Page 26 of Broken Promises

Luke was the last one at my home. I walked him out to his truck, pulling my hands around my slender frame as a light breeze swung around me.

“I can’t thank you and your family enough for everything,” I told him.

“You don’t need to thank me. That’s what we do for those we care about.” I smiled up at him. His eyes sparkled in the lights of the porch. “Do you think you’ll be okay with staying alonetonight? You can come to my place if you’d like. And I promise you, it’s definitely not a booty call.”

I laughed, shaking my head. “I appreciate the offer and the clarification, but I think I’ll be fine.” And for once, I meant it. Things have been so hectic lately, but now that I knew my mom would be okay and that the ghost of my first relationship no longer haunted me, I could be on my own. We fell silent momentarily, and then Luke’s gaze dropped to my lips.

“I want to kiss you right now, Luce, but we need to talk before we muddy the waters anymore. I want to do this right.”

His words struck me, but I nodded anyway. The weirdest part was Iwantedhim to kiss me. But he was right; we needed to talk properly. Luke brushed back a piece of my hair that had escaped from my bun before leaning in and kissing my forehead.

“I’ll stop by tomorrow.” Luke hopped in his truck but didn’t leave until I had closed the door. For once, I thought things may be all right after all. There was only one more thing to handle for tonight.

ME: Hey, can I ask you for a favor?

SAILOR: Of course! What do you need?

ME: Could you pick up my things from Jason’s apartment? He’s packed all my stuff so Sarah could move in.

ME: I was planning on coming back in a little over a week and doing it myself, but that’s apparently inconvenient for him…and then things changed because my mom broke her leg, and I’ll be staying here a few more weeks

SAILOR: Are you fucking kidding me? Of course, I’ll pick up your stuff. It’ll give me a chance to give him a piece of my mind.

SAILOR: How is Eve doing? Please tell her that I miss her and wish her a speedy recovery!!

ME: she’ll be okay. she’s just worried about her business, so I want to stay and help

ME: P.S. She definitely has a boyfriend.

SAILOR: Eve was always a wild card ;)

ME: Please…don’t. Anyway, be good, and thank you. I’ll let you know what happens with Mom.

SAILOR: Okay, I love you girly-pop.

lucy

. . .

The next morning,I was up before the sun, which said something because I was not a morning person. Still, I wanted everything to be perfect for my mom. I took a shower and got dressed, quickly making some pancakes that I could later reheat for my mom, too. Hospital food has never been much, and that woman always had the appetite of a lion, so I figured she’d be hungry once she got home.

Around eight in the morning, Ed pulled up and helped my mom get out of the car. She had crutches with her but could not fully support her body, so he carried her bridal style. I couldn’t help but smile.

“I bet you never imagined this was why Ed would carry you like this,” I said teasingly, enjoying how my mom’s cheeks reddened at my words. She quickly looked away, and Ed didn’t stop grinning for a second.

“Let’s get you settled in,” Ed said as he headed into the guest room. I followed behind them.

“I tried to make everything as accessible as possible. The guys have even brought your TV here, so you don’t need to move around much.”

“Thank you,” my mom said. “I couldn’t stay in that damn hospital for a moment longer.”

“That’s true,” Ed confirmed. “She drove them insane to the point where they released her early.”

“Sounds like my mom…” I gave a small chuckle. “Anyway, are you guys hungry? I made some pancakes.”

“I’d love to stay, and I appreciate the offer, but I’ve got to get back to work,” Ed said. I nodded.

“Of course. Thank you for everything; I got it from here.” I gave his arm a small pat. I couldn’t thank him enough for everything he had done for my mom. He hesitated momentarily before leaning down, kissing my mom for a second—if that. Ed quickly pulled back, as if he had been caught doing something illegal, and then left. I didn’t stop smiling as I stared at my mom.

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