Page 34 of The Promises We Were Never Meant To Keep

“I swear, if you tickle me again, I’m breaking up with you.”

His face changes and he twists me in his arms. “Don’t say that. Don’t ever say that, Faye.”

My heart twists in my chest. “I’m sorry.”

“We’re real.” His eyes search mine, diving deep into the depths of me. Searching for a soul he already owns. “This thing that we are, it’s real.”

“I know.”

“It’s forever, Faye. We’re forever.”

I sling my arms around his shoulders as he bobs us in the water. “Promise?”

His eyes hold mine, branding his vow on my very soul. “I promise.”

15

WHEN THREADS SNAP

JULY 2007 – 15 YEARS OLD

“That’ll be sixty-three dollars and twenty-three cents,” I tell the lady buying the boots with a smile. She hands me sixty-five dollars in cash, and I make change quickly, dropping the boots into a bag stamped with Dad’s logo that reads, ‘Foster’s Gear’ before handing it to her with a cheerful, “Have a great day!” That she returns before leaving the shop empty aside from me and Holt.

It's a Friday, and Holt is finished work for the day. He leaves in two weeks for a hockey trip to Nashville. Why Nashville, I have no idea, but that’s where he’s jetting off to. And I’ll be here, waiting for him. Alone.

It’s okay, though, because I’ll be going to a job fair with Mom. Sure, I might have two years of school left before I leave childhood behind altogether, but Mom says two years goes by fast. I need direction. And right now, I don’t have much.

I banish the thought and slide onto the stool next to Holt. Mom and Dad take a date night every second Friday, so I work the closing shift at least two Friday’s a month. I don’t mind. I need the money, after all. Being nearly sixteen, I’m saving for a car. Something reliable, hopefully. And then there’s the money Holt and I will need to save if we want to move to the Island together when school is done. It’s expensive there. Like, really expensive. The kind of expensive that doesn’t say, ‘full-time student’ but rather, ‘triple jobs required to survive’.

Alas, I’m saving now.

“The guys are meeting by the lake tonight.”

“Andy texted me.”

His eyes lift from his phone. “Do you want to go?”

“Sure.”

His lips quirk, and his head bobs. “Cool.”

He shoots off a text to tell the guys we’ll meet them when I’m off work.

“I have one more box of t-shirts to stock on the table.” I nod to the unopened box. “Want to help?”

Holt slides off his stool, sliding his phone into the pocket of his jeans. “If I bought a bike, do you think your dad would be cool with you riding with me?”

I blink. “You’re getting a bike?”

Holt shrugs, but his grin tells me that he’s seriously considering it. Holt does everything to the extreme. If there’s something he wants to do, something he wants to buy, he’s going to find a way to do it or buy it. There’s no stopping him. I don’t even bother trying, even though the idea of him on a bike on these winding mountain roads terrifies me.

“I’m thinking about it.”

“Aren’t they, like, really expensive?”

“My dad gave me a raise.”

Holt makes good money working for his dad. Way more than he would working retail in town. It’s hard work, grunt work, but clearly, it’s worth it if he’s considering a bike.