Page 11 of Lies in Promises
My parents are gone, and now, so is Robert. Never in my life have I ever hated my brother more.
I will hate him for this until he comes back and every day after that—if he ever does come back.
My parents aren’t going to, so what makes me think that my brother is?
He didn’t even love me enough to take me with him; I doubt he loves me enough to keep his promise.
CHAPTER 6
ROBERT
For a second, it feels as if something heavy slams against my shoulder. It freaks me out, so much so that I wake up fucking terrified and end up falling to the floor from the bench I was lying on.
Now, not only does it feel like I just shit my pants, but if my body didn’t hurt from sleeping like a pretzel, it will definitely hurt now.
“You okay, kid?” a man asks, taking my mind away from the pain trying to take over my whole body.
Looking up, I find a guy wearing a dingy trucker hat staring down at me with a bit of concern in his eyes.
I guess he slammed his hand against my shoulder to wake me, and that’s what freaked me out.
Sitting up, I let out a sigh and give the guy a nod.
“Yeah, I’m good.” I survey my surroundings since I couldn’t them in the dark.
When I left my family’s property last night, I was able to flag down a cab dropping off people a few miles up the road. I didn’t have a whole lot of cash on me, so he was only able to bring me just outside downtown Chicago instead of the bus station, like I had hoped. Still, the cabbie did me a solid at least by dropping me off by a 24/7 diner.
There was a bench in front that was well lit, so I decided I would hang out there until I figured out what I was going to do. I must have fallen asleep at some point, because I’m still here.
“Did you sleep out here, kid?” Trucker guy asks, looking down at me in confusion.
I give him another nod. “Didn’t mean to. I was just trying to figure out where to go from here, and I must have fallen asleep.” I don’t know why I’m explaining myself to a stranger.
“You a runaway or something?” he asks, looking over at the duffel bag on the ground next to me.
“Something like that.”
I guess, in a way, I am a runaway. Some people would run to get out of bad situations or from bad people, but the only thing I’m running from is myself.
The guy continues to look over me, like he is contemplating if he should help me or just leave me here on the ground and go about his day. If I were him, I would do the latter so I can go home and apologize to Bennett for leaving him when he needs me most.
I’m ninety-nine percent sure the guy is about to say ‘Okay’ and walk away without even offering me a ride home, but then he opens his mouth again and proves me wrong.
“You ever been to Texas?” he asks, his facial expression nothing but sincere.
“Texas?” I repeat.
He gives me a nod before pointing to the semi-truck across the street. “I have a load I have to take to Austin. I wouldn’t mind the company if you need a ride.”
This guy can’t be serious. Is he actually offering me a ride? Or does he have ulterior motives?
“Like an actual ride?” I ask because, well,stranger danger.
“Yes. An actual ride.” He gives me a smile that looks nice enough.
I shouldn’t want to trust this guy, but if I want to get as far away from my parents’ deaths as I possibly can, this might be the way to go. I didn’t leave the house with anything that tied me to my parents and their fortune, only taking the little money I had in my wallet and whatever I had on my body, so even if I wanted to, I couldn’t call someone. That would be the opposite of getting as far away as possible.
“I don’t have a whole lot of money, so I can’t pay you for it,” I answer, actually considering his proposition.
