How Could This Be Real?

123. Forever Yours

David and I walked hand-in-hand along the beach, the warm breeze rustling my hair and gently billowing the cover-up I'd tied around my waist. The golden and pink sunset made the sea sparkle like a million diamonds and shined on David's hair, giving him a warm sort of glow, or maybe it just enhanced the one that was always there.

I set my head on his shoulder as we slowly sauntered across the sand, savoring this time together, these last few hours before I would have to go back to my normal life in America. But now it didn't feel like my normal life. It felt like a punishment compared to this summer, this wonderful time with my true love.

If I could, I would just move in with him and go to school in
Huddersfield; I just didn't care anymore. But when I suggested it to my parents, they strongly refused. They said they missed me way too much and that my friends did too and that I had to graduate with my class for the principle of the thing. I understood their reasoning, but it didn't change the fact that from the moment I stepped on that plane, I was only going to be half of a person, and it was going to hurt beyond belief every single day.

So I was going to make the most of this night, the last night of the best summer ever.

Once the stars started peeking out, we settled down on the surf and watched as they winked into the sky one by one, and off in the distance, we saw the boardwalk come alive.

"I'm going to miss you so much..." he whispered, squeezing my hand that was intertwined with his as he gazed off at the horizon.

"I know... but it'll be okay." I glanced up at him and gave him a playful smile. "You're going to visit me sometimes, right?"

He met my eyes and matched my smile, teasing, "Now why would I do that?"

I rolled my eyes and bumped him with my shoulder. He chuckled and pressed a tender kiss against my forehead. "You know I will."

I narrowed my eyes at him skeptically. "Promise?"

He crossed his heart and said sincerely, "Promise."

"Would you like to seal that promise?" I asked, biting my lip
nervously.

He gave me a curious look and asked, "And how would I do that?"

"Well... I was thinking..." I hesitantly slipped a small box out of my pocket and said, "with these..."

He stared down at the velvet box in my hand, his eyes softening as he recognized the gift. "Angel..." he murmured, the tiniest smile playing on his lips.

I ran my thumb over the smooth fabric, happy tears lacing my eyes as I thought of the speech I'd prepared for this moment.

"David," I began, "you could never know how much it hurt me to reject your promise ring. I wanted to accept it so badly, I wanted to promise myself to you more than anything in the world, but I was scared. I was scared to commit to a promise like that because of how fast we were moving. I was afraid that the magic would die if we spent too much time together, but now that I've lived here with you for these past few months, I can see that there's nothing in this world that could ever tear us apart.

"Our love is stronger than anything else I've ever seen and I want to promise you that it will always be that way. I want to promise that no matter what happens or whatever gets thrown our way, I will always be there for you. I will forever be by your side, even when we're miles apart. We are two halves of a whole and while I didn't fully understand that a few months ago, I do now, and so I wanted to show you that."

I slowly opened the box's lid to reveal two silver rings, each engraved with half of a red heart. They were the promise rings he'd wanted to give me for my birthday, the ones he'd let me hold onto to give when I was ready. I'd been so unsure that day, so terrified of what possibilities they could represent, but now, I wasn't scared anymore. I wanted nothing more than what these rings represented and from the look on David's face, I was sure he felt the same.

I carefully plucked the larger band off of its bed and held it out for him, hope shining through my smile. "So, what do you say? Do you still want to promise yourself to me?"

He didn't have to say a word. He simply held out his hand, inviting me to slip the ring onto his finger and that I did. He did the same for me and a warm sense of comfort and belonging washed over me as I marveled at the perfect fit.

He cupped my face in his hands as delicately as if it were a flower and whispered, "I am forever yours."

My lip quivered with joy and I repeated, "I am forever yours."

Our lips met with such passion, such devotion, such loyalty that I knew I didn't need anything else in the world than this man right in front of me. He was the only thing that mattered anymore. From this moment on, my sole goal in life was to make sure he stayed in it and to do everything in my power to be with him as much as possible.

I know I must sound crazy, I mean he's just one guy and I'm still only in high school at the end of the day, but I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that we were meant to be together. If all these trials we've been put through haven't been enough to pull us apart, then nothing will be. We were going to be together forever, and nothing anyone could say could convince me otherwise.

I'm not sure how long we stayed on that beach, staring up at the stars and holding each other close. We didn't do anything crazy; we didn't want to ruin the intimacy of the night with something such as that. We simply held one another, knowing it was going to be the last time we could for quite a while.

I knew he was crying, thinking that he couldn't make it through without me, but I knew he was strong and that he'd do just fine on his own.

We needed this summer more than anything and while I was sad that it was over, I was more thankful for all the wonderful memories we'd made. I knew that whenever I missed him, I could look back on this time together and smile, making my heart swell instead of sink like it had in the past when memories were too painful to think of.

These memories along with all the new ones I was going to make with my friends were going to make this a great junior year, I just knew it.

✧✦☆★✧✦☆★

Aww, pwomise wrings, how coot.

The next chapter is going to jump ahead nine months 'cause I can.

I dunno what else to say. Soooo, have a good day.

Thanks for reading peoples ;) ☮ Peace ☮ - Elsie