Warren

"Kirsty," I called her name from the doorway too shocked to do anything else. My feet were frozen and it took what felt like a life time before I could take the couple of steps across the bathroom to her side. In that time I couldn't tear my eyes from the scene in front of me. The light in the bathroom wasn't bright; the beige coloured tiles gave the room a soft, warm feeling. Her back was lent against the side of the bath, her head cocked to one side, tilted backwards onto the ledge. Her arms and legs hung loosely from her body. Her face was pale but you couldn't miss how stunningly beautiful she was. She was sat in the middle of the dark chocolate coloured bathmat her eyes closed and she looked so peaceful. In contrast with the deep chocolate colour were little spots of brilliant white which were scattered carelessly around her.

Tears escaped my eyes. How had it come to this? Why had she done this? Did we mean nothing to her? Regaining the use of my feet I dropped on my knees beside her bringing my hand up to her face and cupping it slowly hoping for a reaction. I didn't expect one but it didn't make any less hard not getting one. I released her head and it flopped forwards like a rag doll. I then trailed my hand all the way down her arm to her hand which loosely held my pill bottle. I took it from her lifeless hand instantly feeling that it was empty. Quickly I counted the strewn tablets finding only eleven from a bottle of forty-seven. She meant business. She knew my tablets; she knew what they were like, how they affected me. I'd started a new bottle only two days ago which left her with about thirty.

I grabbed her head with both hands screaming at her to wake up but her eye lids didn't so much as flicker. I tucked my arms underneath her and lifted her up. She was lighter than I remembered, smaller than I remembered, even from back when she was fourteen. I looked down at her lifeless body in my arms, she looked so vulnerable. I remember how she was when I first met her. Our position mimicking the first time I properly looked at her. How I stood hugging her to my body; trying desperately to protect her. How even through the cloud of smoke and dusk it only took me to look at her once before she'd captured my heart. In that one moment time stood still and I fell in love. She wasn't just some school child I'd just happened to save, it was fate, we were mean to be together forever.

So much has changed since that day. Yet she still looks like that little missing girl lost in the destruction of her school but she wasn't. We have a daughter, a life together. We'd got married and now she was throwing that all way. It had been almost half a life time since that day but I could remember it like it was yesterday. It started like every other day. I got up, I went to work, we got called out on a shout. Everything was normal until we arrived on scene.

Thousands of children packed the playgrounds of St Mary's senior school some had red blankets wrapped over their school uniforms. It was chaos. Teachers were trying to control the hysterical teenagers and failing. Most formed huddles crying and staring in disbelieve at their school alight in front of them.

As soon as we opened the fire engines doors we were bombarded with teachers, each of them trying to explain what had and was happening. We were thrust registers, I don't know how they managed to collect them and get them accurate in the chaos that surrounded us but they had. The registers had found that three children were still uncounted for, missing amongst the vast set of corridor and classrooms that the old building supported, all were girls.

The guys set about trying to control the fire, shooting powerful jets of water onto the blaze. I watched their efforts from behind a table supporting the plans for the school. Somehow it had been narrowed down and we were told the three girls were somewhere along the math corridor on the second floor. Garry, Jeff and I we told exactly where to look and sent in to retrieve them. We walked through the main entrance and took the stairs up to the second floor. Thick smoke hung in the air from the fire blazing in the classrooms to the left, flames flickering into the corridor. Sweat clung to my forehead and the inside of my helmet.

I followed Garry and Jeff to the left as we headed towards the maths corridor. The first thing we heard was one of the girls calling for help and with out thinking we ran towards her cries. Rounding the corner we were met with a smoke filled half caved in corridor with two young girls sitting amongst the fallen ceiling. Of course Kirsty being Kirsty neither one was her. She always liked to make things difficult even thought I didn't know it back then. Our pace quickened, the girls were covered in dust and soot. They were huddled together, coughing and struggling to breath. I was the last to reach them and started looking for the last girl who was seemingly still lost. We didn't need to stop and talk about what we were going to do we knew. Garry and Jeff lifted the girls and started heading out of the building getting them to safety, whilst I stayed shouting and searching for the last girl. I could feel my lungs filling with smoke and still I hadn't found the girl, I didn't even know what she looked like.

I ducked, hearing more of the plaster board ceiling caving in behind me. I was running out of time I had to find her now or leave her behind. The latter wasn't an option. I'd never left somebody behind before and I wasn't about to start now. I speed up searching classroom after classroom before I only had two left. I chose the one to my right and sighed with relief as I saw a small lifeless body slumped against the far wall. She wasn't moving my relief quickly turned into panic as I rushed to her side hoping that I had reached her in time. With out thinking I pulled her into my arms. I looked down at her my heart breaking but welling at the same time. She was beautiful I watched her for a second and my heart jumped when I saw her chest moving up and down indicating that she was still breathing.

I've thought about that moment so many times over the years. I thought about how I sat by her bedside for days before she woke up. She was fourteen, I was nineteen so things were difficult to started with. Her family and friends didn't approve and tried everything to keep us apart, to poison her against me but we stayed strong because we knew that we were right for each other. When they found out that Kirsty was pregnant they didn't want to know her anymore and we were allowed to be together. We spent a couple of years staying with my mom and dad whilst we saved enough money to get our own place and eventually we had our own place to call home.

Coming back to my senses I walked into our bedroom placing her on the bed before calling an ambulance. Had I wasted too much time thinking? Was I already too late?

I always wanted to work in how I thought Warren and Kirsty met and although I wasn't meant to be in this chapter it just seemed to fit in. Thanks again for reviewing