• She didn’t realize her true feelings for him until he was gone.

    Late December, her birthday was the next day. Josh was sitting on his bed, flipping through the school directory for her number. He figured it would be in there somewhere.
    “Come on, come on. It’s gotta be in here somewhere. There!” Josh picked up his phone and started writing the text.
    ‘Happy birthday Hailey.’ The text started. Josh put in Hailey’s number and hit the send button. He smiled and lay down on the bed. He couldn’t wait to get her response. He waited…and waited…and waited…and he then fell asleep.

    The next day at school, Josh checked his phone. There weren’t any new messages. He figured Hailey just hadn’t checked her phone yet. Josh saw her come into class. She sat next to him, and he could smell her lovely perfume. He started to lean over to wish her a happy birthday, but a bunch of her friends came over. They got in front of him and started talking to her. Josh leaned back in his chair and figured he’d tell her at lunch.
    So, when lunch came by Josh walked over to Hailey’s table. He sat down across from her.
    “H-hey Hailey.” He said. “H-happy B-birth-“ A jock pushed him out of the seat, and everyone started laughing at Josh. He heard Hailey’s laughter the loudest, though. He thought she had the most beautiful laugh.
    He picked his tray up, and whatever food of his he could find, and walked to a table at the other side of the cafeteria. He didn’t have any friends, so he sat alone.
    At the end of the day, Josh found Hailey sitting on a bench, waiting for friends no doubt. He drew up some courage and walked over to her. He sat down next to her.
    “Hey Hailey.” He said. She looked over at him. “Happy-“
    “Are you that loser who tried to talk to me at lunch?” Hailey interrupted.
    “Uh,” Josh felt his face getting hotter. “Uh. Y-yeah.” He said in a small voice. “I wanted to-“
    “Ew! Get away from me!” She yelled. She pushed Josh off the bench.
    “I lo-“ Josh got picked up by the jockey before he finished his sentence.
    “What’re you doin’ ‘round Hailey punk?” He asked.
    “I-I was just wishing her a-“ He got thrown on the ground before he finished.
    “You were just leaving.” The jockey said.
    Josh got up and started to walk towards his bus. He overheard Hailey talking to the jock. “He probably wishes he were never born. He doesn’t have anything to live for. He should kill himself” Josh’s eyes began to fill with tears. He walked to his bus and rode home, Hailey’s words filling his head.
    Once he got home he went to his room. He found a pen and a notebook. Josh opened the book and wrote a note to his parents:
    ‘Mom, Dad, please do not hate me for what I have done. By the time you read this it will have been to late. There wouldn’t have been anything you could have done. Hailey, beautiful Hailey, hates me. She wishes for me to die…so I will be happy to oblige. By the time you read this, I will be here no more. Tell Hailey that I love her with all my heart and I would have loved to be her husband. I would be the luckiest man in the world, with the happiest wife in the world. She has said what she wants, though, and that is for me to die.
    -Josh’
    He ripped the note out and placed it on his bed. He picked up his wildling knife and put it in his back pocket. There was a forest in his back yard.
    He walked outside and back, deep into the woods. He found the spot he was looking for after half an hour. There was a huge tree, and fallen branch reaching to the middle of the river.
    Josh took his knife out and inscribed his initials next to Hailey’s. He inscribed a small heart next to the initials. He then broke part of the branch off and made one end of it sharp.
    When he was finished, he threw his knife into the river. “Hailey! I love you!” he screamed. He then started to stab his heart with his crud weapon. He repeatedly did this until he could no longer hold the broken branch. He fell to the ground and let himself bleed to death. The last thing he thought about was how Hailey would be happy, now that he was dead.

    Two days later, the police found Josh’s dead body. A week after Josh killed himself; there was a funeral for him. Everyone from school had showed up. Hailey was there, but she wasn’t paying attention to anything; she checking her text messages. She had five unread messages. She read the last one first. It was from Josh. The text read:
    “Happy Birthday. I know you don’t pay me any mind, but I have been admiring you for way too long. I love, Hailey, with all my heart. I will do anything for you. If I had the chance to save my life or yours…I’d save yours. I would never hurt you; make you feel ugly, or stupid. I would make you feel like the best thing in the world. I wish I had told you before, but I didn’t have the courage until now. I hope you feel the same way about me. I could say a million things about why you are the best human who has walked on this Earth. I love you. –Josh.”
    Tears filled Hailey’s eyes when she was done reading the message. She had never thought about him before, but know that she was, she realized what a cool guy he was. Even though he was dead, she texted him back.
    “I love you too Josh. I wish I had known that before. It’s too late now, and I regret what I said about you. You are the most wonderful person who I have ever met. I love you.” She hit the send button, and wept.