Love Until the End
Emma stepped out of the supermarket, shifting the heavy grocery bag in her arms. She hadn’t bought much, yet the weight pulled at her wrist. Pausing outside her house, she frowned. “No lights on. Lily’s run off again.” She shook her head. “Just wait till she gets home… Ever since she started seeing that Jack, her grades have dropped, she’s skipping school. The teachers complain, and her A-levels are coming up. Just you wait…” She muttered, climbing the stairs to their flat with a sigh.
Inside, Emma dropped the groceries onto a chair by the kitchen table. Her eyes flicked to the untouched stove. “Of course. I told her to peel the potatoes or boil some pasta. Gone again… What am I supposed to do?”
She yanked off her coat, tossed it into the hall, and stormed back to the kitchen. Cupboard doors slammed, plates clattered—Emma cooked dinner in a fury, rehearsing the lecture she’d give Lily when she finally came home.
But Lily was in no rush. By half past ten, Emma paced the flat, her anger simmering. “Just wait till you get back… I’ll make sure you never forget this,” she muttered, winding herself up. “Breaking my back to give you a good life, and you can’t even boil pasta? Do you think I wanted this? Raising you alone at your age? Ungrateful. You want to throw your future away like I did?”
Frustration boiled over. She wanted to smash something, anything, to release the rage burning inside.
When the key finally turned in the lock, relief flooded her—until she saw Lily’s flushed, guilty face. The anger roared back.
“Where have you been? Do you know what time it is? Your exams are weeks away, and you’re out God knows where!”
“I did my homework—”
“Don’t talk back!” Emma snapped. “I raised you to have a better life than this, not to throw it away!”
“I’m not throwing anything away. Stop shouting—”
Emma’s hand twitched, itching to strike. Instead, she grabbed a folded umbrella from the side table and raised it—but froze when Lily flinched, arms shielding her head. The umbrella clattered to the floor.
Suddenly deflated, Emma slumped onto the hallway stool. “I was out of my mind worrying… What’s that on your finger?”
Lily slowly lowered her hands, glancing at the simple gold ring with a tiny white stone. “Jack gave it to me.”
“You’re still in school! Doesn’t he know that?”
“He does. But in two months, I’ll finish my exams—”
“And suddenly be an adult? While living under my roof? If you were grown, you’d respect my rules. Help around the house. Stay out all night, will you? Drop out? Get pregnant?” The words spilled out, unstoppable.
“Mum, he loves me. I love him.”
“If he loved you, he’d do what’s best for you, not drag you down!” Emma groaned, pressing her hands to her temples.
That night, she tossed and turned, anxiety gnawing at her. How had her bright, obedient girl ended up like this? By dawn, exhaustion dulled the panic, but the question remained: what now?
Peeking into Lily’s room, she saw her sleeping peacefully. The sight twisted her heart. Quietly, she closed the door and got ready for work.
On her way out, she hesitated—then took Lily’s keys from her coat pocket, locking the door with the spare set. “Stay home. Think. I’ll handle the rest.”
At nine, Lily called, furious. “Why did you lock me in?”
“To make you think. We’ll talk tonight.”
The day dragged. No answers came. Returning home, Emma saw a crowd gathered outside the building opposite. A neighbour hobbled over, face grim.
“What’s happened?” Emma asked, though her gut already twisted.
“Look at the roof.”
Emma squinted—then gasped. Two figures stood at the edge. She bolted forward. “I locked her in! How—?”
“A cherry picker came earlier,” someone said. “Thought it was maintenance. That must be him—he got her out.”
“Lily!” Emma’s scream came out a choked whisper.
The boy—Jack—shouted down, “Stay back, or we’ll jump!” His voice wavered.
Emma’s vision swam. The world tilted—
She woke to a paramedic’s face. “Lily—?”
“Alive. Over there.”
Lily rushed to her, sobbing into her shoulder. “I’m sorry—”
Paramedics loaded Jack’s body into a black bag. At the last second, as rescuers grabbed them, he’d wrenched free.
After that, Lily was silent, hollow. Police came and went. Emma took leave, watching her daughter like a ghost.
Months passed. Lily aced her exams, wore the graduation dress Emma scrimped for, then vanished early from the party.
That autumn, rain gave way to winter’s chill. Emma shopped for a necklace, avoiding rings—until, one evening, laughter spilled from Lily’s room. A man’s voice.
Her pulse spiked. Not again.
“Mum, this is—” Lily stood, blushing.
Paul rose beside her. “Don’t recognise me? I was there that day. Paramedic.”
They’d met by chance, shopping for their mothers.
Over tea, Paul’s stories drew genuine laughter. Emma watched him gaze at Lily—soft, warm, nothing like Jack.
Two years later, they married.
Young love burns bright, reckless. Some survive it. Others don’t.
It’s not the love that lasts till death—but the choices made along the way.
