This Sunday it will be exactly 4 years since Jennifer died (4/20/4). Ms. Jen was my two friend's mother, who, I believe, kept the family together. She made sure everyone's coats were on right when snow was on the ground and she gave us popsicles during the summer months.
But then there was that one day in April, when the air was tense. I was only nine at the time of the incident. Erin, one of my friends from down the street, rode her bike towards me with this expression on her face that was out of this world. "Guess what Emily?!" She asked me. I answered back with a "What?" Erin hopped of her bike and started towards me. She grabbed my hand and ran to the corner. Then, she pointed to the maroon-bricked house down the streets. There were cop cars, detective cars, and there was even the Channel 4 Action News there! As we thought about what was happening down there, we helped our selves to ideas and thoughts. We stuck to the idea that they were on a show or they won something big.
I ran inside to tell me mom, she had already heard. But it wasn't what Erin and I thought it was. The Langs didn't win something and weren't on a game show. Mrs. Lang had died. I ran to my sister's room since her room’s window faced their house. Tears poured down my face as I sat waiting for my mom to come up and say false alarm. However, she never did. But I did run out of tears. So I just lied there and dreamed of Jennifer the day before when she told me to go get Chandler’s shoes.
My mom came into the room and asked me if I would like to go down there. I told her no, but I went any ways. I had to make sure Chase and Chandler were alright. I ran down the street and scooted passed the cars and trucks parked in the driveways. I ran through my best friend’s (who also happened to be the next door neighbor) front door and down the basement steps. I saw Chase sitting there on the couch across from Mollie. He was all shaken up and he didn’t even look up when I entered the room. Chandler on the other hand, was asking Mollie questions about when her mother was coming back home from the hospital. She was three then and she had no idea what was going on. I ran over to her and hugged her tight. I felt so horrible, that I hugged her to make me feel better more than her.
When I sat down on the couch next to Chase, he got up and ran up the stairs. Mollie and I ran after him, but he kept running. He ran across the lawn and into his room, locking the door behind him.
Chase and I aren’t friends anymore. He has changed a lot since then. Loosing his mom really devastated him. It not only changed the Lang’s life however, it also changed everyone around them. All the kids at that time basically made a choice to either go on Chase’s side or Chandler’s. You couldn’t be on both. Kind of like the Union and the Confederates. But this war hasn’t ended yet.