The Price Of Love

1-Hopeless Romance

Price Of Love

Ella-

I wipe a stray tear that found its way onto my cheek. I pause the movie, Romeo and Juliet,  and reach over to grab a tissue out of a striped tissue box that sat on the pillow beside me. My chest felt hollow, and I wonder if the feeling will last. At that moment, I felt lonely.

I am at the part in the movie when Romeo and Juliet lay motionless together, dead. That was the price of their love it seems, and it's sad that it had to be death. I sat there, blowing my nose, thinking about texting my best friend, Allysa. I probably shouldn't though, for she was on a lunch date with Gaby. It would be rude.

Suddenly, I hear an awfully loud grumble. It took me a few seconds to realize that I was hungry. Then, a loud bang comes from downstairs. It was the door slamming shut, followed by loud footsteps.

"Ella!"I recognized that chirpy voice from anywhere.

"Mom! I am up here!" I answered the call and then I hear mom running up the creaking stairs. The door swings open, and mom is standing there in the doorway. Her breathing is uneven as beads of sweat trail down her reddened face. She brushes a strand of black hair out of her face and briefly adjusts her spring dress that emphasized Easter's arrival. Judging by her attire, I remember that she is volunteering at the church's annual egg hunt.

"I." She pants. "Brought." Then she takes another breath. "Pastries."

"Okay." I shrug and hit 'play' on my red colored laptop. I sneak a look at mom, an upside down smile settled upon her oval face. I had to clench my teeth to keep myself from smiling.

"Fine." I hear mom bitterly say. "More glazed donuts for me."

"What?!" I screech, but it was too late by the time I jumped out of bed, the door was closed. I run down the stairs, trying to keep up with my mom's fast pace.

"Ow!" I yelped as I feel a sting on my bottom. Tears were on the verge of spilling. I had slipped on the hardwood floors of my house. I probably should have taken off my socks before I went on this wild-goose chase.

"Ah ha!" Cheers mom from the kitchen. She then walks out of the kitchen with a glazed donut in her hand. I watch as her smile fades once she sees me, and her motherly self-took her fun side away.

"Are you hurt?" Mom questions as she wipes the falling tears away. I bite my bottom lip and nod, just before pulling mom into a hug. A raspberry smell wafted up my nose as I buried my head in her hair.

"Even though you are sixteen, I am glad you still need me." Mom whispers.

---

Allysa: U will never believe it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Ella: What?

Allysa: Gaby kissed me!!!

Ella: How did it feel? Tell. Me. Everything.

Allysa: U know h it is like in the books??? Well, it is just like it. Fireworks. Sparks, the whole shambang!

Ella: Really?!?!?!?!?!!?!!!

"Ella." Mom's voice fills the room, I search for her figure, but it's too dark. "Go to sleep, you will need your energy when you help with the Easter Morning egg hunt."

"Okay," I whisper. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, love you." Mom whispers back and the door shuts quietly. I look back down at my phone and decided whether to continue texting or not.

My decision was clear once I read Allysa's response:

Allysa: I cant wait til u have ur first kiss!!!

I switch off my screen and squeeze my eyes tightly as I try to keep my tears from escaping my eyes. Memories of my love, flash in my mind.

I caught a glimpse of my favorite memories.

Flashback-

"Brad!" I squealed as I felt myself being lifted upwards by a pair of strong and firm hands. The wind whipped at my face and my head started to spin as the scenery past my mind at a super fast pace. I hadn't realized it was because I was being twirled around until my feet landed on the mushy grass.

I turned around, marveling my love. Brad was the most noticeable student in the eighth grade. It wasn't because of his ridiculous high grades or his gentlemen like figure. It was his scars, all seven of them. He had a scar that stretched down on the right side of his cheek and the other six were on his chest.

"What's wrong?" Brad had asked as he moved a strand of hair out of my eyes.

"How much I love you," I reply, not taking my eyes off of him for a moment. "I love you so much, it is hard to value the quantity. I might as well call it infinite."

"How about this," He pauses and takes some pieces of scrap paper out of his backpack. Brad hands one to me along with a pencil. "Write a number of how much you love me, from 1-1,000."

"Okay," I said and wrote my response down.

"Then, we will shout our answers to the hills, at once," Brad says and then he slips his hand into mine as we look out towards the fields.

"I love you to the moon and back!" We screamed together.

And I felt like kissing him right there, but I knew deep down that it wasn't the right time or place.

A/N: Hey y'all! I really hope this introduction wasn't too much to handle. I tried to introduce two important characters, Brad and Ella. You will probably hate me once you read the next chapter...sorry! Nonetheless, I really would love to thank lLilawaterfall for being the first comment and vote for this story. Also, she gave me really fantastic advice. Please, please check out her books! You won't regret it!

Stay Pricey~ K