Happily Ever After?

  
                                                    Happily Ever After?

Karisa Wubben

He grabbed my hand as we walked out the door; he took me out to eat for my birthday to my favorite restaurant. He held me close to keep me warm from the ice-cold temperatures. Mark unlocked the car doors and walked me to my door.

He opened the door for me but before he let me get in the car he grabbed me and whispered in my ear, “I love you, and don’t you ever forget that.”  Then he gave me a small peck on the cheek. I was in love. How was I so lucky to get a guy like this? A guy who was genuinely true and would always love me for who I am.

On the car ride home we were driving slowly because the roads were wet and slippery, because of all the snow we had gotten the night before. We were having our usual chat about us in the future, and if and when we get married. We started dating our sophomore year, and now were seniors. The more time I spent with him, the more I realized how much I loved him, and wanted to some day be married to him and spend the rest of my life with him.

When we were in the car we were just talking about our night, when all of the sudden we saw a bright flash and felt our bodies getting thrown around. My mind went blank. I was knocked out for a while. When I started getting some feeling back I slowly opened my eyes. I was still in the car but the front of the car was smashed, the windshield was shattered. I slowly turned my head to Mark. He didn’t look good, but I couldn’t move.

 I was pinned in the car and all I could do was scream for help. I could hear the paramedics hollering and saying, “It doesn’t look too good guys!” It took them a good half hour before they got Mark out. They took him in the first ambulance and sped off.

My head still hurt from being hit against the glass so I closed my eyes. Before I could open my eyes again, they had me on a stretcher and loaded me into the ambulance.  I started panicking. It was almost like I didn’t know where I was and forgot what happened. When I was lying on the stretcher the paramedic told me that we were in a accident and our vehicle rolled 3 times.  I was crying and wanted to know if Mark was okay. I didn’t feel much pain besides my arm, but I could tell I was pretty bruised up.

They got me to the hospital and had me put in a room and examined me.  They got my head wrapped up and my broken arm into a splint. The only thing going through my mind was, “Where is Mark? Why haven’t I heard anything on him?”

My parents came in the room, both with tears in their eyes. I told them I was fine, but they kept crying. I asked them if they heard anything on Mark. My mother began to cry more and they each went silent. I told them I wanted to know what was going on. I honestly thought he died. But finally my mom told me that he has a broken leg and is in coma.

Those were the main things besides all the bumps and bruises. I was devastated. I sat and cried all night. “What will I do without him?” Those were just some of the things going through my mind. What would I do if I lose him? If we would have just stayed home and not gone out to eat he would be fine. It was my birthday; it was my fault it happened. I should have suggested we just stay around home.

The hospital kept me for 2 days even though I was completely fine. After they let me out, the first thing I told my parents I wanted to do was see Mark. I wanted to assure myself that he was going to be okay. I wanted to hold his hand and be with him.

 So we went up to the floor he was on and found his doctor. The doctor told me he was pretty beat up, but that wasn’t going to stop me. They opened the door and I went in. He was wrapped up with bandages and a splint on his leg and bandages around his head. I cried.

I went over to his bedside, and grabbed his hand. Tears ran down my face. Was he going to be okay? Why did this have to happen? We were so happy. It was our senior year and in a few years we wanted to be married. I stayed in the room for a good hour holding his hand and trying to talk to him. I didn’t get any response and I knew I wouldn’t, but I really wanted one. He just lay there with tubes in his mouth giving him oxygen and he had IV’s. The only guy I’ve ever loved looked miserable.  Not being able to see his beautiful blue eyes that always made me melt was awful. My parents finally came in and said we should get going and we’d come back to visit him the next day.

I went home that night and cried for hours, trying to tell myself he’d be okay, and that I needed to have faith. I needed to put my faith in God that he would do what he needed to do. In my mind I was hoping God would want Mark to live. I’m sure Heaven’s great, but I can’t lose him.  I finally fell asleep.

The next day I was trying to figure out how to do things with one arm. It was a challenge but I got showered and threw on a sweat shirt and sweats and told my parents one of my friends was going to take me to see him.

My friend knocked on the door and said she was here. I’m sure people thought I looked pretty funny since I was all bruised up with a broken arm. But I just needed to see him. I needed to feel the comfort of him still being here.

We arrived at the hospital and I got out and walked into the hospital and got in the elevator. I got up to the main floor and a nurse asked me “Who are you here to see?” I said, “My boyfriend, his name is Mark Williams”. She led me into his room and I sat and “talked” to him, or really it was more like me talking and him just lying there.

I said to him. “You’re a strong boy. I know you can come out of this. I know you will.” I loved seeing him. I loved him. I just wanted him to get better. I wanted him to come home, I wanted to go to his house, and be wrapped in his arms. I wanted him to tell me he loved me and kiss me goodnight. I kept getting told it could be forever until he would get out of the hospital or maybe never at all. But I didn’t loose my faith. I knew he was strong and he would be okay. But deep down inside, I still worried that he wouldn’t be okay.

After I left the hospital, my friend brought me home and I went in my room and tried to comprehend everything I was told.  I went to the hospital every day for a month.

One day after school, I went to the hospital and saw him again. I felt different today, I felt like something exciting was going to happen. I got to the hospital and he was still lying there. I sat and held his hand and “talked to him”.             But before I was getting ready to leave I gave him a kiss on the cheek and said, “I love you”. During all this I was still holding his hand, but after I said,”I love you”, he squeezed my hand. Then I looked down at him and saw him slowly open his eyes. Excitement ran through my body. I hollered for the nurse and his parents and said, “He’s awake!”  They all came running in and walked out of the way so they could take a look at him. He started slowly stuttering. The nurse checked everything and said that he was going to be okay.

 I cried, I was so excited I couldn’t get the smile off my face! I ran next to his bed and grabbed his hand and kissed his forehead. I told him that I loved him and he slowly, and quietly said, “I love you too..” But after he said, “I love you”, he also said “I’m so sorry for hurting you”. My first response was, “It’ my fault. If we would of just stayed around home for my birthday, we’d probably be as healthy and strong as can be.”

He looked at me with his blue eyes and slowly said, “Don’t you ever think that. It was my treat to you. It was your birthday, we had to celebrate.” I then said, “Why would you think you hurt me? You didn’t hurt me. It wasn’t your fault.” Then he said to me “I promise, I will never hurt you again. I love you. I want you to be with me forever”. Then he closed his eyes and went back to sleep. I just smiled and sat and held his hand.

It was 2 months later when he finally was ready to go home. I went to the hospital and found him in a wheel chair with all his things ready to go. His bruises were gone, and he just had a couple scars.

            He saw me walk into his room and smiled at me. I pushed him down the hallway with a smile on my face the whole time. He accidentally forgot a bag of his in his room, so he asked the nurse to get it. When she got it, she handed it to him he said, “Hold on I need to check to make sure I have something”. As he was digging in the bag his hand stopped.

                  He slowly pulled out a little box. I asked him “What is that?” Then he said, “ I love you.” He slowly stood up getting out of the wheel chair and got down on one knee. He opened the box and there was a ring. It was a beautiful wedding ring. He was down on one knee when I started crying, he said, “I want you in my life. I know we’re still in high school, and I am totally fine with waiting to get married until we graduate. But I want to make this promise to you because I love you. I don’t want to loose you.  I want to grow old with you. I want to have a house and raise wonderful, and beautiful kids with you. I love you and I always will.”

 “Will you marry me?”