Memories

I remember you.

I remember when I first met you, not gonna lie, I thought you were kinda cute.

I remember Sunday game at William’s house and that one verbal argument you got into with Chuck when we were playing Star Wars or D&D or whatever. You always were kind of a hot head, but I got used to it and found it to be one of your quirks that I came to love after a while.

I remember all the weekends at Tonya & Larry’s LARP and how much it sucked. And all the old World of Darkness tabletop games; you introduced me to Demon: The Fallen and you were very passionate about the setting and the story.

I remember when we went to the midnight launch for Halo 2 at GameStop and had pizza in line while we waited. You were so mad because I was going to start playing as soon as you dropped me off at home, but you had work the next morning and couldn’t stay up.

I remember when we went through Borderlands in co-op and how we were both disappointed at the ending.

I remember when we went through Resident Evil 5 co-op and how much I hated that game by the end but you wanted to keep playing.

I remember all the times you slept on my couch when you and Millie were at odds and it looked like you were going to break up. I also remember making you eat during all that even though you didn’t want to do anything.

I remember when my heart sank a little when you left for basic.

I remember when my heart broke when I heard you’d been in an accident overseas.

I remember when my heart died when I heard you were in the hospital in Germany on life support.

I remember feeling empty inside and numb and just tuning out everything as Ron was explaining everything to me in his car that night I was told you’d been taken off life support.

I remember working the night before your funeral because I didn’t want to be home and I needed a distraction.

I remember the walk with our friends up the hill to the plot; seeing some old and familiar faces. Ghosts.

I remember your unit calling roll at the grave, but no answer when your name was called. The silence was deafening.

I remember offering my condolences to your parents even though I’m sure your mom didn’t remember me because it had been a while since I had seen her. Your best friend Troy was there too; I could tell he was hurting but he put on a brave face for all of us.

I remember everything about the time we got to share, all the fun and all the laughs, all the food, all the LAN parties at my old apartment. But most of all, I remember that you were my friend. I miss you buddy.