Page 32 of The Promise

I can hear Molly nibbling her finger, like she does when her stomach starts spinning. “Uh-huh, a little, I just…” she huffs a heavy sigh, “I haven’t seen them for months and I'm worried Ellie won’t remember me that much, she's only 3, so she's probably forgotten me already.”

“She won’t have forgotten you baby, she loves you, I'm sure you’re the best big sister ever.” I pick a few blades of grass out of the ground, plucking them apart between my fingers.

“I always wanted a sister, but when I finally got one I was already 18 and I didn’t really know what the hell to do with her,” Molly’s dry laugh beats in my ears. “She was like a tiny shrivelled up raisin when I first met her, barely out of the womb for five days and all she did was eat, shit and cry.” I breathe a laugh of my own. “That’s kind of what babies do Mol,” “Yeah, I know, Callie and Sean are in for a treat.” Her now relaxed laugh rings through me and I realise that once again I’ve managed to pull her out of her anxiety. I fucking love that I can do that for her.

“Hey, do you maybe erm…” I scratch my head, the blonde waves ruffling with the slight wind. “Do you want me to come, with, you? You know? Later…”

God damn, why are the butterflies in my stomach on a rampage today? Sometimes I wonder if there will ever come a time where I don’t feel nervous around Molly anymore. The panicked stuttering and bumbling of my words has mostly stopped now, but occasionally I become a blabbering mess again, like right now.

“No, it’s ok Ky, you don’t have to do that, I know you’re busy with training.” Molly’s voice is a low squeak right now and I know this is a version of her I don’t want to see more often, this muted, uncertain version of my girl. I know she wants me there with her, she just doesn’t want to inconvenience me, which is laughable because there’s nowhere else I’d ever rather be than with her when she needs me.

“Mol, I'm not busy and even if I was, it wouldn’t matter,” I inhale a tired breath, “wherever you are, that’s where I am, so just tell me what time to pick you up and I’ll be there.”

I am there, ten minutes early in fact because I know Molly gets jittery when she’s nervous and I want to get a hold of her shaky hands as quickly as possible. It will also give me more time to calm her down on the drive, which I’ll take as slowly as I can, maybe going the longer route to give us more time alone before I meet her mum and sister for the first time. I’ve never met the family of any girl before, but I know this isn’t about me. I'm only coming with Molly for moral support, but I can’t stop the fluttering of my chest when I think about her family knowing of my existence. Molly has point blank refused to ever let a guy meet her family before, especially her little sister Ellie, who she totally fucking adores. Even though, like she said, she doesn’t have a clue what to do with her most of the time. I can’t say the same for myself though, I’ve always been good with kids, having helped out at hockey training camps since I was a teenager and totally revelling in being around hyped up kids on the ice.

I head upstairs to Molly’s dorm and tap lightly against the wood. I can hear her in there, mumbling to herself before the crash of something falling, plus Molly’s muffled cursing, brings a little smile to my lips as I wait. When she eventually opens the door, her hair loose for once and her face totally free of makeup, I almost die on the spot. She looks like an actual angel, platinum waves shaping her face and accentuating my favourite sprinkling of freckles on her nose and cheeks. Her eyes are popping with colour today too, the flecks of icy blue woven loosely through the storminess that I'm used to staring at all the time. Her bellybutton gem is on show too, the hem of her black t-shirt landing just above it and making my dick stand to attention. That fucking bellybutton thing really gets to me.

“Hey Ky, come on, let’s go.” She grips my elbow, not even giving me a chance to respond and yanking me behind her down the stairwell and out into the warm breeze. The girl’s on a mission, probably hoping to get this over with so she can calm her racing heart. I can feel it thumping in her neck when I stop her at my car and push her back against the passenger door, kissing her hard.

“Stop panicking Barbie, it’s going to be fine.” I murmur against her lips as her breathing quivers, a tight swallow making its way down her throat. She nods quickly, pushing against my chest and jumping into the passenger seat of my car, immediately switching on the cold air and fanning her pink cheeks. I reach over for her hand and she grips mine tightly, leaning back against the headrest and letting her soft lashes flutter closed. I don’t say anything to her the entire drive, as she keeps her eyes firmly shut, steadying her breathing and constantly giving my hand a sharp squeeze. It’s like I'm the only thing holding her on earth right now. I’ve never seen her like this, riddled with nerves and unable to even crack a sarcastic joke at my expense. I don’t fucking like it one bit, but I have to stay solid, strong as oak for her and I will.

I pull into the lot at the busy park, Saturdays are always pretty crazy here and with the weather bringing a heavenly warmth to the air I'm not surprised to see the place littered with families. The picnic benches are full, the playground even fuller and the only quiet part of the whole park is the ice rink. Ironically, most people don't want to skate when it’s warm like this, but I’ve never been one of those people.

Molly and I climb out of the car and she practically sprints around to my side before I even have my feet firmly on the ground. She checks her watch, then checks it again, then a third time, before she tips her head towards the empty ice rink in gesture for me to follow her. When we get onto the winding path that leads across the park is when she finally opens her mouth for the first time, lacing her fingers through mine. “Hold my hand, please.” She mutters, other hand lifting to her mouth and an already half eaten nail comes between her teeth.

I drop my cheek onto her temple as she sinks into my side, desperately trying to become invisible. “I thought you didn’t want your family to think we’re dating.”

She shrugs, gripping my arm with her free hand. “Yeah, well maybe I don’t care right now, I just need you to keep me calm.”

“I like that,” I smile so wide it hurts my jaw and I fight to squash my grin back into it’s box, as a dark haired woman with thick rimmed glasses and a tiny brunette child come into view. Molly’s hand starts to moisten in mine and I squeeze her tighter to me, dropping a fleeting kiss to the crown of her head as we get closer. Molly’s mum’s face lights up so brightly when she sees her daughter approaching and she quickly pulls Molly out of my arms and into a warm hug. I see Molly visibly unclench her muscles as she relaxes into her mum’s arms and my eyes immediately fall to the tiny hands that are currently tapping on my thighs. Ellie's shining green eyes peer up at me, her mousy brown hair wild in the wind and her smile so familiar it makes my chest tighten.

I crouch down to her level. “Hi Ellie, I'm Kyle, Molly’s friend.” I glance up, Molly and her mum watching me with wide smiles.

Ellie giggles, a squeal following as she launches herself at me for a hug. I instinctively take her in my arms and stand up as she studies my face with her delicate fingers, cheesy grin in place the entire time.

Molly places a hand on my shoulder. “She’s very confident as you can see, don’t know where the hell she gets that from.” She smirks at me, teasing and I see that smile again, the one that was just covering Ellie’s face and is now spread across Molly’s.

Ellie makes grabby hands at Molly and leans towards her. “Molly here, Mummy look!” She squeals and wraps her little arms around her big sister’s neck, dropping a tiny kiss to her lips.

“I know, you’ve missed her haven’t you El?” Molly’s mum beams at her daughters as they share a moment together, before her bright hazel eyes find me. Her face is so warm and comforting, the many lines around her eyes from the years of laughter and happiness. But I also see the stress in her weathered features, the years of infertility that Molly told me her parents battled through. Until they found her and Ellie that is, these two girls with their blinding smiles and personal rays of sunshine must have totally completed their lives. I know one of them has certainly completed mine.

I reach out my hand. “Hi Mrs Crawford, I'm Kyle, it’s so nice to meet you.” “You too Kyle, I’ve heard a bit about you, but I have to admit, Molly isn’t one for boyfriends, so she hasn’t said much.”

“Oh, I'm not her—” I stop myself, the denial of our relationship hanging off the tip of my tongue. When Molly turns to smile at me from the edge of the rink, where she has Ellie tucked in one arm and a pair of teeny tiny skates in the other, I know I'm not about to finish my sentence.

“Can you help me Ky? Ellie wants to skate, but I'm no good with these tiny things.” She calls, collecting her thick waves and laying them over one shoulder as she wrestles Ellie away from the edge of the rink. I gift Molly’s mum another smile, as I go and help her daughter get Ellie’s miniature skates onto her squirmy feet. Before I even have chance to finish tying them, she’s off, diving onto the ice like a god damn penguin and floating off on her wobbly legs. She dashes around the rink, turning and glancing over at us with a questioning grin, wanting our approval as she twists on her skates. I give a resounding clap, Molly and her mum quickly joining me and Ellie’s tiny eyebrows shoot up, followed by another bright smile as she continues around the ice like a tiny pro.

“Wow, she’s good, who taught her to skate like that?” I gawk, watching her little legs speed up.

Molly chuckles beside me, eyes pinned on her sister. “I did,” she gazes at me for a beat, her eyes speaking a thousand words, before she dips down for her own skates. “You coming Ky?”

“Yeah, of course I am.” I grab my own skates from my bag, shoving them onto my feet and jumping onto the ice, electing a shriek of glee from Ellie as I chase her around, growling playfully like a monster.

Molly doesn’t stay on the ice for long, wanting to catch up with her mum, so I stay with Ellie, swinging her around and fulfilling all of her requests, most of which consist of, “Catch me Kyle, chase me Kyle.”

She’s likely the sweetest little thing I’ve ever seen, maybe I'm biased because she’s Molly sister, or maybe she’s just the cutest three year old I’ve ever met. I eventually tempt her off the ice when her mum says it’s time to go, promising to take her skating again soon. Molly hugs Ellie goodbye, smushing her so tight I think she might never let go, before turning and hugging her mum too, a tiny tear glistening in the corner of her eye. She likely won’t see her family again for a while, with regionals coming up and a shit ton of coursework to get through as always, there’s not much time for family visits. I wish that was my mum’s excuse for not visiting, but the reality is, she just doesn’t give two shits about seeing me.

Ellie grabs at my legs as we turn to leave. “Huggy please,” her sing song voice chirps up at me and I glance at Molly’s mum for permission, which she grants without hesitation.

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