Maria, Shane and I pushed past Mark, but the sight of Shelly made me wish I hadn’t.

I grew up with Shelly even though she was a few years older than me. We often got into trouble but Shelly was always there to protect me. I always looked up to Shelly, moving in with her felt like being united with my older sister.

I met Shane at university and immediately liked him. I always felt safe around him, he was very protective of me. My only worry came when I introduced him to Shelly. I thought they would get along well, but instead they were really nervous around each other. Maybe there was history there.

Staring at Shelly’s body paralysed me. There was blood everywhere, her clothes, the carpet, her hair. But despite all the blood she looked peaceful. She lay naturally, her face was clean and her eyes were shut.

Mark stepped in front of me and put two reassuring hands on my shoulders. “Are you alright?” he asked. I didn’t know what to say but out of the corner of my eye I spotted Grant. Shane pushed him back and followed him into the hallway. Mark was quickly off to calm the two down which left me looking at Shelly.

Was I alright? The question wasn’t comforting anymore, it was haunting. As I knelt at her side all I could think was that without Shelly I’m lost. She provided light in my life and was always on for a laugh. I would never feel the guidance from my guardian angel again.

I heard a rush of footsteps behind me and turned to see Maria enter with a phone to her ear. She looked for Mark, to answer I looked at the hallway. But my eyes soon returned to Shelly.

How precious she looked, so calm and beautiful. I gently picked up her hand, unblemished by blood it was soft, firm and warm. I clasped it to my chest and cried…