The Promise

by Natalie Clarke

  Fuck, I’ve hurt her, again.

  I lean back against the pillow and blow out a breath, eventually pulling myself out of bed, and leaving the room, not needing to get dressed as I'm dressed already, taking my clothes off and spending the night next to Gwen is an accident waiting to happen.

  I find Gwen in the kitchen making coffee, when she heard me approach she stiffens.

  I come to a stop behind her and grip her upper arms softly, gently spinning her around to face me. When her eyes meet mine they're filled with tears.

  I can’t stand the fact that those tears are because of me, ones that I put there.

  “I never wanted to hurt you, I just don’t want to go giving you the wrong idea or lead you on somehow. I can’t be the man you want me to be.”

  She nods slowly, looking down to the ground, shifting uncomfortably.

  A door opens behind up and we both turn to find Lucas walking across to us, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

  “Good morning, baby,” Gwen says, unravelling herself from me and dropping into a crouch.

  “Morning, mommy.” Gwen pulls him into her arms and lifts him, his little legs wrapping around her middle. His eyes widen when they land on me. “Zach!”

  “Hey, buddy.” I smile.

  “You want breakfast?” Gwen asks.

  “Yes.” He nods.

  Gwen turns to me. “Do you want some?”

  “Sure, thanks.”

  Halfway through breakfast, there’s a knock at the door. Gwen jumps up to answer it and I watch as she opens the door, ready to react if pencil-dick comes back for round two. To my relief, it’s the locksmith.

  “Miss Sullivan?”

  “That’s me.”

  “I’m here to change the locks. I apologise that I’m early, I had a job cancelled at the last minute. I tried to reach you by the number that Mr King gave me, but I couldn’t get an answer.”

  “I’m so sorry, we haven’t been up long. Um, come on in.” She stands back to let him pass before closing the door behind him.

  “Okay, so this shouldn’t take long, just a simple switch. Just pretend I’m not here.”

  “Great, thanks. Oh, would you like some coffee or anything?”

  “No, thank you,” he replies.

  “Okay.” She smiles before returning to the table.

  We finish breakfast just as the locksmith begins to pack up his things.

  “Okay, so, the lock is in and here are the keys for the new one,” he says, handing her a bundle of keys.

  “Thank you. How much do I owe you?”

  “Nothing. Mr King has taken care of the payment.”

  “Oh. Um, okay.”

  “Well, I’ll be going. Have a nice day.” He opens the door and smiles.

  “You too, thanks again,” Gwen says closing the door behind him.

  I stand up, running a hand through my hair and grabbing my jacket. “I better get going. Thanks for breakfast.”

  Gwen’s face falls slightly in disappointment. “Okay. Thanks for staying last night.”

  I smile. “No problem.” I head over to Lucas and ruffle his hair. “Bye buddy.”

  “Bye Zach!” He waves.

  Gwen walks me to the door. “Call me if you need anything, okay?”

  She nods.

  My stomach lurches at the mark on her cheek, the redness has darkened since last night. Fuck, he must have hit her hard for it to bruise like that. Anger bubbles up inside me and I touch her cheek lightly with my thumb before leaning in and pressing a kiss to her forehead. She leans into me slightly, and all I wanna do is slam her up against the door and kiss her senseless, burying myself in her warmth, in her comfort, but I pull away.

  “Bye,” she says softly, resting her head on the door.

  I smile, before turning and heading down the corridor.

  Once outside, I climb onto my bike and switch on the ignition, the engine rumbling to life beneath me and I head home.

  Chapter 18

  Gwen

  “I just can’t believe he would do something like that,” Hayley says, shaking her head in disbelief.

  “I guess I didn’t really know him like I thought I did.”

  She puts her arm around me and rests her head on my shoulder as we sit and watch Lucas play in the park. We’re sat on a bench under the blissful shade of a tree, keeping us sheltered against the scorching sun. Even in this heat I was forced to apply what feels like one hundred layers of makeup to cover the bruise that Josh left behind on my cheek. I have so much makeup on my face I’d put Kim K to shame, I feel like a walking wax figure, if I’m not careful I’m afraid I’ll start melting in the heat. Sara is sat bouncing in her stroller, making gurgling noises to the side of us as we watch Lucas climbing the steps leading up to the slide before sliding back down to the ground, his arms high above his head wearing a huge grin.

  “Does he understand what happened yesterday?”

  I shake my head. “He was in his room, but after Josh left he asked why we were shouting and why I had a mark on my face. I told him that Josh hurt me and that he shouldn’t have and that we need to stay away from him.”

  “So, Kyle told me that Zach stayed with you last night.”

  “Um... yeah, he did.”

  “And...?”

  “And nothing.”

  “Oh, come on, don’t give me that.”

  “Okay, fine. We... we kissed and fooled around a little, that’s it.”

  “Fooled around? What are we sixteen?”

  “He went down on me, okay? He ate me like I was his last meal, you happy now?”

  She cringes. “Ew. Way too much information.”

  “Hey, you asked.” I shrug, my lips curving upwards in amusement. “Even after everything that went down between us last year... I still like him, really like him.”

  A few weeks after Zach and I slept together, Hayley noticed something was wrong, she could always see right through me, and after a lot of effort she finally got the truth out of me.

  “Just promise me something, promise me you won’t get your hopes up and get attached too quickly. Go steady. Zach’s a great guy, but he’s been dealt a pretty shitty hand when it come to love and women. He doesn’t trust easily.”

  “Him and me both.”

  “Just promise me, promise you’ll take things slowly.”

  “I promise.”

  Chapter 19

  Zach

  I’m stood next to a jet black freshly waxed BMW, leaning back against the cool metal with my arms folded, my ankles crossed as I wait for him to show. I know Gwen wouldn't want me to be here, she’d have told me not to go and find Josh, to just leave it alone, but I can’t. I can’t let him get away with hurting her, she probably wasn’t the first he’s hurt, and she won’t be the last.

  The underground lot is dimly lit and deserted, only a few other cars are parked here. The asshole even parked across two spaces, who does that?

  The anger inside me has been gradually escalating inside me since I left Gwen’s house. A vision keeps flashing before my eyes of his hand connecting with the side of her face, the image of her bruised cheek has had me filled with rage.

  Did he honestly think he would get away with hitting her and we’d just let that lie?

  The elevator door glides open and Josh steps out, his arm slung around a leggy blonde who looks like she just stepped out of a playboy magazine. She throws her head back in laughter, pawing at his shirt before leaning in and kissing his neck.

  As they near, his gaze drifts up and his eyes lock onto mine. His pace begins to slow and whispers into the blonde’s ear before continuing towards me as she holds back.

  “Didn’t take you long to move on did it?” I comment, motioning with my head to the blonde.

  “What the fuck do you want?” he snaps.

  “I think you know why I’m here,” I say. “Did no one tell you that only cowards hurt women?”

  He snorts. “What did that little bitch tell you?”


  His attitude is so unlike him. I mean, I knew he was a dick, right from the first moment I met him, but now, he’s like a new person. Or maybe, this is who he really is, and how he was with Gwen was just an act, it wouldn’t surprise me.

  “She didn’t have to say anything, the bruise on her cheek speaks volumes by itself.” I keep my voice cool and steady.

  “Of course she went to you,” he sneers, shaking his head.

  I take a step forward, my fists clenching at my sides. “You ever touch her again, I’ll make your pathetic little life a living hell, you got it?”

  He narrows his eyes, one corner of his mouth curving up into a smirk. “Is that a threat?”

  “Call it whatever the fuck you want, I don’t really care. But don’t ever go near her again, you understand?” I warn.

  “Dude, she’s all yours, don’t really give a fuck. She was only good for one thing, anyway, you know what I'm saying?” He chuckles. “But of course you do, bet it was easy getting her to spread her legs for you, she’s always been easy.”

  My fist collides with his face with a crack, the force of the blow ricocheting up my arm as I feel the skin tear on my already bloodied knuckles from yesterday. The blonde shrieks and runs towards Josh as he stumbles back, trying to stay on his feet. She takes his arm, but he shrugs her off. His nose is pouring with blood and his lip is split.

  I grab him by the lapels of his jacket and pull him to me, his face inches from mine.

  “You don’t talk about her like that! In fact, you don’t talk about her at all, you don’t see her, call her, or even fucking think about her.” I shove him backwards, sending him reeling and head for my bike.

  “You fucking asshole. You’ll pay for this, you and that little bitch.”

  I stop and turn to look back at him. “Hmm, I don’t think so.” I snort, shaking my head as I walk away.

  His empty threats don’t scare me, he doesn’t scare me. I don’t care about me, right now, my priority is protecting Gwen and that little boy, and he will not touch them. I won’t let him.

  Once I’m home I head straight for the bathroom sink, running my throbbing hand under the freezing water, watching the bloody water swirl down the plughole.

  I dry off my hands and call Kyle.

  “We’ve gotta do something about Josh, no one hurts Gwen and gets away with it,” I say.

  “And we will.”

  Chapter 20

  Gwen

  Kyle opens the door and greets both me and Lucas, pulling him into his arms and propping him on his shoulders. After Luke died, Kyle made it his mission to make sure that Lucas didn’t miss out on having a father figure.

  Hayley and Kyle’s house is beautiful. Whereas Ellen and Nate’s house is wide and open, this house is cosy and compact, though not in a way that makes it feel cramped.

  After Sara was born they moved from their apartment in the city to Staten Island to be closer to his parents. Ellen and Nate tried to get me to move from Queens closer to them when I gave birth to Lucas, but there are too many memories in my little apartment, too much of my childhood within those four walls, that the thought of leaving it physically hurts. It is a part of me, who I am.

  “Is she in the kitchen?” I ask Kyle.

  “Shit!” I hear Hayley shout, her voice echoing through the house.

  Lucas giggles. “Auntie Hayley say-”

  “No, buddy. Auntie Hayley is naughty. Bad word,” Kyle says, patting Lucas on the leg gently, a smile tugging at his lips.

  “I’ll just go check on her.” I make my way through the house and head into the living room which leads on to the kitchen when I spot Zach sitting on the couch, his ankle resting on his knee as he taps away on his phone, dressed in a tight white t-shirt, and faded blue jeans and black boots. My stomach flips. I didn’t know he was coming too.

  He glances up from his phone and his eyes meet mine. “Hey.”

  “Hey.” I smile. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

  “Kyle invited me. This okay, me being here?” he asks.

  “Yeah sure, absolutely,” I reply a little too quickly.

  Shit, could I have made this already awkward situation any worse?

  “Are you alright, you know, after the other night?” I see his eyes flicking across my face.

  “Yeah, I’m okay, thanks.” I smile.

  “Dammit! Shit!” I hear from the kitchen and I chuckle.

  “I better go see if she needs any help,” I say before excusing myself and making my way into the kitchen.

  “Now, of the two of us, it should be me with the cooking emergency, not you,” I say as I fling my arm over Hayley’s shoulder and press a kiss to her cheek.

  “I don’t know what’s up with me today. I feel like shit, I look like shit and everything and everyone is pissing me off.”

  “Hormonal much, you pregnant again or something?” I ask, smirking, and she cocks an unamused eyebrow. I hold my hands up in defence. “Just a question, babe.”

  “We’ve been trying for another baby.”

  “Seriously? That’s great.”

  “We’ve been trying for months and nothing.” She releases an exasperated breath, tossing the towel she was holding onto the counter and resting back against it to face me.

  “It’ll happen, just give it time.”

  “Would you want another baby?” she asks, her question catching me off guard.

  “I guess so. If I find a guy, the right one this time, yeah, I would. But not yet though, that shit hurt like a bitch.”

  She laughs and I join in. “Only ‘cause you refused pain relief,” she points out.

  “Yeah, even now I wonder why the fuck I did that. What the hell was I thinking?”

  “It was worth it though.” She smiles softly.

  Lucas. Even with the pain, I have no regrets. If there is one good thing to come out of my life, it would be him. “Yeah, it definitely was.”

  After salvaging dinner, Hayley and I manage to serve up the food as everyone gathered around the dining table. Steak and fries. I take a seat opposite Zach, spending the majority of the meal trying to avoid direct eye contact, which only adds to the tension that is brewing in the room, so much that it’s making me nauseous. Every time I glance up, his eyes are on me, filled with a sort of sadness before he tears his eyes away and turns his attention back to his food.

  “Oops,” Lucas says, glancing down at the floor around his chair where a scattering of peas litter the floor.

  “What do I always tell you when you eat peas?” I ask, amused.

  “Uh… watch da peas?” he replies.

  “Watch the peas. Those suckers are slippery!”

  “You making a mess on my carpet, champ?” Kyle asks, leaning over him from where he’s sitting at the end of the table close to Lucas.

  “Uh-huh. Sowwy Uncle Kyle.” He drops his head sorrowfully.

  “No harm done.” Kyle picks up a pea from his plate and drops it on the floor. “Oh dear, I made a mess too.”

  “Oh no, me too,” Zach says, casually dropping one on the floor, and Lucas bursts out in a fit of laughter.

  “How’s the wedding planning going, Gwen?” Hayley asks.

  “Slow. I’ve got a couple of clients at the moment, but I can’t find them a venue within their budget.”

  “What about the hotel and casino? You know it’s yours if you need it,” Kyle offers.

  “I hadn’t even thought about that. You’d let me hire it out?”

  “Of course. Don’t worry about the money, either. Whatever price you feel is acceptable.”

  I sigh in relief. “Kyle, you’re a life saver, thank you. I’ll ask my clients and see what they say.”

  Once we’ve finished with dinner, I help Hayley load the dishes into the dishwasher and return to the room to clear the table when I see Kyle, Zach and Lucas on the ground, picking up every last lonely pea from the floor.

  “You having fun down there?” I ask, leaning up against the doorframe with my arms f
olded across my chest.

  “Mommy, I picks up all my peas.” Lucas bounds over to me and opens his hand, showing me a little handful of peas that he’s collected.