   John fell in love with Alice the moment he first saw her. It all began when Alice moved into his building next door. It was the summertime in New York and his birthday was the same week. He felt as if God brought him an early birthday present. John wasn’t your typical average guy. He had some demons inside of him. He was the bad boy type and immediately when he saw Alice he thought she wouldn’t like him. When Alice saw John she introduce herself first. John couldn’t believe she approached him so he stuttered his words as he tried to introduce himself back. Alice thought it was cute so she chuckled a little. They spoke for a little and got acquainted.
“So where did you move from Alice?” John said.
“My family and I moved from Atlanta, and I can see already that it is very different”, Alice said.
“Oh nice so you’re a southern girl I see…. an attractive one at that”, John said.
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Alice blushed and couldn’t stop smiling as she said “Thank You!”
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   Alice didn’t think she was attractive at all, not even on the inside. You see when she was 3 years old she was diagnosed with a heart disease. Ever since then its’ been hard for she and her family to find a heart donor. She decided not tell John about her heart disease just yet because she didn’t want him to run off and besides she felt 100% healthy. John and Alice exchanged numbers and talked everyday since then. One day, John texted Alice to see if she wanted to go to the movies and out to dinner. She accepted and began to get all glammed up. Alice picked out her best clothes: a two-piece white floral skirt set she bought online, nude sandals and a bag to match. She put her hair into a bun that was so tall and her mother did her make-up. She was so excited she was going on her first date. Alice didn’t really date that much because she was so busy with school and her studies. Alice was more of a bookworm. She was in her third year of college studying to get her bachelors degree in English. She wanted to be a writer. There was a knock at the door and it was her date John. John was standing there with a bouquet of red roses and chocolates.
“Thank you so much John these are so beautiful”, Alice said.
“You’re welcome. You look beautiful as well. Are you ready to go?”, John said.
“Thank you and yes I am ready. Lets go.”, Alice said.
   Alice and John left and walked downstairs to his car. He had a Sahara jeep wrangler. It was matte black and had four doors. This was Alice’s dream car. She always wanted this exact same car so she was surprised when she saw he had it. First he drove them to the movie theater. He brought two tickets to see “The Notebook”. He also brought her a large popcorn and a blue raspberry slushy. Alice felt so spoiled at this point. The movie ran for three hours and after he took her to Olive Garden. Olive Garden was her favorite restaurant. She loved Italian food. She asked him how he knew this was her favorite restaurant and he said he didn’t. They immediately got a table for two with a booth. The waiter brought them two glasses of white wine. Alice never had white wine before. She really was doing things with John for the very first time.                                                 Â
“Alice stared at John with a big smile on her face and said “Thank You”.
“Thank you for spending my 22nd birthday with me”, John said.
“I didn’t know it was your birthday. Why didn’t you tell me?”, Alice said.
“I wanted tonight to be all about you and not about me”, John said.
“You’re very sweet but I have to buy you something it’s your birthday”, Alice said.
“No u don’t its okay you are my gift”, John said.
“So can I ask you a question?” Alice said.
“You can ask me anything”, John said.
“What do you do?” Alice said.
“Construction”, John simply said.
   He didn’t really do construction work. That was a cover up. He was really a drug dealer. John didn’t want Alice to know the truth so he lied. They were both keeping secrets from each other. He was a drug dealer and she was going to die soon. They both finished their meals and John drove them home. They pulled up to the building and he walked her to her door. Before she could say goodnight John kissed her. The kiss was so long and passionate. John slowly grabbed her face and told her that he loved her. Alice told him that he couldn’t and he needed to unlove her. She pushed him away and slammed the door in his face. John was left confused and thought he said something wrong. Alice ran to her room and cried. She didn’t want him to love her because she was going to die soon. She knew she couldn’t dictate his feelings but she knew it was unfair to him. For the next few days Alice ignored all of John’s messages and calls. She didn’t want to talk to him and felt bad she slammed the door in his face. John would knock on her door but she told her mom to say she wasn’t home. Two weeks went by and Alice went to go see John. He was so excited to see her, but had a lot of questions as well. He wanted to know why she ignored him for two weeks. She sat down on his couch and started to explain to him about her diagnose. She said she didn’t think it was fair to him that he loved her and she was dying. She never had someone tell her that they loved her because she never had a boyfriend. He was the first boy she did everything with. John was her first date, first kiss and first love. John listened to everything she said and told her he wanted to spend every second of everyday with her until he couldn’t anymore. So that’s what they did.
   For the next few weeks that they spent together Alice got weaker and weaker. John would cook for her and bathe her because she couldn’t do it herself. She needed someone to be there for her and she needed him. One night she asked him to take her to the beach. Without hesitation John took her. They arrived at the beach and sat close to the water. Alice laid in John’s arms and wrote I love you in the sand. Alice looked in John’s eyes and grabbed his face. She kissed him like it was her last which would be. She let him go and took her last breath. A teardrop fell down Alice’s face as she slowly drifted away. John closed Alice eyes and just held her until the sun came up. The funeral was a week later. Alice was cremated and her ashes were given to John. John went home for the last time and got his gun. He put the gun in the back of his pants. He got in his car and drove to the same beach where Alice died. He spread Alice’s ashes up in the sky and pointed the gun to his head. He knew if he wanted to be with Alice again he had to take his life. So he loaded the gun and pulled the trigger. Now he would be with Alice forever and forever.
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