I promise...

I promise... (Prologue)

*10 years ago*

“Alright, you count to ten and then you come find me, okay?” he said as he covered her eyes. She nodded excitedly against his hand and he chuckled quietly.

“Once I take my hand away you start counting okay?” he asked. She pouted, sticking out her bottom lip.

“But I don’t want you to leave!” she wailed. He laughed at her.

“That’s how the game’s played, silly. I go hide, you find me. That’s why it’s called hide and seek,” he explained.

“Okay,” she muttered, still pouting. He laughed and kissed her cheek.

“I promise I won’t go far okay?” he whispered to her. Taking his hand off her eyes for a minute, he wrapped his arms around her from the back. She relaxed and leaned into him further.

“Okay!” she squealed and turned around to wrap her small arms around his neck. A few seconds later she pulled back and smiled.

“Let’s play!” she cried excitedly. He shook his head at her.

“Alright, close your eyes. No peeking. Count to ten once I pull my hand away from your eyes,” he told her. She nodded and he took his hand away from her eyes. She started counting and he ran into his backyard, looking for the perfect hiding place. He spotted the garden shed and ran towards it. He entered and shut the door, leaning against it to listen for any signs of her approaching.

She finished counting to ten. Opening her eyes, she slowly looked around her. She was in his living room. She ran up to his room, opening the door only to find a mess of toys and Lego blocks, but he wasn’t in the room.

Closing his room door, she checked the other rooms in the house. He wasn’t in any of the rooms. She began to panic.Her breathing became heavy. She ran down to the kitchen, he still wasn’t there.  Her eyes began filling up with tears. She ran outside, looking around her. No one.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she sat on the grass with her face in her hands. She felt scared, no, terrified. Where could he have gone?

He was still leaning against the door. What was taking her so long to find him? He started to worry about her. What if she got lost trying to find him? His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of sobs. She was crying. Immediately, he yanked the door open and ran towards her small crouching figure. Instantly his hands shot around her, holding her tightly and gently rocking her back and forth.

As soon as she felt his arms around her, she relaxed slightly. She cried harder as he rocked her back and forth gently. She thought she’d lost him. She was so scared.

“Shhh… It’s okay. Everything’s fine. You’re safe,” he cooed in her ear as he rubbed his hand up and down her back reassuringly. His chin rested on top of her head as she sobbed into his chest. She was gripping his t-shirt tightly, as if she let go, he would leave her and go.

“I…I thought you were lost, and I couldn’t find you, and I was so scared, and…and,” she stammered, her voice thick with tears.

“Shhh… everything’s fine. I’m with you. I’m here. You don’t need to be scared anymore,” he said softly. She sniffed and tightened her grip on him.

“Promise me something,” she whispered, her voice slightly breaking.

“Anything.”

She sniffed and lifted her head off his chest, looking up to stare into his greyish-blue eyes. “Promise me that you will never ever leave me all alone,” she whispered.

He stared back into her chocolate brown eyes. Without any hesitation, he replied, “I promise.”

Her face lit up as he said that and she smiled widely. “Pinky promise?” she asked, holding out her pinky finger. She had a hopeful expression on her face. He chuckled lightly and linked his pinky with hers.

“Pinky promise.”

*6 years later*

He broke his promise.

It was broken the minute he did those things, along with her heart.

The first day of high school was a disaster for her. She was really hurt by the time she came back home. Her heart hurt when she remembered how he didn’t even notice her in school, didn’t wave back to her in the hallways and didn’t even sit with her during lessons. During lunch he sat with a group of boys and he didn’t even reply to any of her texts. She was hurt, confused and heart-broken. She tried talking to him a few times but he ignored her like the plague, brushing her off every single time. Their parents were noticing their distance and began getting worried. Even her brother and his sister were noticing the tension between them.

She cried herself to sleep every night, wondering why he was acting like that, why he was doing this and if it was her fault he was acting like that.

At school she didn’t talk to anyone. Her friends tried their best to make her talk. She appreciated their effort, but she just couldn’t bring herself to have a friendly conversation when she felt empty inside.

When she’s at home, she barely ate. She went up straight to her room and did her homework, then she would stare at the ceiling or cry until she fell asleep. She lost a lot of weight. Her parents and her brother wanted to help her so badly, but they didn’t know how to. They felt so helpless.

He still ignored her in school. She kept waiting, hoping that one day he would just turn around and talk to her, explain why he was acting like that and then they would make up and it would be back to the old times. But, it was all just wishful thinking. It never happened. She waited for him for two years. Two whole years. Nothing.

By then, she had had enough. She just snapped. If he didn’t care, why should she care about him? All those nights she spent crying herself to sleep probably meant nothing to him even if he knew about it.

She was tired of waiting and tired of crying for him. She should just forget about all about him and move on. She would just focus on her studies like a nerd and still be social with her friends and family.

And that’s exactly what she did, pushing the heartache she felt to the back of her mind.

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Author's Note:

Hey guys! This is my first story, so I'm kinda nervous about the kind of response I'll get for it. If you have any questions or want to clarify anything related to this chapter, you guys can PM me or comment. :)

Thanks for reading!!!

Mars <3