Then you came along

Chapter Five

Ella ran a hand over the engraved letters, " My memories...That's what you are now Luke, a memory, one that will last a lifetime", she whispered as she unlocked the wooden trunk and took out her diaries. It had been a while since she last opened that box and written something in her diary. She couldn't bring herself to write about Luke's accident, she had tried to, but her tears had been the only thing that touched the empty page. She always put her honest feelings in black and white, but she didn't even know how to call what she was feeling and how to describe it using words. Probably the reason why she had resorted to self-harm, her mind had been full with only negative thoughts and she had just followed those thoughts without even trying to find some light in that darkness. But the incident had shaken her up, it will surely scar her for life and one that she would not repeat. She rather put her pride aside and asked for help that tries to take away the most precious thing that she had been given.

Ella took out her diaries and she remembered how she used to love reading the secret love notes that she had written for Luke. She had a lot of hope that one day Luke would have seen her differently, that they would have been a couple and she would have read all of those love notes to him. Hopes were shattered and a wish had been blown away by destiny. A dream which could never come true, one which had only turned into a sad story written on a few pages. At one point she had wanted to burn all of her diaries. She had wanted to just sit there and watch all of those feelings that she had poured into the ink printed on those pages, turn into ashes. But, a part of her warned her that she would also be burning all of her other memories.

She opened the new diary which she had barely written anything in there, except a paragraph about wishing upon the stars, another page had tear stains all over it. With a hesitating hand, she grabbed her pen and turned the page, a photograph fell from inside the diary and onto her bed. Ella put the diary and the pen down on her bed, she slowly picked up the photograph and looked at it. Tears clouded her eyes and she had to blink a couple of times to get rid of the teardrops stuck on her eyelashes . She looked at the picture of Luke and her hugging each other tightly . They were both smiling happily, it was one of those happiest moments in their life. Ella closed her eyes as she remembered that day, images flashed through her mind like a movie being played on the interior of her skull. There was a volleyball inter-school competition and Luke was playing on their school team. It was an intense game with loads of suspense as the cup could have gone to either side. In the end, Luke was the one to score the winning point for their school team. He had run over to where she was standing with her other friends cheering for him, he had picked her up and twirled her around.

" We won",  he shouted and she shouted along with him.  The picture was taken inside the school gymnasium after Luke was presented with his gold medal. It was only now that she could remember seeing Alexandra speaking to Luke on that day and she wondered if that was the beginning of their romance. She quickly opened her eyes and put the picture inside the wooden box and closed the lid. 

She grabbed the pen and her diary, took in a deep breath as her pen danced across the empty page.

" I know, it's been a while, I've been on a roller coaster the past two months. At one point I even wished that time will stop, so that I could no longer feel the pain that I am feeling inside. If only I had the power to take away painful memories and move on. But I cannot, I’m only human, I bleed like everyone else. No one would be able to understand the pain I had endured the past two months.No one understands me, all they want is for me to forget but, I just can't! They think that by writing a new story, I would forget the old painful one, but it’s impossible  as part of my heart remains in that old story.  My parents moved me to a new city, we are now in California.Thinking it's for the best but, it isn't! I'm far away from Luke..  the only place I could talk to him, be close to him. Don't ask me what happened to him... I chose not to speak about it, let alone write about it.

I start school next week, new school, new beginnings?!, new people ... 

Speaking of new people. I met this guy today...not in an amicably way. I'm not even going to write about how we met and what I did. I just can't erase his face from my mind! Even if my eyes were a bit blurry, I'm sure that I will recognize him if I cross his path again, because...

He looks like Luke! well, not entirely but I noticed a few good physical resemblances. Anyway..the first resemblance, he is Asian looking, he is slightly a bit taller than Luke though,  but his dark hair and his quiff haircut reminded me of Luke's and can you believe he also rides a black motorcycle just like Luke!

On my way home I kept telling myself that maybe he came to me in another form.. to rescue me..that he was my guardian angel?! That’s it, he just came to rescue me then he was gone... but what if he was for real, that out there, there is a guy who looks exactly like Luke. 

If that’s the case, I rather never see him again.  Ever again !! Angel or not! Please God don't let me come face to face with that young man again  ..I'm too embarrassed for what I did and the way I reacted.

Maybe now it's time for me to dress up and play pretend. Pretend that I'm fine when I'm still dying inside, pretend that I love being here so that my parents will stop harassing me all the time and asking if I'm fine 24/7. I've been unfair to them for quite a while. Our home has been like a battlefield, I've turned into a rebel and it's time for me to stop. 

Luke...I will love you forever...

Love xo Ella Day.

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The first day of college supposed to be something with great meaning, filled with excitement,  a total nerve-racking day for many students suffering from the first-day jitters. Everyone who goes to college goes to pursue their dreams and some others for the thrill of crossing over into adulthood which for them equals total freedom. Whilst everyone was thinking about what to wear to make a first good impression,  Ella Day, couldn't be bothered. Now, the college had a new meaning for her, it was a place for her to escape from her reality, she promised to bury herself in her studies so that she wouldn't have time to think about anything else.  

Be on time, the first important rule of college life. Ella checked her watch and stepped out of her mother's car  looking up at the school's name, shading her eyes from the morning sun she read the name of the school ;

 " Central Valley College" was written in bold white letters.

" Honey, Do you want me to accompany you?", her mother asked,  Ella turned and looked at her with wide eyes, she was off to college, not kindergarten. 

" Mum, you the know the answer to that. I'm going, I'll call you later.. and Mum I love you", she said and her mother smiled. 

" Love you too honey, be good. Make new friends.. make sure you eat your lunch..", her mother said and Ella had to laugh.

" Mum I'm not a kid anymore !", she said with a smile. She knew that her mother meant well and that she will always look out for her.

After waving goodbye to her mother, Ella walked towards the school and already the campus was busy with students walking around the multi-colored stalls looking at the different clubs. She held her note books against her chest and  looked around the stalls, not showing any particular interest in any of those clubs. Glancing around her,  Ella felt like an alien, she didn't know anyone and she didn’t even know where to go on the first day. Ella had ignored the letter for orientation day which was two weeks before school would have started. She used the excuse that she wasn't ready to mingle with people and her parents didn't force her.

Since she didn't attend orientation, she was informed that on the first day there will be a member of the student council representatives who will welcome them, but she couldn't see anyone who looked like a tour guide.  Ella navigated her way through the crowd making her way towards the stairs at the entrance of the school, thinking that she would look for the reception to ask for help. As she approached a group of students close to the stairs, she stopped in her track when she noticed the one person she didn't want to see ever again, the guardian angel dash Luke's look-alike! For a few seconds she stood there staring in his direction with wide eyes as if she was making sure that she wasn’t seeing things, then she quickly turned around.

" Oh no! Tell me that he doesn’t go to this school!!", she whispered as shame circled her. 

Of course he does , what do you think he is doing here! Of all the schools in this massive city, he has to go to this particular one!, Ella silently said to herself as she quickly walked away so that she could hide amongst the other students until the bell would ring and everyone will be going inside. 

" Sorry!", she said as she bumped straight into someone and her notebooks went flying away. 

" I'm sorry as well... I was in a hurry!", the other girl said as they bend to pick up their books.

Damian looked towards the group of students who were standing not far from the bottom of the staircase. He thought that he had seen that girl he saved from the lake coming towards them but then she had disappeared into thin air.

I must be seeing things., he said to himself as he glanced towards the school’s  compound.

"Hi Damian Lang ..", a girl flirtatiously said as she walked past him bringing him back to reality. 

" Hook me up with your friend and I'll give you his number, it’s a fair deal", one of his friends said as he winked at one of the girls in the group.

Damian laughed at his friend’s remark and shook his head, after two years in college he was used to all of those female attentions. He had broken so many hearts and had his heartbroken as well, he had put a pause on chasing girls, for now, since he wanted to concentrate on his studies for a change. His smile was cut short when his ex Bianca,  approached them with her faithful followers, Alice and Paula. 

" You seem to love the attention, don't you Damian?", Bianca asked with an angry tone as she turned to look back towards the girls who had walked by and rolled her eyes. 

" I think you are the attention seeker Bianca. Since you came all the way to try and make me have a conversation with you, especially, since you are well aware  that I am not interested in talking to you “, Damian replied and his friends laughed but they stopped as Bianca flashed them a killer look.

Damian grabbed his backpack , " Guys see you later ", he said walking away leaving Bianca staring at his back.

Everyone could feel the tension between Bianca and Damian. Some of them knew what had happened but some were clueless as they glanced at each other mouthing "what's going on?".

Back on the campus; As they stood up ,the young lady looked at Ella and smiled,

" I'm Laura", the ginger-haired girl offered her, her hand for a handshake and Ella smiled as she introduced herself. She found the girl pretty, she had tiny freckles on her nose, large green eyes and she loved her long frizzy ginger hair which she had put up in a ponytail.

" You must be new around here. I noticed you looked a bit lost", Laura said.

Ella laughed softly and answered yes.

" Well, you must be a freshman, like me?", Laura said.

" Yes, I just moved here,  it's nearly three months now, so everything is new", she replied.

Before she could ask Laura which  subjects she was taking, they heard someone  through a megaphone calling for all freshman to follow him and they both looked at each other and laughed as his voice sounded funny.

“ I’ll see you around “, Laura said, Ella nodded yes and softly smiled at her before she walked away towards her friends who were waiting for her.

Here goes! Ella said as she followed the other students. The new chapter of her life and one thing she needed to do was stay out of the way of Luke’s look alike.