Scarred Beauty [Completed]

Chapter One

Olivia Hernandez

"Start from the beginning; never stop at the end."

I peered at my mother with curiosity as she smiled from her hospital bed. The smile was empty. Her eyes shimmered with sorrow as she tightened her grasp on my little hand. "What does that mean, Mommy?" I questioned.

"Well," she began, inhaling faintly, "It means to continue your path down to your fate. Your destiny. Begin to see a new world, a new future, and know that it's okay to be slow. And children like you could grow to be the most famous artists or singers or authors in the world. But once you reach that destiny— that dream—, don't just stop. Continue working hard, because it isn't over yet. Nothing will ever be over.. just yet."

"I still don't get it," I murmured shyly, playing with the skirt of my yellow sundress. Mom had made it for me a few months ago.

She took in another deep yet relaxing breath of air. "It's like a book, but better," she explained, her emerald green eyes staring back into my own. It was like looking into an enchanting mirror. "Once you've reached the end, it doesn't have to stop there. You can continue writing it, and you don't have to make it end. It'll continue for as long as a hundred years. Maybe even a thousand. All that matters is that it will never truly end." Her smile reached her eyes as she let the information sink into my head.

I looked up at her. "So it's like love?" I asked, not letting her answer as I added, "Love never ends, right?"

She merely nodded at my statement, a look crossing her face as if she didn't expect me to say something so unlike my age. A nurse with a white outfit came into the room, ending our conversation shortly.

"Visiting hours are over," the nurse announced. "Your father is waiting for you, Olivia."

"Bye bye, Mommy," I said as I hopped off my chair. I went up to her bed and kissed her cheek, making her smile brightly. "I love you!"

"I love you too, Olivia! Don't forget that," she said with a pretty smile on her slightly pale skin. Her strawberry blonde hair effortlessly covered her eyes. I nodded and frantically waved. She smiled once more, but this time, it was a real genuine smiled, something I hadn't seen in a long time. "You even said so yourself that love never ends."

I smiled sheepishly at my mother as the nurse ushered me out the room, my smile rubbing off on her.

I jolted up from my sleep, my hands reaching for my face on instinct. Warm tears were down my cheeks. What the hell? My strawberry blonde hair was in a train wreck as I glanced at the band poster on my wall, clutching my blankets tightly. It wasn't real. I fell back onto my pillow and stared at the glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling with my eyes burning from the lack of sleep. You did it again, Livvy. You had another wacko nightmare. I let out cold and harsh breaths, trying to recover from the traces of the unwanted flashback.

"You even said so yourself that love never ends..." I mumbled, repeating the lingering words of my mother. My jaw clenched, and I put my hands on my face. "Fuck..!"

I wiped away the tears, sitting in my bed quietly. It was silent, and the sun had yet to come out, barely shining through the heavy clouds. I kicked my feet off my bed, quickly grabbing a black coat and a beanie. Maybe... it's a sign of some sort? I walked out of my room, sneaking down the creaking hall and to the front door. My house was a pink one-story with rose gardens at the front. Mom loved roses and grew them excessively. I snatched a rose from a drawer sitting in the hall and held it firmly in my grasp. They're everywhere. I slipped into a pair of black combat boots and grabbed my mother's black umbrella.