I remember playing croquet in Brittany's front yard. We both thought we were awesome. We were pretty terrible. I remember camping in a tee-pee with 15 other Girl Scouts. I remember when we had to go to the bathroom, but it was dark and we were scared, so we ran together until we got to the lighted area. I remember her calling me crying because her dog had bitten her hand. He had bitten her a week before and her parents said if he did it again they were going to put him down. She didn't want to tell her parents because she didn't want to lose her dog. I convinced her to tell them, and they were able to keep the dog. I remember going to her birthday party and having that dog chase me onto the bed and bark at me. It really was a mean little dog. Brittany always had the worst luck. We were just getting to soccer practice one night when someone kicked the ball up in the air and it came down on her wrist, breaking it. She ended up breaking her wrist twice within a year.
I also remember the not so good times. The times she called me telling me she had messed up. We talked about it, and she resolved to fix things. I think she did, for a while. We lost touch sometime in high school. I saw her mom at the gym and she told me Brittany was pregnant. I got an invitation to her baby shower. She seemed like she was doing really well. I got to see a lot of people I hadn't seen in a long time. When I left Spring Hill, I didn't look back. But seeing all of them again reminded me of the times we all had secret notebooks in middle school, and the friendships we figured would last forever.
I tried to keep in touch, but we never did. I heard she was living with her boyfriend and son next to her parents. I don't think that lasted too long. That was the last I had heard of Brittany, until Mitch called me.
He told me what had happened. I really didn't believe it. I knew Brittany always struggled, but I never thought she would go off the deep end. I didn't know she was on drugs, or that she was a stripper. I was so sad for the man that she killed and his family. Her actions took a life. And what about her child? I know the father wasn't exactly in the picture. What happens to him? Brittany is going to be in prison for a very long time, if not the rest of her life.
What saddens me most is that no one could help her. I know people offered. I know a lot of people tried. But no one was ever able to get through to her. No one could get her to realize what she was doing to herself and to others. I look at these people who say she should rot in hell, sending virtual death threats over the internet, and I'm disappointed. Situations like this are a time to grieve and figure out what went wrong. Brittany was a good person. She made bad decisions and she dug herself into a hole that was deep for her to get out of. She refused help.
What these people don't understand is Brittany's background. She was a good kid who loved soccer and hanging out with her friends. We spent so much time at the beach, on the soccer field, and in girl scouts together. People don't know her family situation. People have speculated about it, but they don't understand. It was not a happy place. Out of respect, I won't go into details, but I can assure you it wasn't a positive environment. What always scared me was how everyone assumed it was. On the outside, it was a happy family. On the inside, it was turmoil, unfair punishment and a lot of anger.
I don't know what will become of Brittany. I'm so sad for what she has done, and I hope that this will at least get her clean. I know she will probably spend the rest of her life locked away, but I hope she realizes her mistakes and tries to do something about them. I miss the Brittany Miles I knew growing up. I miss spending hours at soccer games, sitting through band, and running around the school. I wish things could have turned out differently.
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