Page 53 of No Broken Promises

“Hey, Parker,” Danny called out hesitantly. “I’m ready to go. Linc vanished somewhere. You still staying at our place?”

Tears clogged my throat, and I couldn’t even manage an answer. But I stormed away from Remy, and Danny wrapped me in a loose embrace.

“Take her home,” Remy snarled. “She’s your responsibility now, Danny. And you better not let anything bad happen to her.”

I don’t know how I moved or even remember taking a step, but suddenly Danny is there, right there, his arm wrapped around me tightening into a hug. My shoulders heaved, and I struggled, trying not to cry even harder, but the man I loved more than anything else had single-handedly hit every single one of my triggers, and he knew it.

“Calm the fuck down, Remy.” Danny’s quiet voice still managed to ring out into the air around us. “We’re all friends here, and everything’s gonna be fine. I’m taking her home, and you can go back to the party, bud.”

My sobbing broke through the tight hold I thought I had. “Let’s just go.” I sobbed again, trying not to show Remy how much he had hurt me. Danny gently wiped the tears from my cheeks.

“Take care of her, Danny. Or I’ll gut you like a fish and feed you to bears.” Remy walked by us, and I stole one last look at the man who had broken my heart with every word he said tonight.

“I wanted you to hate me.” Remy’s whispered words bring me back to the present. “I wanted you to hate me, to push me, and blame me for the words I said. For those lies. But you never did. Even when you should have, you wrote to me, and you kept me alive when I wanted to die, Parker Jane.”

I don’t move, don’t open my eyes, don’t say a word, because I am not sure what will come out if I do. Just like it was yesterday, I feel his words all over again like they’ve been cut into my skin with a dull knife.

“I hurt you, and some of the people in this town blamed you. Still, you stayed and raised your son where he could be close to his father’s family. No wonder you want to leave. I can’t give you anything that will make you stay, but I can fix the fact that they think you hurt me. I can make sure they know that I broke your heart, that I didn’t deserve you.” He kisses my cheek, his lips brushing away the tears that still leak through my closed eyelids. “I can’t take back the last six years of pain, Parker. But I can do that. And if you want to leave… I’ll be right by your side. Because I’ve got nothing else in my life, nothing that means as much as you.”

I open my mouth to tell him something… I don’t know what, but the front door slams open.

“Mooooom!” Nox hollers. “I’m home. Gonna grab a snack, and then I’m going to Gigi’s house for the sleepover.” His voice fades as he walks through the house downstairs.

“Nox!” Rose calls out chidingly. “You’re not supposed to scream like that. Hey, Parker,” she shouts up the stairs. “If you could pack Nox an overnight bag, that would be great.”

Remy rests his forehead against mine, a pained smile breaking out over his lips. “She’s just as bad as my mom.” He wipes the tears from my eyes tenderly, his thumbs brushing them away until there is nothing left but the vague taste of salt on my lips.

“I need to get up,” I whisper brokenly. “I’ve got to get his bag ready. I forgot that tonight is his sleepover with Rose and Emma. They won’t wait forever.”

“They can wait as long as you want them to,” Remy answers. “You’ve given your entire life for everyone else. You can be selfish, Parker. Be selfish.” He pulls me into his arms again, kissing my forehead. “You deserve it.”

But the sound of Nox running around and playing with Daisy in the backyard drifts up through the open window of Remy’s bedroom, shattering the spell that has wound itself around us.

“Did you know you’re the best mom?”

I look up from packing Nox’s overnight bag a few minutes later to see both Nox and Remy standing in the doorway. Nox is the one who spoke, but he stands with his arms crossed, mirroring Remy.

The tears I’ve barely managed to get under control threaten to come back with a vengeance, but I swallow them down.

“Why did you say that?” Quickly, I grab his favorite blanket and shove it in the duffel bag, along with a pair of slippers that he probably doesn’t need. Honestly, he can probably just go to her house without anything, because Nox has multiple sets of everything. But I pack the bag nonetheless and try not to cry anymore.

“Because you always do everything for me, for everyone, and I love you.” Nox surprises me by throwing his arms around the back of my neck in the next moment, and I cherish every single minute of it.

Random bursts of affection are growing shorter, and even if I know it is one of the signs that he is growing up, my heart can’t take any more hurt just yet.

After I zip the bag closed, Remy picks it up for me and offers his hand. Nox watches our interaction, his eyes boring into both of us at once. I put my hand in Remy’s, and it is like the fucking skies open up and the angels start to sing. Remy smiles, Nox smiles, and the two of them aiming that much positivity at me is something I’ve never encountered before.

Bliss.

In that moment, somehow the rest of the world pushes aside. With all the memories of our past outside the room, I get a taste of happiness. The shadows of the past are still there lurking, waiting to invade. Demanding answers to the pain that I have suffered. Life is filled with pain. Thousands of little moments all combine together to create a single, memorable life. A life that I want more than anything else.

“See you tomorrow, Mom.” Nox hugs me as I stand up, and I realize only a second has passed since Remy has offered me his hand.

I can’t shake the cobwebs from my mind fast enough to catch Nox before he goes running out of the room and down the stairs.

“Bye, Parker and Remy.” Rose’s voice filters up the stairs and I am still in a haze as the door closes.

Remy stares at me like I am the answer to the most complicated problem in his life. His head tilts a little to the side, and his eyes are calculating, something I don’t expect.

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