Blood Stained Rose

Its over now

It's Over Now
​"Alice Claire Moore." Do you know that feeling when you're finally getting recognized for all the hard work you've done? All the hours of studying, all the tests, all the good grades have all paid off. My high school diploma is only a small reward. The real reward was my acceptance letter to the University of California to get my masters in forensic science. The best part is Braydon's going with me. I walk down the long aisle of teenagers that I've gone to school with since I first came here. I step onto the stage and take my diploma and shake the principal's hand. I take my seat and smile at my daddy and give him thumbs up. He smiles and wipes away a few runaway tears. This is the end to my story in Ruidoso and only the beginning of my life story.
​"High school is over!" Braydon says.
​"Finally," Josh says. We head over to TCBY to celebrate. We grab our favorite ice creams and search for a table. It seems like the whole town is here. I make my way through the crowd to Aiden's parents.
​"Congratulations, Alice." Aiden's mom says giving me a hug.
​"Thank you so much. I'm so sorry about you're loss." It's been a week since Aiden died and his parents have been working on putting his funeral together since. I feel horrible for them. I couldn't imagine losing my kid. I give them a sad smile and then head to my table where all my friends are.
​"Hey, Alice, where are you heading now?" Shaun asks. I smile and pull out my acceptance letter. Shaun takes it and studies it.
​"You're going to the University of California to study forensic science? You're going to your dream college!" Shaun says waving the letter around. He smiles real big and stands up on his chair. "Excuse me! Can I have all of your attention please? This young lady right here, Alice, has been accepted to the University of California to study forensic science. Can she get a round of applause for her?"
​Everyone burst into applause and the guys hoot and whistle. Braydon and Shaun make me stand on my chair and I curtsy and smile really big. My cheeks are warm and I know I'm a deep shade of red right about now. The applause dies down and I sit in my chair, laughing.
​"Gee, thanks." I mutter and rest my chin on my fist.
​"You're very welcome," Shaun says smiling. Dad makes his way through the crowd and makes it to me.
​"You got your acceptance letter? Honey, I'm so proud of you! Your mother would be just as proud if she were here."
​"Thank you, dad." I say. Dad nods and Jared steals his attention away. Braydon takes my hand and lead me out of the restaurant and down an alley.
​"Where are we going?" I ask.
​"Somewhere we can't be bothered." Down the alley is stairs that lead to a lower parking lot and we turn a corner and he stops. He turns and faces me. He doesn't say anything he just puts one hand on my waist and the other on the side of my face and pulls me closer so I can feel his warm breath. "I love you, Alice."
​With that he closes the space in between us and kisses me. Almost on cue it starts to rain. We stop kissing and look up at the dark sky. I look at him and we both start laughing. He looks into my eyes and then we kiss again. Our hair and clothes are soaked and are sticking to us. Braydon takes my hand and we take shelter under a tree.
​"I have something to show you," Braydon whispers. I look at him and he pulls something out of his back pocket.
​"What's this?" I say. He hands it to me and I take it.
​"This is my acceptance letter to the University of California. I'm going to study to be a lab technician under a forensic scientist."
​"Braydon, you're kidding me right?" He shakes his head and I kiss him. This is the only beginning, I think.