Once Upon a Love Story

This story is a work in progress. My goal is to have it done by the 28th. If you could comment me on mistakes/ideas that'd be great!!!

          Elizabeth sat up in her room on the phone with her boyfriend of almost a year. Joshua and Elizabeth had met in school. The beginning of their friendship had been interesting. They talked on the phone every night. On weekends they talked endlessly and after school Liz went over to Josh's house with a couple other friends and hung out. They had secretly liked each other months before admitting it. Elizabeth had been asked many times on occasion if she was going out with Josh. As she said 'no' her cheeks turned a slight pink at which no one seemed to notice. Each time she was on her way to go sit with him for lunch. They still talked every night and were a very close couple. They were different than everyone else and no matter what they never fought, never got mad at eachother and were just perfect.
          Tonight the rain outside was pouring down. Lightning striked and the thunder crashed. It was perfect for running around in and getting soaking wet before inside for a cup of cocoa and curling up next to one another in euphoria.

_____

          "Elizabeth? Liz? Are you there?" The line buzzed dead.
What the hell? I'll try calling her again.
          Josh dialed Elizabeth's number again. Moaning about how Liz's parents should've gotten her a cell phone by now.
You have reached 555-1090. Please leave a message after the tone.
          "Hey Liz it's me, Josh, I don't know what happened to your phone but call me back please." The hour slowly passed by as Josh waited for Liz to call. Where is Liz? She should've called by now.
Joshua fell asleep with the phone in hand waiting for his phone to ring.
          The piercing ring of a cell phone broke the quiet of night. The buzzing of the cell phone shook his hand. Josh looked over at the clock, it read 1:26. Finally He groggily picked up the phone with a "Hello?"
          "I'm sorry to have waken you up so early Josh." replied the voice on the other end. It was a female voice, Josh couldn't recognize the voice right away but he knew that the woman on the other line was an acquaintance. "This is Liz's mom, Lily; I’m calling because I need to tell you something about Liz…”
          Josh’s heartbeat started to race. His palms grew sweaty and the lump in his throat grew bigger with each time he swallowed. His mind was thinking of everything possible. None of it good.
          "She's in the hospital, last night, while you were on the phone, lightning struck the tree outside her room which passed an electric current through to the phone and it shocked her. The doctors are examining her right now, they think she lost her memory.
          Josh’s heart dropped to the pit of his stomach. Hard. He could feel his throat tighten up and all he could think was “Is this a joke?”
          “Josh, are you there?” inquired Lily.
          He mustered all he could to respond but all that came out was a meek “Yeah”
          “I’m sorry you had to be told this way but I felt it would be easier if it was done sooner. The doctors say she’ll be ready for visitors soon. You can come and see her after school.”
          “Ok” squeaked Josh.
          "I’ll let you go back to sleep now, Josh. Buh-bye now.”
          “Bye”
          Joshua had the worst night of his life. Even worse than when he found out his parents were divorcing. He tossed and turned all night and when he finally did fall asleep he had a dream where he went to see Elizabeth and she ran off screaming into the dark abyss of his mind. He woke up to the recurring buzz of his alarm clock in a sweat. The day seemed to slowly creep by. The first sight of their locker before school (and there after) just depressed him more. He expected Liz to be there and say “Surprise!” as if it were all a joke. Yet each time she wasn’t there. And each time there was no “Surprise!” waiting for him. All of his friends noticed a difference in his attitude while all of her friends asked where she was. Josh told a few but after so much repeating he couldn’t take it any more.
          After school his mom drove him to the hospital after stopping at Starbucks© for some coffee. The nurse led him down the dreary-lit halls that smell of old people and disinfectant.
          "So how do you know Elizabeth?" he nurse asked Josh with a smile.
          "We've been seeing each other for almost a year now and have been engaged for about half as long. Before letting Josh into the room Liz was in she cautioned him not to give her too much information at once. "Just say your name--first will do for now-- and that you’ve known each other for some time. A pain hit Josh’s stomach like someone had just stabbed him with a knife and twisted it. He didn’t want to lie to Elizabeth; he never had and felt he shouldn’t start now. He then argued inside his mind that he wouldn’t be technically lying to Elizabeth, only holding back some of the truth. He agreed to what the nurse said and walked into the room.
          The sight of Liz in a hospital bed upset Josh. She looks so helpless. Her once shiny, long, brown hair now limply strung down with some strands covering her face, which was the palest he’s ever seen it. The gown flowed over her wide shoulders and straight over her bust. The hospital blankets covered the rest of her body.
          “Elizabeth, there’s someone here to see you.” Said the nurse, introducing Josh.
          Elizabeth’s head jerked up and away from her fingers that she had been twiddling around. Her hazel eyes stared deeply into mine with such unknowing intensity. Just by receiving that look Josh’s eyes welled up with tears. He knew that she really didn’t remember him and it hurt. As he walked toward the hospital bed he blinked back the stinging tears and pulled a chair next to her. Liz’s eyes still looked deeply into Josh’s.
          “My name is Josh, we go to school together and we’ve been pretty good friends for a while now.”
          Elizabeth held that constant gaze into Josh’s eyes. At that moment a tear fell down Josh’s face. Elizabeth reached out with one finger and wiped it away. Then for one moment the gaze her eyes held wasn’t unknowing, more so it looked as if she understood. Then, as soon as Josh had seen it, it was gone.
          “Hi” Liz said seeming only half there and half in the only memory she now had of Josh. Josh, again, blinked back tears for he had longed to hear her voice for what seemed like an eternity.
          At that moment Elizabeth's family walked into the room. Josh quickly wiped away all the trace on his face that he'd been crying. Lily, wearing a long, black, layered skirt with a patterned sequin design embroidering the bottom, an off-white cami underneath a crimson, polyester jacked with newly polished silver buttons. Liz's dad, Emil, walked right beside his wife in black slacks, a brown button-up shirt under a black suit jacket. Rebekah, age five, was wearing a summer flower dress with a white tie-up sweater over the top to keep her warm in the early winter months.
          “Did you get the wiggly, squiggly, red Jell-O from the cafeteria to day Lizza?” Rebekah asked after she skipped up to the hospital bed opposite of Josh, gave a massive grin at him then grabbed Liz's hand.
          "It's on the counter Bekka." She replied in a monotone voice, vaguely pointing up and over, toward the counter.
          “Yaaaay!!!” Bekka squealed, hopping over to the Jell-O, grabbing the spoon off the counter beside it, tearing off the plastic top, digging her spoon into the Jell-O and shoving the heaping spoonful of the red, wiggly Jell-O into her mouth, pulling the spoon out violently with a smile.
          Their parents looked at Bekka with a look of love and then towards Liz with a look of worried love. Wondering if she would ever be the same again.
          "Hey Joshy!!" squealed Rebekah, coming over after finishing the Jell-O and grabbing his leg as he was walking over to Lily and Emil. Josh grunted forward as the little girl jumped on his leg by surprise and tried to regain his balance. He looked down at his left foot and saw Bekka. She's such a cute little girl, with her curly, baby blond hair and those big, brown eyes.