A Picture Changed My Life Forever

--- GEE'S P.O.V ---

It was the day, three years after. This was the day I asked her, three years ago. Frank found out when Sam came out with even more happy tears in her eyes.

I loved that girl.

I'm not afraid to admit it anymore. I loved that girl.

"Hey, Gee..." Frankie's soft voice came.

"Hey, Frankie," I said as I gave him a hug. Tears were now filling my eyes slowly.

It was as if this day was just yesterday, except in reality, the confinement of this day was three years ago. We were happy, but I've learned my lesson now. Happiness can't loom over you and embrace your heart once you find out the news. You're never going to be happy again. Just the mere thought of it feels like a knife stabbing my heart mercilessly. I was told that the pain was just imaginary, but they have no idea.

"Hey, Gee," her playful voice called.

"Yes, Sammy?"

"You're always here for me, right?" She asked me.

I stopped looking at the road long enough to look at her eyes and make them meet mine. "Of course."

"And you'll never forget me, right?"

"Sam, is something wrong?" I asked. She never asked me these questions.

"... I just have this feeling..." She started.

"What feeling, Sammy?" I was becoming more and more worried.

"... that I'm going to die today."

This isn't my imagination anymore, where her image was, because in my imagination, she was there. In reality, she wasn't. She wasn't here. No one can tell me this pain is imaginary because, if anything, it's my happiness that's imaginary.

"I'm sure she misses you," Mikey said, quietly.

The tense atmosphere around us five welcomed silence. No one spoke. If anyone did speak, they would speak in a barely audible voice, afraid they might say the wrong thing.

I broke the silence first. "Let's start. Let's not keep her waiting."

I looked at her. "Don't say that, Sammy."

She looked at me with tear-filled eyes. "I've been having this dream where I die. The scenario looked exactly like this, Gee."

"It's only a dream, Sammy, don't worry," I said, trying to lighten the mood. I hated seeing Sam like this, crying all the time. It was about time I found out why though. And I did find out, I wish I never did.

"No, Gee. My dreams happen, as in... really happen. Remember that dream I told you about? The one where Dad was in the plane... and the plane... crashed? It happened, remember? It happened." Tears were rolling down her face. Her voice was getting fainter and fainter, and her voice was getting choked with sobs.

"That was probably only a coincidence," I replied. I tried to assure myself that she wasn't going to die today. No. She can't die today.

"Is it, Gee? Do really think so?" She asked in both a sarcastic tone and a tone that needed reassurance. A tone that pleaded me to tell her that everything was going to be alright. But I didn't know either.

"I really think so," I managed to say. Great. Now I'm saying things I'm not even sure of. "If anything does happen, Sammy, we're here for you. We're here to protect you." I stopped on the red light.

"... 'we'?" She asked.

"MCR." I grinned as she leaned in for a hug. Just that small moment of happiness could've made its way to one of the best momments in my life. The green light flashed blindingly on the trafficlights.

The car started to move again, as she broke away from the hug. We were there in the middle of the intersection, and Sam leaned her forehead on her window. "GEE!" She screamed.

Crash.

I was now crying freely, pretty sure that I was shaking from the tears. Frank and Mikey immediately went to my side and tried to quiet me, although I saw tears forming in Frank's eyes, too.

"I know it's hard to remember, Gee. It's hard on all of us," Ray said, patting my back.

"But don't you think Sam's happy in the Afterlife?" Bob asked.

I never though of that. I was too busy caught up in my own sadness. Maybe she was happy in Heaven.

A smile crept to my lips as I realized that maybe she was happy there. But I was still guilty. I didn't get to protect her then, even when I told her I would.

Tears were in my eyes again. I wondered if I'd ever run out of salt.

"Come on, Gee. I thought you said you didn't want Sammy to wait," Frankie said. He had a point.

I opened my messenger bag and took out a photo album. I delicately opened it. All our memories with Sammy are all in there. This was the last rememberance of Sam that we had. If this was destroyed, I don't know what I'd do anymore.

"Hey, Sammy," I said, quietly. "Remember this?" I flipped to the first page. "It's a picture of us together. See how happy we looked? You remember that day, right? We were in that warehouse place where your dad took pictures of us for Rolling Stone." I flipped to the second page. "And here, you were on Frankie's back. Both of you were laughing your tooshies off. And on the page after that, you were on my back. I've never seen you that happy."

I was having a hard time trying to keep my voice heard. I wanted this to be a personal thing, but I knew the guys had to be there.

"And here are some pictures you took. Basically, they're pictures of us in concerts. Then there are pictures in here with us in the plane, sleeping. We never even knew you took pictures of that until we found your camera." I flipped the page. "So we got you back and took a picture of you when you were sleeping."

My voice was getting choked from all the tears so Frank decided to talk this time.

"Hey, Sammy. We miss you," Frankie started, sniffling. I handed him the photo album. "Wanna see something, Sammy? We have even more pictures of you. Here's one with you and Skittles. Then we found a picture of you and Gee singing the duet on the Internet, so we put that in here, too."

I put my hand on his shoulder. "Can I say that last one?" I asked gently.

Frankie nodded sadly as he sniffled.

I flipped to the last page. "And here's ths picture that started it all, Sammy. The picture that changed your life. The picture your dad took of us, when we first met. The Rolling Stone picture."

THE END.