Free A Broken Promise by Megan McKenney Page B

felt like I could fall asleep, so he scooted across and sat next to me. Wrapping his arm around my shoulder, I rested my head on the crook of his neck. He was so comfortable, so secure…he was my everything.
    Without warning, the carriage stopped and we were escorted off. I looked around at our surroundings. We were on the beach and the only lights that shone upon us were from up above. Brad took my hand and we walked to where the lake met the sand. He had me sit down on a large rock while he quickly cleared his throat.
    “Jenna,” he began. “Meeting you four years ago was a fluke. I thought you were beautiful, but I didn’t think I would ever be good enough for you. You proved me wrong the morning you and I bumped into each other in the hallway. Honey, that one moment changed my life forever. That one moment has made it so that my life has been perfect with you.
    “Jenna, I never want to give this up. I want to be with you for the rest of my life. I know we are both young. Still in high school. Still teenagers. But we have so many goals and I know that if we make each other a priority then this love will last forever. So I present you with this…a promise ring. I promise I will stay faithful to you, forever and for always. I love you, Jenna Horowitz, and I hope that you would stay faithful to me too.”
    I felt the tears run down my cheeks as the ring sparkled under the stars. I didn’t quite know what to say. I wasn’t expecting him to give me a ring. I knew it was only a promise ring, but wasn’t the necklace that he gave me last year supposed to represent the same thing? I didn’t really want a ring…it made our relationship too official.
    “This ring is a symbol of our love. It’s a symbol of what is to come. Perhaps an engagement ring is in our near future, but right now, we need to just focus on the present. This ring is supposed to take place of the engagement ring…as least until we are old enough to take on the responsibility of marriage. Could you do the honor and be my future fiancé?”
    I slowly nodded my head, not willing to say anything out loud. He was the love of my life, wasn’t he? He slid the ring onto my barren finger. It fit perfectly on my size five finger. I twirled it around under the stars, letting them twinkle over the small diamond. This was a big moment in my life, why wasn’t I more thrilled?
    That night, once the carriage dropped us off at the hotel, I was shaking of nerves. I knew what I was expected to do, but I didn’t have the courage to let it happen. He opened the door for me, and I flew to the bathroom, sliding onto the bathroom door. The tears came harder and harder now. I didn’t quite know why I was crying, but the tears were coming. I looked down at my ring again. It really was beautiful. Maybe I was the luckiest girl in the world, or maybe I was going to make the worst decision of my life.
    “Jenna, sweetie? Are you okay?” Brad asked, knocking on the door.

I vigorously wiped the tears off of my mascara stained cheeks. “Oh, I’m fine,” I lied through the door. “Just brushing my teeth.” I quickly got up from the floor, splashing my face with cool water. After staring at my dripping face in the mirror for a few seconds, I brushed my teeth like I told him I was.
    Nervously, I opened the bathroom door. I was half expecting him to be naked in bed or taking out a box of condoms, but instead he was sitting on the bed, fully clothed, and sitting there on the laptop. He hardly looked up at me as I entered the room. I stared at him from the bathroom door. That was my future husband. Could I picture myself going to bed next to him each night? Knowing that he was a good guy, I sat down on the bed next to him. He turned off the laptop, turning his attention to me.
    “So, how was your eighteenth birthday?” He asked playfully, rubbing his hands against my shoulders. I closed my eyes because it felt so good.
    “It was pretty great,” I admitted. “Everything