July 27th, 2009
Have you ever been in love? Well I am and her name is Holly, we have known each other for seventeen years. Holly is the sweetest girl I have ever met, she is my other half. We have so much in common; we both love listening to country music, getting lost in the woods, going fishing and just being around one another. Today is both of our birthdays we are turning eighteen, our friends are throwing us a party tonight down by the creek. I can’t wait to see my baby girl.
“Knock, knock. Nick, are you in here?”
“Yes. Happy birthday baby girl.” Before she can say anything, I grab her hand give her a kiss. “Thank you,” she says in her shy tone. “Happy birthday to you too.”
“There it is!” I say as she starts to laugh and smiles.
“What are you talking about?”
“I haven’t seen you smile like that in weeks. I was getting worried; I don’t want to see you go back down that path.” I say as my voice starts to crack. Holly and I have been dating for five and half years, but a few months back I found out that she had been hiding something from me. Two years ago she was diagnosed with depression and she had turned to alcohol and cutting herself, I don’t know how she did it, but for two years she hid it from me. When I found out I wasn’t mad, instead I broke down crying at the thought of ever losing her. “Nick, I know your worried but I’m okay I promise. You know that rehab helped me.”
“I know baby, I’m sorry.” I say with my head hung low. Then she takes her hand and lifts my head until my eyes meet hers. “Hey, don’t do that you did nothing wrong. Baby you know that I love you so much, I would do anything for you and you know that.”
“I love you too.” I say smiling
“Oh crap, its already nine we better get going.” As we walk outside to my car, there is my mom with her camera. “Mom, what are you doing?”
“Nick you only turn eighteen once, I want to have memories to hold on to.” My mom can be a sap when it comes to me getting older. I love her and all, but it’s embarrassing. I can wait to get a pace of my own. “Nick, can I please just get a few of the two of you?”
“Yeah I guess.” Mom took like thirty pictures of me and Holly, but I did not mind because in most of them we were kissing. When we got in the car, I tuned up the volume and just drove. When we were about ten minutes from the creek, Holly turns off the radio. “Nick, what’s wrong?
“Nothing, I’m fine.”
“No you’re not something is bothering you.”
“Holly, I promise you I’m fine. You know if there was something wrong I would tell you, I’m not like you I don’t keep secrets.” I can see the anger building in her face; I pull in to the Wal-Mart parking lot. “Really, this is what this is all about! I can’t believe you!”
“Holly, I didn’t mean that.”
“Oh really, it sure sounded like you meant it. You know what I was going through; I can’t believe you would throw that in my face.” The tears start to roll down my cheek, “Holly, baby please don’t do this.”
“I just need to be alone; I’ll meet you at the creek.” She get out of the car and starts to walk. There is no point in trying to convince her to come back, she is so stubborn. The rest of the ride is quite; I just sit there and pray that she is not mad at me. When I arrive at the creek, everyone but Holly is here. “Nick, where is Holly?” Ask my best friend Martin. “We got in a fight on the way here, and she said she wanted to walk.”
“What did you do this time?”
“I got angry and brought up her past.”
“Really how dumb can you be?”
“I didn’t mean to, okay I feel really bad about it.” Out of the corner of my eye I can see Holly walking up the path. When she spots me, she starts to run. “I love you so much, Nick I’m so sorry for the way I acted. I know you didn’t mean it. Just the way you said it hurt.”
“No, Holly you don’t need to apologize. It was my fault, I was not thinking. You’re my world I love you with all my heart, and I don’t want to do anything to push you away.” After a few minutes of just looking into each other’s eyes, we walked over to the fire. Martin is trying to tell a joke, but he has never been able to make anyone laugh. “So what washes up on tiny beaches?” We all just sit there listening to the crickets, wait for him to tell us the answer. “Microwaves,” we all start laughing. “I don’t get it,” says our friend Anna. By this point we are all on the ground laughing. “Guys, what’s so funny.”
“Nothing, Anna it was just funny you didn’t get the joke,” says Holly.
“Oh, okay.” Out of nowhere we hear footsteps coming our way, Holly grabs my hand tightly. “Holly it’s probably just a rabbit.”
“Oh is that what we are. I was thinking you could at least compare us to a wolf or something.” Its Tony and his gang, there always causing trouble. But this is not their territory, so what are they doing out here? “What do you want Tony,” ask Martin. “Now that’s no way to talk to you elders.”
I take a step toward Tony, “You’re the same age as us, and you don’t belong here.” Holly grabs my hand and pulls me back. “Oh look, its little miss perfect Holly”
“Tony shut up, and leave us alone.”
“No we have some business to finish”
“Oh, really what would that be?”
“Nick, I got this just take everyone and go home.”
“I’m not leaving you here,” she squeezes my hand and smiles at me.
“So can we please get to business now,” yells Tony. Before Holly can answer I say, “Yes.”
“Good, so Nick I don’t like you, your dumb father put my brother behind bars. And I told him that I would get my revenge.” My day died two months ago in a bar shooting, he was trying to break up. “My dad’s been dead for two months.”
“Exactly.” Before I could get the words out of my mouth, he pulls out a gun. I can feel Holly's grip get tighter, she turns toward me. I can see fear growing in her face. “It's going to be okay,” I whisper into her ear.
“Okay, so hear is the rules, tonight one of you will die. When I tell you to run, you better start running or I’ll shoot you. I will give you a head start, and then I will come after you. Got it?” I nod my head. “Good.” We stand there in silence, for what seems like days, and the as loud as he can Tony yells, “Run!” Without thinking I grab Holly, and start running. We have no clue where we are going, but we don’t stop; we can’t. “Nick, I can hear him catching up.”
“Baby, I know just keep running and don’t look back.”
“No, I’m not leaving your side”
“Yes you are, you are going to keep running till you are safe and don’t look back. I’ll be okay, just please go!” By now we are both crying, she stops me in my tracks. “I love you; I love you so much always remember that.”
“I love you too, more than you will ever know. Now please go.” She’s gone; I stand there waiting for Tony. I can see the light illuminating off his flash light; he is now only twenty feet away. “You ready to die?” I can see him lifting the gun out of his pocket, I close my eyes. Then out of nowhere, I am pushed to the ground. At first I thought it was the bullet that knocked me down, but I wasn’t hit. I look to my left and I see Holly, bleeding out. Tony is nowhere in sight, he ran like the coward he was. “Holly, Holly talk to me.”
“I told you I would do anything for you. I love you”
“No, Holly come back please come back. I love you, you can’t leave me.” As I lay here next to her lifeless body, all I can do I cry.
July 28th, 2009
I just got home from the police station. Last night Holly was murdered by Tony, he was supposed to kill me. I told her to run and not look back, but she didn’t listen. She jumped in front of the bullet, she died in my arms. I can’t tell you how much I want to be with her right now, but I know she would be sad if I killed myself, because then she would have taken that bullet for nothing. I love Holly so much; I can’t wait to see her again one day. Until then, I have to live my life the way she would have wanted me to.