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Chapter One
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She remembered the day clearly, perfectly. She was smaller then, much smaller than now. Though she still had the long, spiral curled bright red hair, the shining sapphire blue eyes, the lightly tanned skin...
She had been a bundle of nerves upon entering the school. She had just moved there from the United States, where she had attended a small school in north Georgia. Canada was a new and frightening palce to her. She knew no one there, not one single person. Even though the family had moved there at the beginning of the summer, Lily had not met one friend. The neighborhood was swarming with children, but she didn't dare go out to say 'hello'. She was a very shy girl, and most of the kids seemed older than her, anyways.
Then, the school year started. The tiny redhead, then only a mere 4'8" tall and eleven years old, stepped into the building, her bag slung across her shoulder. A cluster of students were gathered together in the hallway. She had stepped over to a wall and stood against it nervously, hoping not to be noticed.
"Attention," A voice had spoken over the PA system. "All grade sixes will please make their way to the cafeteria. There you will be shown around by your grade eight tour guides."
Sighing, Lily had done as she was told, following a great number of other students through the winding hallways into the cafeteria. There, she saw four tables set up, each with poster board taped to the front of them. Each poster board had letters of the alphabet written on them, and Lily knew that they were to get in front of the table with the letters that their last name fell under. Slowly, she had walked to the table. There was a boy standing behind it, and as luck had it, Lily was the first person at her table.
"Hello," The boy had said, holding his hand out to her. She nervously shook it. "I'm Jay Reso."
"L-Lily Rainsford," She said softly, looking down. Her southern accent was clearly detectable against the murmur of speech in the room.
"It's nice to meet you, Lily." He had smiled at her. The first smile Lily had recieved since she had moved. That smile made Lily feel like there was hope for her making friends.
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Over the course of the years, Lily and Jay became the best of friends. He, though, was two years older than her, two grades ahead of her, and it crushed her when at the end of his twelfth grade year, he told her that he would be moving about three hours away to attend university. She knew that she wouldn't be able to see him much, if at all, when he left.
They spent the summer together, and when September rolled around, they said their sad goodbyes. Lily could remember the one single tear that escaped her eye as Jay drove off, ready to start his new life...his new life without her.
That's when Lily, the seemingly perfect girl, the beautiful girl, began experimenting with drugs and drinking. She took her first hit with a few friends in her grade, and it began slipping downhill from there. Jay never found out about her addiction, but her parents had her in treatment for nearly a year before she could stay away from the heavy drugs she had gotten into. She was pale, thin, and sick-looking upon returning home.
She still, though, was in a great state of depression over missing Jay. Christmas holiday was rolling around once more, and Lily's parents knew that he would be coming home to visit. They called him without her knowing and worked it out so that he would stay with them during his break.
Needless to say, it had been a great surprise to her when she answered a knock at her front door and saw Jay standing there, a lily in his hand.
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Jay smiled as he thought back on that day. Lily had broken down to tears when she saw him, and he spent the entire three weeks he had off with her. Now, Jay was a superstar with the WWE. Lily was living in Toronto and he rarely got the chance to see her. It was taking a toll, though. It seemed to him as though he was loosing touch with all of his closest friends. Even Adam, who he had known since he was ten years old, was not around much. Truth was, though, that Adam and Jay had had a falling out...over a woman, no less. Jay had tried his hardest to convince his friend that his new fiance was a gold digger...but Adam sided with her. The two men had barely spoken since. Adam had even gotten the tattoo on his left bicep, the one that he and Jay had gotten together, covered up with his sun symbol.
Shaking his head, Jay's thoughts returned to what they were originally on, before his mind drifted. Out. Out for at least three months. Damn. This was an awful time for him to get an injury. He had been getting such a good push...
One good thing came out of this though: He would get to see Lily. She didn't know that he was coming into town...he planned on showing up at her doorstep and surprising her, just as he did all those years ago on Christmas break.
He grinned to himself. The plane had begun to land.
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One knock, two, three...was she even home? The thoughts rushed through Jay's mind as he rapped on the door to Lily's small, slightly run-down apartment. It was around 9:30 at night, and he was beginning to get a sinking feeling that Lily was not at home. Just as he turned to catch a cab to his house, the door cracked open.
"Jay?" The small girl said timidly. He smiled and turned around.
"I've missed you, Lily." He said as he hugged her. That moment would never leave his mind. He felt his heart melt as he held her, hoping to never lose touch with this girl again.