Self-Destruction

Marcus

I met my girlfriend though a mutual friend when she was 14 and i was 16. I thought she was pretty but i didn't talk to her, as the weeks went by we started seeing more of each other and i developed a crush on her but i was so shy i didn't tell her until months later. I remember it too, our mutual friend had invited me to their church and i had seat next to her.
At some point we all had to get up and hold the hands of the person next to us and say a prayer for them. So there we were holding hands and saying our prayers for each other and i just thought to myself "The worst thing she can say is I don't like you". So i did tell and she said "OK" and then we sat down and the service continued. I went home feeling better that I told her but worse that I thought she felt nothing for me. She called that night and she asked me if i really did like her and i said yes, then she said I never showed any interest in her (which was true) then she told me the first time she saw me she thought i was cute and was shy as well, we got together soon after that and we were happy. Me and her stayed with each other for almost two whole years and we were happy, but i was having hard times in my life and this trickled into our relationship. My father had died and he was my only family, so i joined the marines the day after i buried my father. we were in her room and i told her what i did, she begged me not to, she said she'd plead with her parents to take me in, anything to stop me from joining. I said I'd already done it and couldn't back out. She started to cry cried and cried, then i did the most horrible thing I'd ever done in my life, i told her i don't think we should be together anymore. She cried uncontrollably until she fell asleep and i left. Not long after i got shipped off to basic training and left her behind. It was so painful for me to keep my feelings to myself around the other recruits, for those few weeks of basic training were terrible, I'd cry in the showers where the steam and water would hide my tears and sobs. The only thing that kept me going was that i wanted to get through this so i could make a life for myself (and her hopefully)5 years, multiple combat tours and 3 promotions later i finally left the marines and went back home. Not much had changes since i left, the house i lived in was still there taken care of by my fathers best friend while i was gone and I spent the next few weeks there waiting for summer break (she was finishing her second year of University). I was sitting in the living room one day when i heard a knock at my door, when i answered it she was standing on the other side. "Hey stranger." she said "Hi" was my reply. She looked me up and down "You got taller, Buffer too." She'd also filled out since the last time i saw her and i hardly thought it was the same girl from back then. "What you did to me was horrible, you know that right?" i said i did. "Even though you broke it off, i still watched the casualty reports online, did u ever think about my feelings all this time? Yet no matter what you did, i never stopped loving you." she was starting to cry "but you're back now and don't you ever leave me again." i brought her in a hugged her "I don't think i can go through not having you with me again." we got back together that very day and i proposed to her the next month. That was in 2009 she has since finished school and we're now happily married and we just not too long found out she's pregnant. Real life does have happy endings.