The dark splotches on my passenger seat glared at me. They blamed me. Of course they would; someone had to. But she wouldn’t have. No, she just sat there with a smile plastered to her face. A frozen smile.

“ Ashlynnnnnnnnnnnnn!” My voice rang into the echoing upper levels of our house. I winced at the sharp noise bouncing back and balanced my box of clothes on my hip. The moving process was almost over and all our clothes had finally been washed and packed away. The white walls reminded me of an asylum.
“Yes, Belle?” Ashylnn squeaked as she peeked around the corner with a sock monkey around her shoulders. I looked down at her tiny frame and smiled at the overalls she wore. After all, they used to be mine.
“I got a plan.” I dangled the words temptingly in a singsong voice. Her soft brown eyes perked up and she bounced excitedly, her short blonde bangs jumped wildly. “How about you come shopping with me? I promise to take you to the First Street Toy Store on the way.” I continued.
“Yes, yes, oh yes yes yes Sissy!” Ashlynn’s bouncing increased and she bolted down the stairs shrieking our plan to Mom and Dad. I followed after her, carefully peering around the cardboard box to avoid tumbling down the steps. My iPhone in its purple case buzzed angrily in my pocket. Laying the box in the back of the truck, I slid the bar to answer.
“Hey, what’s up Belle? Listen, remember that guy in our AG class? Super cute eyes, always wears boots? C’mon you know him!” I listened patiently to Maxine’s hyper voice through the crackling phone connection.
“Yes, yes I know him. No, you did not! Max, what were you thinking? I don’t want to seem pushy!” My panic rose as she described how he had confessed his love for me. The story ended with the horror of my number being somewhere in his phone.
“You’ll pay for this later, Max. I gotta go, I’m taking Ash to the store. Yes, I love you, too. Bye.” I hung up and turned to find Ashlynn struggling into the front seat of my red Camry. Glancing around, I found Mom in the kitchen window packing up our last dinner plates. Judging by the noise, Dad was in the garage. Turning back to the car, I stepped over our lawn, grass crunching underfoot. Reaching the driver’s side, I sat beside my younger sister.
“Little Britches, you know the drill. Backseat Missy.”
“But you said this was a plan. Plans mean that we gotta stick close together. This is our day, Sissy.” She said quietly as she gazed at me with those pleading brown eyes. I frowned at her playfully, then winked and started the engine. She let out another squeal of delight as we drove off, strapped into the car like it was our spaceship. Our journey together began.
Traffic was mild. Almost no cars were at any of the intersections. Ashlynn chattered about what her new room would look like, snuggling the sock monkey all the while. My mind could barely catch her words, my thoughts preoccuppied with Maxine’s previous call and Ashlynn’s speech too swift.
My phone buzzing gently jerked me out of the daze. One hand still on the steering wheel, Ashlynn still talking nonstop, I dug the technology out of my jean pocket. It buzzed again as it was in my fingers, causing me to look down for a moment.
My hand was swiped clear off of the steering wheel. Ashlynn screamed. The iPhone whirled up, cracking the windshield. Our little red Camry spun viciously through the intersection, one side completely crushed. My car door ended the ordeal by slamming into a telephone pole on First Street. The pickup truck we had collided with sat in the center of the intersection with the hood crunched up.
Picking my aching head up off of my shattered window, I groaned and glanced to the other side of the car. Ashlynn lay perfectly still, her head lolled limply toward me. The sock monkey lay on my lap, thrown there. A tiny half smile was sewn onto her face, a tear was even half out of her eye, but the breath of life had left her.
A sharp wail became my song, filling the air around me to the sound of the sirens. It seemed like hours before I dared to look down. A text was lighting up my cracked phone screen. Hey, it’s David from your class. Wanna hang out today? I kicked at the phone and looked out the window with tears spilling from my eyes. We had collided with the telephone pole outside of a small colorful shop. It was First Street Toy Store.

When the memories assault was over, I beheld those stains with repentance. “I’m sorry, Ash.” I sniffled. Picking up my old cracked iPhone, I stepped out of the car and placed it among the other cell phones and “Please Don’t Text and Drive, Remember Ashlynn” posters. As I drove home in the remodeled car, I drove home with the guilt. I drove home with the stains. I drove home without Ashlynn.