Eliza's Story

by Candace
(Florida)

A few weeks ago my friend Eliza Roberts passed away at the age of 14. It was overdose. I mourned as she was my best friend. I was the only one who knew she did drugs, not even her own parents. They didn't know until they found out Eliza was rushed to the hospital when a girl going to bathroom noticed her unconscious. This is the story.
It was a Tuesday in October and I was running the track in P.E. and I saw an Ambulance as I had seen red,blue, and white lights flashing from the reflection of a pole. I ran faster to see what it was. The paramedics were taking a girl in those little beds where they're taken to the ambulance in. I couldn't see the girl but I recognized it after about maybe 10 seconds. Dark brown hair, pale skin, and I could see her huge birthmark on her left arm all the way from where I was standing. My heart stopped as I recognized it was Eliza. I started running to make it to the locker room, and call my mother to take me to the Hospital.
I knew it had to be Drugs. In the 7th grade we had a substitute for our 2ncd period. She asked him if he could use the restroom. He nodded and let her go. She was gone for a very long time. I asked to go too and the teacher nodded again. I ran to the restroom because I thought maybe something had happened. I smelled something odd as I was 5 feet away from the bathroom door. I walked in. "Eliza..?". I heard laughing, "Hehe,Candy dat' you? C'mon give ya bestie a hug!!". She talked nowhere beyond normal and her eyes were red and right in between her fingers was a paper rolled up with some sort of green leaf (It was weed, I know, I found that out later on). She smelled like Marijuana. I saw a pink lighter in her pocket. Here was the chat log.
Me: ELIZA WHAT THE F*&$ ARE YOU DOING?
Eliza: Calm yourself Chica, what does it look like i'm doing, just smoking some joints...
Me: YOU COULD FREAKING DIE FROM THAT! I DON'T WANNA LOSE MY FRIEND FROM SOME PIECE OF CRAP STUCK UP A PIECE OF NOTEBOOK PAPER!
Eliza: Hahahahahaahahaha! I'm not gonna die fool, C'mon girl sit down and join me.
Me: No. Eliza why are you doing this?
Eliza: BECAUSE YOU LITTLE BITCH I FEEL LIKE IT! LEAVE ME THE F--- ALONE IF YOU DON'T LIKE WHAT I DO YOU BEST LEAVE BECAUSE I AIN'T GONNA DEAL WITH YOUR LITTLE GOODY TWO-SHOES SELF!
Me: Well, if that's how you feel.No matter what you do you will always be a friend to me.

I left the room and it was only a few weeks before I saw that ambulance. When I made it to the Hospital, she was already on life support. I grabbed her hand. and I kneeled down on the floor. I didn't care if she liked me or despised me at this moment because I knew this would be my last moment with her.

Me: Eliza? It's Candace, your best friend. I know you won't last for long but I just wanted to say, you could've lived, we could've been outside now like old times, having lemonade, chasing my little brother. But no you decided to go on another path, a rough one that led us both here. If you remember what you said to me that day in the bathroom, I forgive you but you were probably just stoned. I miss the old you, but now I'm going to miss all of you, because in the next few hours or minutes you'll be completely gone. This didn't need to happen. I'll miss you so much, Eliza I just can't say how much I loved you as my best friend.

I started crying on the hospital bed next to her as my knees were feeling weak. Then, she squeezed my hand.

Eliza: I-I'm so sorry Candace. I didn't m-mean it. Please forgive me. I'll wait f-f-for you in heaven. But f-for now, I'll miss you.

___________________________

The sound of the machine stayed in my head for minutes. I started crying as the doctor escorted me out. It was the last time I ever saw my best friend who died of drugs.

R.I.P Eliza.