June First

by Jennifer Hartmann

June always feels like a new beginning.

“Mario doesn’t just stop being Mario because he gets scared. He keeps fighting. He keeps going and going until he defeats all the scary things,” I say, my voice hushed in the quiet auditorium. “Think about it. He gets a whole lot of chances before he gets it right.”

He turned the only girl I’ve ever wanted into the only girl I can never have.

“It’s not fair that your face is so perfect, a piece of art on display that I’m not allowed to touch. I should only adore it from afar, even though its beauty calls to me. Even though I’m convinced it was created just for me.”

“You’ve never felt like my brother!” I shout, temper flaring, cheeks burning hot. I stare at him with a heaving chest, balled fists, and swiftly falling tears. “Theo was my brother. You’ve only ever felt like…mine.”

“No relationship comes without a fight, but it has to be worth fighting for. It has to be worth all the sacrifices you’ll inevitably have to make.”

“It felt like I’d give my dying breath just to have one more weak moment with you.”

“You ruined me the day you met me, Brant Elliott. I was born yours.”

I’ll never regret you.

“We were written in the stars. Stars don’t make mistakes.”

Because that’s what love does. It happens. It sneaks up on you, and then it burrows. It festers in your blood. And once it’s in your blood you can’t just flush it out. It’s a part of you. Trying to get rid of it would be like cutting off a limb or carving your heart right out of your chest.”

Vilomah. I’ve never heard of this word before, but apparently, it’s what they call a parent who has lost a child. It means “against the natural order.”

Sandscipt

“Never underestimate a man willing to wait forever for the woman he loves.”