Falling in love in elementary school!
Was that even possible? Of course it wasn't, at least not for me.
Annabelle walked into my life like a wrecking ball; she was wearing those big glasses like two flat TV screens on her face, wearing the biggest and brightest smile that could blind and brighten the whole room all at once. She was so gorgeous in her rainbow dress. And in my head, I knew she was the one. I couldn't understand my feelings back then, but I just knew she was meant for me. My boring school life took a turn and never remained the same again.
Annabelle became my best friend after elementary school; she hated my guts back then in elementary school; she wouldn't play with me because I always chased away any new friend she made, claiming my territory as her husband, and the poor girl got sick of me eventually, but not enough to push me away. When we got to high school, we were so close to the hips that it was almost impossible to see her without me, or me without her.
Then Anna or Bella, as I got used to calling her either of those nicknames, got a boyfriend; my love for her wasn't enough for her to notice me. Of course her boyfriend was one of those soccer players, the captain of the team; he was one of those popular boys at school with baby blue eyes and ridiculous chest muscle, and of course that smile was worth dying for; at least that's what all the girls at school used to say—a straight A student from a rich household.
What a showoff.
I never, will never, and can never see him more than a cheap thief that stole my best friend's heart, my future wife, we're talking about. I can't blame Anna; she was just too blinded by his unfortunate smile to see what a real jerk he was; nevertheless, I never liked him, even if all he did was get on my good side and try to be friends. He was still my rival, my enemy for eternity. How dare he make my wife smile more than she has ever smiled at me? He drives her in a flashy car to every one of their dates, ruining our little best friend's time on Saturdays.
“Noah! Noah!” Annabelle literally screamed my name like I was disabled in the ears.
“I can’t go deaf more than I already am Anna,” I responded with a sarcastic remark.
Of course she was going to enter my room like she owns the whole house, including my life in it. I still had my focus on my laptop; we had an assignment I needed to complete before Monday.
“Look at me, Noah, how do I look? I got a date tonight with Alex, and he picked this dress for me.”
I raised my eyes to focus on her, and I saw somebody that wasn't my best friend, not the girl that walked into my class at elementary school days looking the happiest with a glow that I thought would never fade. Looking at her now, she looked like a typical rich boy’s girlfriend; the dress was really short and tight as hell; she had makeup on. Anna never liked makeup, not even when her pimples were like Christmas decorations on her face. She was naturally beautiful. And her glasses were gone.
Who the heck is this? I asked my already confused mind.
“W-what do you think? Stop staring like a creep, you weirdo!” I signed and gave her the “you know why I'm looking at you like that” look.
“It's just one party, Noah. How harmless can it be? We won't even stay the whole night because I have to be home before 11. C'mon say something.”
“Anna, what on earth do you want me to say?"God, look at you; you look like you barely eat or sleep; your beautiful green orbs have lost their glow and are so dim; then that dress is just not your style; don't get me started with the makeup, and you took off your glasses, really, Bella.”
“Why can't you just be happy for me? Noah, I love Alex, and if he wants me to adjust just a little bit to fit in with his friends, why not? I don't see anything wrong with that.”
“Fit in!? Fit in. Can you just hear yourself? When did you start this fit in person because obviously you didn't tell me?" I stood up from my seat so I could stand in front of her. I knew this was going to lead to an argument, but I would rather be the honest bastard than the lying two-faced boyfriend of hers.
Now I was angry, “How blind can you be, Anna? This guy is changing you, and you're just allowing it. This isn't my best friend, and I don't know what the heck you have done to her.” I continued.
I could see the change in her eyes like something just went wrong, like I just lost my best friend; her eyes were so cold and distant. “Well glad we're on the same page for once because I don't want to be that girl anymore; congrats, Noah; you just lost that best friend of yours.”
I was too stunned to speak; I guess I had run out of speech, and before I could stop her from running away, she was already out of my room, and I panicked running after her, but when I got out of my house, she was already in Alex's car driving to God knows where, and I fear the feeling in my guts because it felt like I just lost the love of my life.
Well believe it or not, it took 2 years before I saw my best friend; she had broken up with Alex; he cheated, which wasn't surprising in anyway, but what was surprising was how Annabelle cut all ties of all her social life; she blocked me for those 2 years and relocated; at least that's what her parents told me.
Finally we met; she looked happier and brighter, but something wasn't adding up; she looked like she was losing weight, which was disturbing. Annabelle, I know, ate like a pig, and I'm not even kidding about it. We got back together; she of course apologized, and I forgave her, but I needed her to know about my feelings, so I took the chance and told her.
And she wasn't happy about it.
No, she was terrified; she rejected me; of course I wasn't a loser to back down; I needed to know why she wouldn't accept me, but she had no problem accepting Alex, and she said something around this line.
“I don't want your happiness cut short. You deserve a love that would take you into your old and grey days.”
I still couldn't place a meaning to this, so I was just positive and persistent, and after 5 months of hard labor, she finally said yes. We started dating, but that was before I got into college, and I was the happiest I have ever been. Even if I had to drive 6 hours to her place every weekend, it was worth it. We were happy; we did everything a couple did, from matching outfits to matching rings. Mind you, I still had the real ring to engage her; I was just waiting for the right time, the right moments.
But I found out the hard way that happiness wasn't going to last when it came to me and her; we just didn't have a happy ending like the prince and princess in every love story.
It started with her not picking up my calls; I became worried. For two good weeks, I couldn't reach her or her parents. I feared the worst, but I was still writing my exams, so I couldn't just get up and leave. So I waited and waited until a call came from Anna's mom saying she wanted to talk to me at her last moment, and this would be the last conversation we would ever have.
I don't know what happened after that, but I know I got to her house in less than 4 hours; I don't even know how that was possible.
And there she was, on life support; she looked so lifeless yet so happy to see me, and that's when I found out she had brain cancer; they found out when we were in high school, those 2 years I thought she ran away from our friendship turns out that she was getting treatment; she had gone through surgery, chemotherapy, the list goes on; she found out she had little to no time left; and that's when everything added up—the reason why she wouldn't date me and why she said that.
And the tears just wouldn't stop falling after I heard that; the pain, the regret, and the why now question just kept popping up in my heart.
“I'm sorry, Noah.” She spoke so weakly, so slowly, like she was mumbling.
I sat on the edge of her bed, holding both her hands. “F*ck! I should have known; I should have asked; I saw it, but I just kept quiet like a fool.”
“It was never your fault; I didn't want to hurt you; you were just so precious to me; I didn't want you watching me suffer because I knew you'd blame yourself even when it wasn't your fault.” She said so softly.
Who said men don't cry, was a big fat liar because I was sobbing like a kid; I wasn't one to cry, so knowing that Anna will leave me very soon was nerve-wracking, heartbreaking; everything about me was just helpless. I wanted to do something, but looking into her eyes, I knew there was nothing I could do. It's like those eyes were telling me. It was okay to let go now. And that only made me cry harder.
“Don't go, Bella; I don't know how to live this life without you. Don't go. I promise we will go to your favorite shows. Remember that movie we never saw and that boy band I used to hate? We will go to their concert. I will book the ticket. Just don't leave me, please.” I pleaded with her. Begging for some kind of miracle.
I still had the engagement ring in my pocket; I took it everywhere I went just to remind me that I was working hard to build my future with her, just to motivate me to push harder, and now she's leaving. Just like that, what am I going to do with myself after now?
“Hey, shhh, it will be alright. I want you to be happy. I want you to promise me that you're going to finish college, get a good job, get yourself a beautiful wife and lovely kids. I want you to promise me Noah.” She asked, and sincerely, I thought she was being heartless at that moment. How can she tell me to just forget her and get a wife? When she was the wife from the start.
“You were supposed to be the wife, Bella, not anyone else. Just you; I don't even want anyone who's not you.” I brought out the ring to show her.
And she cried while hugging me. She was so fragile at that moment, so vulnerable, but she was trying to be strong for me.
“I don't want to go too, Noah; I really want to stay and be happy with you. Oh, how I regret taking so long to say yes, but those memories are the best gift you have ever given to me. That's why I won't accept this ring. Because I want you to live on for me, for us.” was the last thing she said.
I don't know how long we stayed that way, but I knew when she took her last breath, I felt it. The pain lasted more than I thought it would, but I was happy she was now in a better place. It's been a long 10 years since then. I tried to keep the promise Annabelle wanted to keep, but I was just too stubborn to get married. I adopted 3 kids, 3 cats, and 4 dogs. I remember Anna wanted to live this dream. I was happy, but my heart will always be hers. In those last moments, she was fragile like a flower, but she wasn't weak; she showed how strong she was, and in those moments of letting her go, I knew I would love her till my last breath.
Posted Using InLeo Alpha
Hello @jazclassic,
This is a well-worked story. It is obvious you planned it carefully and wrote it carefully. However, it comes back with a strong reading for AI. It seems you may have used an editor to polish the piece and help you rework some of the sentences, for effect. If this is the case, that is not allowed in the Inkwell. Please advise us quickly.
Thank you.
This is wonderful... Simply wonder...
At first 11 minutes read was a turn off but I decided to go they with it...
I'm glad I did😭😍