The Unraveling of Isla Rose

The Beginning

My name is Isla Rose I am 16 and far from perfect. I consider myself to be like that dress you loved when you were little. It would be one of your most treasured possessions until one day you notice a small tear in the side. You watch it grow, bigger and bigger until one day it completely unravels.

I have never considered myself to be perfect and I probably never will be. Perfection is something we strive for and yet very few actually achieve it. I consider Tom to be perfect. He is a tall, witty, tousle-haired 17-year-old and he is my boyfriend of 12 months. I have tried writing this a few times contemplating whether I want it to be brutally honest or a little sugar coated purely for the enjoyment of readers. This time it is going to be as raw as possible. I will be honest and brutal. So let's begin!

When I first met Tom I didn't think much of him. I neither liked him nor disliked him. He was just always there. The first time I actually talked to him was on my way home from school. We walk the same way with my street just stopping short of his. I enjoyed our idle conversations on school, sport and our struggling social lives and over the course of a few weeks we grew closer. There was never a day where my love for him hit me. No, look or touch, not a laugh or a joke. It was more as if one day I appreciated him the next I liked him. Simple yet oh so very complicated. I made sure I kept my feelings to myself. I wasn't about to go and ruin a friendship I had only created a month or so earlier by madly confessing my love to him and riding off into the sunset. Rejection wasn't only a character I feared but also one I knew well. I was cautious and was in no way about to let my guard down. One day after school I went to open my locker when I noticed a note that was somehow jammed between the door and the hinge. I pulled it out and unfolded it carefully. It read;

'I knew when I met you an adventure was going to happen... That is a quote from Winnie the Pooh... Meet me at the park after school...

T'

I knew straight away that it was from Tom. I folded it carefully before leaving it under a pile of textbooks at the back of my locker. I wasn't one to appreciate cheesy things very often and this was no exception, however, I would still go to the park and see whatever it was he was so keen to show me.

Once period 4 ended and I had packed the books that I knew I wouldn't open and slung my bag over my shoulder. With the park only across the road from the school, I got there fairly quickly and waited, swiping through my phone, my back pressed against a tree. I looked up when I noticed someone coming towards me. Tom was walking across the grass keeping his eyes fixed on the ground in front of him.

"Whats up with you? Did you have science last of something?"

Tom's science teacher was renowned for being particularly terrible on Fridays handing out extra homework and detentions to anyone who breathed.

"I take it you got my little note then?"

"I did I almost died from the cheesiness, are you feeling ok or has that Jess girl finally broken your heart?"

Jess was a girl Tom had had a massive crush on since year 4. With him now being in year 11, it seemed like some kind of record.

"No, I actually have something to ask you. Kind of a favor actually." He had this half smile on his face and he had still hardly looked me in the eye. His gaze constantly darting from left to right then back at the ground.

"I am willing to help as long as it's not to bury a body, you're great and all but I have dreams and aspirations to for fill!"

he laughed this time and seemed to relax a bit. He rubbed the back of his neck before continuing, sniffing slightly.

"No, I actually wanted to ask you if you wanted to do something tomorrow?"

It wasn't uncommon for us to spend weekends together doing homework and bickering over who was right and wrong.

"Yeah why not! I just don't understand why you need to plan this with a note and a Winnie the pooh quote?" When he next spoke it was so quiet I almost missed it.

"Well, I was thinking more like a date?"

I was so taken aback I think the shock was written all over my face and he had obviously noticed because he went bright red and began to mutter something about not worrying about it and to just forget it. I recovered a little attempting to compose myself before replying.

"Yes ok I think that would be ok but first let me check my calendar I think I had a few other 'dates' lined up for tomorrow."

Again he grinned and with that we left the park.

That night I texted him asking what we should do and before he had a chance to respond an idea jumped into my head. I began typing so quickly I thought my fingers would go numb.

"Your place, 6pm, every movie I have suggested we watch and tons of chocolate and pizza."

As I sent it I felt the nerves begin to kick in. Up until this point, it felt like any other weekend. I tried not to romanticize too much and to keep things in perspective. As I ate dinner that night we continued to text as though nothing had changed. This was probably the best part. Everything was normal, nothing to worry about, no big deal. Right?