Lizzie Tay is a wise beyond her years, hipster with a love for a good teen drama show along with her BFF Sophie.
Cody Winston moved to Seattle to escape his tragic pass with the death of a beloved one.
Lizzie Tay takes on Cody as a project, much t...
Dylan Taylor's POV June 14th, 2006 The final curtain bow signaled the end of the performance. Sarah loved performing Sleeping Beauty even more than The Nutcracker. She always danced for the part of Aurora and never ceased to wow. The newspapers and bloggers would rave about her performances and Sarah loved the attention of it all. Elizabeth stood up and clapped very loudly. The theater snobs around us sneered. I stood up and clapped with Elizabeth and she giggled. She has a smile just like her mother's; full of hope and glee. I took Elizabeth's hand and began to guide her to the front of the theater. People began to bump into her, as small as she is, no one was paying any attention. I stared daggers at the people who almost pushed her down and lifted her up into my arms.
"I can walk on my own." Elizabeth protests.
"I know you can, love. It's other people I don't trust." I reply softly. I find Mary Rose, Sarah's sister.
"Hey." I greet Mary.
"Hey Dylan, hi Lizzie Tay." Mary chuckles.
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(Katherine Heigl as "Mary Rose")
"Shall we go see the newly crowned princess herself?" I joke.
"Ha, she's always been a princess, Dyl." Mary shakes her head, laughing. We head backstage and down to the dressing rooms. We find Sarah taking out her hair, it falls in blonde waves around her. She looks at our reflections in the mirror and smiles.
"Is that my amazing family?" She turns around in the posh dressing room stool.
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(Jaime King as "Sarah Rose-Taylor")
"Mom, Mom, Mom, mom, mom." Elizabeth begins to squirm like a small caged animal in my arms, so I set her down. She raced over to Sarah, faster than most five-year-olds.
"Lizzie Tay, you're getting so big." Sarah lifts Elizabeth into her lap.
"I'm going to be as tall as you." Elizabeth uses her pointer finger to bop her mother's nose.
"Well, you certainly are prettier than me. You have your daddy's eyes, his hair color." Sarah tickles and kisses Elizabeth. Elizabeth just giggles and squirms a bit. I smile at this. Sarah is the love of my life, undoubtedly. The best gift she ever gave me wasn't a Rolex watch or cologne. The best gift is Elizabeth. Her birth was the best day of my life, no competition. I love my family, I'd do anything for them.
"You did amazing, sis." Mary smiles.
"You really did Sarah." I gaze into Sarah's eyes.
"Thank you...I love you both." Sarah tickles Elizabeth and she giggles.
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We put Elizabeth to bed and I returned downstairs to empty the dishwasher. Sarah took a seat on the couch and stared out the sliding glass door.
"We had a deal, Sarah..." I pause my task.
"I don't want them! I don't want the pills!" Sarah stands up abruptly.
"Sarah, please...for Elizabeth, please take them." I walk over to Sarah.
"They ruin my artistry! They crush any passion I have." Sarah argues and starts to pace.
"Then you leave me with no choice." I head up the stairs and into the hall before entering the master bedroom and I reach under the queen-sized bed. I grab the duffle bag and walk down the hallway with Sarah following me the whole time.
"Where are you going?" Sarah walks quietly behind me to the area outside Elizabeth's room.
"Don't you remember the deal? If you don't take your meds, you can't be around Elizabeth." I sigh and pull the Disney Princess suitcase out from the linen closet next to Elizabeth's bedroom.
"You can't do that! A girl needs her mother." Sarah pleads.
"If you were really her mother, you would take the meds!" I hiss.
"That's not fair." A tear rolls down Sarah's face. I feel my face soften a bit before I open the door to Elizabeth's bedroom and head over to her pink bed. Her whole room is Disney Princess themed, per Sarah's request. I leaned over and scooped a sleeping Elizabeth up and out of her bed. She stirred slightly and rubbed at her eyes. Sarah loomed in the doorway.
"Don't make this hard...for her," I whisper to Sarah. Sarah stares daggers at me for a minute before taking a step aside. I grab the two bags and head downstairs and out to my all black 2002 Jeep Wrangler. I put Elizabeth in her light pink booster seat, worn with juice spills and time.
"Where are we going?" Elizabeth yawns and rubs at her eyes.
"Go back to sleep." I kiss her forehead and shut the car door. Sarah runs out of the house as I walk to the drivers' side.
"You can't do this!" Sarah screeches at me.
"You think I want to do this?! I want Elizabeth to have a mother! A real mother..." I trail off.
"Lizzie Tay!" Sarah yells at the car.
"I'm sorry Sarah." I get in the car. As I turn the key in the ignition, Sarah bangs her hands on the windows.
"Momma?" Elizabeth says from the back.
"It'll be okay, sweetie...mom just isn't feeling well," I say as I back the Jeep out of the driveway. Sarah chases us down the driveway, shouting inaudible things.
"Where are we going?" Elizabeth wonders out loud again.
"We're gonna go see grandma and grandpa!" I cheer, trying my best not to cry as I drive off, watching Sarah fade in my rearview mirror.
"I miss Grandma." Elizabeth yawns and begins to fall back asleep. I drive for two hours, heading north until we reach Bellingham. I pull up outside the old house from the early '60s. I remove Elizabeth's seatbelt and take her into my arms, she's sleeping again, thankfully. I head to the front door and knock. It's 12 am, I'm not sure that they're awake. No one replied to my knocking so I began to frantically use the door knocker. The door swings open to my dad standing in his robe with a shotgun in hand and my mom cowering behind them with my sister, Meghan.
"I'm sorry it's so late," I whisper.
"Oh Dylan." My Mom sighs, relieved.
"I wasn't really sure where else to go." I shrug, my voice wavering. My mom ushers me in and Meghan takes Elizabeth from me. "She's been through a lot tonight." I sniffle as Meghan takes her to a bedroom down the hall and Dad closes the door.
"I'm so sorry kiddo." Mom reaches out to hug me. I accept her hug and slowly dissolve into tears. "Shhhhh...it's alright Dylan...we know." Mom hushes me.
