YOLO
1485 Words
I don't like living in the past or reminiscing about old memories. I believe you should live in the moment and not vicariously through a book or TV. I only started writing my journey and days down because this journal was a gift and I am not an ungrateful person. But where to start. My name is Hope Sanderson and I am nineteen years old. I live in a 4 story Georgian mansion in the middle of nowhere. Well in the middle of a forest in the middle of nowhere. I'm getting a little head of myself though.
I was ten years old, kicking some major ass on the soccer field when all of a sudden I collapsed. I soon found out I had a heart condition. I took some medication for a while but nothing really fixed the problem. I was thirteen when I had my first transplant. My body was rejecting it so I got back on the transplant list. I didn't let this stop me. I was always full of life and moving. The doctors always told me to limit and pace myself but I didn't listen. I had to keep going and live like I was running out of time. When I was sixteen I finally got another new heart. I was practically living in the hospital by that time so I got the news fast. I was actually upset at the fact that someone had to give up living their life to let me live mine. After 4 hours of surgery and a lot of recovery time, I was back at it. I love dancing, singing, playing sports, and basically jumping around like I am crazy. I wanted to do everything and anything I ever wanted to. I had a second chance and I wasn't going to waste it. I did so many things. I just wanted to live. Every summer I traveled the globe. I went to France, Germany, and Japan. This summer I wanted to go to Scotland. I was working full time at a high-end boutique since I graduated high school. My parents had a bit of money but I wasn't the type of person to take things I didn't earn. I had good friends and went out as much as I could. I didn't think there was anything else I needed or so I thought but that's me getting ahead of myself again.
Three years later I got an invitation to a transplant recipient and donor family mixer. I debated going. I talked to my friends Jackson and Olivia. My parents told me to go for it. I felt like I owed it the family to show them I was grateful and really appreciate the gift I received that night.
I decided to bring everyone since it wasn't near my hometown at all. My parents were talkers. I just stood there and smiled. We weren't approached by anyone for at least 45 minutes. Suddenly a man and woman held out their hands. My parents shook their hands respectfully. They introduced themselves as Mr. and Mrs. Collins. They said their daughter Faith was the donor of my heart and apparently donor for 3 other people in the room as well. I walked up to them and said: "thank you." I became teary-eyed. They told me a little about Faith. She was 22 but acted like she was 12. They showed us a few family pictures. She was petite and pretty. She looked so young. People sometimes don't believe I look nineteen but I don't look that young. She looked like a porcelain doll. She was very beautiful though. They told me she was very shy and didn't get out much. They wished she would have done more and wished she would have been able to have children and grandchildren. It was then that her mother started weeping. I went to give her a hug and she surprisingly embraced me and hugged me back. After twenty minutes of talking I, sudden noise came from the hallway past the thick doors of the room we were in. Then shouting started. Honestly, all I heard was " I am not going in there." It was a rough and aggressive tone. All I thought of when I heard it was manly and scary. Faith's parents looked worried and went outside to the group of people that were arguing out there. Since we had met and talked to my donor's parents we decided to leave. By the time we grabbed our coats and stuff from the rack, the people in the hall were gone. My parents were tried so they went to the hotel to sleep. Jackson, Olivia and I decided to go out and find a bar or club. I wanted to live it up tonight in honor of my donor. I didn't know if that was insensitive but like I said I have one life to live so I gotta do it up every chance I get.
We found a bar lounge called "HOT AIR." The name was strange but I guess fitting. When you went inside there was fog everywhere and it was hot as hell. The three of us started at the bar and then went over to an empty booth when it became available. I was hungry so I order all the appetizers. After like twenty minutes I was done with my 3rd drink and ate all my mozzarella sticks. ( I'm not sure if I should add this to my journal entry but he said to write it all down that way you could close your eyes and instantly see it vividly.) The mozzarella sticks were good and I would relive them any day. ( I feel like I am going to get punished if he ever reads this.) Anyways I grabbed Jackson and Olivia by the arms and dragged them to the dance floor. I didn't recognize the song but it had a good beat. I was moving my hips and letting the music take my body over. The heat was making me feel good inside. Slowly I felt this presence nearby. It seemed to be getting closer. I didn't stop dancing but it was like music. It was making me feel alive and free. It was making my body tingle with delight. It became so intoxicating I closed my eyes to fully envelope myself in this energy. Jackson had then grabbed my wrist and brought me up to his chest. I looked up at him and he seemed angry and annoyed. He was looking intensely at something. I turned around but Jackson got in front of me. There were five guys standing in front of us. One of them had his hand out. I didn't realize at the time he was trying to grab me. I was still in my trance however, the man standing with his hand output it back at his side and looked directly into my eyes. I became nervous and remember smelling something so strong and intense. It was woodsy and earthy. He had such beautiful grey eyes. At that moment he didn't seem at all like the man I know now. His stare was brooding but calm now as he looked at me. He had dark black hair. It was slick back into a man bun. He had a short full beard. He was tall and muscular. As Jackson began to speak I saw the calmness leave his eyes. He was going to swing at Jackson but someone standing next to him grabbed his arm before contact could be made. He turned to face the guy who held his arm and then was suddenly released. I knew then he was some type of boss man. ( I bet he will like it if he knew I called him that) I immediately took that moment to grab Olivia and Jackson's hands and ran back to our table. I was laughing the entire time. I thought it was all an innocent thing. Some guy wanted to dance with me and Jackson took it the wrong way. We finished eating and had 2 more drinks. We walked out and waited for my parents to come to pick us up. I was beginning to get restless so I started to walk in circles. It was hard because I was tipsy. Jackson tried to steady me and hold me down. I was playing around and telling him to stop and let go. Out of nowhere two strong arms grabbed me by my waist and lifted me up over his shoulder. I looked around and saw Olivia screaming and Jackson trying to push past two guys in front of my now kidnapper. Everything went dark and I fell asleep. That was my first interaction with the fab five. Aidan, Paul, Mitch, Perry, and Lucas. ( They hate it when I call them that)
- Writer
