“Why do you have to do this to me?” I yelled at an angel, who was now burning with rage.

“What were you truly expecting?” She yelled back. “That I would just sit around watching you get tormented like that?”

I will admit, the angel I’m describing, which may sound like anything but, was really my fiancée. And truly, she deserved such a position

It all began at prom. Yeah, I know it sounds cliche, but there’s more than just a high school date. My parents had dropped me off there in nothing but the bluest tuxedo you could imagine. Seriously, it was a horrible color. Anyways, I was only brought to the prom because of my older brother and his girlfriend.

The girlfriend, who I think was named Jane, wasn’t too bad of a person. She was decent enough to actually ask if I was doing okay in the back seat as I was nervously twitching. My brother, however, wasn’t known for being caring. I honestly don’t even know why Jane thought he was a good guy at the time. It was likely because he was a soon-to-be frat boy, being really obsessed with how he appeared.

“Wipe that look off your face,” he commanded coldly.

At the prom, my brother and Jane were dancing away. Despite not even being selected for prom king and queen, they managed to be at the center of the stage. Meanwhile, I was hidden under a table. The only comfort I could find was my phone, where I looked at my song playlist. At some point in the night, I noticed a pair of red high heels walk near my face.

It would have been nothing to me, I was under a bunch of food after all. The thing was the girl standing in front of me wasn’t as ignorant of my presence as I was of hers. In fact, she actually lifted the velvet that stood between the two of us. Despite that, the girl kept muttering to herself. Her tone was as sharp as a sword, and she could easily be mistaken for an angry schoolteacher.

Despite that, the girl was extremely pretty. Her eyes were a romantic dark color, and her hair was cut like Snow White in the cartoon.

“Oh my bad,” the girl instantly said when I had direct eye contact with her. “Didn’t mean to sound harsh to you.”

Instead of giving a response, I was frozen still.

“It’s just been a rough night for me,” she continued. “Guessing it’s been a rough one for you too.”

“Yeah,” I meekly replied.

“Want to leave this place?”

“Yeah.”

As the girl reached out her hand, she paused in mild realization.

“My name is Gabby,” she quickly replied.

“My name’s Daniel,” I confessed in return. “But you can call me Dan.”

“Nice to meet you Dan. Oh, I forgot to ask you if you want to see this place.

“It’s the parking garage.”

“Sure.”

I could tell that my face squinted a little at that last sentence. Gabby let out a sigh before she reached out her hand.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to go,” she replied.

In that moment, my mind was both frozen and overflowing. A girl, one that was especially beautiful, was talking to me. Wanting to be with me. It’s dumb that I want so caught up with that thought. Before long, I gave an answer.

“Trust me,” I assured. “That sounds like a fine enough place.”

“Thank you so much,” Gabby said as she reached out her hand to me.

She pulled with so much force that I was worried that she would rip off my entire arm. Together, we broke through the doors of prom and ran across.

The lights of a small town I resigned in shined brighter today than ever before. As me and Gabby crossed the street, I looked over at the college town that rested nearby. The garbage itself was exactly what you would expect. Steel walls that kept everything within almost cold to the touch. Me and Gabby ran up the stairs, reaching the roof.

For once in my life, I got to see the stars for once. With the city lights down below, the distinct purple and blue shined in the night sky. Me and Gabby soon decided to sit down together near the edge of the building. She was more willing to dangle near the railing, while I sat down on the pavement.

“Beautiful, isn’t it,” Gabby muttered to herself.

“Yeah,” I awkwardly replied. “You must be here often.”

“Haha, what can I say. It’s the best place to be when you’re stessed.”

“So, you must hate parties too.

“With all the loud noises, bright lights, and awful music.”

Gabby turned her head, looking at me puzzled.

“I mean, you did want to leave that party?” I nervously tried to explain.

That was when Gabby lowered her head to giggle a bright smile.

“I don’t hate parties,” she responded.

“Sometimes, the dancing is exactly what you need.”

“Then, why were you so desperate to leave prom?”

Gabby let out a sigh before she confessed.

“I was with my boyfriend.”

“You had a boyfriend?”

Admittedly, that was probably the worst thing I could comment on.

“Can you keep your mouth shut? Anyways, we were having a good time,” she continued. “He snuck in some candy from the convenience store, and I bought this dress for him.

“Shortly after we slow danced, he commented that he needed to go use the restroom. I waited patiently for him. When I decided to go and see where he was…”

“Where did you find him?”

“He was behind a tree, kissing another girl.”

Gabby was dead silent after she said that.

“I’m so sorry,” I instinctively responded. It was probably not the best response I could give.

“No no, it’s fine,” Gabby insisted. “That’s men for you.”

I could have tried to say, “not all men,” but what good could it do. As we both stared into the night sky, I came up with a better sentence.

“Life is nothing but backstabbers,” I said.

“But there’s always someone who is also sick of being stabbed.”

“That was an awful saying.”

“Ha, I know. I just figured you needed something along the lines of that.”

As I said that, my hand reached out to Gabby’s.

She took a glance at it, but refused to move her hand, instead clenching her fists.

“Maybe,” Gabby said to herself. “Maybe you’re right.”

As she said that, she once again opened her hand.

Gabby gently stroked my hand, refusing to firmly grasp it.

“I gotta go,” I interrupted, somewhat ruining the moment.

“Wait,” Gabby called out. “Before you go, what is your phone number?”

“Pardon?”

“You know, if you want to call again. It’s okay if you don’t.”

“No no, it’s fine.”

I described my number to Gabby. Afterwards, we had many talks.

About school, about love, and even about family. To our mutual shock, me and Gabby got engaged. As one can imagine, we learned so much about each other. It was a true warts and all for us both. One day, Gabby knowing my darkest secrets turned dangerous.

We were both at my parents house, planning to announce our engagement. I had obviously told her about my brother. How he used to hit me, drag me, and generally do anything he could when my parents weren’t looking. I should have known it would strike a chord for Gabby. She herself confessed to have seen her mother get beaten a lot.

“Hey mom,” I chimed in, holding Gabby in my arms. “Hey dad.”

I looked at my brother, expecting something from him. Instead of a snarky comment like usual, he was glued to his phone.

“This is my girlfriend Gabby,” I continued.

“She’s truly lovely.”

“Aww, how sweet,” my mother said. “Come and sit here. The food isn’t going to eat itself, right honey.”

My mother looked directly at my father, who had a massive smile plastered on his face.

He never bothered to say anything though, preferring to nod. The dinner was decent enough. Some broccoli and cheese with Coca Cola. My mom was the primary talker, like she always had been. She asked Gabby a few questions about her family, which she tried to deflect.

“Aren’t family stories so fun,” my mother joked in an unintentionally mocking tone. “Dan and his brother Chris have so many stories to tell.”

She looked at my brother, expecting him to confess. Instead, he kept his mouth shut, only showing engagement when he looked up at my mother. Eventually, he gave a coy smile and put his phone down.

Gabby wasn’t smiling back at him though.

“Come on Dan,” my mother pestered. “You remember the time you saw your brother trip on his way to school?”

“Of course,” he smirked. “Chris is such a klutz.”

I had lowered my face in shame, remembering that day well. Dan had tripped me, like he always had. Looking at Gabby, I realized she hadn’t bought into the lie. Her face was hot red.

“What’s with the cherry look?” My brother asked.

“You liar,” Gabby cried out. “You have done nothing but be a bully to create these fake stories.”

My brother was taken back by what she had said.

“You don’t have any proof of that,” he laughed.

“Oh really,” Gabby mocked.

“Is not your own brother’s word good enough testimony?”

My brother’s eyes widened as he looked at Gabby. At first, he tried to laugh it off and leave. Unfortunately for him, as soon as he tried to enter the door, Gabby blocked him.

“What the hell are you doing?” My brother commented.

Gabby asked him to take a guess as she raised her fist.

“Hey hey easy,” my mother shouted as she ran up.

She tried to push Gabby away from my brother. Obviously, it didn’t go well, with Gabby throwing a punch at my mother.

That was when the room went dead silent. My mother cowered back, with a little bit of blood coming out of her nose through her hands. My father finally did something by running up to her and asking if she was okay.

“Gabby,” I finally cried out.

I reached out to pull her away from the chaos.

“What the hell was that?” I shouted as soon as we were far away. “Why did you think that was okay.”

“Do you think I could excuse those lies,” Gabby cried out. “Excuse that abuse.”

“You didn’t have to hit my mom to do that. I already know my family is a mess.”

She let out a little shout, which brings me back to where I began.

“I have had enough of this bullshit,” Gabby shouted, ripping at her hair. “Seeing this abuse.”

“Are you kidding me,” I responded. “You caused me so much pain, but yet the love I feel for you blinds me!”

That was when Gabby paused. Her hand slowly went over her mouth, but only her fingers managed to get close.”

“I’m sorry,” I weakly replied.

“I didn’t mean to say that.”

There was nothing but complete silence between the two of us. However, I just know, somewhere in my heart, that we shared the same idea. Don’t know why I did in this moment, but I embraced Gabby.

I sweezed her in my arms as I buried my face in her shoulder.

“What are you doing?” Gabby asked me.

“I’m sorry,” I responded, being a bit muffled.

“For everything?”

“Yeah, for everything.”

That was when I felt a tight embrace back.

“Thank you,” Gabby whispered in my ear