Promise Me (5 page)

I passed Micah’s closed bedroom door on the way, figuring he was already passed out. The kid loved to sleep, but he slept like a log, which was a good thing considering we shared a wall. He’d never wake up, no matter how loud Alyssa and I got.

When I got to my room and opened the door, I saw exactly what I was hoping I wouldn’t see. Alyssa was sprawled out on my bed in her bra and panties, her eyes closed. I sighed and shook my head, scrubbing my chin with my hand. I knew she’d had too much to drink. I should have kept a better eye on her.

When I sat down next to her, her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at me adoringly.

“Hey sexy,” she said, rolling onto her side as she draped an arm across my lap. Her eyes slid closed again. “I’m totally going to rock your world.”

“You’re asleep.”

She smiled, but she didn’t open her eyes. “I’m fine.”

I leaned over and kissed her forehead. A part of me liked her best when she was sweet and unassuming like she was in that moment. We weren’t going to have sex, and that was fine with me. I’d get over it, but it was nice that she was trying to pretend like it was going to happen for my sake.

“Just sleep, Lys,” I said softly as I shifted her so her head was on my pillow and she was sleeping on her side.

“I love you, Jack,” she mumbled.

“Love you too,” I told her as I grabbed the remote and turned on ESPN, figuring I could catch the baseball highlights from earlier in the day.

As long as I had
something
to focus on, my past would stay where it belonged. Maybe learning how the Astros did and what the top plays of the day were would be enough to keep the demons at bay. At least I hoped it would be.

Chapter Three

Kate

I feel like today is going to be so great,” Sara gushed as I grabbed my backpack from the barstool, dropping my iPad inside and slinging it over my shoulder.

“Oh yeah? And why is that?” I asked her. “Do you have your keys?”

“Yes, I have them.”

“And you have your wallet so you can grab lunch on campus?”

“Yes!” she said, rolling her eyes at me. “Geez, Kate. I’m not completely inept.”

“Sorry,” I muttered, knowing I should try to give her a little credit.

It was hard, though. I’d spent most of my life taking care of her. Even though I knew she was completely capable of making sure she didn’t starve to death, I was more comfortable knowing she wouldn’t be calling me to borrow money halfway through the day, or more likely, flirting with some cute guy to get a free lunch. And I wanted to avoid her calling me at work later to let her into the apartment because she was locked out.

The truth was, Sara liked to think she was independent, but most of the time she preferred that someone else just take care of things for her. Maybe that was partially my fault, since I’d enabled her to be dependent on me long after it was necessary, but I’d also known that she wasn’t always great at making good decisions. As a kid she’d floated along with her head in the clouds, ignoring reality and pretending bad things didn’t exist. I knew she noticed them, because I could see it in her eyes. She just chose to ignore them.

And that scared me. For years I’d lived in fear that her desire to bury her head in the sand was going to get her hurt. Maybe that was why I still stayed so close after all these years. Maybe it was why I continued to mother her long after she needed me to, but maybe it was also time for me to finally let go.

“So, why is today going to be so great?” I asked her.

She smiled. “I’m meeting Mia and Piper, these two really awesome girls from my pledge class, for coffee after our first class. We all have the same sucky early class time, and then we have a break until 10:30, so we’re going to grab lattes, get to know each other better, and scout out cute frat pledges.”

“That sounds like fun,” I said, glancing at the new Alpha Kappa Pi letter t-shirt she was wearing and thinking of all the sarcastic comments I wanted to make about sororities and fraternities.

Instead, I bit my tongue. Sara had spent the last week rushing the sororities on campus, which was why we’d had to arrive a week before classes started, and she’d been elated to hear that she’d gotten in to the one she really wanted. She’d texted me with the news as soon as she’d opened her bid card the night before, using an exorbitant amount of exclamation points and emoticons to emphasize just how thrilled she was. So I’d acted happy for her. I’d honestly never understood the desire to be in a Greek organization, but Sara had been talking about rushing for the past few years. I was just glad she was getting to do the things she’d always dreamed about.

But we were definitely different in that respect. For me, college had always been about getting good grades, landing a few solid internships, and finding a great job after graduation so I never had to worry about how food was going to make it onto my table or whether I’d be able to afford new shoes when one of mine got a hole in them. Maybe I was just more practical, or maybe it was harder for me to let go of the past, whereas Sara had embraced our new life with Dan with open arms, thrilled that she had a closet full of new clothes, a car when she’d turned sixteen, and she didn’t have to lift a finger around the house, because he had a maid.

I hadn’t been as optimistic about him sweeping us away to a life that seemed too good to be true, and I’d spent the last few years waiting for it all to go away. I’d lived in fear that my mother would fall off the wagon or Dan would simply change his mind, he’d kick us out of his life, and we’d end up back in our depressing double-wide trailer, broker than we’d been before. It never happened, and Dan seemed more in love with my mom than ever, but I’d still worked as many hours as I could as a waitress, while going to school, and I’d saved every penny I could, just in case.

It was also why I’d spent the last week looking for a job while Sara had been picking out the perfect outfits to impress her future sorority sisters day after day. Not that I wanted her to work. I didn’t. I wanted her to have fun, focus on school, and make the most of her college experience.

I hadn’t been given the same opportunities as her when I’d graduated high school, and I hadn’t even considered going to a four-year university. Not only was it way too expensive, but the last thing I would have done was leave Sara. Our mom had only been out of rehab for six months when I’d graduated high school, and whether her sobriety would stick or not was still up in the air. Aside from that, my income from waitressing at Chili’s five nights a week brought in more money than we’d seen in years. And with my mother not working and focusing on staying sober, we needed every dollar we could get.

But two years later, Dan and my mom were married, money wasn’t an issue, and he had offered to pay for Sara’s entire education when he found out she’d gotten into UT, which was his alma matter. I knew how hard working and going to school was, and I was so glad she wouldn’t have to do it. She deserved to have fun.

Apparently I didn’t feel I deserved the same thing, because I’d been intent on finding a job as soon as we’d gotten settled in Austin. But I’d been working since I was sixteen, and I’d been saving for college for years. Paying my own way was something I wanted to do out of principle. I let Dan and my mom contribute in other ways, because it made them happy, but I didn’t want a free ride. It just wasn’t my style.

“Oh,” Sara continued as we headed out of our apartment, “and our Bid Day Buddies are meeting us for lunch. They’re all so nice. It’s like they’re super-glad that we joined AKPi. It’s not like I thought it would be at all. I figured we’d have to prove ourselves as pledges, but everyone has been so nice, and they’re all so excited that we’re their new sisters.”

“That’s great, Sara,” I said absently as we walked down the stairs, and I mentally tried to remember the route I’d need to take to my first class.

I’d done a test run the day before, just so I’d know where to park and where to walk so I wouldn’t be late. I knew that would probably make me seem like a complete nerd to most people, but the last thing I wanted to do was be late to class on my first day. And the UT campus was huge. I knew I could easily get lost among the buildings if I wasn’t careful.

“Which house did you end up picking, Sara?” I heard a male voice ask, and then I heard footsteps behind us on the stairs.

I looked back to see Cullen jogging down to meet up with us. He seemed like a nice guy, and he was friendly enough, always saying hello when I saw him and even stopping by to see if we needed anything a few nights earlier.

I figured it was just him being polite, exercising that Texas hospitality, so I’d told him we were fine. Then he’d just smiled at me, and I wasn’t sure what to do after that. Thankfully Sara had intervened, ducking under my arm so she could say hi to him. She’d just gotten back from a rush event, and I’d noticed that she’d changed out of the dress she’d worn and was sporting her old cheerleading shorts and a tank top that bared a strip of her stomach.

As soon as Cullen saw her, his gaze darted down to that bare strip of skin, and I watched his cheeks color. Sara greeted him with a smile and a hug, and then she’d invited him in and asked if she could get him anything to drink. I’d stepped out of the way to let him into our apartment, as Cullen had smiled and told her he’d love a soda. I figured that was what he’d been waiting for, which was completely foreign to me, but maybe it was just the southern way, and it was something I was going to have to embrace.

Sara seemed like she was on-board with welcoming in any visitors that came by unannounced, but I had a feeling she was really just capitalizing on an excuse to hang out with Cullen and flirt with him a little. I wasn’t that opportunistic, nor was I interested in Cullen, so inviting him in hadn’t crossed my mind.

But after Sara’s invitation, he’d come in and made himself comfortable. I’d felt obligated to stay and be social, which was fine until the conversation turned to Sara talking Cullen’s ear off about the three sororities she was considering, and Cullen giving her advice on which one to pick. It turned out he and his roommates were in some fraternity that Sara was familiar with, so they had tons of things to talk about, while I just sat there wishing for an excuse to leave the conversation. When Cullen said he was going to text Micah to come over and bring drinks, I decided that was my cue.

Cullen teased me about bailing early until I told him I had to work in the morning. It wasn’t a complete lie, since I had server training at the barbecue restaurant I’d gotten a job at, but I didn’t exactly have to get up early to be there. My shift started at eleven. I just wasn’t in the mood for an impromptu party with two frat guys and my flirty sister. In the end, after making me promise I’d hang out the next time he came over, Cullen had let me go.

I’d only seen him in passing since then, but each time I saw him, he winked at me or smiled, and he always reminded me of my promise to hang out with him soon. I told him each time that I remembered and feigned excitement, vaguely telling him that we’d have to make plans. I was starting to think he had a thing for me, which I wasn’t sure I was cool with. He was a nice enough guy, and we could be friends, but he wasn’t exactly my type.

“Hey Cullen,” Sara said excitedly as we reached the bottom of the stairs. Then she turned to him with a wide smile. “I’m an Alpha Kappa Pi!”

He reached out a hand to high-five her when he met up with us. “Dude, that’s awesome! I was hoping you’d pick that house. The hottest girls are in AKPi.”

Sara beamed, and I wondered if she’d picked up on the casual way he’d called her ‘dude’.

“Aww, you’re sweet,” she said, tossing her long dark hair over her shoulder. “I like my new sisters so much. They’re all such sweeties!”

“You’re going to love being in that house. We do a lot of stuff with AKPi.”

“So fun,” Sara gushed as Cullen put an arm around my shoulders, catching me by surprise.

“And how’s my favorite neighbor?” he asked me.

“Hey!” Sara protested. “I thought I was your favorite.”

“I love you both equally,” Cullen told her. “Kate just doesn’t return my love like you do. Why is that?”

He turned to me expectantly.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I told him stiffly, trying not to encourage him. I knew exactly what he was doing.

“Ooh, not a morning person, are you?” he teased me. “I’d offer to buy you a coffee, but after seeing that beast of a coffeemaker on your counter, I’m assuming you’ve already had a cup.”

“Try five,” Sara said sarcastically.

“Two,” I corrected her. “I only had two cups.”

“You had at least three,” she insisted.

“It was
two
,” I said tersely.

Two really big cups, but why was I being judged for it? I liked coffee. I had very few vices, and it was one of them.

“Geez, did I hit a sore spot?” Cullen asked, sounding guilty as we reached my car.

“She’s just nervous about classes starting,” Sara offered, and I felt the very real urge to smack her in the arm for sharing something so personal about me.

“Oh yeah?” Cullen questioned in amusement, latching onto that tidbit of information.

“No,” I said quickly. “I’m not nervous.”

“She’s nervous,” Sara told him, earning her a glare from me.

“What’s your schedule like today?” Cullen asked me as he shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

I couldn’t understand how he could be wearing jeans. It was barely eight in the morning, and it was already stifling hot outside. I was glad I’d opted for a sundress. Apparently it was going to be almost a hundred degrees by the afternoon, and I definitely wasn’t used to the heat – at least not heat like they had in Texas. I felt like I was standing in an oven.

“I have three classes,” I told him, fighting the urge to glance at my watch to see how much time had burned away as we’d been talking to Cullen. “Two this morning and one this afternoon. Then I’m working tonight.”

I felt the urge to add, ‘And if I don’t get going, I’m going to be late’, but I knew that would be rude. And it would validate Sara’s assessment about me being nervous about my classes. I completely was, but Cullen didn’t need to know that. In fact, the less personal information he had about me the better.

“What’s your first class?” he asked me. “Maybe we’re in the same one.”

I looked at him doubtfully. “We’re probably not. It’s a huge school.”

“We might be. We’re both business majors.”

I sighed, figuring it would be the easiest way to get rid of him. If I didn’t leave soon I really was going to be late.

“I have Macroeconomics.”

“Macro?” He questioned. “I thought you said you were a junior.”

“I am.”

“And you didn’t take Macro as an undergrad?”

I shook my head as I shifted my backpack on my shoulder. “My community college only required Micro or Macro, not both. I took Micro. I’ve got about a semester’s worth of classes to take before I can start my upper-level classwork. I guess the gen-ed classes I took don’t all translate to what I need for my marketing degree.”