Sacrifice

A loud bang shattered the silence.

In that moment, everything seemed to stop. The gunman stood still, his weapon raised and aimed at Jake. Jake was facing the other way, completely unaware of the bullet that was about to hit him.

As little kids, we thought that growing up was all about going to bars and partying every weekend. Spending money on luxurious food and spoiling ourselves. Moving into our own house. Getting our dream job. What we never knew about growing up, was that it made us an entirely different person. Growing up changed our values, our beliefs, our wants in life. Thing is, we never noticed it. All these changes happened in the back of our heads.

As a young girl, I had never given much thought to accepting someone else in my life romantically. To me, boys were just friends. They were just the same as us girls. However, Jake was different. He was... someone I wanted to spend every single waking moment with.

Growing up makes you rethink your priorities. While living in a castle and getting the latest toy was a priority when I was younger, my priorities had changed to become a who, not a what. Jake. Jake was my new priority.

As the bullet moved an inch closer to him, my legs kicked into action. My feet left the hard, concrete ground as I jumped infront of him.

My mother's words flashed in my head just before I reached him. "Amy, when you grow up, you're gonna learn about sacrifice."

I never understood sacrifice. Why give up something for someone else? In the split second that I was suspended in the air, I realised then that love required sacrifice. Part of growing up was learning to love, and sometimes, there was a high price to pay for that love.

Was my life worth that love? I didn't know.

Something hit my chest and sent me flying backwards. My body landed on the ground, the impact knocking the wind out of my lungs. The last thing that I heard was Jake's voice as he yelled my name.

Pain blossomed where the bullet had hit me. Still, I couldn't bring myself to regret what I had just done. I guess it was fitting that I had died the same way my mom did. Everything turned black as I was swept into a blissful oblivion.

I did it, Mom. I grew up. I learned sacrifice.