I intertwined my fingers with Sophie's, smiling at how she slightly squeezed my hand. I brought her to the Potato Festival, today being our 3 month. Afterwards I was going to take her to her favorite place and let her shop till I was broke.
It's going to be amazing to see her face light up when she realizes what's going to happen.
"Knock down the three bottles and win a prize, knock down seven and win a giant stuffed animal! Only 5 dollars!" A man in a booth yelled, breaking me out of my thoughts.
"Would you like to try?" The man asked me, smiling and pointing at all the prizes. "You could win a little something for your lady here."
I looked over at Sophie, noticing how she eyed the pink bear.
"Okay, I'll try. Just five right?"
"Yes sir, just five."
He handed me five balls, stepping back as I threw the first ball towards the middle. The top bottle fell off, and ball after ball, I finally managed to knock them all down.
The man hit a buzzer, red lights flashing and the word "winner" being screamed out of a speaker. I pointed to the pink bear, and handing it to me, the man gave me a nod before turning and trying to persuade someone else.
"Thank you so much!" Sophie squealed, grabbing the bear and hugging it.
"Anything for you," I laughed, glad to see her happy.
We walked over to a group of friends, joining in on their conversation.
"Yo Ryan, isn't that your ex over there?" Travis pointed out.
I turned slightly to see Lauren walking around. She had cut her hair, really short too, and there were dark circles under her eyes. In all honesty, she looked horrible.
"Yeah," I nodded, turning back to the group and continuing on.
"I don't see what you seen in her. I mean come on, she looks like death," Travis commented.
"She wasn't like before. Her hair was longer, really long, and she never dark circles under her eyes. So just shut up, okay?" Him talking about her like that aggravated me.
I was the one who ended it, yeah, but I still care about her. If it wasn't for me she wouldn't look like that. But if it wasn't for me I wouldn't of met Sophie.
I looked back at her, quickly turning away when she caught me. Out of the corner of my eye, I seen her roll her eyes and keep on walking.
"You know, I heard people who cut their hair like that have thoughts of suicide." Ian commented, and I glared at him.
"She wouldn't do that," I muttered, glancing back at her.
"Whatever man."
"Can we leave now? I just wanna go back to your house." Sophie said, tugging my shirt a little to get my attention.
"Sure," I replied, hearing the boys let out whistles. "Come on."
•••
I laid next to Sophie, her head on my chest as she drew lazy circles on my stomach. Today didn't really go as expected, but it was still good.
"Happy three months," Sophie whispered, laying her hand flat.
I kissed the side of her head, muttering a happy three months before getting up and tugging a pair of basketball shorts back on.
I walked downstairs, going into the living room and turning on the tv.
"Breaking News," the news man said into his microphone. "16 year old Lauren Chanel Freeman has committed suicide this afternoon, October 21, 2011. Her parents found her dead in the bathroom, with the words 'I can't take it anymore' written on the wall in paint."
As the news anchor droned on, I turned towards the door, pushing Sophie out of my path as she had came up behind me.
She screamed for me to wait as I threw open the front door, running down the front steps and starting down the block.
I heard the sirens of the ambulance growing louder as I got closer to her house. Turning the corner, I started to slow down as I seen a bunch of people gathered at her house. I pushed through them, ignoring the police offer as he grabbed my arm, telling me I couldn't go any further.
I watched as the paramedics walked out of the house, Lauren's body on the stretcher. Her hand had fell off the side during the rush, and as I watched every drip of blood hit the ground, I felt my heart shatter.
Because deep down.
I was still in love with her.
