Love Is Hard

He drove me around to show me all the important spots. LIke his old school and the place he used to get his food from. He showed me the park where he used to come with his friends, as he drove around he stopped.

"And this here, is the place my singing took off, I used to come here and sit there on those stairs," he pointed, "Right there and play for hours. My mom used to force me to go home sometimes, I loved it." I smiled as he told me. I looked at the building through the window of the car ans smiled.

"This is it. This is my home." I smiled again, "I understand why you love it so much. It's so quiet and small and kind of perfect. But it will always be your home. I get it." Justin nodded and continued to drive, "But I've made myself a new home in LA at least for now. That home I have made is not forever, I want to move on in life before I settle in a house."

I let him keep talking about what he was talking about while I took in this place. I watched the buildings and the small houses and the trees. There was trees and lots of trees in this place. That's one thing I missed about Michigan was the woods and the trees.

I used to have a fort in the woods with my sister in our backyard when we were little. It was nothing big but whenever I was bored I would go into the fort and just sit there. There was all types of things there. Like blankets and little toys, in fact I think that fort just still might be there. I would have to check the next time I ended up in Michigan.

"Don't you miss it?" Justin asked. "What?" I asked back, the cold and brisk winters, the beautiful summer days?" I nodded. I missed the snow. I never really loved snow when I lived in Michigan but once I left I missed it.

Christmas isn't the same without some snow. "Yeah I do. You?" He nodded concentrating on the road.

"Would you take it back?" I asked. "What being famous?" I answered, "Well yeah." There was a moment of silence and then he spoke, "I don't regret it, I love the life I have made for myself, but there are always days where I wish I could go out and do things and not have people following me around. I miss hanging out with my friends everyday. I wish I could see them more often. But if it wasn't for this life I may still be eating from that place. So no, I wouldn't take it back. I just wish I could go back to a normal life sometimes where no one even knew my name. Just my friends and family."

"Don't you miss Michigan?" He asked me as he finished his answer, "Sometimes I wish Dylan never died. I never Aliah, and my dad never died. If none of that happened I would be in Michigan still. Happy. I would've went to college and done something with my life. I love Ali to death but now I don't have time to do what I want with my life."

"What is that?" He asked. "I had this teacher in high school, she was my english teacher she was the only one that would talk to me about my pregnancy. I had to miss the last few weeks of May and the beginning of June and I wanted to finish school so I could graduate...

"Mr.Harris, I need to finish school and graduate with my friends." I explained to my principal during my free period. He looked at my stomach, "You are pregnant, you are due in a few weeks. I can't have you graduate here without finishing exams." I looked at him and stopped him mid sentence, "Look I have great grades, actually every teacher is saying I'm doing great. So why can't I graduate? Is it because I will not be taking finals? Because I want to come take finals. I do. Is that why? I have my dad who can watch my baby so I can graduate with my friends. Mr. Harris please."

"Ava I have thought about it. You aren't going to be able to." He stopped. "Is it because I'm pregnant? Is it?" He didn't say anything. "This is so stupid and unfair." I said before leaving his office.

I heard the bell ring. It was the last class of my last day of school. For good, I guess. I walked over to my locker. I opened it up one last time and grabbed my English binder and the book we were currently reading. I walked to Ms. Weston's room. She was standing in the hallway right in front of her door like always, handing out a piece of paper with some questions on it, like every day. We had to take a reading check quiz every class to make sure we read the chapter assigned the night before. I sat down in my seat next to some friends like always and as I began taking the quiz I realized it didn't matter.

I wrote my name at the top of the paper and I wrote the date and the period. I looked at the first question began answering it and stopped. I stood up from the desk slowly and walked to her desk where she was sitting. I handed it to her and walked back.

"Ava, come here please." I was about to sit down. "Yes?" I asked from across the room. "Did you not read last night?" I shook my head, "I did read. This quiz doesn't matter, I'm not graduating anyways." She looked confused. "Mr. Harris won't let me graduate. So why should I try anymore?" Ms. Weston looked at me, her pretty brown curly hair and bright green eyes looked at me. She was young, only 28. She got engaged this year though. She was getting married in December.

"Ava? Did he really say that?" I nodded. "Ava, come out in the hallway with me please." The tears began falling. The baby started to kick and I was stressed out. Michael a classmate went to the front of the room to hand in his quiz in. He walked over to me and gave me a hug.

"Ava, you are the smartest and strongest person in this grade, you will be fine." He said to me. "Thanks, Mike." He shrugged his shoulders and walked back to his seat opening his book and I walked out the door to Ms. Weston.

"Did he really say you can't graduate? You are passing every class." I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know why he won't if it's because I'm pregnant or what. I just want everyone to believe I can do it. I want my mom to have a reason to come back to Michigan because she won't even come when my baby is being born. I want to make my dad proud because his daughter got pregnant at 17. I want everyone to believe in me."

"Go back in class and go to the front of class and read them the paper you wrote. It's on my desk. I will be back in a few minutes. I have to go tell something to Principal Harris."

I walked back into the classroom and everyone was reading. They all looked up when they heard the door open. "Guys, Ms. Weston will be back in a little while, she told me I have to read my essay for you but I don't really want to." I wiped the last few tears from my eyes.

"Please, Ava." Someone said, it was Raylee. She never really talked. She was the one who edited that essay for me.

"Raylee why?" I asked, "I loved that essay. It wasn't even an essay. It was a story being told through the one who knew it the most." I smiled. I saw the pile of essays on Ms. Weston's desk. I went through them finding mine.

When I saw the red A written on my paper I smiled. I turned to the first page and began to read,

"January 21st, that day will forever be in my heart. I lost my best friend that day. That day was the last day I saw the love of my life. The last time I said, 'I love you' to him, that day will always be important to me." I continued to read the essay to my class. I hadn't noticed that Ms. Weston had walked back into the class.

"Now January 21st will always be the worst memory. That day will be the worst day, but a remembered day." I finished. I looked up to a class that never listened to Ms. Weston, had listened to me. They were texting secretly or sleeping. Each and every single one of them, they were listening to me.

"Ava, I talked to Principal Harris. You get to graduate with your class." I smiled. I went to hug her. That was the best news of the day. "Thank you, Ms. Weston, thank you."

"And I was inspired. I was forever going to thank her but I want to do the same for someone, I want to be an English teacher." As I told the story to Justin he listened, I hadn't realized that the car was parked.

"Did she really do that?" I nodded. "That's one amazing teacher." I smiled. He drove to his house and we didn't really do much for the rest of the day.

"Ava, I have to leave." He said to me. "Justin where are you going? I came here to spend time with you. Why are you leaving?"

He spoke, "I just have to go alright. I will be back in a few hours. Call Ryan and do something." I nodded. I watched him pull out into the road and drive away.

"Don't worry about Justin, he wouldn't leave you. I know that." His grandma spoke.

"i know that, I just I came here and left my daughter at my house because I wanted to spend time with him." She handed me a pair of keys.

"Take my car, we are staying in tonight. Go find something to do in this small town." I smiled, "Are you sure?" She nodded, "Thank you, so much." I hugged her.

I went to change into a clothes that were a little warmer. Summer nights in Canada brought chilly nights. I put on the sweatpants I was wearing on the airplane and a t-shirt I had packed. Only 1 of the 3 I had packed.

I walked out the front door after saying goodbye to his grandparents, I decided to make my way to Ryan's house. He didn't live far from Justin's grandparents. As I arrived at the house I got out of the car and locked it. Taking my purse and putting the keys inside. I knocked on the door to the house and Ryan opened it.

"What are you doing here?" He asked. "Justin ditched me, he told me to come here." He smiled. "I'm sorry. Come inside." He said nicely. I sat down on the kitchen stool and he did too, "Do you want something to drink?" I shook my head, and after having nice small talk, I heard my phone ring.

I looked at the caller ID, it was my beautiful daughter. I answered the phone with a smile.