Page 94 of My Promise To Keep

‘Zoe…’ I hang my head, weak from the reality that she’s going to walk away from me.

‘You didn’t tell me because you knew that I would say no, but you carried on making the plans anyway.’

Fuck. She’s right… But I thought just a little more time, and I could convince her to say yes.

‘I won’t go.’ My voice is soft, desperate, but she steps away.

‘You’re going, Leo. This is your path, and you need to follow it.’

‘Were you just waiting for an out?’

She holds my gaze, silence falling between us until she steps forward into my space and holds my face in her hands.

‘I love you. I wanted to find a way, but sometimes love just isn’t enough.’

She releases my face, picks up her keys from the coffee table, and walks out of my apartment, and this time, I don’t think she’s coming back.

Sleep On It, Zo Zo

Zoe

I bring the carto a stop and take a breath. I’ve driven straight here from Leo’s place, leaving my bag of clothes and toiletries there, only leaving with the clothes and shoes I’m wearing and my cell phone.

I glance up to see the little house I love so much, and I start to cry. Emotion that I held inside for the drive here spills out of me. It’s over. He’s leaving, and I walked away from the chance to go with him.

The tap on my window has me raising my head from the steering wheel to see the kind eyes peering in, and I rush to open the door.

‘Hey, baby.’

‘Grandma.’

‘So, you drove allthe way up here. You going tell me why you’re crying in your car outside my house?’

I raise the bottle of beer to my lips and take a swig, then pull the blanket up over my raised knees. I love my grandma Dee. She’s wild, and she takes no shit, but she is the most open-minded, caring person I know.

‘I’ve been seeing someone.’

‘Well, I assumed this would be about a man.’ She takes a swig from her bottle, and I go on.

‘It’s Leo, Grandma.’

She nods, and a twitch lifts the corners of her mouth. ‘Well, it’s about damn time.’

‘Okay, so what you’re telling me is you are in love with the man, but one, you felt you had to keep that a secret, and two, you walked away because staying with him would mean leaving the state?’ I stare at her for a second, and she shakes her head. ‘You kids are as dumb as rocks. First of all, I have to deal with Doug and Cara being dumbasses, and now you. I thought you knew better. Jesus, I hope Breanne is watching you idiots and finding herself a little more sense.’

‘Grandma.’ My jaw drops, and she shakes her head.

‘Zoe, you loved and lost once already. Why are you putting yourself through that again?’

‘He’s going to California.’

‘So go with him.’ I huff out my frustration. She’s not listening. ‘Why don’t you want to leave Forest Falls, Zoe?’

‘What?’ Her question stumps me.

‘You’re thirty-five, and you’ve lived in the same small town your whole life. Why don’t you want to leave?’

‘I can’t.’ I hear the shake of my inhale, and she tilts her head sympathetically, then holds out her hand for mine.

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