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"Promises To Keep" Chapter 1: When You Start To Cry The letter sat in her mailbox waiting to be picked up. Melissa Griffey opened the box and pulled out the neatly stacked mail. She flipped through the letters searching for the one. She found it at the bottom of the stack. �Ahhh!� she screamed as she tore it open. Her eyes scanned the paper for the words she longed to see. Finally she saw them. �Oh my God! I did it!� she danced around on the street and into her house. �Mama!� she called. Kathy, her mother, rushed in from the kitchen. �Is it here?� she asked. Melissa held out the paper and pointed to the words. Kathy read them and reread them. �You did it!� she exclaimed as she hugged her daughter. �Congratulations Mel!� �Thanks Mom,� Melissa couldn�t get the huge smile off her face. �I�m going to go call Dan.� �Okay sweetie,� Kathy said as she watched her daughter disappear up the stairs. She sighed. Melissa had worked so hard for this and her dream was finally coming true. */*/*/* �Danny! You�ll never guess what happened!� Melissa said excitedly into the phone. She was talking to Dan Miller, her high school boyfriend. �Well I�m taking it that it�s something good,� Dan replied smiling to himself. �I got it!� Melissa screamed giggling. �Mel? Got what?� Dan asked. �My acceptance letter to Harvard!� Melissa laughed. Dan�s smile vanished but Melissa couldn�t see that. She had no idea that anything was wrong. �Isn�t that great?� she asked him. �Um, yeah,� Dan muttered. �Dan, what's wrong?� Melissa asked concerned. �Mel, we need to talk,� Dan said gently. �That�s what we�re doing. So, tell me what's on your mind,� Melissa prompted. �No, I mean face to face,� Dan explained. �I�ll come over later.� �Okay,� Melissa said. �I�ll see you then.� Melissa and Dan hung up their phones. Dan was about to make a huge announcement that Melissa wasn�t ready for. */*/*/* �But Dan, I want to be with you,� Melissa said as she looked longingly into Dan�s eyes. �Mel, I love you so much, but we�re going to be going to different colleges and it won�t work, it just won�t work out,� Dan said as tears formed behind his eyes. �I can't believe that you are so scared to try. What did I ever do to you?� Melissa looked away as she started to cry. �Melissa, you didn�t do anything. High school is almost over. We can't go on living like this. You�ll thank me one day,� Dan said as he felt the tears slip down his face. �I�ll never understand you, Dan Miller. One day you say that you�ll never leave and the next you say that we can't be together anymore,� Melissa got up from her spot on the couch. �Oh Melissa, please don�t be like that. I�m doing this to help you, to set you free, not to hurt you,� Dan got up also. �Well this hurts pretty badly,� Melissa said with her back to him. Dan turned her around and kissed her forehead. �I�ve got to go.� �Fine, go. See if I care,� Melissa said through her tears. Dan turned and left the house. Melissa watched as his car disappeared down her street. She fell against the couch sobbing. Dan was out of her life and it hurt her so much. Her chest heaved up and down, as her sobs grew worse. She cried throughout the night, not able to fall asleep. */*/*/*
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