Page 22 of Every Broken Promise
“We…we are?”
She giggled. “Of course we are!” Astrid’s face got serious, and then she took a deep breath. “Should we make it official?”
My heart thumped. I had no idea what was going on, but deep down I knew it was important.
“Official, how?”
Her nose scrunched as she thought over her plans.
“Well, we can’t cut our palms and use blood. Our parents wouldn’t like that. “
Hesitantly, I looked at my palms. I didn’t want blood on them either. Sometimes, Astrid’s mind scared me.
“Oh, I got it!” she shouted excitedly, and I braced for what would come out of her mouth. She put her palm to her lips and then licked it. “We can make a pact like this.”
Not thinking much of it, I did the same.
“Now what?” I asked.
“We shake on it,” she said, like I was supposed to know that already.
Our combined hands were slimy and sticky.
“Now repeat after me…” she said authoritatively. “I, Tyler Kane, promise always to be Astrid’s best friend and have her back.”
I quickly said the words.
“I, Astrid Hart, promise always to be Tyler’s best friend and have his back.”
“Best friends,” I repeated softly.
She smiled at me and then looked at our joint hands. As we unclasped, her nose scrunched once more. “I’m going to wash my hands because germs are bad.”
She took off running, and I was about to do the same thing when I heard one of my brothers snickering.
I followed the sound, and Ezekiel was lying on one of the branches. My cheeks heated when I realized he had heard the whole thing.
“You just kissed Astrid,” he taunted.
“N-no, I d-didn’t!”
He laughed at me.
“You swapped spit and it mixed. It is the same as kissing!”
“No, it’s not!”
“Tyler and Astrid sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I?—”
I didn’t hear the end of his mocking because I ran after Astrid so I could also wash my hands.
Somehow, I still knew some damage had been done, and Ezekiel’s and Adam’s words still lingered in my mind.
TEN
Why wasmy mother allowing me to lie in bed with a man in my room? I thought parents were supposed to be against that kind of thing. Wasn’t their daughter’s virtue important to them? The real question, though, was why my mother allowed my enemy into our home.
The betrayal ran deep.
