Page 3 of Keep This Promise
I lean down, pressing my lips to his. We may not have ever been sexually attracted to each other, but we have always been affectionate. “You are my best friend.”
“And you’re mine.”
“I will tell Eden all about her father. I will never let you go from our lives.”
His eyes close, and his lips tremble. “I will watch over you both.”
I sniff as the tears fall faster, and my hands tremble. God, I can’t do this. I can’t.
“Be safe because I can’t die knowing you are still in danger. Please, grant me this.”
My chest heaves as breathing becomes harder. Theo has never hurt me. Not ever. As kids, he was my protector. When my mum was at her worst, Theo was there, holding me together. The two of us have always sacrificed for one another, and I have to give him this. Even if it kills me.
I pull myself together, feeling as though I may shatter at any second, force myself to stand, and tuck him in. I can pretend we’ll see each other again. I must in order to do this.
“I love you.” I choke the words out.
“I love you, and I love Eden. I am sorry, Fee. I am sorry for the man I never was. I am sorry I am leaving you with this mess, but I have done all I can to keep you safe, and you must do everything exactly the way I say.”
I wipe my eyes and nod. “Okay.”
Gathering my belongings feels like agony, but if Theo is this worried, then maybe I need to be as well. Eden is my world, and I can’t allow any harm to come to her.
As I move to the door it’s as though my shoes have anchors as soles, and I pause to look at him once more. He gives me a crooked smile, his lips cracked and face sallow. I will not remember him this way. I’ll remember the boy who handed me his backpack after mine tore. Or the young man who filled in as my prom date after my boyfriend broke up with me the night before. And then the man who married me and raised my child after a drunk night in Vegas with a man I didn’t know. And then, I will see this man, who on his deathbed put us first to protect us from whatever mess he’s found himself in, even if I don’t understand any of it.
“It’s okay,” Theo says.
It’s not, but I force a smile before lifting my hands to my lips and blowing him a kiss. “I would’ve given you the heart from my chest.”
He grins. “Your heart is black and cynical. It wouldn’t have survived in my hopeful soul.”
The laughter falls from my lips, as do the tears from my eyes. “Rest now, Theo, it’ll be okay.”
I turn and run down the corridor, knowing if I stop, I’ll return to him. I don’t see anyone as I leave the hospital, but Martin, our driver, is waiting to open the door of the black car for me. He gives me a knowing look, his brown eyes filled with sadness.
When he gets in the driver’s seat, I look at him through the rearview mirror. “He’s gone. I need to go home.”
And find out where I’m going next.
ChapterTwo
SOPHIE
“Idon’t understand,” I say to Martin, looking down at the plane tickets he just handed me. “Why would I go to New York?”
“I don’t know, Mrs. Pearson, these are the instructions I was given.”
I want to scream because these instructions make no sense. I don’t know anyone in New York. I don’t have family or friends in the States. I have nothing there, and I have lost so much. Two hours ago, I got the call from the hospital letting me know Theo is dead. He’s gone and a part of my heart has gone with him. She then told me that his last words were: “Go, Sophie.”
I’m here, at the airport, and am about to leave my life behind for a new one, all the while not having a clue as to where the danger might come from.
Eden is asleep in my arms, and I’m doing my best to hold it together for her. “What do you mean that’s all the instructions you were given? Nothing else? Where do I go now? I was told to follow directions, but no one has given me any!” I release my breath, working hard to stay calm because it isn’t Martin’s fault. He’s merely giving me what he knows. “I’m sorry. I am . . .”
“I understand. All I was told was to give you the tickets.”
Which is a direction, I suppose. “All right. Please help me inside then.”
He looks uncomfortable at that request.
