warnings about his dodgy brakes. He couldn’t afford to fix them, figured they’d hold for another few weeks. They didn’t.

Rebekah and Kelly hadn’t known. It had come out of nowhere. Their quest was cut short. Lights blared as dusk settled over the city. Car horns sounded as the truck came up behind them, too fast, unable to slow down. The truck driver swerved, attempting to get into the empty lane beside them. The roads were slick, and he lost control, swerving in the wrong direction.

Rebekah stared straight into the light, and as the beauty of New York City disappeared, so did she.

*

Rebekah George was the craziest, loudest, most annoying person Kelly Veneziano had ever met. She still couldn’t understand why they had been the best of friends. But these days, she didn’t want to understand anything. She wished she could have disappeared that night, too. Because losing someone you loved wasn’t the worst part about death. It was being left behind to pick up the pieces that hurt the most. Kelly hated being old enough to understand it all. It wasn’t fair.

Nothing was.

And even though Rebekah would have killed her for even thinking it, Kelly couldn’t help it. She should have died instead. It all wasn’t fair. Why that street? That city? That car? That time? That truck?

Why?

That one word had been haunting Kelly ever since the accident. Ever since she’d woken up in the hospital, her family around her. Ever since she’d uttered her name, and they’d all just looked at her sadly. Ever since it had dawned on her that Rebekah was gone, and she wasn’t coming back.

She screamed. Cried. For days.
It was too hard. Not fair. Not right.
Just wrong.

Why?

Two days later, when she was released from hospital, her mother drove her back to the apartment she had shared with Rebekah. Kelly had told her mother she wanted to be left alone. The second she opened the door and walked inside, the emptiness of the apartment was like a slap in the face. She didn’t want to see the pictures. Walk into Rebekah’s messy bedroom, where her smell still lingered.

She had to get away.

It didn’t take her long to pack everything up in boxes. All her clothes and belongings shoved in the back of her car. Everything Rebekah had owned remained untouched. Her room. Her small studio. Her unfinished drawings. It was time to leave.

And so, Kelly did. She wasn’t coming back.

*

On a flight to Australia, Kelly tried to keep it together. She was doing remarkably well. There was nothing left to her now. All her emotions had been stripped bare. She was numb.

Rebekah’s funeral was beautiful. Hundreds of people showed up. Her boyfriend stood beside Kelly, an arm around her shoulders. Family, friends, people that had seen her smile once. Students from the university she attended in America. They were all here to wish her the best. Kelly’s hands shook. Her eyes remained dry. Her legs trembled as she pushed her way to the front of the crowds to see the small casket.

She tore her eyes away from it, focused on the small podium off to the side. With shaking hands, trembling legs, and her heart full of fear, she made her way to the podium. Gripped the microphone. Looked out at all the faces staring back at her.

She said her bit. Got about ten minutes in before the tears came. Choked on the last line.

“Rebekah was an inspiration to many, a friend to few, and a sister to me.”

That was it. She left the podium. Walked over to the casket. Placed the tee-shirt on top and stared at its design. ‘I ♥ NY’ stared back at her. “Haunt the fuck out of me,” Kelly whispered. “Or I’ll never forgive you.”