But I... (book one)

Madly in love

There was a water fountain. One made of beautiful white marble with cool, clean water. It looked magical and seemed out of place in a town park. It was a hot summer's day, and children were running, laughing and having a good time. But Tessa was all alone. It was a new town, new people, but most of all, a new start. She thanked her mother for bringing her here, and was forever grateful for her understanding. She hadn't meant to break the poor boys neck.

When her mother had dropped her off, Tessa had not read the note she had been given, but had admired her mother's lovely, neat handwriting. Tessa glanced down at the piece of paper. Try and make some friends. Friends, something she had not had in a very long time.

Where Tessa and her mother used to live, there had been a particular boy is Tessa's class she had not liked. He was rude and annoying, but once he took it too far. His name was Joel, and one time he had come up to Tessa with a smirk on his face. Joel had pinned Tessa against the wall and tried to kiss her. But Tessa was having none of it. She punched him hard in the neck before running off to the principal's office.

"You, young lady, are expelled." The principal had told her strictly. "But sir please!" Tessa had argued. "You shall go to Juvenile for this, this murder of a young innocent boy." The principal replied strictly. For the next two years, Tessa had been sent to Juvie, and her time spent there was miserable. When she got out, her mother decided to move to a new town called Greenwood on the other side of the country. A 'fresh start' she called it. But Tessa's father had refused. He was a doctor, and his work was too important. So they moved away without him.

A few weeks after the move, the horrible news that Dr James Peter had been killed in a horrible accident involving a motorbike had spread like wildfire. It wasn't long before eight year old Tessa heard the news, feeling more down than she ever had before.

Tessa snapped herself out of those horrible thoughts. He's dead now. And there's nothing you can do about it. Why don't you try and make some friends, like mother suggested? Tessa recomposed herself before heading to the water fountain. She saw another girl sitting there, same age, same height but with beautiful golden hair and sparkling blue eyes like the water.

"Hello. Are you new here? I haven't seen you around. My name's Charlie Whitman. Nice to meet you." The girl with the golden hair said politely, holding her hand out for Tessa to shake. "Oh, thank you. My name's Tessa Peter." The girl chuckled a little. "Sorry, but I've never heard that name before." Tessa let out a sigh of relief. At least she could finally have a fresh start. "Wanna be my friend?" Charlie asked happily. Tessa slowly nodded and smiled. A friend.

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"And the truth is... I'm in love with you. Madly in love. So much so that my heart aches when you're not around. No no no, too needy." Tessa remarked, scrunching up her note. Tessa's mother walked into her room and caught sight of her daughter crying at her desk.

"Sweetie what's wrong?" Tessa's mum asked lovingly. Even after all Tessa had done, her mother still loved her. Tessa wiped her tears and showed her mum the screwed up note. "You know, when your father told me he loved me, I was happiest woman on earth. But then, when he died I was." Tessa's mother paused to take a deep breath, tears forming in her eyes.

"Oh it was dreadful. And of course, you were still young. And you were upset and that was when, well, that was when I learnt that even though James is gone, he's still here." She place her hand on her chest, and Tessa smiled and did the same. "You were only six at the time. And now look at you. You're almost nine. My little girl is growing up." She planted a kiss on Tessa's head before leaving the room with a smile.