Jake

My name is Lauren Marie Hunter and I am eighteen years old. I moved to Green Valley about two years ago.  Many girls here hate me; I wish I could say the same about the guys.  Almost every guy here has asked me out already and they don’t even know me. To some people that might be a good thing but to me I think it’s wrong.
I have only had one boyfriend in my life and he’s gone.  His name was Jake.  We were together for a little over a year and then one day he stopped answering his phone. I left tons of messages but he never returns my calls.  About a week later he stopped coming to school and it worried me.  I decided to try to call one last time. Someone answered but it wasn’t him.  It was his mother.
I asked to talk to Jake and she started crying. I was so scared that something happened to him. She said that he was really sick last week.  Between sobs I managed to hear that she thought it was just the flu but suddenly he started having seizures.  I didn’t know what to say. I apologized for calling and I hung up even though I had so many questions for her. Like if he was still even alive.  The second I hung up I called back.
I asked her what happened to him and she said that he was in Green Valley hospital but he wasn’t doing to good. She said he was in room 304 and that they were not allowing visitors after three. I looked at the clock. It was two o’clock.  I immediately hung up the phone, got my jacket and threw on my shoes. I was at the hospital sooner than I thought. 
I ran pass the sign in desk, not even caring that they were hollering at me.  I quickly found room 304.  When I looked in and seen him lying there, I could feel the tears swell up in my eyes.  I can remember everything like it happened just yesterday.    I remember what felt like the longest walk ever to the chair on the other side of the bed.  I remember staying at the hospital that night and I remember talking to the nurse about how long he had to live. She said she wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t make it through the night.  That worried me.
About a week later he was doing better. We were together every second of every day.  We were at his house and his mother had asked me if I wanted to stay the night.  I decided it wasn’t a good idea since my mom was already mad at me about my grades.  So I remember walking home that night. While walking I thought about all the good times me and Jake had together.  I thought about how if he would have died that night in the hospital, I would have been so crushed.  I couldn’t even imagine losing him, not after everything we’ve been through.
That night felt like the longest night I could ever imagine.  When I woke up in the morning, my mom had breakfast ready and on the table for me.  It’s not usual for her to do this. She always made me breakfast if she had bad news to tell me.  Just like when dad died.  I remember every thought running through my head.  I remember the way she sat down at the table as she began to speak.  I had no idea what she was about to tell me.  She started out saying that someone had died. Every time I think about this I get the same sharp pain that went through me as she said that Jake was gone. 
I remember leaving the table as I tried to walk up the stairs. I felt like a part of me was gone. I couldn’t see straight. I thought it was just a dream or should I say nightmare, but it wasn’t.  Every night I still lay in bed thinking of him. Thinking about how much I loved him and how much I miss him. I wanted to know what his last thoughts were.  That day I went to his house, even though I didn’t want to face his empty room. His mom was sitting in his room in the corner crying so hard that her face was red. I remember her hugging Jakes bear he had since he was a baby. 
That following week of school was hard.  I found it hardest when we were in homeroom and the teacher was still calling his name for attendance.  So here I am today, I am on my way to his funeral.  I’m very nervous because I have to go up in front of everyone and give a speech about him. When I arrive at the funeral home the first person I go to is his mother. I hugged her and told her how sorry I am about her loss and everyone elses. 
Everyone takes a seat as I walk to the podium.
“My name is Lauren Marie Hunter and I am Jakes girlfriend. We were together for a little over a year and we were inseparable.  I loved him so much and I always will love him.  We always talked about how we would grow old together and how we would have our two kids.” I felt the tears streaming down my face. “We talked about everything.  He was there for me through my ups and my downs and I was there for him too.  We had so much fun together and we never ever fought about anything.  We always talked about what would have happened if he never got the courage to ask me out.  He said that he would have killed himself if I died.  I told him that wasn’t necessary.  That he could move on and he told me he wouldn’t want me to ever hurt myself if he died. He told me that I could move on and that he knew that I would love him forever. “My legs feel so weak right now. I feel like I am going to collapse. But I have to keep going.  “Jake if you are listening right now, we all miss you and we all love you.  We hope you will be waiting for us when it is our time to go.”
After I was done giving the speech, everyone came up to hug me.  I was the last one there.  Everyone had gone home.  I didn’t want to leave him. It is the last time I will get to see Jake.  The guy in charge of the place is making me leave now. I told him that I just need more time.  I just stared at Jake. Hoping that he would start to breathe but I knew it wouldn’t happen. The guy came back and said I had to leave now.  He was already running late.  Before I left I gave him a kiss and laid my favorite heart necklace down in his hands. It was time to leave him forever.