Snowflakes113

Discovering Destiny
Chapter 5 part 2: Aislinn's P.O.V.

Discovering Destiny
Chapter 5 part 1: Aislinn's P.O.V.

Discovering Destiny
Chapter 4 part 2: Aislinn's P.O.V.

Discovering Destiny
Chapter 4 part 1: Aislinn's P.O.V.

“Aislinn! Oh my gosh, are you okay? I’m so sorry! We had no idea you couldn’t swim! I tried to stop Brad, I should’ve--”
“Michelle, it’s okay. You didn’t know. It’s not your fault. I’m not mad; it just scared me, that’s all.” I tried to shrug it off but in all honesty I was still really shaken up about it.
“Okay, if you’re sure. I’m just so glad you’re okay!” She threw her arms around me, and I could tell we were going to be fast friends. At least I hoped we would. I could go with or without Brad, though. “Do you want to grab some lunch? I could show you some good places on the boardwalk.”
“Rain check?” I smiled hopefully and she looked kind of hurt. “It’s nothing you did! It has nothing to do with you!” I tried to reassure her. “It’s… I’ll tell you about it some other time.”
“Okay, see you soon!” She said as she let me go on my walk home. I turned toward the lifeguard chair and saw Ryan staring at me. Well, it looked like he was staring at me, but I couldn’t tell because of is sun glasses.
“Grams, I’m home!” I yelled as I walked through the door. I’d decided I wasn’t going to tell her what happened today. I didn’t want her to worry over nothing. “Want me to make grilled cheeses?”
“Sure, dear that sounds yummy- oh Aislinn, what’s happened to you? Why are you all cut up?” She fussed as she examined my head and arm. I had forgotten about those when I planned on not telling her.
I sighed. “I met some kids and they thought it would be fun to go for a swim. It wasn’t so fun for me.”
“Oh dear, are you alright? Why in the world would they do that?”
“Don’t worry Grams, I’m fine. Really. And they didn’t know, it’s not their fault. I was too embarrassed to tell them… I didn’t want to explain everything.”
“Oh, sweetie I’m sorry.” She said as she hugged me close to her. “How about I make the grilled cheeses?”

Discovering Destiny
Chapter 3: Aislinn's P.O.V.

I looked up from my book and the sun blinded me. I put my book down and ran my fingers through the hot sand. My first time at the beach in Florida; it was beautiful. I was far away from the water, a good ways up the sand near behind the lifeguard chairs. I closed my eyes and put my head down, soaking in the wonderful warmth. I heard laughing and shouting and felt sand splatter onto my back in a shower. I craned my neck to see that my back, towel, and book were covered with sand.
“Brad! You jerk! You could at least say sorry!” A feminine voice yelled. I looked up to see a tall brunette smiling down at me. “Here, let me help you.” She extended her hand down to me and I took it as I stood up. “I’m Michelle, by the way.” She said as she brushed the sand from my back.
“Aislinn.” I half smiled as I leant down to brush the sand off my book.
“That’s a pretty name. Sorry about Brad by the way, he’s not always like that.” She shook my towel out and laid it back down.
“It’s no problem. It’s the beach, it always happens.” I smiled. Brad and a few other people jogged back over to us and I felt very out of place in their group, being the new girl no one knew. Brad shook his hair out, scattering water droplets all over my arm. I brushed them off nonchalantly.
“Oh, hey there. You must be new here, I’d remember you. I’m Brad.” He held out his hand superciliously for me to shake and I shook it as I tried not to roll my eyes.
“I’m Aislinn. And yeah, I just moved here from California for college.”
“Very cool.” Brad said, flashing me a cocky smile. “You’re welcome to hang out with us if you want; we were just about to go in the water.”
“Oh, no thanks, I’m fine here.”
“Oh come on, we don’t bite.” Michelle smiled at me.
“I just…don’t want to get my hair wet.” I lied. I sucked at lying.
“Too bad, you’re coming!” Brad said as he picked me up and started walking toward the water with everyone else.
“P-please put me down.” I said nervously.
“Chill Aislinn! Your hair will be fine!” He laughed as he walked out on the dock, further out into the water where I had just been last night.
“Brad, put me down now!” I said angrily, squirming in his arms. “You can’t do this! I don’t want to go in!”
“Brad, put her down.” Michelle tried to help.
“Let me go!” I yelled.
“Okay, I’ll let you go.” He smirked as he threw me into the water.
It happened so quickly I didn’t register what had happened until I was fully submerged in the salty current.  The water filled my lungs and I choked, thrashing my legs to try and get to the surface.  A wave must’ve come, because I was thrown around on the ocean floor as the edges of my vision blurred from my lack of air. My lungs were on fire and I struggled to swim upwards, but it was no use. My eyes started to close and I internally accepted the thought that I was destined to die in the ocean, just like my parents had.
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I gasped as I felt a pair of lips on mine blowing air into my lungs. My breathing was erratic as I struggled to catch my breath throughout my coughing fit. I coughed up salt water and felt a hand hitting my back, helping me get it out of my lungs.
“It’s okay, you’re fine. I’m just going to take you to take care of your arm. Can you stand?” A soothing voice said to me after I was done coughing, I assumed it was the lifeguard who saved me. There were still stars in my vision and when I looked up to try and pin a face to the voice, the sun was right next to his head, blinding my sight of him.
When I tried to stand my legs felt wobbly and I stumbled, but the lifeguard caught me right before I fell. He picked me up and started carrying me. I felt really weak in his strong arms, and I was glad for the support. I rested my head against the mystery man and let my eyes close.
He set me down in a chair a few seconds later and I tried to focus my eyes. My head felt a lot better and my vision wasn’t fuzzy so I was reassured that I wasn’t going to die. “How do you feel?” The guy asked from behind me, rummaging through a cabinet to get some gauze for my arm, which I just now noticed had a decent-sized gash in it.
“Alright.” I said, my voice croaky. I cleared my throat and waited for him to come over to me.
He took my chin between his thumb and forefinger, gently tilting my head up to analyze something on my face. His eyes met mine and I had a strange feeling in my stomach. “Hey, you’re that guy. The motorcycle guy from last night.”
“And you’re that girl.” He smirked slightly. “You have a small cut on your forehead.” He sat down next to me and gently ran his finger over it. He started to do some first aid, and I felt him spread a gel over the cut.
“You almost hit me, you know.” I said, not letting it go.
“Well, I just saved your life. So I think I made up for it.” He moved onto my arm and I stared at him intently. “Your friends don’t seem very nice. Did they know you can’t swim?”
“I just met them. I moved here yesterday.” I averted eye contact.
“Well, I’d suggest finding some new friends then…” He trailed off.
“Aislinn.” I finished for him.
“Aislinn,” he repeated, “I’m Ryan.”

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Discovering Destiny
Chapter 2: Aislinn's P.O.V.

I slipped my bag off my shoulder and dropped my suitcase on the floor with a loud thud.
Finally, I thought, closing my eyes and soaking in the warm rays through the large glass doors that led to my own personal balcony.
“This is beautiful, Grams!” I called down to my grandmother who was still unloading our things from the taxi, as I walked onto the balcony.
She smiled smugly and winked at me. “Come help me with these bags!” She shouted back up. I quickly ran down the stairs and helped her bring all of the bags inside.
We spent the majority of the day unpacking. It was only the two of us so we didn’t have that much baggage, but it still took us a while to arrange all the furniture and make it feel homey.
I thought just my room was nice, but the entire house was plush and extravagant. I knew my Grams had money, but I didn’t realize she had this much money. But with her own money, plus the money she received when my grandfather died, plus some of the money from my parents, she was loaded. I was using the majority of my inheritance money to help pay for college. Grams helped out a little bit for my graduation present, but she said that wasn’t my entire present. She said she was giving me another one soon.
I loved my Grams, and I was glad she wanted to help, but I didn’t want her to spend so much money on me. That was one of the things I loved about her: we were rich but she didn’t waste her money, she used it on essential things like a home and clothes and college and paying off the mortgage; so I wondered what else she would have gotten me.
By the time we finished unpacking, we still had plans to paint a couple of rooms; it was around 5:30 so we went to pick up dinner from Five Guys. We had heard it was good, like Inside Out Burger; it was pretty greasy but really good!
“Hey, Grams? I’m going to go for a walk, is that alright?” I asked her when we got home.
“Sure sweetie, have fun.” She smiled as she kissed my cheek and went to sit outside. “Don’t get lost, Aislinn!”
“I won’t!” I laughed.
I walked outside and reveled in the feeling of the warm air caressing my skin. I decided I’d go down to the boardwalk and just walk around.
I put in my iPod and cranked up Hang You Up by Yellowcard, one of my favorite bands.
The sky was dark, but the moon was high, illuminating the water in a mysterious and seductive light. I subconsciously walked toward it, coming back to my senses when I stopped on the edge of the dock. I gasped and stepped back quickly, watching the lurid and eerie waves lap at the chipped wood. My heart hummed against my chest and I let out a sigh of relief as I started walking back.
I walked back up near the shops and stopped to buy an orange banana smoothie. I made a mental note to bring Grams down here and have her try one as I sat down at a small table a little ways up the walk.
I let my hair down and let it fall around my shoulders. I was sipping my drink and flipping through songs on my iPod when I felt like someone was watching me. I looked up and met the eyes of a guy talking to his friend a little further down the walk from me.
He wore a leather jacket over a white T-shirt, and he was straddling a motor cycle. His brown hair was tousled from the helmet he held under his arm and he had a little bit of stubble on his chin. He was very attractive. He did some handshake with his friend and put his helmet over his head, staring at me the whole time. His eyes were shielded and I wasn’t sure if he was still looking at me, so I looked away and tried to focus on my iPod.
I heard the engine rev and looked up right before his motorcycle whizzed past me and blew my hair back, so close it almost grazed my arm.
This kind of angered me; what if he had hit me? I got up and threw out the remainder of my smoothie before starting my walk home.
I decided that I’d go for another walk tomorrow afternoon. I hoped I would meet some people my age so maybe I would know somebody when I started at the University. But I had lots of time, and I was pretty good at making friends, so I wasn’t too worried about it.
When I got home, I saw that Grams had fallen asleep outside, so I found a thin blanket and laid in on her gently. I didn’t want her to get cold during the night, and I wasn’t sure how much the temperature would drop during the night since it was our first night here. 
I went up to my room and pulled my phone out of my pocket. I had four new messages from my friends. They all said how much they missed me already and that they wanted to come and visit me soon. I texted them all back and changed into my pajamas, settling into bed.
I tried to go to sleep, but my mind wouldn’t shut down. I kept thinking about earlier on the dock, when I almost fell into the water. It had looked so beautiful from far away, the blue waves sparkling as they swayed. It was enchanting.  But up close the waters had a deep green tint to them, the white froth bubbling on the edge of the dock as the waves crashed against it. The water was dark and menacing, making it impossible to judge the depth of it, how far someone would sink if they fell in.
I got up and opened the French doors that led to my balcony, stepping out. I took a deep breath and sucked in the cool night air. I closed my eyes and let the night consume me, calming my thoughts before I sunk back into bed and drifted to sleep. 

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Discovering Destiny
Chapter 1: Aislinn's P.O.V.

Destiny: the predetermined course of events that will necessarily happen to a person in the future. So basically, your future is set in stone since you’re born. Your life is pre-planned, and you just have to let it play out. Everything happens for a reason, all to lead you to your destiny.
This was something I’d always strongly believed in, probably because my mom did too. But when Will died, I questioned this theory. What was the reason for taking away the love of my life? Why was killing Will necessary for me to achieve my destiny? And was dying really his destiny?
I miss him still. I miss his laugh. I miss his hugs. I miss his cologne. I miss it all.
I don’t think I’ll ever get over losing him. He was my first love, I can’t just move on. It’s not that simple.
I try to tell myself that my destiny just had something else in store for me than I thought, that it was all a part of the plan. Will and I, we just weren’t in the cards. But I have a hard time believing that when he’s buried beneath the ground and I’m up here, alive and breathing, and suffering through the loss of yet another loved one.
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I woke up and stretched my arms, checking the time on the clock: 10:13. The sun shone through my windows and I was happy it was finally summer. I was glad I wouldn’t have to go back to that school again, there were too many memories there, memories of Will.
“Good morning.” My grandmother greeted me as I walked into the dining room where she sat, reading the newspaper and sipping on a cup of coffee.
“Morning.” I yawned. “Did you eat?”
“No, actually I thought we could go out to breakfast today.”
“Oh, okay. I’ll go get dressed.” I smiled as I put away the pan I had already started taking out of the cupboard.
As we drove to the restaurant, I wondered why Grams offered to take me to breakfast. I loved her more than anything; she was all I had left. But I knew that she preferred eating at home, just the two of us, unless she had something important to say.  I was a little worried.
“So,” Grams said before setting her glass of orange juice back on the table. “I’ve done a lot of thinking about this,” She paused, contemplating his word choice, “and I think it would be a good idea if we moved down to Florida before you start college. It would be good for you to get to learn your way around, meet new people, get settled in before you start there, you know? And this way we’d be closer to each other!” She smiled at me but when I didn’t say anything her smile faltered. “What do you think?”
“I think it’s a great idea. It’s just what I’ve been needing, to get away from here and all of…this.” I motioned around me.
“I thought the same thing.” She agreed, taking my hand across the table.
“So when can we go?” I asked eagerly, stabbing my pancakes with a fork.
“Well I was looking at a house online, I’ll show it to you when we get home. If you like it then we can be out of here next week.”
I swallowed and smiled genuinely. “That sounds awesome.”
When we got home, Grams showed me the house. To be honest, I didn’t really care what it looked like. I wanted to go anyways. I hoped that Florida would be a fresh start, that it would help me move on from my parents and Will.
Being in that house had so many memories of the three of them. My entire life, the person who I am is in that house. But I don’t think I’m that same person anymore.
Grief and tragedy changed me. I just needed some time to recover. I mean, me and Will were together for three years: he was my first everything. My first kiss, my first date, my first boyfriend, my first time, my first love.
Letting him go was harder than I expected. At first, I didn’t cry. I didn’t do anything. I didn’t want to believe it, and I thought if I ignored it then it wouldn’t be real. But it was real, and it happened, and now he’s gone.
Just like my parents.
But now I was getting the chance to move across the country and leave it all behind. It was a brilliant idea; I only hoped it was possible for me to do.
I had only just gotten over grieving my parents’ death when Will died, and it was so overwhelming. I was in shock and I had to go to therapy for a little while. But my Grams helped me get through all of it; I don’t know what I’d do without her.
In high school, I excelled in sciences and I was accepted into the University of Miami to study marine biology.  
If anything, my love marine life only increased when Will died. I got my own fish tank and I loved to just sit there and watch my fish swim. Most people would think that was boring, but I thought it was fascinating.
Will did too. He was the only one that understood my passion for oceanography and marine life.
I so badly wanted to believe we were destined for each other. He was my one and only. But I had to move on. That was seven months ago, and I’m done grieving. I’m ready to start a new chapter in my life.

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Discovering Destiny
Introduction

“Do you believe in destiny?” I asked.
“I don’t know, Aislinn.” He sighed, running a hand through his hair.
“What if we’re not meant to be? What if fate has something more in store for us?”
“I don’t care about fate, Ace. All I care about is you and me: right now, in this moment.”
I didn’t realize it then, but I was right. Fate did have something more in store for us. For Will. For me.
I guess we just weren’t meant to be.
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Aislinn Bloom and William Henderson had the kind of relationship that every teenager wanted. They were best friends, always there for each other, never fought; compatible in every way, happy, and most importantly, they were in love. The perfect, cliché high school relationship.
But that all changed when tragedy struck and Will was killed.
Seven months later, it’s Aislinn’s last summer before college and she still hasn’t moved on. Her view on destiny is shot and she doesn’t know where to go from there. She isn’t even sure she believes in destiny anymore.
Then Aislinn meets Ryan, her total opposite. Despite their differences, Aislinn can’t help but feel drawn to him. But will Aislinn’s past get in the way of anything happening?
Will Aislinn ever move on? Will she find out what her real destiny is?


Find out in...

Discovering Destiny

Coming Soon

Finding My Way

Epilogue: Ben's P.O.V.

I walked along the lone path through the cemetery and stopped at the two graves I intended on visiting.
I placed three white roses on the first grave, and placed five red roses on the next one: one for each year we were married. It wasn't fair that I had lost her so early on. We were supposed to have more time together.
I missed Aly so much. The way her eyes sparkled, her contagious laugh, the way she would look at me like she was completely in love; I missed it all.
I sat down and thought back on our life together. Everyone thought we were just foolish kids, getting married at 18. But we knew we weren’t; we were young, but we knew exactly what we wanted, and that was each other.
We had gotten so much done, experienced so much in the five years that we were married. I proposed to her at graduation, and we got married within a few months. After the wedding, we took two years off before college and backpacked across Europe together. We went sky diving, we flew in a hot air balloon, we went to Alaska to see the Northern lights, we went to the White House, and in the last year of our marriage, we went to see the ball drop in Times Square. We even learned how to beat box.
Aly believed, after what happened to Loretta, that it was possible for anyone to die young. She was afraid that she wouldn’t get done all of the things she wanted to accomplish in life. And she wanted to live not only for herself, but for Loretta. Thinking back now, it was crazy, almost scary that she thought that. It was like she knew. 
So after we got married, we embarked on a journey to accomplish her bucket list. She made me write one too, but we were going to finish hers first. We never did get to, but we came close.
Aly even got a role in a movie. She was one of the main roles, and she was so excited for it to come out. She wouldn’t tell me anything about it, and insisted we went to the midnight premiere. But on the way home from the last day of filming, it was storming out really hard. Her car hydroplaned and flipped over. And just like that, within fifteen seconds, the love of my life; my beautiful wife, was gone forever.
I’m 46 now, and I haven’t remarried. When Aly and I said our ‘I do’s’ we promised each other “for as long as we both shall live.” To me, that means that my love will always be devoted to her, whether or not she is here to return or receive it.
And I’m going to spend the rest of my life doing just that. And I’m going to devote my life to Aly and to Loretta. I’ve already finished Aly’s bucket list, but now it’s time for me to finish my own. I need to do this for Aly. I need to do this for my undying love for her.
I stood up from the grave and looked at it sadly, seeing her beautiful face so clearly, her extroardinary beauty frozen in time, as if she were really in front of me.
I love you Aly, forever and always. 



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Finding My Way
Song of the chapter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rl8SuLBCq3k
Chapter 45: Val's P.O.V.

After about 20 minutes, I started squirming. “Mom, are you almost done?”
She bit her lip and squinted her eyes, concentrating. “Yes! Done! With your eyes.” She laughed and I groaned. It was May 18^th; prom day. I had agreed to let my mom do my makeup, but I didn’t think she would go so in depth! And she wouldn’t even let me see! What if I hated it? I mean, I knew I wouldn’t because my mom knows what I like, but I was so anxious! I just wanted to see it.
She’d been helping me get ready all day. She painted my nails earlier and threaded my eyebrows, she learned how from her roommate in college, and now after finishing all of my makeup, she was doing my hair. She curled the ends and pinned it up in a low, intricate side bun, finishing it off with a beautiful, sparkling hair clip.
My mom was lightly misting hairspray on my hair so it would stay in all night, when I heard a knock at the door. “Come in!” I called.
I heard my bedroom door start to open. “No!! Stay out there I’m not ready yet!”
My mom laughed. “Done! I’ll go keep him occupied, put on your dress! We'll be outside.” She said as she slipped out the door.
I stood up and examined myself in the mirror. I looked beautiful. My mother had done a wonderful job on my hair, and my eye makeup matched my dress perfectly. I put on my silver heels and stood, loving the height they added.
I quickly slipped off my robe and stepped into my dress. The pastel colors swirled beautifully around the dress as I spun, examining my appearance in the mirror. I smiled and felt satisfied. I put my phone, lip gloss, and ticket in my silver clutch purse and headed out to find my date.
 
Ben’s P.O.V.
Aly walked outside, her heels clicking, and I was mesmerized. She was beautiful, and her dress looked beautiful on her. My light pink bowtie matched her perfectly and I was glad. I handed her the bouquet of roses I had ordered. They were a very pale pink color, and it darkened to a deeper burgundy color around the edges. She put them up to her nose to smell them and smiled, her mom snapping a picture without her noticing.
The sun was bright and illuminated Aly. Her hair glistened and sparkled like gold, her eyes bright and noticeable from the intricate makeup.
“Thank you; they’re beautiful.” Aly said and smiled at me. The rest of the drama club would be here soon for pictures and I was sad I wouldn’t get more alone time with Aly.
“That’s funny, I was just about to say the same thing about you.” I smirked at her and she laughed.
“How do you manage to make the corniest things sound charming?” She smiled up at me and I felt my heart accelerate. Even after four months of being with her, I would never get used to the way she looked at me, or when she said ‘I love you.’ I got tingles every time.
“Wow, no cocky comeback? I’m shocked.” She smirked and I rolled my eyes, stepping closer to her.
“You look amazing, Aly-cat.” I said, tilting my head and kissing her. She smiled into the kiss and pulled awat, pecking me lightly again, giggling. She switched her bouquet over to one arm and intertwined her fingers with mine. “Thank you, Benny-boo. You’re lookin’ pretty good yourself.” She paused. “We should take some pictures before the others get here.” I nodded and her mom set us up in different positions on her porch, under the tree, next to the pond and on the wooden swing in her backyard.
We put on our matching ray bans and took some silly pictures, too. Her mom wanted her to make a scrapbook of senior year, so we were taking a lot of pictures lately.
Everyone else came and we all took pictures together: all the girls, all the guys, and all of us combined. Then we all left in the limo that we all chipped in to rent. It was going to be a fun night, and I couldn’t believe I got to spend it with the girl of my dreams.
 
Val’s P.O.V.
We arrived at the hotel and we all piled out of the limo. Roxy latched her arm around mine and we walked to the door together and waited for our dates. She took Brett, who was walking up to us with Ben. Ben rested his hand softly on my lower back, guiding me into the hotel where our prom was being held.
The night went by so fast, and I couldn’t believe how quickly senior year flew by. So much had changed. So much had happened: Danny, Loretta, Ben, the play. It was all so overwhelming looking back on it now.
“May I have this dance?” Ben held out his hand, interrupting my thoughts. I grinned and took it, walking onto the crowded dance floor with my boyfriend.
Because You Loved Me by Celine Dion was playing and everything, for the first time in a really long time, felt perfect. This was the happiest I’d been in a while, and I owed it all to Ben.
I leant my head in the crook of his neck and closed my eyes, enjoying our last dance of the night. I loved wearing the heels; I was almost Ben’s height in them.
Neither of us spoke at first, and the silence was beautiful. Just being with him made me feel safe; it made me feel good.
“So, after we finish school, where do you want to go first?” Ben spoke quietly, referring to my list.
“I don’t care.” I said, picking my head up and looking him in his grey/green eyes. He looked at me curiously.
I smiled up at him before answering.
 “I’ll go anywhere, as long as I’m with you.”


THE END ♥ 
There will not be a sequel, but there will be an epilogue
that I will be posting in a few minutes!