You watched Jackie’s head hit the ground hard, an officer twisting her arm behind her back to the point of dislocation.

Her grunts and screams of anguish filled your ears as she stared wildly at the officer on top of her.

All you wanted was to get a drink of celebration, to celebrate finally proposing to the girl that you loved without the sight of judgmental, bigoted eyes on you both.

But it was the 90s, what did you expect?

Of course it wouldn’t have been that easy.

“Shut your mouth!” The officer orders, slamming Jackie’s face back into the floor, blood trickling down from her nose.

She was the two things they hated: homosexual and a x-prostitute.

Her life was doomed from the start.

It was all out of desperation and love, why couldn’t they see that?

“JACKIE!!” you scream, trying to push your way through the people running and being arrested.

You watched the consciousness leave her eyes as her head was slammed once again into the concrete floor.

Stars filled her vision before it all went black, all sound falling on deaf ears.

“Jackie, wake up.”

“God damn it…WAKE UP” Your voice shoots through her like a bullet, her eyes snapping open.

The walls were a blinding white and she could hear a faint beeping from beside her.

Lights shone in her face, making her eyes burn as she turns her head to look at you sitting next to her with a bruise on your cheek.

“Where…?” She starts to ask, her voice hoarse.

“Hospital,” you interrupted, squeezing her hand gently as your thumb brushed over the engagement ring on her finger. “You got knocked out cold.”