Broken Hearts

Have you ever wondered what the meaning of life was? Then you realize that your whole life was right there in front of you, and you never knew it until that moment? Hi, my name is Hadassah Marie Diaz, my middle name was given to me because of my grandmother who passed away when I was a little girl. I am of Hispanic and Arabic descent. I was also not-so-pretty or skinny like most of the girls in my class. I was on the chubby side, having a round pear body shape. I had full square red and black glasses; I was a nerd. I was also really short, 5'0. Why would anyone fall in love with me? Here's how my story begins: When Bryce Anderson came in, I was in Chemistry class, his deep grey eyes and black hair making all the girls swoon, all except me. He's such a player, I thought as I rolled my eyes. He sat down next to me, his 6-foot stature overpowering me. He was staring at me the entire lecture as if he were observing me. I decided to not pay any attention and just pay attention to the lecture. As I did, something captured my eye, a letter addressed to me. It had the name Secret Admirer written in big red letters with a rose drawn on the side. Thinking it was a prank, I threw it away after class, not noticing Bryce's face. As I sat at lunch table #7, the reject table, reading A Walk to Remember by my favorite author Nicholas Sparks, I noticed Bryce and the other jocks talking amongst themselves. "So, Bryce," Cameron said, as he put his arm around Bryce's shoulder. "I noticed that you have a crush on a girl. Care to tell us who?" "She's probably one hot-ass cheerleader," Warren, one of the football jocks, said. "Shut up, Warren." Since Bryce knew, his friends wouldn't stop bugging him, he came over and sat down smack dab in front of me, the cafeteria becoming unexpectedly quiet. I didn't notice though; I was too wrapped up in my book, but there he was. He looked desperate as if his eyes were saying, Talk to me, please. "Why is everybody staring at us?" I whispered to him, suddenly conscious that everyone was staring at us. "Relax, Hadassah." Whispers sounded around us as he said my name like he knew who I was. I was a loner, so I wasn't popular. "I'm guessing you're just sitting with me because you were dared to?" I asked, my voice booming throughout the entire cafeteria. He suddenly looked like someone had shot him in the heart. "Damn, Ash, that's cold. Can't I sit here?" "No," I responded coldly as I started reading back where I left off. But then, getting frustrated, I slammed the cover shut, looking at him directly in the eye. The whole cafeteria immediately starts to look up to see what I would do. But to their dismay, I did nothing. "Just . . . leave me alone." As I turned around to leave the cafeteria, I start walking towards the parking lot and notice a dark blue Toyota Prius, giving me instant chills. My mind immediately went back to that day. __ Flashback. . . My mom had died shortly after being discharged from the hospital. We got into an accident as the driver from the car that hit us from behind was drunk. The minute the car crashed into us, my mom immediately died from the collision. My dad suffered major injuries such as a broken back and side. I, on the other hand, thankfully wasn't hurt but I was scarred for life. Present. . . "Hadassah, wait!!" Turning around, I noticed Bryce walking up to me, but instead of waiting, I back away, oblivious to the fact that I was at the edge of the sidewalk. Unable to catch my balance, he catches me gracefully. As soon as I was back on my feet, I thank him and leave. __ As soon as I get home, I head to my room which was like Bella Swan’s room from the movie Twilight and, drop my backpack onto my purple bed and headed downstairs to go to the kitchen to prepare dinner. "Dad?" No answer. He's probably out. Grabbing a cutting board and knife to make dinner, someone knocks on the door. "Who is it?" I ask, afraid to open. "Hadassah, it's me," a female voice said. I recognized that voice anywhere. As I run to open the door, there she was. Beautiful and sweet Arabella. She had beautiful straight black hair, violet eyes, high cheekbones, and plump red lips whereas I have straight burgundy hair and boring brown eyes. My favorite person and my foster sister, her mom has been a surrogate mom to me after my mom passed away. Not being able to hold back my tears, I hugged her tight. After a while, she looked around. "Want some company?" I nodded, unable to open my mouth. Finally, I asked, "What are you doing here? I thought you were in Napa." "I had some vacation time." Arabella works as a librarian in a small town called St. Helena in California. She handed me a book from my favorite novelist, Anne Bronte. My favorite quote from her is "My soul is awakened, my spirit is soaring And carried aloft on the wings of the breeze; For above and around me the wild wind is roaring, arousing to rapture the earth and the seas" meaning that you feel alive and happy. I felt this way most of the time, not all. But, with Arabella, I felt complete and happy. We were sitting on the couch, laughing about stuff we've been through, eating junk food while watching romantic dramas, like The Notebook and 50 First Dates. After we watched our movies, we listened to Colbie Caillat, Arabella's favorite. "Check out this song." She played What If, a song that her ex-boyfriend dedicated to her. But personally, I like pop. After we listened to music, I baked our favorite dessert, red velvet cake, from a box. After eating, we cleaned up, and then, we went outside in the chilly cool night to stargaze. As we sat on the porch swing and wrapped ourselves together in a big white fluffy blanket, a shooting star came passing by. "Make a wish," Arabella whispered in my ear. Closing my eyes, I wished for something I've wanted my whole life. "What'd you wish for?" But, smiling, I shook my head, "No, sorry," As I lay my head on her shoulder, she kissed my forehead. "I love you, Bella," I whispered. "I love you, too," she whispered back. As we entwined our fingers, something seemed off. I didn't hear anything and five minutes into talking, Arabella (or Bella as I called her) had fallen asleep, so I slowly and quietly tapped her shoulder, waking her up. "Bella, we should go to sleep. Let's go to my room." We went up the stairs and there on the right-hand side was my room. She quickly took a shower and got dressed for bed. "You're not going to sleep?" she asked as she saw me getting ready to leave. "I saw someone watching us while we were outside talking." "Who do you think it is?" "No idea, that's why I'm going to see who it was." "I'm not letting you do this alone. I'm going with you and there's nothing you can say to stop me." "Bella, I—" "That's final!" she shouted. As tears were falling down her face, she shakily said, "I don't want to lose you. Not again." I was on the verge of tears myself. I'll never be the same again after what happened. __ Flashback. . . Arabella's family invited me to go camping with them during autumn and I accepted. We were hiking one day around a mountain, Calf Creek Falls, and I slipped. No one noticed until later that evening when they all were heading back to the car. "Where's Hadassah?" Arabella asked, looking around. Her gut feeling was that I had fallen down but since it was late, there was no use looking for me, so they went to the hotel and slept. The next morning, the hunt was on. Fortunately, it didn't take long for them to find me as I was going into shock from staying out in the cold all night. Present. . . As she went to the bathroom to wash her face, I grabbed her arm. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize." "Why would you? You hardly ever talk about it. But to me? Hadassah, I was shattered. I thought I lost you." I went to her and, hugging her, she cried out all the pain she had inside her for so long. "I'm strong, that's why I don't feel the need to talk about it." Soon enough, I had to go. "I'll be fine. I promise." Instantly as I got outside, I sensed someone's eyes watching me. "Who's there?" I asked. "It's Bryce," he said as he came out of the bushes. "I'm sorry if I scared you." Bryce came out holding a dozen red roses and Dove chocolate. It made my heart skip a beat, my breath quicken, and my knees weak. "What are you doing here?" I asked, awestruck by what stood in front of me. "I wanted to ask you out," he replied as he put the chocolate and roses on a nearby rock. __ What? "What?" I asked, finally able to open my mouth. I suddenly stopped in my tracks. "Wait, you weren't dared to do this, were you?" My knees weak, like gelatin, I was starting to fall. I was always so clumsy. "Whoa!" I yelped. He caught me, his grey eyes mesmerizing me. What was he doing to me? "No, I wasn't dared to do this," he replied. "Then why take forever to ask me out?" His lips close to mine, he whispered in my ear something I thought I'd ever hear. "Because you're worth the wait." As I got my balance, holding each other's hands, I stared into his gorgeous grey eyes that gleamed, reflecting the full moon in its midst. "So? What do you say? Will you go out with me on Saturday night?" Letting go of his hands, I grabbed his face and kissed him hard. "That's a yes, I take it," he said as I nodded in response. "Yes, yes, yes!" I replied as tears started flowing down my cheeks. Lifting me, he spun me around. Was I floating on Cloud 9? Yes, I was. My heart was finally full. I felt happy. Thereafter, as he held my hand, he took me to my house, to my front doorstep. "Goodnight, Hadassah." "Goodnight." As I went inside, roses and chocolates in hand, he kissed my cheek. After that, the night was over. Immediately when I got to my room, my sister was still sleeping. I decided not to wake her and just change into my nightgown, brush my teeth, and go to sleep.