Page 10 of Lies in Promises
I should have prepared for this. I should have put it through my head that someone might hear and try to stop me. I hadmentally prepared for walking out and not having to explain anything to Bennett or Henry.
But this—I should have mentally prepared for this too.
Turning slowly, I look at my brother. He’s in his pajamas, with dark circles under his little eyes.
Has he not been able to sleep like me? Do the reminders of the night keep him up too? Is that why he’s up so late?
So many questions I want to ask, but I keep them inside.
“I’m going to hang out with a friend for a little bit,” I say, not wanting to tell him the truth, not wanting him to hate me.
“Can I come with you?” he asks, his voice almost shaking like he knows I’m lying.
If only you didn’t remind me of them.
“Not this time, okay? I have to go by myself.” I feel like I’m breaking my brother’s heart with my words.
“But you’ll come back, right?” he asks, coming close enough that I can see his bottom lip tremble, like he’s going to cry.
I drop my bag and close the distance between us, crouching in front of him and giving him the only truth I have.
“Yeah, bud,” I say, my own voice cracking in the process. This shit is a lot harder than I thought it would be. “I’ll come back, I promise, and when I do, it’s going to be me and you against the world, okay?”
With the moonlight shining through the window, I can see the tears forming in Bennett’s eyes.
The tears tell me all I need to know. He knows I’m not leaving to spend a night at a friend’s house. He knows it might be a while before he sees me again.
Everything in me is telling me he is going to hate me for it, no matter how right I think leaving is.
Not wanting to prolong this anymore, I stand to full height and grab my bag from the floor before closing the distance between me and the door.
“I’ll talk to you later, okay?” That’s all I’m able to say before I walk out the door and close it behind me.
My brother may hate me now, but in the long run, he’s going to thank me.
This is the best thing for both of us. It may not seem like it now, but it is.
CHAPTER 5
BENNETT
The door closes softly behind Robert, and when I hear the click, that’s when I notice my face is wet.
Catching my brother sneaking out of the house isn’t something new. I’ve caught him leaving out this very door more times than I can count, but for some reason, watching him do so tonight feels different.
Different like this might be the last time I’ll ever see him.
He may say he’s going to come back, and maybe he is, but there’s a feeling deep in my stomach that tells me it won’t be anytime soon.
My brother was the last piece of family I had left, and he just walked away. He didn’t even want to take me with him. He just grabbed his bag and walked out without a second thought.
I should wake up Henry so he can get in the car and chase after Robert, but what good will that do? If Robert is going to leave, he’s going to do it no matter how much Henry forces himto stay. Even if we do bring him back tonight, he will still be gone tomorrow.
Instead of walking to Henry’s bedroom, I make my way over to the door and open it, hoping I can see my brother as he goes.
And I do, for a whole minute—I watch his body move through the darkness until it disappears completely into the nothingness of the night down the main road.
More tears leave my eyes, but they aren’t sad tears. They are angry ones.
