Sealed With A Vow

Chapter 1- Losing Everything

It was a dark, stormy night in San Diego. Rain poured heavily onto the streets as the howling of the wind caused the palm trees to shake violently.

I stood next to my bedroom window, watching as a streak of lightning illuminated the sky before closing the curtains. Thunderstorms had always scared me ever since I was a little girl. I mean, everyone's afraid of something, right?

After shutting all of the windows in my ridiculously large "home", I headed into the living room and turned on the TV, making myself comfortable on the leather couch.

Today marked the start of the NHL draft, an annual event that brought joy and pride to many hopeful young hockey players around the nation. But to me, the draft would always be a constant reminder of the day I lost my best friend- Nick Schneider.

To begin with, my older brother and I were born and raised in California, in a small town just a few miles south of here. At the age of three, my family moved to Minnesota since Dad's company was relocated there. He eventually went on to become the CEO of his own hotel business, but that's a different story.

Nick and I met my first day of preschool. He was an adorable little boy, with stunning hazel eyes and thick brown hair. I was playing with a group of kids and one of them suddenly grabbed the Barbie doll that was in my hand and yelled, "mine!".

Tears rolled down my chubby cheeks and immediately, Nick sought to get me my doll back.

"Give it back to her, you bully!", he ordered, attempting to take it from the kid, whose name was Mike.

Right away, he handed the doll over to Nick, with a frightened expression on his face. I didn't blame him for being scared because at the time, he was the tallest kid in our class.

The moment Nick returned the doll to me, I knew that we'd become the best of friends. And indeed we were.

He and I both started playing hockey once we turned four since it was our favorite sport and we attended the same school all the way through our senior year.

We were inseparable. In fact, I'd spent most of my days growing up over at the Schneider's place because my parents were always busy with work and away on business trips. Nick's family had become really close to me as well.

When it came time for us to go to college, Nick and I had to head our own ways. I was done with hockey after high school, but he went on to play for the University of Minnesota. He'd become a sensational athlete. I on the other hand, had received a full scholarship to attend Stanford, my dream college.

Although Nick and I were in separate states, we always kept in touch. Just three years ago, the Chicago Blackhawks- our favorite hockey team- won the Stanley Cup and we had the chance to watch the game, thanks to my dad who bought the tickets.

I couldn't have been any happier, but little did I know that my life would begin to fall apart later that month.

The NHL Draft was held in Minneapolis that year two weeks after the Hawks had claimed the Cup. I had high hopes for Nick and he insisted I attend the draft with him and his family, so I did.

At that point in time, my feelings for Nick had escalated and I realized that I loved him. I couldn't imagine life without him and I wanted us to take our friendship to the next step. Hopefully, he'd feel the same way once I told him later.

Nick ended up getting drafted by none other than the Chicago Blackhawks that day as their third overall pick. I remembered the huge smile he had on his face as he stood on stage with his parents like it was just yesterday.

The fact that Nicholas Andrew Schneider- my Nick- would be playing in the NHL was just mind boggling. I was unbelievably proud of him, and I bet his friends and family were too.