Page 45 of Promise Me Not

Deaton made me a lot of promises before he left.

I refuse to accept, let alone make, any more.

My boyfriend is dead.

I wish I were too.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Payton

Now

The sweet soundof my little boy’s whimpers has my eyes opening.

I frown, my brain taking a moment to realize where I am, and my gaze finally snaps to the monitor on the coffee table before me. My muscles settle, a soft smile covering my lips as I stare at my sleeping baby boy on the screen.

I lean forward to grab it but freeze instantly when something tightens around me. My head snaps down to find an arm wrapped around my middle.

Mason.

Chase.

Deaton…

The night comes rushing back, and I swiftly tug myself off the couch, glancing back just as his eyes open.

“Hey.” Chase eyes me warily, moving into a sitting position on the couch.

“Hey,” I breathe, meekly tucking my hair behind my ear as I glance away. My eyes fall to the bag sitting at the edge of the table. I drop my chin to my chest, guilt settling over me as heavy as always.

“What time is it?” he wonders, his voice groggy.

We both look to the clock on the back wall.

It’s just after three in the morning.

Chase swipes his hands down his face and scoots to the edge of the cushion, snagging his phone from the floor.

I bury my face in my hands. “God, Chase I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have asked you to come like that. You just got back to school, and you have shit going on and?—”

“No one forced me to come here, Payton.” When I look up at him, he continues. “I know what it’s like to have a lot of people who love you and still feel like you have no one to talk to.”

“You can talk to me if you want.”

His lips curl to one side. “I know.”

We stare at each other for a long, quiet moment before I finally speak.

“I never got to thank you.”

He tips his head. “For what?”

“For that night,” I whisper, tugging at the hem of my hoodie. “I was a disaster, and your best friends needed you, and you just…stayed with me, the whole time. You probably think I was too out of it to know, and most of it is foggy, but I remember you being there. So thank you.”

Chase gives an understanding smile, but that smile slowly fades, and he curses as he looks away. “Today is…or was…”

I nod, dropping my head back to look up at the speckled ceiling. “One year since he was taken.”

---