The Promise.

Its funny how one day can change your life completely. How one incident can turn your world upside down and you are absolutely powerless to try and stop it. I had the perfect life, perfect home, perfect friends and family and the perfect girlfriend that I was going to ask to marry me. When I was redeployed we were so happy I was coming home, we could pick up where we left off and eventually get married and start a family. I knew how happy she was to hear the news and when I surprised her by coming home earlier, I cradled her in my arms as she cried and I knew that soon I would ask her to marry me. But then it was all taken away from me...

Its the worst news you could ever here and even if you know it was going to happen there is no way of even preparing yourself for that kind of disaster. Driving home from the jewellers I had just picked up my girlfriend of three years engagement ring, it had taken me months to find the perfect one for her that she would remember for the rest of her life and be the one she deserves. My palms held onto the steering wheel sweating with nervousness and excitement to finally ask her to spend the rest of her life with me, she had been complaining for months of when we would get married and that she wasn't getting any younger which I laughed at and told her to quit being stupid. She wanted it so much and it made me feel so happy that I was the one she trusted and wanted to be with, I knew I had to make the proposal special and a night to remember. But that day would be a memorable one, well at least for me.

She wasn't home from work yet so I had some time to prepare for the night ahead. I greeted Bella as I walked in the door way taking my jacket off, she whimpered and howled jumping up at me. “Calm down Bella, I'll feed you in a minute” I reassured the dog, I figured she was just as excited as I was for tonight.

“Matt are you home?! Open up!”

I sighed sitting my bag on the sofa and walking by Bella, what is wrong with everyone today? What could be so important? “Just coming! Jeez.” I trudged towards the door as I yanked the door open in annoyance at my neighbour.

“Jessica, what's wrong?”

I stared at her unusually pale complexion, her eyes wide and frantic. What the hell was going on?

“There's been an accident...” She spoke as she tried to catch her breath, obviously she had been in a hurry to get to my house and tell me something. I stared at her waiting for her to continue but I knew from then that something was wrong, I was just too blind and niave to accept it.

“Brandie, she's hurt.. you need to help her.”

No, no no, I mentally thought. This wasn't happening.

“Where is she?!”

I never meant to shout at the girl feeling bad as she was startled and then struggled to string a sentence together making me even more frustrated. I grabbed her shoulders as she stared at me in shock shaking.

“Jessica I need to know where she is.” I tried to calm myself down so she would be able to tell me what was wrong.

“Just along the street, she collided with another car.”

My breathe caught in my throat and it became too hard to swallow, my heart swelled up and I wanted to run to her side but at the same time I felt glued to the ground. Finding the feeling in my feet I let Jessica go and ran out of the door leaving the door open and Bella watching as I ran to save my girlfriend.

Approaching the end of our neighbourhood I could hear ambulance sirens and the wreckage of two cars in front of me, a thump formed in my throat as I realised one of them was Brandie's car. Police officers were interrogating a young boy as he stood with a blanket around him, crying. I knew if Brandie was hurt it was because of this little runt and I would make him pay for whatever he'd done to her, strutting towards him I felt the anger rise and any sense of rationality leave my head.

“You better tell me what the fuck happened?!”

I grabbed the kid by the collar and shook him in the air as he cried even more before the police officer tried to restrain me. My knuckles turning white from clutching the kid so hard, my blood boiled from the rage within that someone like this young boy not even nineteen yet could hurt the one person in this world I loved so much. Another officer surrounded us, prying my hands from the boy trying to handcuff me. The other officer pushed my chest on top of the police car bonnet as I yelled for them to get the fuck off me, at this point I really didn't give a fuck if I ended up in jail I just wanted to make sure Brandie was safe.

That's when I saw Ambulance men rush to the scene and from the distance I saw a young woman's body be pulled from the wreckage. I knew from the red auburn hair it was my girl I just wished so much it wasn't her. I had to hold her, I had to feel her dead or alive in my arms to make sure she knew I was here and how fucking sorry I was for letting her be in danger.

Everything was a blur, I was engulfed by so much adrenaline that I don't even remember fully what happened next all that was in my mind was that I had see my girlfriend. Forcefully, I snatched my hands from the officers grip and head butted the other one as much as I knew I would come to regret that and ran as fast as I could towards Brandie. As I slowed over, I felt my face distort in horror to see that Brandie was unconscious with cuts and blood all over her face and was struggling to breathe. I lay her on the ground with her head on my lap, cradling her. Her head had a nasty, deep gash and all I could do was cradle her while I sobbed that my beautiful girl was battered and in pain and I wasn't there to save her. It pained me to see her this way but only made me even more angry at the fucker who did this to her, kid or no kid that fucking brat was going to pay for what he did.

“Brandie, come on baby wake up.” I gently stroked her face trickled with blood hoping and praying for her to wake up and be okay. Holding her hand in mines I kissed it before pressing it against my chest as I cried on to her body. I didn't care how many people were watching, even the officer I head butted let me cry for my girlfriend. I didn't know if she'd ever wake up, if she was gone for good but what did happen never even crossed my mind.

“Come on baby, you have to make it, you can't leave me here.”

The tears streamed down my face and at that moment her hand twitched and I came to an abrupt stop praying she would open her eyes. Her eyes slowly opened but barely and I cried even more that someone had answered my prayers.

“I'm okay baby, don't worry.” she breathlessly spoke, it was almost a whisper and it broke my heart.

“I'm so sorry baby, please I'm sorry.”

I broke down, I'm not afraid to admit I mean I'm quite a calm guy and can hold myself together but I just lost it. Thinking the most important girl in the world to me had died was to much to handle, she was my best friend and the person I was just about to ask to spend the rest of her life with me.

“Shhh Matt, you have nothing to be sorry for. I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” I leaned in kissing her forehead as I clutched onto her hand and felt her grip loosen and her eyes shut.

“No no no don't you dare do this! Stay with me Brandie!” I shook her limp body, forgetting the pain her body must be in but I just had to keep her awake.

Everything happened so fast I don't even remember being pulled away by the ambulance men and police officers as they restrained me against my thrashing, screaming and crying. Before I could do anything she was taken away into the ambulance and I had no idea if my girlfriend was dead or alive.

I had expected her to be dead and not to be alive and fully recover. However, I couldn't have prepared myself enough for the moment of going to see her in the hospital and planning to propose finally, explaining to her how sorry I was only for her to turn around and say, “I'm sorry, do I know you?”