Â
first love, last love By Nicole Maza
ONE My name is Katherine. I’m 15 years old. My birthday is on July 15th, which is two months from now. I live with my dad and my two sisters. I’ve always loved to spend time with my family. We’re really close to each other. I always tell them everything about my life. They don’t judge me, and they accept me as I am. I’m really grateful for that. I wouldn’t know what to do or where would I be without them. I was 10 when my mom passed away. Cancer. When I was little, my mom used to read lots of stories to me. Princesses stories, I love them! My mom said I looked like Rapunzel. I don’t. I just have really long hair. My mom loved to brush it, and to do all kinds of hairstyles on me. She was the most beautiful person you could imagine. She taught me lots of things. But most importantly, she taught me to do everything I do, with love. I miss her a lot, we all do. I miss talking with her about everything. There is a lot going on, and I know she would know what to do. I miss her brushing my hair, I miss her voice. Everything. She was my best friend. And nothing has been the same without her. That’s why as a family we have to stick together now, more than ever. My sisters and dad are the most important things to me.
I have a boyfriend. His name is Riley, and he is the best thing that has happened to me ever since my mom passed. We first met when we were 13. My dad has these friends, and they invited him and my sisters to a weekend at the beach. At first, my dad did not want to go, but his friend Joe convinced him otherwise. My dad did not want to go because Mom loved going to the beach. It was her favorite place to go, and she made us love to go too. This was the first time since she died that we went there. That’s why dad didn’t want to go at first. He made excuses like “I have too much work to do,” but I knew the real reason. Joe thought it would be good for us to spend time with people that love us. I agreed. Mom loved that place, and she would have wanted us to keep loving it, although she was gone. So we went.
Anyway, I met my boyfriend there. It was the afternoon, we had just arrived at the hotel we were staying in, so I still didn’t know some people, just my dad’s closest
friends. I wanted to see the sunset. I was feeling a little down, and I knew watching the sunset would make me feel better. I went to the beach and sat there to wait. It was beautiful, hearing the ocean waves and feeling the warm breeze on my face and my hair. Suddenly, memories started coming back to me. I started hearing my mom laughing. She had the sweetest laugh. Tears started to stream down my face, but somehow I managed to smile. Those were happy memories after all, and being there made me feel my mother a little closer to me. I was thinking about this, so focused and distracted when I felt someone tap on my shoulder. I screamed so loud. I turned around and saw him..
“Are you okay?”
He had the most innocent look in his eyes I have ever seen in my life, like he had no clue about anything. Fragile, like any minute he could break into pieces. I knew at first sight he would never hurt me. I calmed down, but couldn’t say anything.
“Why are you crying? Can I help?”
I completely forgot that just a few moments ago I was feeling that way. He made me forget about it in less than 3 seconds. My God, I was so ashamed. I was just staring at him with tears on my face. I couldn’t seem to get a word out of my mouth. There was also the fact that he was the most gorgeous human being I had ever seen in my life. I was completely mesmerized standing there like an idiot. I didn’t know what to do.
“Um… uh… Sorry!”
I felt my face burning, going completely red, and not because it was hot. I said that and ran away as fast as I could. I was so stupid. I thought he would totally think I was a freak. When I got to the hotel I started unpacking my stuff and organizing it. I couldn’t stop thinking about that boy. I should have said something. Then, my dad told me and my sisters that everyone was having dinner at a restaurant nearby. I got
ready and we got on our way. We arrived. I really liked these people. I had known them for a long time and they were really funny. I was glad to be there. There was a table for the adults and another one for the kids and teenagers. I sat there with my sisters and the others. One of my friends, Veronica, told me there were some people that would come that night. That they were some friends of her parents. I was excited, the more the merrier, and we would have the best weekend ever.
“There they come,” Veronica said.
I turned around, and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. He was there. The boy at the beach.
“Look!” Veronica pointed.
“Their oldest son is a total cutie, isn’t he?”
I could not believe this. I was so mortified. How could I look him in the eyes when I had completely made myself a fool in front of him?
“No. Way,” I said.
I told Veronica and my sisters what had happened that afternoon. They started laughing so hard. I noticed he sat with his parents at the adult table. He was new, so he didn’t know there was such a thing as the adults’ table and the kids’ table. I thought that was good for me. I thought maybe I could avoid him all weekend and never see him ever again. Little did I know, that wasn’t the case at all.
Dinner was fine. I had a great time with my sisters and my friends. The best part of it was that I didn’t have to confront him. We went to our hotel room and slept. The next day, me and my sisters decided to go to the ocean and see if any seashells or sea animals were there. By that time I had already forgotten about the whole situation with this boy. I was calm, just focusing on finding sea shells. Then I saw
him, but he didn’t see me. I couldn’t help but to stare at him. He was just looking at the ocean. So calm, so innocent. He seemed so focused. Then, I don’t know why, I started walking towards him. I didn’t even think about it. It was just like my feet and legs made the decision to walk without asking for my permission. And all of the sudden I was there, beside him.
“Hi.”
My voice came out really softly, really weird. My voice is normally deep. I didn’t know why it came out that way. I wasn’t in control of my body.
“Hey!”
Why was he sooo gorgeous? And so calm? Like I was dying inside and he was just there, smiling with his perfect teeth and his perfect lips. It was almost annoying to see how perfect he was. He looked like he had been photoshopped or something. And I was doing the same thing I did when I first saw him. I just stood there, wanting to say something, but I just could not get the words out of my mouth. I breathed and finally talked.
“So um… I’m sorry for running away yesterday. I was just really focused on something, and you scared me a little bit. I promise you, I’m not a freak.”
Finally, I said something okay and acted normally in front of this boy.
“Don’t worry, I’m sorry I scared you. You just seemed out of it, and I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
Even his voice was perfect. It somehow made me feel comfortable. If I had met me that way, I would have been completely creeped out. I didn’t understand why he hadn’t run away from me or how and why was he even being kind to me.
I didn’t notice, but I was smiling. Like I said, this boy made my body just react by itself without asking me if it was okay. I wanted to establish some sort of conversation with him. I wanted to know all about him. I didn’t even know his name yet, but I also wanted to tell him everything about me. I just knew I could trust him. I sat beside him, and we started talking. I liked him a lot. His name is Riley. He was the sweetest man I have ever known besides my dad. I turned around for a moment to watch the waves, and when I turned back to see him, he grabbed my face and kissed me. I know, we hadn’t even been on a date. But as I said, it just felt right. I felt like he completed me. I think he felt the same way. To be honest, I didn’t know what I was doing or what I was feeling. I had never had a boyfriend before, so I didn’t know if I was going too fast. I just knew I was falling for him.
TWO The rest of the weekend was magical. We had a lot of fun with everyone. No one knew about us yet. Mainly because I didn’t know if there was an “us” at all. Still, we spent most of the time with the whole group together. But at night, when everybody else had fallen asleep, we would go to the beach and hang out. I think that weekend was one of my happiest moments in life, because I got to spend time with my family in one of my favorites places on earth. I also met the love of my life, and who I thought was my soulmate. I didn’t ever want to leave.
After that trip, it seemed like my family and I had healed a lot more. My dad was a lot happier. Almost, like he used to be when my mom was alive. When my mom had just passed away, he was really depressed. He pretended like he was okay, but you could see in his eyes that he was not. I think he pretended, because he didn’t want us to feel worse than we were already feeling. He was the most selfless man on earth. We didn’t acknowledge the fact that she was dead. It was like all of us were dead inside too.
Years passed and time healed us almost completely. As I was saying, that trip to the beach really helped us heal even more. My dad was smiling almost everyday and taking us to the mall, to the movies and all those places. We also hung out with his friends a lot more. Riley asked me out, and we went on a few dates. He was perfect. Eventually, he asked me to become his girlfriend. Obviously, I said yes! I fell for him easily and fast. At first, my dad was not too happy with me having a boyfriend. He was really protective of us because he could not live with himself if something bad happened to us. But above all, he wanted me to be happy. He gave Riley a chance. And after he got to know him, he realized he was good for me. Now, they are even friends. And my sisters also love him. It’s like now, he is part of the family. That’s all dad wanted for me and my sisters. He wanted us to be happy.
It’s been 2 years now, and everyday I love him more and more, if that’s even possible. I was convinced he was my soulmate and someday we would get married, have beautiful children and grow old together.
I woke up and realized it was still early. Since I had a lot of time to get prepared for school and only I was awake, I decided to take a warm and relaxing bath. Today I woke up in a really good mood. My life was in a good place. I texted Riley good morning. We attend different schools, which I think, is a good and bad thing. It’s good because we can focus on school and spend time with friends, but it is bad because I don’t get to see him everyday. Riley is a very good student. He is really smart, and he is passionate about helping others. He wants to be a doctor. Me on the other hand, not that good. I’m not a bad student, but I’m not the greatest.
I got ready, and I made breakfast for my dad and sisters. Pancakes, that’s about all I can make. I don’t know how to cook, but I can make the essentials. Also, I wanted to do something nice for dad. He always makes sure we are ready and eat before we go to school, go to work, and helps my little sister with her homework. So why not show a little act of gratefulness? I woke my sisters up, and told them to get ready. When my dad woke up, the three of us were ready and waiting for him to have breakfast with us.
“Oh god, thanks honey, you didn’t have to do this.” My dad smiled at me with a confused face.
“I know, I wanted to,” I told him.
I love making my dad happy and giving him a reason to smile. I like to make everyone smile. The thought of giving people a reason to be happy, especially when they are going through something bad or are sad, is very special. I think it’s one of the best feelings in the world.
Our school is pretty close to our neighborhood. It takes about 15 minutes to get there by bike. But my best friend always gives me a ride in the morning. It’s kind of dumb, but she insists we arrive to school together everyday. That’s just her. She has a lot of terrible ideas, but you don’t want to have an argument with Hayley, because you’re never going to win. She can argue all day with you, even if she’s not right. Her personality is a little rough. But when you really get to know her like I do, you notice deep inside she is the sweetest. She has been through a lot. Her parents got a divorce because her dad had an addiction problem.
Hayley’s mom did
everything she could. She put him in rehab twice, but it just didn’t work out for him. Hayley’s mother couldn’t take it anymore. After the divorce, she was depressed. Hayley never saw her dad ever again. It was a really hard time for them. I think that is why she can be hard sometimes. Now her mom is in a good place though. Every now and then, Hayley wonders why her dad didn’t fight more for them. I can tell when she is thinking about him, just by looking at her face. So I try to make her feel better.
I’ve known Hayley my whole life. We met when we were just babies, 2 years old. We lived in the same neighborhood, but my family and I moved out when mom died. She was there for me when it happened. She has been there for me always, and I love her like she is one of my sisters. Hayley is one of the best things I have in my life. Hayley picks me up around 7:05, because although we don’t live in the same neighborhood anymore, my house is still pretty closen the . So on the way, she picks me up to go to school, It’s perfect.
As usual, Haley texted me and said she was outside my house. I kissed my dad and sisters goodbye.
“Good morning! Wow, you look really pretty today.” Hayley looked at me with that big smile she always has on. I actually did make an effort today. Like I said, I woke up in a really good mood, and I was feeling pretty good about myself. So, I put on a cute short dress with a white crop top underneath, black short boots, and I put on a natural makeup look.
“Hi! Thank you! You also look really pretty.” She really did. All the time. Hayley is one of those girls that just wakes up and literally looks perfect. Hayley also has a great sense of style. I love it. Actually, I learned a lot from her. When we go shopping together, she shows me the stores with the best clothes and cheapest prices.
Today was a good day. My mom always used to say that if you had a good attitude, everything would be okay. And she was right. I understood everything in my classes, and I didn’t have any homework. At lunchtime, I met with Hayley, Jules, and Nate. Jules and Nate are my other best friends. I met Jules at school. She moved here when she was 11. She was in my English class. At first, we hated each other. I don’t really remember why. But one time, this boy was picking his nose. Jules and I were the only ones who noticed. I saw her looking at him. Then she looked at me, and we laughed together. We’ve been really close since then. I was with Hayley when we met Nate. We were in the library, he came up to us.
“Excuse me ladies, do any of you happen to know if Tyler has a boyfriend?”
I know, weird question to ask two people you don’t know, but that’s Nate. He has a lot of confidence, and that is what I most admire about him. Since then, we introduced him to Jules, and now the four of us are besties. I really love them. They’re all awesome and the kindest people I know on earth.
“So Hayley, how are the birthday plans going?” Jules asked me.
My birthday is in one month. I’m turning 16 years old.
I'm very excited
because I’m throwing a party in my house. And when the clock hits midnight, I will know officially that Riley is my soulmate. I already know it for sure, but as I said it will be official. The first words Riley ever said to me “Are you okay?” will appear on my left wrist. It will be a magical night. Maybe one of the most important nights of my life, so it has to be perfect. I was late on the preparations. I really wanted everything to be just perfect. I had a lot of ideas for the theme of the party, but none of them
seemed to be good enough. I was really stressing out about that. Jules opened my eyes. I had to figure it out today.
Since I had no schoolwork, I texted Riley and asked him if I could come over for a while. I missed him, and wanted his opinions and ideas about the party. He said that he was working on a school project with one of his classmates, but that he would finish in about an hour or two, and then he could come. Riley’s house was 30 minutes from school. I called my dad and told him that I had no homework, so that I would go to Riley’s house for the afternoon, but that I would be home by dinner. He said it was okay. I grabbed the next bus. When I arrived, Riley said he was almost finished, but he needed a little more time. I didn’t know what to do, then I started thinking about mom. The cementery she was in, was really close to Riley’s house, so I decided to visit her. I bought her flowers and sat with her. I told her about my birthday ideas. I told her I loved her, and I also told her that I missed her everyday. I know if she was here, she would have already helped me plan everything out. I started to tear up a little when Riley called me and told me he was ready.
I knocked on the door and he opened it. I was feeling a little down because I had been thinking about mom, but immediately after I saw him, I suddenly felt everything was okay. He hugged me and kissed my head. He knew exactly what I needed before I even knew. I came inside his house and said hello to his mom. She asked me if I wanted to eat. I politely told her I had already eaten at school. I think Riley’s mom really likes me. Don’t get me wrong, she loves her son more than she loves her own life. He is her only son, but she also had always wanted a daughter. Sometimes we had really nice conversations. She is great.
Even though Riley only lives with her mom, dad, and cats, their house is pretty big, and it’s beautiful. We went down to Riley’s room. His room is the basement. It’s really big and spacious. I offered to help with some of his homework, but he wouldn't let me. He had already finished the project, but he had to finish writing an essay too. While he wrote, I waited and watched Netflix. Riley finished fast. It just took him like 20 minutes. He asked me to read the essay, and tell him if I
thought it was okay. His writing was amazing. He is so smart, I loved the essay. I told him it was perfect. He sent it, closed the computer and we cuddled together. He fell asleep on my chest. I didn’t want to wake him up, and I wasn’t tired either, so I texted Hayley. She was also helping me with the birthday preparations. She suggested that I make the party without a theme, which kind of made sense. It would take a lot of pressure off me, but I really wanted it to be special. My dad told me that an 80’s theme would be amazing. I agreed. But also Nate had this great idea to make it a “neon party”. I think his, was the best idea so far. I just had to ask Riley his opinion before making the final decision.
It was getting late, and I had to be home for dinner. Riley was still asleep. Poor thing, he must have been very exhausted. Maybe today wasn’t the best day to come visit him. I got up trying my best not to wake him up. I succeeded. I grabbed a post it and pen from his desk, and wrote a message:
“I didn’t want to wake you up. I love you. Sweet dreams.”
Then I carefully put it on his head. He doesn’t pay attention to his surroundings, so I put it there to make sure he would read it. I went upstairs, told his mom goodbye, and got on my way back home.
THREE I realized I was being a little selfish. Riley was tired, fed up with a lot of stuff about school. And there I was, asking him about a theme for my stupid birthday party. So, I decided to stop bothering him with this and decided for myself. When I got home, I had dinner in my room because I got there pretty late and my dad and sisters had already eaten. As I was eating, I got really stressed because this party was really important to me, and I just wanted it to be perfect so badly. If it was any other year, I wouldn’t have cared much, and I would have even picked any theme or had made a big deal about it. I was thinking about all this when my sister Alex came in.
“Hi, what’s wrong?”
Pretty much anyone can tell exactly how I’m feeling by just looking at my face. I make all kinds of expressions. It's one of the things I hate about myself. I can not control what my face does. It is a blessing and a curse. When I’m happy I smile a lot, and I really like my smile, but when I don’t like something, someone, or I just feel a negative emotion at all, oh boy! And I just can’t help it. I make the ugliest expressions, and it emarrasses me.
“Hey! I’m just a little stressed, that’s all.”
I didn’t want to bother anyone else with this. Like I said, I wanted to figure it out myself.
“Oh my god. Is it Riley? What did you do?”
Alex loves Riley. She loves him maybe more than she loves me. It’s not like she has a crush on him or anything like that. She just admires him and thinks of him as a friend. I think it’s really cute.
“What? No. It’s just... I don’t know.”
I hoped she would just leave me alone and head back to her room, but I knew she wouldn’t let it go. You could say Alex is a persevering woman. I decided to tell her.
“You know my birthday is coming and it’s a really big deal for me. I just have like three weeks to plan the whole thing, and I don’t have anything ready. I don’t even have a theme yet.”
Boy, did saying it out loud help! I laid down in my bed.
“Well, does it necessarily have to have a theme?” Alex laid beside me.
“Really? Wouldn’t that be kind of boring?” I asked, questioning her comment.
“Not at all! You could really just send people a dress code or something. That way it’s up to one’s creativity. And you wouldn’t have to spend too much on the decorations. It’s simpler and cheaper, but not boring,” my wise sister said pretty firmly.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. What do you have in mind?”
I knew she was already thinking about something specific because she was staring directly at the wall, without blinking. She only stares directly at something when she is focused.
“What about wild, extravagant makeup and outfits?”
Kind of like in Euphoria. Euphoria is a TV show that Alex likes. I like it too. And I loved the idea.
“It’s perfect! Thank you Alex!” I got all excited and hugged her.
“Can you please please help me plan everything else?” I asked. Alex was much more creative than me.
“Well sure!”
I got all excited and hugged her. Then, I just couldn’t shut up about it. We talked about the whole thing. Alex always had the craziest, most spontaneous ideas, but the best ones. She is the one that kept the family interesting. I really wanted to plan the party without anyone else’s help. But then I figured, if I really wanted it to be perfect and unique, Alex would be perfect to help me carry my plan out. I don’t know why I hadn’t thought about it before. I mean, come on, I love my dad and Riley a lot, but they had no idea about party stuff. Anyway, I was so excited I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I kept talking to Alex, then I turned around and realized she had fallen asleep. I figured it was time I sleep too. I had school tomorrow. I put on my pajamas, brushed my teeth, and went to sleep beside Alex.
It was Monday, my birthday party was that Friday. I think that my actual birthday being Friday was the most perfect thing. That’s part of why I was so excited about it. I woke up feeling really bad. I got up and felt really dizzy, I had a really bad headache, and I noticed my alarm didn’t go off. I guess my dad heard me getting up because he came inside my room.
“God, you look awful. Are you okay?” My dad can be really blunt, but he means well. I hadn’t seen myself in the mirror yet, but by the look on my father's face I was guessing it was really bad.
“I don’t know, I have this really bad headache, and I feel dizzy.” My dad proceeded to feel my forehead to see if I had a fever or something.
“Oh my god, you’re burning. You can’t go to school like this. You’re staying home.” I was barely listening to what he was saying. I felt really really bad. My dad gave me some medicine and a hot chicken soup. I wasn’t hungry at all, but I drank most of it. Then my dad left, and I immediately fell asleep.
I woke up feeling a lot better. I wasn’t dizzy, and I didn’t have a headache anymore. I was now coughing, and my throat was hurting too. I looked at my phone. It was 1pm. I had like a million texts and missed calls from Haley and Riley. I remembered I hadn’t even looked at my phone when I woke up. I called Riley because I knew it was his lunch time at school.
“Are you okay? Why weren’t you picking up? Did something happen?”
Riley worries a lot. I think he’s paranoid. I don’t mean in this situation. This was my fault because I didn’t answer all day long, and he probably called Haley to see if I was at school. Just in general, he worries a lot.
“I’m fine, I’m sorry. I woke up with this really bad headache, and I was dizzy, and now my throat hurts. I didn’t go to school. I’m really sorry I didn’t pick up. I just felt horrible.”
“It’s okay. I was just really worried because I called Hayley, and she said you weren’t at school. And I called your dad, but I know he’s at work and didn’t pick up either. Hey listen, as soon as I’m done here, I will get there and be with you for a while. ”
He’s always taking care of me and making me feel safe, I really love this boy. He was already making me feel better, but I didn’t want him to worry. He probably had a lot of homework to do, and I know he gets stressed easily.
“No it’s okay. I’m fine, I promise. It’s just probably a bad cold and my dad will take care of me.” I knew he would insist and come anyways. I just wanted him to know that it was okay if he couldn’t make it.
“No, forget it. I’m coming. I miss you, and I don’t have a lot of homework anyway.”
“Okay, let me know when you’re on your way here. I love you,” I told him softly.
“I love you too, bye!” He said in such a romantic and calm way.
I felt really gross. I hadn’t got up all day, so I got up to go to the bathroom to take a shower. I looked in the mirror, and my dad was right. I looked terrible. I was really pale and my under eyes were really bad. I was really cold, so after I showered I just put on a set of warm pajamas. It was 1:40, so Riley would be out in about 20 minutes. I wanted to be awake, but I felt really bad again and fell asleep.
When I woke up, Riley was there lying next to me. He was playing with my hair. I love it when he does that.
“Hi there, you’re finally awake. It’s 4 in the afternoon,” Riley said.
“Oh my god. I practically slept all day.” I noticed my voice was almost gone. I sounded dead.
“Wow, you’re really sick. Come on, your dad told me to give you this.” He gave me a tea and some pills.
Then we just cuddled and watched movies. Zombie movies. Riley loves them and wanted me to love them too. They didn’t bother me, but I didn’t like them either. Some of them are better than the others. The one we were watching was not it. I just
wanted to just fall asleep again, but I wasn’t sleepy at all anymore. Then I remembered my birthday was in 4 days. Everything was basically done, but I still had a few things to do. I started to feel stressed, but there was nothing I could do now. The day was practically over and most important aspects were already done and planned. The movie finally ended.
“Hey, I’m feeling much better, I really am. You don’t need to worry about me...” I told him.
“Hmm. I don’t know. I could stay here tonight and sleep on the couch or something.” I really was feeling better. Plus I had to catch up with schoolwork that I hadn’t finished that day.
“No, it’s fine. Really.”
“Okay.” He looked at me and kissed me goodnight.
“I’m going then. I love you, goodbye.” His lovely voice filled my ears.
Four The next day, I wasn’t sick anymore. It’s weird that I get sick at all, and when I do, I get better pretty quickly. I got ready. Haley arrived at my house, and we went to school. The weather was terrible that day. It was all rainy and foggy. We could barely hear each other in class, because it was raining so hard. By lunchtime it had cleared a little bit, but it was still foggy.
“Hey guys, what are you doing today after school?” Jules asked.
“Ummm nothing really, homework,” Haley said.
“What are you talking about? You never do homework,” Nate said.
It was true, Haley never did homework. I don't even know how she’s made it through all these years. I’ve tried to help her, but she doesn’t want help. She says she isn’t going to college anyways. Haley wants to travel the world. She always has. Haley has been saving up money for a long time now. Also, as I said before, she has had a lot of family issues in the past, so I guess she has always wanted to get as far as possible from this town. I get it. She once asked me to go with her. Believe me, sometimes I wonder what it would be like to travel the world, learning and experiencing things I could only dream of. I think I would really love to go with her, but I don’t know if that’s the life I want to have. Ever since I was little, I have wanted to become a doctor and help people. My mom was a doctor. I guess that’s where I get it from. I think that me being a doctor would really make her and my dad happy. I know I will be happy. So maybe one day I’ll join Haley in whatever crazy adventure she’s having.
“Let’s go to the mall today. Let’s do some shopping, and then you can all go to my house, and we can have a sleepover,” Hayley said.
I knew what Jules was going to say before she said it. She is like the glue of the group. She’s the one that makes us stick together. She is the sweetest.
“Yeah, okay sure!” I said. I haven’t really hung out with my friends lately, so I figured why not?
“Yeah! And … your birthday is on Friday! Do you have everything ready?” Nate continued.
Nate loved parties. He would party everyday if he could. I think he was more excited about it than I was.
“Sure, almost everything is ready. I just have a couple things to figure out,” I answered.
I called my dad to ask if it was okay to spend the night at Jules’. He said it was ok. Haley, Jules, Nate and I had a great afternoon together. The thing I love most about my friends, is that no matter how much time we are apart, when we talk again, it’s like we were always together. I loved them, and I knew they loved me back.
It was Thursday night. I couldn’t go to sleep. I was nervous, but also excited. I knew 100% Riley and I were meant to be. But we would make it official on Friday at midnight. I started to think about my future with Riley. Our wedding, our children, getting old together. Then I started to think about mom and how I would have loved to be sharing this with her. She and I would always fantasize about my sixteenth birthday. I know for sure she would’ve loved Riley, and Riley would’ve loved her. My eyes started tearing up, but I didn’t want to be all sad and nostalgic. I was really tired and finally went to sleep.
This was finally it! September twenty-fifth. I didn’t go to school that day. My dad always let me and my sisters skip school on our birthday. He also didn’t go to
work. It was really sweet. I woke up to him and my sisters singing happy birthday to me.
“Happy birthday, sweetie. We love you,” my sweet father said excitedly.
“Aww I love you too guys. Thank you so much for this,” I told them happily.
The one thing I am most grateful about is having the best family ever. They’re my everything. I was having breakfast when Riley called me.
“Happy birthday my love. I love you more than life itself. Are you excited about today?” my sweet boyfriend greeted me.
I didn’t know what to say. I just felt so loved. I melted when he said that. How could I not? He’s the one for me. I love him more than life itself too. I just held my phone and started crying of happiness.
“Riley thanks. I love you too. See you later!”
Him, Haley, Nate and Jules would come to my house that afternoon to help me set everything up and get ready together. It was only 1pm when someone knocked at my door. Weird, I thought. My family and I were having lunch at my favorite restaurant, and I was getting ready, so who could it be?
“Oh my god, Haley! Aren’t you supposed to be at school?” I said, looking at Haley just standing there who immediately gave me a hug.
“What? You think I was gonna stay at school all bored on my best friend’s birthday? No way! I’m going with you guys,” she said.
Then my dad came downstairs.
“Dad! Did you know about this?” I asked him, sounding very surprised.
“Surprise! Now let’s go ladies,” my dad said holding his car keys in his hands.
This day was already amazing. I couldn’t believe how great everything was going. Lunch was amazing! Everything was perfect. Later that afternoon, Nate, Riley and Jules showed up. We set everything up. The party was taking place at my house because it was pretty big and there always was a lot of space. We finished, and it was amazing.
“Just wait ‘till it’s night,” Nate said.
We basically did everything how he told us to. He had the greatest sense of decoration I had ever seen.
We started getting ready. Everyone had already planned their outfits and makeup. And Jules got all this amazing makeup. Glitter and glow in the dark kind of things. She did everyone’s makeup, Haley’s, Riley,s and mine except Nate’s. He was a perfectionist, so he “would not let your sloppy hands anywhere near his face.” These were his own words.
“We look so good,” Haley said.
“We do!” Riley said while grabbing my face. Then he tried to kiss me, and Jules interrupted.
“No way!” She exclaimed.
“There’s no way you guys are ruining my piece of art before everyone else sees it,” she said firmly.
People started to arrive. I was having the greatest time. A friend of mine named Elena even got me a really cute necklace. I liked it a lot. We were dancing and singing karaoke. The party was great. People were complimenting me on how good everything looked. I mostly had Nate to thank for that. I got a little tired from all the dancing and decided to have something to drink. Riley found me, and we decided to climb to the roof for a little alone time.
The sky was so pretty. It was a starry night. Riley held me, and we just sat there looking at the stars. I was happy.
“So, how are you enjoying tonight?” he asked.
“It’s great. Thank you.” I kissed him.
“Hey, can you promise one thing?” He got his serious conversation face.
“Sure. What is it?” I was curious.
“I know we’re young and we have our whole lives waiting for us, but promise me that this thing we have is forever.” He sounded very serious.
“Riley, if I’m sure about anything in this life, it is that you’re the love of my life. I just know it. And I think you do too. We were just lucky to find each other at such a young age. And if you need more proof than that, you will get it today at midnight,” I said.
“You’re right, I love you. Come on, it’s almost midnight, which means cake time. Hurry up. Haley and Jules must be wondering where we are,” he said more relaxed now.
We came downstairs. Everyone was having such a great time. Jules and Haley hadn’t even noticed we were missing. I didn’t want to ruin the vibe, so I
decided to dance for a while longer. It was 11:50 when Hayley brought the cake out and started singing happy birthday.
“Thanks to everyone for being here for one of the best days of the year...my best friend’s birthday. I love you so much.” Hayley’s intro went.
I blew out the candles and the party went on. I was so happy, but I was also nervous. There were just a few more minutes before midnight. I didn’t want to get too nervous, so I started to dance with Riley, Nate, Haley and Jules. This was definitely my favorite moment of the night, dancing with my best friends. Then Riley showed me his watch. Thirty more seconds. We started the countdown. Five, four, three, two, one. I covered my wrist, closed my eyes and held my breath for a second. I felt like I was going to throw up, but I finally opened my eyes and uncovered my wrist. Then I saw it.
“What? This can’t be right. No way!” I didn’t say anything, but Riley and everyone else saw the look in my face.
“What? What’s wrong? Let me see.” I was shocked, Riley grabbed my wrist and saw it too.
“Hey are you guys okay. What is it?” Jules asked.
I still couldn’t say anything. I just couldn’t understand. I couldn’t even look at him. Riley looked right into Jules’ eyes and told her.
“...Those are not the first words I told her,” Riley said feeling devastated.
“The end"