When You Find Yourself at a Fork in the Road, Remember Me.

There once was a girl who did not know of love until a boy broke her heart. This is my story. <3
In April of 2011 I walked through the tinted glass doors into the retail of Cascade Shadows; behind the counter stood a woman by the name of Melanie Stratton who soon thereafter became my boss. Some paper work and a few signatures later, I was the newest employee of Cascade Shadows Flower Nursery.
                Day one on the job is when I met him, he was tall, tan, fantastically built and that smile of his completely caught me off guard. I suddenly felt a big fat smile spread across my face and he said that’s what hooked him. “Love at first sight”, he said; and that’s where it all began. Every work day was filled with a few little acts of attraction: he bought me an apple --pinklady--, put on my apron for me because I’d never put one on before and didn’t quite understand how to wear one properly; small and simple, little by little, I fell for him.                
              One night I received a text, it was from him; he texted me every day, all day from that day forward. Every word he said, every text I got made me feel, well, special. I’d never been treated so well. Nor had I ever felt special in my entire life, and suddenly I found myself falling for this beautifully wonderful MAN.
                “Meet me out front”, he sent. I proceeded to sneak out the front door and climb into his white Chevy. He wore basketball shorts and a cut off tee shirt. We drove around for what felt like hours, talking, laughing, and having a great time. He dropped me off in front of my house and I walked in a daze to the front door. The following night I received a similar text, “I’m out front.” With a knot in my stomach, which I dismissed as butterflies, I climbed into his car with my I-pod in hand. We parked in a nearby church parking lot so that I could put his music from his laptop onto my I-pod. I found him frequently leaning over in an attempt to kiss me, and I continued to reject him over and over; until about the 17^th time. That’s when I made the decision to kiss him. We met up every night from then on. The kisses continued each one magical and perfect in its own way. I found myself falling further in love. He bought me things, told me I was beautiful, when we were together I was on top of the world, and he never seemed to want to let me go. When we were apart we counted the seconds until we’d see each other again. Life was perfect. However, one night while we were on one of our drives, we parked. We were talking, just simply talking, and that’s when the red and blue lights began flashing behind us. A few hours and a tearful phone call later, my life had literally fallen apart. Upon returning home, my parents were waiting for me. I don’t remember much of that night other than my tear stained pillow case, the night air colored by the screaming of two very concerned parents, that restraining order (which forced me to go right when I so desperately wanted to travel left on my road of life), and my once whole but now terribly broken heart.
             

                Life is filled with crossroads. The direction we choose to take can either be one made by ourselves or even forced on us by someone else; a direction that can build us up to make us stronger, or tear us down just as easily. The only sure thing about this decision is that we will inevitably have to take one path over another, and it will carry us forward in life. Not many people my age can say that they know for a fact a decision they made completely destroyed another person’s life. I can.
                I can’t figure out where my crossroad began; whether it was taking the job, answering his first text, or accepting that first kiss. All I know is that I made the decisions I did and my life has changed forever because of that fact. The day I discovered the truth of the situation I placed myself in is the day my heart truly broke. Paul, the man I fell in “love” with, turned out to be a thirty year old man who was married with three kids, and one more on the way due in October. My choices not only landed him in prison for twenty years, but also destroyed the lives of his wife and children. His kids forced to grow up without their dad because I made the choice to fall in love with a thirty year old, and he made the choice to lie to me and cheat on his family and wife.
                There are many things out there to be learned in life, and through my experiences I’ve learned love, heartache, hate, disappointment, happiness, and so much more. Ultimately because of this decision I was forced to grow up, fast. I came out of it all with a maturity and understanding beyond my years; I’ve also learned that my choices don’t only affect me, but also everyone around me, forever. Each choice is made in a moment but affects you for a lifetime; don’t be rash. Think it through and then maybe you’ll be able to save yourself from equally horrid pain and heartache that I put myself through. Life is hard. Life is beautiful. When you find yourself at a crossroad, choose wisely; for your future may depend on that one decision.

           xoxo Nikki.