War and Peace

Oh, where oh where can my baby be?
The Lord took her away from me
She's gone to heaven, so I got to be good
So I can see my baby when I leave this world.

-- Last Kiss, Pearl Jam --

---

A small section of the newspaper that sunny Sunday morning held a small, perhaps moving paragraph about the tragedy surrounding a hometown girl. Cold, hard details outlined the circumstances of her death -- a broken neck as the result of being thrown from a vehicular collision -- and recited the place of memorial, along with a list of accomplishments she'd achieved in her short life, and a list of friends and family that would fondly remember her.

But, all it was was black and white print, hard facts, cold truth. The reality was far more grim; between the lines, no words could comprehend the pain of a shell-shocked family nor the grief of close friends.

No letters could spell the heart-wrenching misery of regret in a teenage boy who would never have another chance.



No one, not even young Amelia, was exempt from the impact of Emerald's death. Long after the rest of Twinbrook had paid their respects and left, the Kanes and Greenwoods lingered, their eyes resting upon her grave in mourning.

Jebidiah took Meredith's hand in his; neither could comprehend the loss of the child... even Emerald's death hit too close to home.



Bradley, fragile Bradley, could do nothing more than sob; Travis's eyes remained fixed at the tomb, avoiding the awkward glances from Jade only feet away.



And, Oliver, Emerald's father, remained a stoic presence for his wife, but not a shred of good it did Holly; there was nothing, not even the strength of her husband, that could ease this pain.

This was all that was left of Emerald's solemn crowd, still suffering too much to turn and walk away. It was too painful, to walk away.



However, as Travis finally caved and began to sulk away, Bradley tore himself from Emerald's side and followed him.

"YOU!"

Travis looked at his brother, shocked. "Brad?"



"This... This was ALL your fault!" Bradley continued to point his finger at Travis' chest.

"What are you talking about, Brad?" he asked, trying to remain respectfully quiet.

"How dare you feign ignorance, Travis! It's because of you that she was driving that car last night... Because of you that she was so upset she lost control of the car! It's because you cheated on her!"



"That's absurd!" Travis responded in a hoarse whisper. "It's not my fault she made that decision, Bradley! How can you pin random chance on being my fault?"

"What, so you're saying her death was a fluke, now?" Bradley growled. "That it was just a roll of the dice that decided she had to die?"



"Uuugh, Brad, of course that's not what I mean," Travis grumbled, clutching his face in frustration. "It's just lots of things added together, alright?"

Bradley snorted, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, 90% of which would not have been part of the equation of you would've done the right thing in the first place."



"Oh yeah?!" Travis guffahed. "Then who's the loser that dumped her in my lap in the first place, huh?! Who's the loser that led her straight into my arms? If you should be blaming anyone, it's yourself, for making me part of the equation in the first place!"

Bradley was taken aback by Travis's reverse accusation. "It wouldn'tve been an issue if you weren't such a miserable human being."



For a long moment, they exchanged glares, completely at a lost for words with each other.



But, the tension merely mounted as their glare intensified; it was either continue the bloodthirsty insults or walk away... And neither boy was ready to walk away.



"I can't believe you're pinning all of this on me, Bradley! I'm your brother, for Plumbbob's sakes! It's not like I intended for any of this to happen!"

"Yeah? Well, it did, and now the only person I ever loved is dead because of you!"

"Do you think I didn't love her at all?!" Travis suddenly exploded. "You're acting like I don't care at all, Brad! I'm devistated, can't you see that?"



"Don't even," Bradley said, wagging his finger at Travis' face. "Don't even dare belittle my love for her by saying you even cared about her. You treated her poorly from day one, you used her, pretended she was someone else the entire time, then broke her heart like it was some child's toy -- all because you decided to run off with her #@*!*#&! of a sister instead!"



That did it -- all it took was one sour word about Jade, and Travis let loose the big guns; not even bothering to restrain  his impulse, he smacked Brad upside the head.

After a moment, once Bradley recovered from the surprise of his brothers' attack, he decided to launch one of his own...



... and grabbed his brother by the shoulders as he tackled him to the ground.



Empowered by justice... deranged grief... or nerd revenge from all the world, Bradley's skinny frame somehow managed to get Travis-the-jock into a headlock, and bounced him around for a while...



.... before flinging him up into the air, and knocking him defeated to the ground.

For a moment, Bradley was exhilerated with triumph, feeling as if one small vendetta had been served on account of Emerald: but he was wrong.



"What are you doing?!" Meredith came up behind Brad and tapped him on the shoulder, whipping him around to face her to face her own wrath. "Have you no respect for your best friend?! Or how about her parents, still over there grieving?! You either shut up or leave, before I drag you by your ear out of here myself, so help me!"



Bradley tried to explain, but Meredith wouldn't have it. "I'm so tired of you two fighting, Bradley. You'd think that the death of the one thing you had in common would bring you two together, but... You are impossible. I'm so, so disappointed, in both of you."

Wiping a small tear from her cheek, Meredith turned back to the grave to round up Jebidiah and Amelia to leave; it was time to leave the family to their own private mourning... Luckily, they'd been so absorbed that neither Oliver nor Holly seemed to notice the two boys dueling in the background.



As Meredith turned away, Bradley and Travis gave each other one last stare-down. There was no words to describe the sudden hatred that each felt for the other... The bitter rivalry that had begun a feud that may never end.

Their friendship had always been testy, but now, it was no more: it was a friendship that had died along with Emerald that cold, painful night.



As Bradley turned to leave, Jade appeared at Travis's side, and held him in her arms; why Travis cried, we may never know... For the loss of a friendship, for the pain of Emerald's death, as a response to everything he said... Maybe it was it all.




It was a horrible day, at the end of a horrible week; it marked the end of many things, for many people. It was the end of an innocent life, an end of a parents' tender care, and the end of a tenuous friendship...



... but, for others, it marked the beginning of something beautiful, rising from the ashes.



But, as beautiful as it may be, some loves cannot be matched.
Some loves can never die.

---

I found the love that I knew I would miss
But now she's gone, even though I hold her tight
I lost my love, my life that night.