Page 151 of Promise Me Nothing
It’s an unwelcome feeling. I’ve done enough crying recently.
“You’ve repeated yourself over and over. That you don’t belong here. That you don’t fit. You said it when you got here, you just said it again now. Butyouare the only one saying that, Hannah.”
He sets his water bottle down, and crosses his own arms.
“From what I see, you’ve found a job, made friends, enjoyed time with family, and fell in love. Sounds to me like you found a place you belong.”
I shake my head. “It’s not like that. You don’t know…”
“You’re right. I don’t know. I don’t know and I never will. And that’s my fault. If I had been there, maybe I could have changed how your life turned out. Maybe I could have made it so you weren’t afraid of relying on people. Maybe I could have shown you that you can believe some of the promises people make. But I wasn’t there to do it then. So all I can do is try and prove it to you now.”
He steps forward and puts his hands on my shoulders.
“If you need to go, you can absolutely go. You can go to Phoenix and do whatever you want.” He gives me a gentle squeeze. “But I’m asking you to stay, so the people here can prove to you that you deserve a home and a place you feel happy. Because I believe that, for you? This is that place.”
He hugs me, pulls me in close and wraps his arms around me. Unlike those first times when he hugged me after I moved here, it doesn’t feel uncomfortable or unwanted. I enjoy his affection, his brotherly love and care. And I wrap my arms around him, too.
“I can’t make you listen to Wyatt or forgive him, or any of those things. Honestly? I don’t want to waste anything on trying to fix things between the two of you because I want to fix things between the two us.”
I laugh a little bit.
He pulls back and looks at me.
“But I don’t think he wanted to hurt you. At all.”
I nod, wipe a tear from my eye. “I know. And if I was in his shoes, I might have done the same thing. But it doesn’t take the hurt away to know that.”
Lucas gives me a tight smile as I turn away from him and continue what I was doing before Ivy got here.
Collecting my things to pack.
As the clock gets closer and closer to our leave time for the bus station, I wonder where Wyatt is. Why he hasn’t shown up yet to collect Ivy, who still lies snoozing on the couch.
Eventually, only twenty minutes before we’re supposed to leave, I see his car pull into the drive. I make sure to stay upstairs when he comes, though I know it’s the cowardly thing to do.
I try to listen from upstairs as I hear Lucas and Wyatt murmuring about something, but I can’t make anything out.
I let out a soft sigh, a mixture of sadness and relief, when I see Wyatt’s SUV pull out from where I watch at my bedroom window.
Part of me wanted to be able to say goodbye, but I know it just would have resulted in more tears.
A few minutes after he leaves there’s a knock on my door.
“You ready to go?” Lucas asks.
I nod, giving him a confident face that belies my true emotions.
“Ready.”
"Tell me this isn’t the end,” Lucas says, chucking my bag on the ground next to the bus that’s going to take me back to Phoenix. “Because I’m pretty sure you’re my family now. And family doesn’t get to ignore each other.”
I laugh, give him a sad nod of my head. “I promise,” I say. “This isn’t the end.”
He hugs me again. “I thought you don’t believe in promises. Why should I believe yours?”
I pull back and look at him. “I don’t give ones I can’t keep.”
He smiles, then backs up while I climb onto the bus.
