.+::Love::+.

      The young couple sat in an old graveyard with the stars twinkling above their heads. They were cuddled beside a thick willow tree, candlelight danced in front of their eyes and the stream behind them made a quiet tinkling noise. Early autumn had cooled down the area enough to wear a long-sleeved shirt, but not cold enough to wear a coat.
      “This is so romantic, Cody. Thank you. It’s all so, so beautiful.” A teenage girl, about the age of seventeen, whispered in her boyfriend's ear. She was in awe by the fantastic fairy tale scene, but then shook her head and tried to concentrate on the boy who she was sitting by.
      “I love you, and I would take a bullet for you any day. I love you, and I always will. Forever until eternity ends-even after that, I’ll still love you. You love me too, right, Kate?” The eighteen-year-old boy softly spoke. His gorgeous green eyes were locked on her and only her.
      “Of course I love you, how could you be unsure?” Kate’s soft voice soothed his worries. She twirled her curly blond hair with one finger and closed her blue eyes.
      “I don’t know. I was just making sure,” Cody said, nodding once and looking away.
      There was a moment’s pause, and then Kate took Cody’s hand and curled up against his body. Cody kissed Kate’s cheek.
      “I love you so much, Cody. But…” Kate’s voice cracked.
      “But what?” Cody asked, pushing her away from him.
      “I can’t… I just can’t do this anymore.” Tears rolled down her cheeks.
      “What do you mean? You aren’t… You aren’t breaking up with me are you?” He could feel his heart start to shatter.
      “I-I-I’m sorry.”
      “You just said you loved me, you can’t break up with me. No...”
      “I’m sorry!” Kate sobbed, getting up. She grabbed her purse and started running, leaving Cody alone.
      Cody simply sat there in shock. He was never emotional, but right then, he could feel the tears prick at his eyes. He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a small, black box. He opened it and pulled out the delicate-looking, silver ring.
      He had planned the night out perfectly, spent all his savings on the ring, and also had to steal the candles from his mother behind her back.
      He had done so much for this girl, so much, and she didn’t even realize it. Cody was in love with Kate, and had been for the year and a half they were dating. Even before Kate knew him, he crushed on her.
      Now Kate had just crushed Cody’s heart.
      Crushes are just meant to crush your heart, Cody’s twin sister had once told him. He didn’t believe her. Now he regretted it.
      Why did she do that to me, no, how could she do that to me? Did she not know how much she meant to me? Cody thought, pain shooting from every direction in his body, his stomach knotting just thinking about her.
      
      * * * * * *
      
      The month rolled by as Cody tried to forget Kate, but her scent of lilacs, her beautiful looks, and her once love for him, were all burned into his memory.
      The phone rang beside the kitchen counter Cody sat at. He picked it up after two rings, remembering no one was home to answer it, and mumbled, “Hello?”
      “Cody?” A familiar female voice asked.
      “Yeah, this is him,” Cody responded, trying to remember whose voice that was, then it clicked in his mind.
      “Hey, this is-” The girl didn’t get the chance to finish her sentence because Cody had hung up on her.
      How dare she call after smashing my heart? Cody angrily thought, Kate’s image popped into his mind.
      The phone rang again. The answering machine picked up.
      “Cody, I know you’re there. You just picked up the phone a second ago. Come on, I need to talk to you. Cody! Ugh, I can’t stand you- no, no! I didn’t mean it like that… Just.. Please call me back.” Kate hung up.
      Yes you did, liar. Cody thought cruelly as he left the phone alone. He wasn’t going to come crawling back, no matter what his heart was feeling.
      The phone started to ring once more. Cody picked up this time.
      “What do you want?” He shouted.
      “I-I’m sorry,” Kate’s voice hinted a small amount of fear, but it made Cody smile anyways.
      “Stop your lying,” Cody snarled.
      “I really am, please, don’t be mad at me.”
      “It’s too late for that.”
      “Just listen to me, I wanted to say-” Kate started crying before she could say the rest of what she meant to say.
      “Say what. That you’re sorry again? Look, I’m not going to accept it.” Cody growled.
      “I just w-wanted to say… m-my last goodbye, b-b-before I die,” Kate sniffed.
      “You’re not going to commit suicide, are you? I should be the one who’d commit-” This time Kate had cut him off.
      “N-no, I’m not. L-look, that last night w-we saw each other… the day b-before that, I had just figured out that… that… that I have blood clot in my brain. ” Kate bust into loud, uncontrollable sobs.
      “What?” Cody said, concerned; his grudge had faded away.
      “And it turns out tha-that I've had this blood clot in my brain for some time,” Another sob, then, “B-But it turns out that I’m just going to have surgery, but I don’t know if I’ll make it.”
      Fear crawled up Cody’s spine.
      “I hope you d-do know I meant it that I love you. I really, truly do.” Kate’s voice sounded more in control, but she still was crying. “I meant to tell you this in school that week, but you always avoided me, but I guess you had every right to be furious with me. After the first few times that I had finally caught up to you, I tried to t-tell you, but, of course, I chickened out.”
      “I still love you, and I always will. Forever, until eternity ends-even after that, I’ll still love you.” Cody quoted himself.
      “And so will I. Forever and ever.”  She sniffled.
      “Katie, it’s time to go now. The doctors will be waiting,” A voice said on Kate’s side of the phone.
      
      A week later, Katie Leanne Smith had died in the hospital in Cody Alan Cook’s arms after she had faintly whispered a yes to his proposal to marriage.