The Promise of Tomorrow

by Cooper, J. S.

  “What?” My eyes widened, and I sat back. “What are you talking about?” My head felt warm, and I gazed at him in shock.

  “I know you lost your job.”

  “It was because of the economy,” I sputtered out, panic in my tone as my face reddened. Did he really know how low I’d sunk?

  “What did you buy in the liquor store?” He questioned me gently.

  “What, what are you talking about?” My face heated up, and I wanted to run out of the coffee shop. “Why are you attacking me?” I felt tears welling in my eyes. I wasn’t ready to explain my life to him. Was that why he was here? Was he here to fix me? Did he think he’d broken me and now it was up to him to put me back together?

  “I was waiting for you outside your apartment. I was working up the courage to go into your building and talk to you. But then I saw you leave, and I followed you.” He stared into my eyes. “I’m not proud of following you, but then I saw you go in the liquor store and my heart fell.”

  “But you bumped into me afterwards.” I sputtered. “You didn’t say you had seen me…”

  “I was waiting for you.” He sighed. “I was scared of your reaction, but when I saw you come out; my beautiful, wonderful Lucy, with that look of anguish on your face, I knew I couldn’t afford to be scared any longer.”

  “Wait, what, I…” My voice trailed off. “Why?”

  “I’ve been looking for you.” He grabbed my hands again. “I went to Boston and to the Harvard campus every couple of weeks, Lucy. I’ve missed you so much. I needed to find you. After about five trips, I finally convinced someone to give me some information on your whereabouts and I found out where you were working. Then, I went to your job and HR told me you were fired for coming to work drunk.”

  “They had it wrong,” I cried out. “I was on Nyquil.” And then I frowned. “Who at HR said that? That’s illegal, I’m going to sue them, I’m going to —”

  “Lucy, it took a lot for me to get that information.” He shook his head as he interrupted me. “It broke my heart when I heard. I told them you were my long lost sister and they gave me your last known address.” He paused, and I could see his eyes darken. “I went to that shithole you live in to find you last week as well, but you weren’t there.”

  “I’m going to move from there, when I get a new job.” My words tripped out in a rush. I hated that he had seen the squalor I lived in. I hated that I was in the worst place in my life and this was when he was coming back into it.

  “I don’t want you living there, or living this life any more Lucy, I want to help you.” He reached out to grab my hand again. “We can get you a sponsor.”

  “I didn’t get alcohol.” I denied his accusations again and looked down angry and upset.

  “Let me see in your bag.” His voice was soft and I shook my head. I didn’t want him to see that what I had in the brown bag.

  “I’m sorry.” I grabbed my bag and held it to me.

  “I failed you, Lucy.” He ran his hands through his hair again, and I could see the pain in his eyes. “Give me a chance to help you, please.”

  “It’s not your fault.” I sighed. “I’m not an alcoholic, Nick.”

  “I saw the signs.” He bit his lip, and frowned. “I saw how much you were drinking in college. I saw how much you changed. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want to lose you.”

  “I don’t have a problem.” My voice was weak as I shook my pale face. Didn’t he understand that I didn’t have a problem? It wasn’t the alcohol that had consumed my every waking hour; it was my thoughts of him

  “But I lost you anyway.” His voice broke as he stared at me. “And what did that help? I won’t lose you again and I won’t let you drink yourself to death.”

  “I’m not an alcoholic.” My voice was loud, and I saw the people at the next table staring at me. “I’m not an alcoholic.” I said the words again, lower this time. I ignored the voice in my head that was screaming at me. Just tell him, just tell him.

  “I still love you, Lucy.” He moved his chair so that he was closer to me. “I can help you.”

  “No, you don’t.” My voice sounded weak, even to me. “You didn’t want me anymore. You cheated on me.”

  “I was too young and immature to understand what was going on.” He sighed. “I thought you were rejecting me, but I understand now. The pressure of Harvard and being by yourself, it was a lot. And I didn’t understand. Or, I didn’t want to understand. I wanted it to be as it had always been. You and me against the world. But you moved to a different world. And I moved to a different world. And our two worlds didn’t mix. You were with the blue bloods in Cambridge and I was with the regular folks back in Herne Hill.”

  “Nick…” My voice caught.

  “And we didn’t fight for it, Lucy. We didn’t fight for each other. I think I always knew that you were starting to drink too much, but I didn’t know what to say. It started your first semester. I thought it was innocent fun, but I did start to worry that you were drinking too much. I just didn’t know what to say. I was scared to say anything. I wanted to ignore the signs, but I’m not that man any more. I’ve been looking for you for too long. I’m not going to leave you by yourself again. If you’ll let me back into your life, that is.”

  “You promised me that we would be together forever.” I started crying. “I thought you’d always be there for me, but you cheated on me and you left me alone. You didn’t even call me.”

  “I made a mistake, Lucy. I was young and I was hurt.”

  “I nearly failed out of Harvard.” I hiccupped, and I saw Nick bite back a smile. “It’s not funny.”

  “I’m not laughing at you.” He leaned over and stared into my eyes. “You’re still so beautiful, and when you hiccup, your face is so cute.”

  “You broke my heart.” I stared at him. “You were responsible for hurting me more than anyone else in my life.”

  “Let me make it up to you—please, Lucy.” His voice was pleading. “I’ll go to AA with you if I have to, whatever you need me to do.”

  “I’m not an alcoholic.” I frowned and exclaimed again. “I don’t need to go to AA.”

  “The first step is admitting you have a problem.” His voice was soft. “Please, Lucy. I love you. I’ve never stopped loving you. Let me help you.”

  “I don’t have a problem.” I sighed and we just stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity.

  “Show me what you bought in the liquor store.” Nick’s voice was soft and something in my brain clicked. I opened up my purse and I pulled the brown paper bag out and handed it to him. He opened the bag cautiously and peeked inside. He looked and paused before reaching into the bag and pulling the bottle out. I lowered my head in embarrassment as he pulled the pink bottle out.

  “Don’t say a word.” I hissed. “It’s to help my stomach issues.”

  “Oh?” His voice was soft as he looked at my face. “Are you sure you should be drinking coffee?”

  “No.” I groaned. “Now you know why I didn’t want you to see.” I made a face and rubbed my stomach. “I know, I know. It’s gross.” I blushed and shook my head. “But I didn’t want to tell you I got Pepto Bismol because I’ve been eating crappy food that gives me a stomachache.”

  “So you really don’t have a problem?” His voice was full of hope, and I sighed. Why did he care? Why was he giving me this false hope?

  “I’m not an alcoholic, Nick.” I sighed again. “Yes, I did drink too much in college and I did drink a lot when we broke up. Yes, I overdid it. And yes, sometimes I partied on nights before work because I wanted to forget the pain every night I went to bed and you weren’t with me. But that’s not why I lost my job. I lost my job because I was a woman in a male dominated field. They wanted to get rid of me because they were worried I’d leave to go and have babies, and they know that men generally don’t leave once they get married and want to start a family.” I paused and looked to see the look on his face. He looked like he be
lieved me and so I continued. “Last Christmas, I had a bad cold and took Nyquil instead of Dayquil and then had too much caffeine, and well, the day didn’t go well. They tried to say I was drunk at work, but it just wasn’t true. They called me into HR and I kind of lost it and I was fired on the spot. I was unprofessional and deserved it, but I’m not an alcoholic, Nick.”

  “But you live in a slum?” He looked confused. “Why would you live there?”

  “After losing my job, I had to move to a cheaper apartment.” I sighed. “So, yeah, it’s a shithole, but I don’t make big bucks like you do. And I don’t want to move to my parents in Florida. So right now, I’m living in a hellhole. I don’t plan on staying there once I get a new job.”

  “Move in with me, Snitch.” Nick grabbed my hand. “Move in with me, and get out of that shithole.”

  “What?” My throat choked, and I stared at him in shock. “Move in with you?”

  “Let’s try again. We were going to move in together before, let’s do it now.”

  “That’s crazy,” I spat out. “We can’t just move in together now.” I protested, but my heart was singing. Was he being serious?

  “A long time ago, I promised you a beautiful tomorrow. I promised you a life of happiness and love.” His voice melted my heart but I was still unsure of what to think. Was he just saying this because he still thought I had a problem with alcohol or because he felt responsible for my shitty life?

  “But that was before…” My voice was hesitant, though my heart wanted to accept his offer and jump into his arms.

  “Today is our tomorrow, Lucy. Today we can make our promises to each other come true. I’ve never stopped loving you or thinking about you.” Nick looked suddenly unsure of himself. “I don’t know how you feel of course, but, perhaps, one day, you could learn to love me again as well.”

  “I never stopped loving you either.” I saw the happiness in his eyes as I spoke, and I took a deep breath. “This all just seems really fast.”

  “You were my best friend for years, Snitch. The love of my life. The joy in my heart. The skip in my step. It’s always been you. It will always be you. Yes, we had a rough patch; lots of couples do. What’s important now is that we fight for it. This is our promised tomorrow, this is our chance, let’s make it worth it. Let me make those years up to you.”

  “Oh, how I’ve missed you, Nick.” I squeezed his fingers in mine, barely able to believe that this moment was happening.

  “Will you go to AA, just for me?” Nick’s voice was weary and I realized how much it meant to him. Deep in my heart of hearts, I knew that at one point, I had used alcohol as a way to cope with the pain, the uneasiness, and the worry in my life. I didn’t want to call myself an alcoholic, but I knew that Nick was coming from a place of love and concern. I would go for him. I would go to show him that I wasn’t that person. I would go to show him that I was willing and open to fixing any issues we might face.

  “I’ll go.” I nodded shyly and a huge beam crossed his face.

  “Thank you, Snitch. Thank you. I’m here for you, my love. And I’m not going to let go. Whatever it takes, we are going to get through it. You and me are meant to be. We’ll take it one day at a time. That’s all we need.” He laughed and he leaned over to kiss me. The warmth of his lips against mine melted the final barrier in my heart and I felt the tension leave my body. I was finally back home, with the man that I loved, and this time, I wasn’t going to let anyone or anything come between us.

  “This is really happening?” I whispered against his lips. “I need someone to pinch me, I can’t believe this is happening.”

  “It’s Christmas, Snitch. It’s the time that miracles happen.” He grasped my hands and pulled me up and into his arms. “And we’re a holiday miracle, my darling. We’re meant to be. We’re proof that no matter what happens to you in life, you can and will find love. You just have to believe. You just have to remember that no matter what obstacles and hurdles you might face, there is still hope. There is always hope. There is nothing so bad that you can’t get over it. We’re proof of that Lucy. We’re proof that when love exists, it can overcome everything.”

  “Yes, my darling Nick.” I nodded and gazed into his eyes. “We’re proof that tomorrow always holds promise, no matter how badly you think your day is going.”

  “I love you Snitch.” He whispered into my ear. “I love you with all my heart, forever and a day. Forever and always.”

  Thank you for reading a JS Cooper book. I hope you enjoyed it.

  Please join my mailing list to be notified of all new book releases, teasers, and other free books. If you enjoyed this book, I have another free novella that you can read called ‘That Night’ and it is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iBooks. Get That Night on Amazon here!

  Other Books by JS Cooper

  Rhett

  Everlasting SinThe Ex Games

  Illusion

  The Last Boyfriend

  Scarred

  Finding My Prince Charming

  One Night Stand

  The True Diary of That Girl

  Guarding His Heart