"I'll miss you!" I called to my best friend, Hayley, as she left for her trip to Minnesota. She turned around one last time and waved to me.

"Bye Cindy!" she called "I'll see you in two weeks! Best friends forever?"

"And ever! Bye Hayley!" I said one last time before she climbed into her car and they left. I sighed and began to walk up to my apartment. I had lived in the apartment above Hayley for as long as I could remember. We were always using morse code to communicate late at night, it was awesome.

"Mooooooom!" I groaned, dropping myself into a kitchen chair "I'm bored!!" My mom turned away from the stove and laughed.

"Cindy!" she said with a grin "Hayley's been gone for two minutes and you're already bored?" I nodded and my mom laughed again.

"Go play with your little sister!" she told me and turned back to making lunch.

"No mom!" I complained "All she wants to do is play with her Barbies!" I waited for my mom to reply, but she obviously had said the last word on the subject. So, out of complete boredom, I went to play with my sister.

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For the next three days I played with my little sister. On the fourth night I was reading in bed, and I heard a series of thumps coming from the floor below. It was morse code for Come down.

But Hayley isn't supposed to be back for another ten days! I said to myself. I should've known something was up, but I put on my slippers and grabbed a flashlight, and headed down to Hayley's apartment. The door was locked tight so I knocked as quietly as I could until Hayley opened the door.

"Hayley? What's wrong?" I asked. She didn't answer, but grabbed my wrist with a tight, cold hand and pulled me into her apartment.

"Are you sick?" I asked in surprise, seeing her pale face and dull eyes "Is that why you came home?"

"Best friends forever Cindy" she said in a rough, gravelly voice.

"You really do sound sick" I told her "You should get to bed." Hayley gripped my wrist even tighter.

"Cindy, you're my best friend... forever" she said again.

"Yeah, I am Hayley" I said suspiciously. She was really starting to scare me now. Hayley's eyes grew wide and she began pulling me toward the kitchen.

"Best friends... forever, best friends... forever" she chanted.

"Not if you're gunna act like this!" I shrieked, and managed to tear away from Hayley. I ran out the door, slamming it on my way out, and up to my apartment.

"Mom! Mom!" I cried, tears streaming down my face. She woke up, her eyes very tired.

"What Cindy? What is it?" she asked in a slightly angry tone.

"Hayley told me to come downstairs... and, and I did, but then she was acting all weird" I moaned "She was saying 'Best friends forever' and I'm really scared mom." My mom sighed and rubbed one of her eyes.

"Are you sure you didn't have a nightmare?" she asked. When I nodded, she went on.

"I wasn't going to tell you this until tomorrow, but Hayley's whole family died in a car crash last night."