Broken Promises (27 page)

“Your dad is scary.”

I smile. “Yes, he is, and this is the first time that worked in my favor. Hey, you know the—” We’re walking past the geese at the moment, and Gilbert decides to bark. One gigantic goose jumps up and charges us, honking like a crazy son of a bitch with its neck fully extended. We take off running, and when I look back over my shoulder, the entire gaggle is chasing us.

Katie tries to run with the wiggling puppy while he claws at her, persistently trying to get down on the ground. He thinks it’s dinner time and wants to eat them. He doesn’t know these geese will eat him. I’m pretty sure they feast on human flesh at night. That one big goose is insane. I now remember I usually avoid this path because of him.

Katie is laughing and scolding Gilbert. “Stop barking! Ah! Shut up, Gil!”

We’re away from the lake and back around by the parking lot. The only goose left is the lunatic bird. It stops suddenly and rears back, fanning its wings and squawking.

Katie is panting hard when she finally stops running. She turns to the goose and yells at it. “You ruined girl time with Mari! You suck! Bad goose! Bad!”

It’s like he can understand her because the goose charges again. We both scream and run for the car. I get out the keys and click the unlock button. “It’s not opening!”

“I don’t want to die!” Katie scream cries and keeps laughing.

I'm laughing too hard to breathe. Trying to laugh and run is a bitch, especially with a rabid bird on my heels. “You’re going to make me pee! Stop it!”

“Open the door!”

We’re almost to the car, and it finally unlocks. We yank open the doors and dive inside. Once the doors are closed hysterical laughter ensues, until something hits the windshield. Gilbert barks as we scream. The goose is on the hood hissing at us.

Katie doubles over laughing. Tears are rolling out of the corners of her eyes. “Oh, my God! Drive! Drive!”

“I can’t. He’s in the way.” I turn on the windshield wipers and spray. Katie laughs harder, and the goose finally backs down.

She comes up from the floor for half a second and takes Gilbert's paw in her hand. She makes the coordinated movements with her badass talk, “Take that, bitch.”

Gilbert’s tongue flops out, and he smiles. We both laugh until we can’t breathe.

CHAPTER 45

MARI

^“
K 
atie, where are we going?” She shushes me and slaps at my hands when I try to peek from under my blindfold.

“I had this whole bachelorette party planned for you, and then you all ruined it and stuff. I thought it’d be a fun way to spend a Sunday night.” She whoops and a horn blares. “That was nothing. You don’t need to look.”

“I'm going to die.”

“Nah, that’s tomorrow night's fun. We can Thelma and Louise it off the Verrazano–Narrows Bridge, as long as we have money for the toll. It’s like $14 now! That’s insane!”

I snap my fingers in Katie's general direction. “Focus! Where are we going?”

“I can't tell you because it’s a surprise. Duh! Wait until we get there. Then I will unmask you, and we’ll party like it’s 1999.”

I go for the blindfold again, and she swats my hand away. “No! Bad Mari!”

“You use that tone with Gilbert.”

“Only when he’s bad. Come on. We’re almost there.”

“How about a hint?”

She makes an overdramatic sigh. “Fine, there’s music where we're going. How’s that?” The car slows, and she cuts the engine. She opens my door, takes my hand, and I have no sense of direction at all. There are no sights or scents to clue me in as to where we are.

“Come on, this way.” She holds my hands and takes me inside. We’re walking down hallways, and I suddenly feel like I’m in the hospital, but it’s too quiet. “You didn’t take me to work, did you?”

“No, that would suck. I’m not a sucky friend. I’m your BEST friend. This is the best present ever!” She tells me to wait a second, and I hear metal on metal and something click. She pulls open a door and moves behind me. “This part is very important, and if you do it wrong, you die.”

“Katie!” I’m about to rip off the blindfold, but she shoves me forward.

“Two steps and sit. No more, no less, and sit on your ass.” I’m bitching as I do it, but I take the steps and sit down. The floor is cold and hard—it’s metal. There are little holes in it, like a grate. A musty scent fills my head, and I realize where I am.

When I hear the door latch shut, she shouts, “Blindfold off!”

“Katie?” I pull it away and see I’m in our old high school at the top of the stairs leading to the basement. “How is this fun?”

“Go down the stairs, you twit! Your present is at the bottom.”

I walk down slowly and catch a sound. “Hello?” Someone is down here. My heart speeds up, and as I round the landing, I see Trystan, outlined in a bright light on a stool with his guitar in his hand. “Trystan?”

I haven’t seen him in a few weeks, and from the way he isn’t quite looking at me, I know he can’t see.

“Mari?” He sounds surprised. “Where’s the photographer?”

I smile and shake my head. “How much can you see?”

“Not much. Katie set up this shoot with a new photographer she likes. She wanted to give him a chance at the big time by giving him an exclusive shot. Why are you here?”

“Katie said it’s girl’s night and then blindfolded me. She told me not to fall down the stairs, and that’s about all of it.”

“She said you guys got attacked by a goose.”

“We did. I still cringe from it. I had a dream last night that I couldn’t run fast enough to get away from that thing. I was in my dad’s house in my bedroom, and the thing was squawking as it climbed out of the toilet.”

He laughs. “Nightmare.”

“I know. Toilet water and a killer goose. So, what’s going on in Katie’s head with this?”

Trystan sighs and puts his guitar down. “So there’s no photographer coming, right?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Did she lock us in?”

I run up the stairs and try the door. It’s locked. I bang on it. “Katie!”

“Yes?” She sounds saintly.

“Are you going to let us out?”

“Did you kiss and make out? I mean, make up?”

“We’re not fighting. Open the door.” I’m a little annoyed and suddenly feel really nervous. Being around Trystan was fine when I knew I couldn’t have him, now that I can—it scares the hell out of me.

“I will. First thing in the morning. And don’t bother trying the other door, I chained it.” She laughs, and I can hear her voice fading in the distance.

I stand on the landing with my heart thumping. I peer over the edge and can see him sitting down there. I might have been avoiding him, but he’s not made an effort to speak with me either.

“She’s not coming back, is she?” He shouts up at me tipping his head back, as if he’s looking at me. His long dark hair tumbles back, and I can see his face wears a warm uncertain smile.

“Nope, not tonight.”

“Like old times, huh?”

“I’m sure that’s what she’s hoping for.” I make my way down the stairs and walk over to the couch to sit down. I’m holding my head in my hands, knowing he can't see me freaking out.

“And what are you hoping for?”

When I glance up at him, his eyes lock on mine and the pit of my stomach drops. I don’t know if it’s the words or the way he’s looking at me, but it sets me on edge. I feel like a cornered cat.

I try to make light of it. “I’m hoping for a nutritious dinner of Blow Pops and Kool-Aid.”

“Then you’re lucky because both are in the cooler with some sandwiches. Katie stopped at a deli and bought us food, well, me and you since she ditched me.” He laughs and stands, looks left then right, then back at me. “I can still see you a little bit, you know?”

I shake my head uncertainly. “You can?”

“Yeah. You’re wearing a white shirt, and your hair is pulled away from your face, but you’re missing something.”

“I am?”

He reaches into his pocket and holds out his hand. In it is a pink tube of strawberry Lip Smacker, the lip balm I used in high school. I smile and take it from him. “I used to love this stuff.”

“I know. I remember it. There are some things that remind me of you—that’s one of them.”

“Yeah, what are the others?”

“That first song, and this.” He points to his back, to the tattoo I caught a glimpse of the other day. The corners of his lips pull up and fall quickly.

“I saw that, well part of it. What does it say?”

His dark lashes lower and I swear his cheeks burn. “It’s the kind of thing that makes me feel incredibly happy when you’re not around, and incredibly embarrassed when you are. I thought you already saw it.”

“I didn’t look.” I had wanted to look, but I kept my grabby hands to myself. “I figured you’d tell me if you wanted me to know.”

He nods slowly and when he lifts his face he’s all smiles. “So, let’s bust out the deli feast.”

Got it. Not going to tell me.

CHAPTER 46

MARI

A 
fter I stuff myself with fried chicken cutlet on a roll, followed up by a fried pie—yeah, I eat those sometimes even though they’re totally unhealthy and a million calories—I sit on the floor and squirm in the uncomfortable silence.

Trystan lies back on the couch, and I think he’s going to sleep until he starts talking. “I’m sorry about you and Derrick. That must be hard.” His arm is draped over his face. I watch him for a moment and envy the way he always seems to be relaxed. I can’t even fake it.

I pick at the crumbs of icing in my Hostess wrapper and pop a piece into my mouth. Mmmm. Sugar. “Better now than later.”

“I suppose, but aren’t you sad?” He drops his arm and props himself up on his elbow. “This used to be a lot easier when I could see you. Do you mind coming over here?”

My heart slams into my ribs and falls into my toes. I try to maintain the distance between us, but I know what he wants—he wants to see me with his hands. I’m sure it's platonic, but my feelings toward him are not. I’d be an asshole if I told him no, so I nod and then remember to talk. “Yeah, I can do that.”

Trystan sits up the rest of the way. The expression on his face doesn’t change. His dark hair dangles in his eyes in a way he rarely allowed when he could see. I have to block the urge to push it back. Actually, I have to resist a lot more than that. I ball up the wrapper and toss it in the trash before sitting down next to Trystan on the old couch.

He reaches for my hand but doesn’t take it. As his palm hovers, he asks, “Are you sure you’re okay with this? I mean, I know it’s you and I’ll sense a lot more than with other people.”

I know what he means, and the truth is that I’m not sure about anything anymore. I don’t answer. Instead, I take his hand in mine and lace our fingers together. “What’d you want to talk about?”

“I want to know how you’re doing. I haven’t heard from you in a while—since the party actually.” His hand is warm in mine. I feel his thumb rub gently over my skin and my stomach flips in response.

“I know. I had to work through some stuff. You didn’t call me, did you?” I don’t think he did, but I don’t want him thinking I blew him off if he needed me. I would have dropped what I was doing and went to him no matter what was happening. Friendship is like that—bad things happen, and they’re usually at the worst time. A real friend shows up. I promised myself I’d always be there for him.

“No,” he breathes. His head hangs between his shoulders as he continues to talk. His thumb moves in slow circles, and I swear I can feel him thinking. “I planned on it, but then things—my eyes—got a lot worse. It was like someone flipped a switch and everything vanished. Within a week that little spot engulfed most of my vision. I can’t see much anymore, and what I can make out is so difficult to see that it might as well not be there at all.” He lets out a rush of air before putting his other hand on top of mine, enclosing my hand between his hands.

“I wish I could fix it.” I want to wrap my arms around him and cry, but he doesn’t want that. It’s not pride. It’s more that he’s accepted what life threw at him and is done sobbing over it. Even though he is, I’m not.

“I know.” He bites his lower lip a few times and then turns toward me. He takes my cheeks in his hands and gently turns my face toward him. “The doc your dad set me up with determined the cause, and I’ve been wrestling with it. At first I wanted to lash out at him, but now—I don’t want to waste another second of my life thinking about him. My father stole my mother, my childhood, and my future. One too many blows to the head and he fucked me over for life. I didn’t call you then because I needed to wrestle with this on my own. Katie came by, and I told her I was okay and sent her away, too. She probably thought I was going to flip out.”

His hands gently hold my face as he speaks. When I reply, his touch lightens and makes me shiver. Goosebumps erupt on my arms, and I have to fight the urge to pull away. Talking to him like this makes me feel stripped bare. “We were worried about you, but I understand wanting to figure out how you feel about it before people tell you how you should feel. That’s pretty much the same thing I was doing with Derrick. I've replayed all those months with him, finally seeing the snippets of his true character only after he went nuts at the party. It makes me question everything—like I shouldn’t trust myself anymore.”

Trystan can’t see me, but part of me suspects he can because his eyes lock on my lips. I’m squirming inside, wishing I could pull away and keep my secrets, but part of me doesn’t want that at all—I want him to know.

He drops his hand, sliding it down my cheek and brushing his thumb over my lips. Trystan’s head tips to the side slightly, his dark hair falling into his eyes. “I know what you mean, but you can trust yourself, Mari. I know you. You consider every scenario ten million ways before you make a decision. You think you can run through every option, good or bad, and determine which path to take. Sometimes, no matter how much you consider something, you still can’t see the bad coming. Sometimes the only way through the fire is directly through the center—we can’t skirt it, and that’s not our fault.”