Never Forget

"Joseph!"

"What?"

He ended the conversation and had to push his phone down in his pocket before he threw it across the room. Her flight was scheduled to land in London at like noon, why the hell hadn't she called him yet?

"JOSEPH!"

He sighed angrily and stormed down the stairs.

"WHAT?"

He saw that his mother's face had been streaked with tears.

It was then that the TV caught his attention.

We are sad to report that Alaska Airlines flight 256 from LAX to Heathrow has called in a state of emergency. Pilots did their best to land as safely as possible in surrounding ocean. No word yet on if any survivors have been found. We will be updating on the situation as we get information on this tragic event. Our condolences to the families of those whose lives have been lost today.

"Joseph..."

He stood perfectly still, his features void of any emotion.

"Joseph, honey..."

He shook his head slowly and held his hand out to stop his mother from taking him in her loving embrace.

"No. Just," everyone in the room could tell he was doing his best to fight back the tears that threatened to spill onto the smooth skin of his cheek, "leave me alone."

He backed away, slowly at first, before he grabbed his keys and ran out to his car, not caring what his destination would be. As he drove, he let all of his emotions free.

"You promised me you would be okay!" He slammed his hand on the steering wheel as another barrier of his emotions broke down. "You said you would come back," he cried. "You can't do this to me!"

He put the car in park and got out, running to find the spot where he'd first told her that he loved her.

"YOU!" He fell to his knees, anger in his voice as he pointed to the sky. "YOU did this! You took her from me! Why are you punishing me?! What did I do?" He closed his eyes and buried his face in his hands. "I've been a good Christian. I go to church every Sunday. I read my Bible. I'm not afraid to profess my faith and my love for you," he sobbed quietly. "What did I do to deserve this?

"I haven't broken my promise. I can still wear my ring proudly. I fight temptation of all the girls throwing themselves at me. But why, when I am finally happy with someone, did you feel the need to take her from me?

"I know I took her from Kevin, but he left her standing in the rain. And I took her in out of the cold, I gave her everything I have. I told her everything about me and she still loved me with my flaws. What do you want me to do? Tell me what I need to do."

He slowly opened the door and walked up the stairs to the door with the blue star on it. It was late and everyone was in bed sleeping, like he should've been. He found a note on his bed stating that dinner was waiting for him in the oven if he wanted it. It also assured him that his family would be there for him if he wanted to talk about anything.

After changing into his pajama pants at what he was sure was the slowest pace he'd ever done so, he climbed under the crisp black sheets of his bed and took a deep breath. He didn't want to fall asleep because he didn't want to leave the last day he'd seen her.

When he had finally gained courage to close his eyes, he realized that tomorrow would be a new day - the first day without her.