Texting While Driving

This is my friend's story. It will be told through first person point of view so as to keep her anonymous, upon her own wishes.

"Don't you get it? Your boyfriend is cheating on you!" I shouted at Stacy.
"No he's not! You're just jealous because he loves me and not you!" Stacy retorted.
I tried to control my anger, but it wasn't working. "I saw him sucking the face off of some other girl. Would you really deny an eye witness? Would you really deny your own friend?"
Stacy remained silent.
"I'm telling you this because I don't want you to get hurt. You can do so much better than him, and, as your friend, I-"
"You're not my friend," Stacy hissed. "So stop trying to make up to me and just get out of my life!"
I watched helplessly and heartbroken as my best friend, practically my sister, walked away. Little did I know that I would never be seeing her again.

The doorbell rang, and I went to answer it. It was the day after Stacy and I had fought. I was still smarting from her calling off our friendship.
In the doorway stood Stacy's mom with tears in her eyes.
"What's wrong?" I asked, fear suddenly rising in my chest.
"It's....it's Stacy," she sobbed. "She's.....she's dead."

Three days later, a woman from the news crew sat in my living room, across the coffee table from me. "Do you know exactly what happened to Stacy?" she asked me.
"I.....I don't," I said, already fighting back tears. "All I know is that we had a fight before she got into her car accident, and she was texting while driving, which resulted in her....death."
"I'm so sorry to hear that," the woman said. "Can you tell us what the fight was about?"
I tried to ignore the cameras trained on me. "I had caught her boyfriend cheating on her, and I was trying to warn her about him. I guess we both overreacted; I appeared jealous of her, though I wasn't, and she got mad at me for the false jealousy. She said she didn't want to be friends with me anymore, but...but......" I couldn't stop the tears from pouring over this time.
"But what?" the woman asked gently.
"The......her last text message," I whispered.
"What did the text message say?"
I looked at the hands folded in my lap. They were shaking. My whole body was. I couldn't stop the sobs as they came on once more, and have been for the past three days. I will never get over what happened that day. Never.
"Her last text message...." I hesitated, my voice barely recognizable through my crying and tears. I took a shuddering breath, then tried again.
"Her last text message said 'I'm sorry.'"

If you don't get what the last line meant, it means that her friend was sorry. Sorry that she didn't believe her. Sorry that she fought with her. Sorry that she didn't get to say good-bye. My friend and Stacy were never able to make up and become the friends that they were before this. No matter what happens, like if you have a fight with your friend or if your boyfriend/girlfriend texts you, it can wait. It can always wait. Like Stacy, she didn't wait to see her best friend in person and apologize then. She had to get her phone out and send the message to girl she hurt so much. Was it worth it? No. It resulted in a broken neck from being flung out the passenger side door when the car went straight off the road and into a ditch. Stacy's death was quick and painless, but how much do you want to bet that the last thought of hers was that she was sorry? That she was sorry for not listening? That she was sorry...she couldn't say good-bye?
Years have passed, and my friend still isn't better. She's still suffering. She's going through mental trauma, though better than before, but suffering nonetheless. Is that message worth it? Is one message really worth the life of one and the alteration of numerous others?
The answer is no.
And it will always be that way.