Page 9 of No Broken Promises

I never really know anymore.

That's the way it goes every night. I think about the life I am supposed to have. The one I’d dreamed about, and every morning, I curse the life that I ended up with. I hate living in a town where no one knows the truth, and I hate everyone who doesn’t bother to see beyond the hero they make Danny out to be. The town that turned their backs on me when I needed them most. I curse everything and everyone except Nox. He is the only good thing in my life.

When the first knock comes promptly at 8:02 in the morning, I know that when I open the door, I will see, Mama Rose, Danny's mother standing on my stoop. However, I don't expect to also see Danny's sister, Emma, and his brother, Lincoln.

The mirror image of Danny catches me off guard, and for a brief second, my mind doesn't connect the dots. It really has been a long night. I haven't mistaken Linc for Danny since the morning of the funeral, when I thought and hoped that they'd played a terrible joke on me. The same blond hair his brother had, cut short and faded down the side like every other Marine I’d met. The same harsh blue eyes, watching everything around him with suspicion. They even had the same dimples when they smiled. But Linc isn’t Danny. Linc hadn’t broken my trust that night six years ago—that had been Danny—and I’ve never mistaken them again.

He is the first person to reach for me, moving around his mother and sister to pull me into his arms.

“I'm so sorry, Park.”

My shoulders tremble as I try not to cry anymore. I know my eyes are swollen and red. I've wiped away my tears all night and into the morning. I don't even think I cried that much after Danny died. But Boo? Shit, I can't keep the tears in.

I sob, letting Linc comfort me.

I steal every bit of strength he is willing to give me, holding on for dear life.

Meanwhile, Rose and Emma move into the living room around us, and Mama starts to clean. I can hear her from the warmth of Linc's embrace. Emma starts to bang around in the kitchen; no doubt she’s going to cook something. Linc is a hugger. Mama cleans. Emma? She cooks and bakes all of her emotions into food. Food that no one in their right mind ever turns down.

“Sorry about Mom,” Linc whispers mischievously. “I held her off as long as I could.”

“Yeah.” I sniffle against his chest. “All two minutes of waiting.”

Mama Rose, as she'd demanded I call her when she found out I was pregnant with Nox, believes that eight a.m. is a perfectly acceptable time to start harassing her children. I expected to see her at exactly then, which means that Linc had put up a good protest—or pretended to at least.

Linc kisses the top of my head before letting me go. Then he moves to Danny's dog tags and kisses his fingers before pressing them against the metal. “Love you, bro.”

He does the same thing for Boo's collar, shocking me into another bout of tears.

“I'm sorry, I can't stop crying,” I tell the room as a whole right before I wipe my eyes and blow my nose loudly into a tissue.

“Stop that apology nonsense,” Rose chides gently with one of my decorative pillows in her hands. “You cry as much as you want to. Boo was family. And us Hayes never mourn alone.”

“Gigi!” Nox sprints into his grandmother's arms, wrapping around her tightly, and I watch her crouch down like she isn't about to tip over to return his hug. “Boo died last night.” He speaks low, his voice cracking on the last word.

“I know, my love.” She runs a hand down the back of his head. “But I bet he's always going to be here for you, isn't he?”

“Ghosts aren't real, Gigi.” Nox rolls his eyes and I almost snort at his sass. “But I'm gonna put him with Daddy.” Nox drops his voice to a whisper. “Just in case. So he can have some company.”

I never thought I'd see the older woman cry like I did at Danny's funeral, but for a second, I swear she is going to lose it. Somehow, she doesn't. She leans her head back and closes her eyes with her lips pressed together tightly for a second, and then she sniffles. “Your father would love that, I bet.”

This is my life. One never-ending session of fuckery that always leaves me feeling broken and defeated.

At least I have tasty food, though, which is proven another minute later when Emma hands me a pile of French toast.

“Eat, Parker.” She eyes me suspiciously. “You look like you haven't eaten.”

I don't tell her that she is right, nor do I tell her that I've cried so hard that I've practically thrown up everything I've eaten for the last week. At least, that's what it feels like.

“Thanks for coming,” I tell them. “You didn't have to.” I don't bother asking who had told them about Boo, either.

I know I hadn't been lucky enough for Remy not to notice me. When his cruiser followed us home after leaving the vet, I knew for a fact he'd tell Linc and Rose before I could.

“You're family.” Linc shrugs his shoulder as he watches Nox and his mother sit on the couch, quietly talking among themselves. “I know you don't feel like it sometimes, but you are.”

He nudges me with his shoulder.

“You working at Lucy's today?”

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