Doesn’t really match the prompt.

⚠️WARNING: Mentions of suicide and depression.

This one’s really sad, sorry guys.

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“I was just trying to be what you wanted.”

“She wrote that? And addressed it to Penny?” I asked Jay, Penny’s brother.

Their little sister, Lilly, had killed herself a week ago, leaving behind a note for Penny.

Jay nodded sadly. “It absolutely ripped Penny apart. She’s like an entirely different person now. So different that it’s scary.”

He sounded defeated. His eyes were rimmed with red, showing that he was still mourning his sibling.

I hugged him. Jay was like a brother to me, I could always go to him for help. But now he looked so lost…

“Can I see Penny?” I asked as I stepped away.

Jay inhaled sharply and wouldn’t look me in the eye, finding the floor more interesting.

“You… you don’t want to see her like this Ris. She’s…” He struggled to find the right words, “changed… a lot.”

“Please Jay. I need to see her.” I pleaded.

He bit his lip and looked at me anxiously. After a second he sighed and closed his eyes. “Alright. I’ll take you to her room.”

We walked upstairs to where I knew Penny’s room was. We’d been best friends for years.

I could see Jay get more tense the closer we got until finally, we were in front of her door.

“Are you sure?” He asked me. His eyes begged me to say no and leave, but I couldn’t.

I nodded, not trusting my voice after seeing his helpless, begging expression.

Jay took a deep breath and knocked on Penny’s door. There was no reply so he knocked again.

Just as he was about to knock a third time, the handle turned and he pulled his hand away. The door opened and I gasped.

Penny was thin and sickly pale, her skin looking blotchy. Her once smiling, friendly face was sunken and sallow. Her movements were slow and choppy, like she wasn’t quite sure how to move anymore.

And her eyes… her eyes terrified me.

Her eyes that used to light up when she was happy, that were always bright with mischief, that were always alert and observant, that were always scrunched up with her smiles, that were so full of spirit… they were dead.

Her eyes were empty, there was no light, no energy, no spirit left within them. They were dull and unfocused, surrounded by tired shadows.

I stumbled back, tripping over myself in shock. Jay caught me and helped me back up, but he didn’t let go of my arm.

“Penny,” he said, his voice breaking, “Marissa’s here to see you.”

Penny blinked a few times before opening her eyes and focusing on me. I could see the recognition in her face, and it almost gave me hope.

But then, she gave me the weakest smile I’d ever seen from her. Her eyes didn’t crinkle, her cheeks didn’t dimple.

In that moment, she looked so exhausted and lifeless. More exhausted than when she stayed up for two days straight during exams… more lifeless than her sister’s corpse.

And then her eyes unfocused again, she let out a soft sigh, and she was gone.

I stared at her door in shock for a few seconds and then turned around and buried my face in Jay’s chest, sobbing.

He hadn’t just lost one sister, he’d lost both.