A Promise Kept (15 page)

* * *

G
race cried
out as punches were thrown at Nathan. He and Kyle were both big guys, but her brother was faster and more agile as he began to fight back. “The whole school knows she’s a slut, Clark.”

The scene switched and she was in her room, crying, as her brother sat beside her. “Don’t listen to those people, Grace. It won’t matter years from now. Nobody will ever care, you hear me? Let’s go to that party. You should be there.”

Nathan pushed Kyle onto the grass and knocked him in the face. “Leave her alone, Kyle! She’s gone through enough!” They tumbled toward the swimming pool, the crowd surrounding them as they cheered on opposing teams.

They were back in her room. “Gracie, promise me.”

She gasped for air, flailing her arms as she attempted to call for help, but the water took over again, and she fell underneath holding onto Nathan. He was too heavy, and nobody was offering help. She grabbed a hold of his shoulder and pulled him to the surface.

“Nathan!” She dragged his body to the shallow end of the pool and shook his lifeless body. “Wake up, Nathan.” They left. They all left her. “Help me! Please, call 911! Nathan, wake up! Please, I promise, I’ll do what you said, just open your eyes.”

Perspiration dripped from her body, despite the cold temperature. She tried to steady her heart as she got her bearings. This wasn’t Austin; it wasn’t her bed, her room, her house. Her phone showed it was quarter-to-three in the morning, and she had no desire to fall asleep again. All those awful images were conjured and she couldn’t get them out of her head. Grace quietly made her way toward the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.

She moved toward Evan’s office and turned on the lamp that sat in the corner. Different shapes of frames surrounded the room and she took her time studying what she figured were photos of family members. Her eyes then roved the shelves of books. Even if she stayed in that room all night, she doubted she could browse over every single title, but he owned classic literature, poetry, religion, science, and finance. Books on acting, filmmaking, directing, screenwriting, and producing sat grouped together on a different shelf.

An old leather-bound copy of Shakespeare’s sonnets caught Grace’s eye and she grabbed it. A faint street light filtered in through the sheer curtains covering the large arched window. A cushioned bench sat under it, so she took her spot and peeked outside. Large snowflakes fell over everything like a blanket, and she enjoyed watching it unfold. She leafed through the book in her hands, reading through some of her favorite sonnets.

“Gracie? What’s wrong?”

His voice was gravelly and his hair spiked up. Black sweatpants hung low on his hips and he sported a white thermal that stretched across his broad swimmer’s shoulders. He moved toward her, and she never craved him more. There was sexy actor Evan Matthews. He came to her defense at the bar, brought her to this magical white-covered winter wonderland, was well-read, and looked like a god even all rumpled from sleep.

Was it possible for this guy to be
it
for her? Grace got that thought out of her head as swiftly as it has entered. Last thing she needed was to want something she knew was beyond impossible. Even if they both desired each other, she knew it couldn’t last. He lived in Boston, never stayed in the same place. He was a movie star. She was a normal girl trying to be a fulltime author. They were from different worlds and wouldn’t fit.

“Can’t sleep.”

He sat near her on the bench, his tired eyes still sharply blue. “Nightmares?” She nodded as he glanced over his shoulder. “Snowfall finally started.”

She hummed resting her head back against the wall and appreciated the view. “I’ve never seen it like that. It’s so beautiful.”

“Is this your first time seeing snow, Grace?”

“Well, it snowed once in Austin, but it was about an inch and disappeared as rapidly as it fell.”

His voice sounded more alert. “Wow, really? We gotta make a snowman. Now.”

“What? Now? It’s crazy freezing out there!”

“Come on.” He got up and grabbed her hand, leading her to his room where he began to open and search his dresser. She scanned his bedroom and saw his unkempt bed. On the nightstand sat about seven scripts along with a familiar paperback. “Is that one of my books?”

He glanced to where it sat open faced down. “Yeah, I couldn’t sleep well either. And I’m anxious to see if Lady Ella ends up with Duke Seymour.” He threw a thick thermal at her along with some long johns. “Put those on and then put these over.” He handed her warm-ups and a sweatshirt with Mickey Mouse on it. “I have an extra pair of snow boots you can use.”

She stood with the clothes in her arms. “Do you even know what time it is?”

“It’s the best time to go out. Nobody’s around, Gracie. Get dressed. I’ll meet you at the door. Unless you want to change in front of me. I don’t mind.”

“Going.”

They stood near the entrance and she stuck her feet in the giant snow boots Evan had placed in front of her. “I look like that kid from
A Christmas Story
when his mom puts him in those layers of clothes.” She tried to move around in her wool coat as he laughed.

“Don’t trip over your big feet, Grace.”

“You’re the one with the big feet, Sasquatch.” Everything fit her twelve times too big, but part of her felt good in his clothes, like she was closer to him somehow.

He put a woolen beanie cap over her head and pinched her cheek. “You look adorable, pumpkin.”

“Shut up, Matthews.”

He took her hand and they were greeted by a different concierge as they walked out. The cold air hit Grace with a strong force and she shuddered, her breath coming out in swirls of smoke. “Shit, this is freezing.”

“This is nothing, Grace. Last year it was piled up like crazy.” The snowball came flying faster than she expected and hit her on her shoulder.

“I can’t believe you just did that.” She gathered snow in her gloved hands and they began to fight each other, but she soon tripped over the big shoes she wore and he tried to catch her only to be taken down with her.

They laughed as he rested on top of her, and he leaned to brush his lips on hers. “It’s romantic, isn’t it, Grace?”

She nodded. “Except for the fact that I can’t feel my nose.”

His husky chuckle coated her with heat as he let his lips touch the tip of her nose. He then lay flat next to her. “Snow angels?”

“Snow angels,” she responded as they both moved their arms and legs back and forth. He then told her to stay there as he took out his phone and snapped photos. He helped her up and they took selfies. He leaned in on one of them and kissed her cheek as she smiled into the camera.

After attempting to build a snowman, and singing along to
Frozen
, in which she teased him for knowing all the songs, they went back inside to warm up.

“I never thought a grown man of thirty-four years loved Disney so much.”

“I have a nephew. He loves Disney.”

“
He
loves Disney? Then why am I wearing a Mickey Mouse sweater that’s your size, slick?”

“I…I may have taken him to Disneyland last year, and Disney World. And I may or may not go with my family a few times a year.”

Grace laughed as they took off all of the now wet shoes, hats, coats and gloves near the doorway. “I want to go someday.”

“You’ve never been to Disney, Gracie? You’d love it.”

“Busted. You’re such a fan, Matthews!”

“I can’t help it! I love cartoons! And I have an annual pass. You should go with me.” They moved to the kitchen where Evan took out two mugs. She leaned against the counter, her eyes fixed on him as he took out milk and began to make them hot chocolate.

He carried both drinks to his room where they sat on his bed. He turned on the television, but the sound barely came through as they sipped on their cocoa.

“You got more marshmallows,” Grace pouted, as she looked over to his cup.

“I didn’t. I gave us each the same amount, crybaby.”

“I didn’t see you count,” she defied.

“Have a little faith in me, babe. We each got eight marshmallows.”

“That was so much fun, Evan.”

“Wasn’t it?” They stared at each other for too long until he broke the silence. “Wanna talk to me about those dreams now, doll?”

She gnawed on her lip and played with the mug in her hands. “I keep having these nightmares about Nathan.”

A coldness snuck over her, but she tried to stay on track, to open up to him, to let him in her disturbing thoughts. “They stopped years ago, and when I began working on the memoir, they started resurfacing.”

He placed his mug on the table and reached for hers, doing the same. He then grabbed her hands. “What happens in them?”

“Sometimes they’re of me drowning or unable to wake up. I’m alive, but I can’t move, can’t talk, and I’m left for dead.” Her eyes stayed focused on her hands inside his. She had no idea where she got the strength to continue to talk, but she did. “Usually I’m holding Nathan in my arms, begging him not to leave me, and sometimes he opens his eyes and he’s okay. When I wake up and realize that’s not true? That’s the worst feeling in the world, and all I can do to make it a tiny bit better is to remember to hold onto that promise I made him.”

“What promise?”

“I can’t…” She shook her head, not ready to share. The lump in her throat was too large to ignore, and when she looked up at Evan and saw the sadness he held for her, a few tears trickled down her cheeks. “The fight started because of Kyle Erikson. He was a friend of Nathan’s, although they weren’t close. I started seeing him, despite my brother’s misgivings. He sensed something wrong about him that I didn’t pay attention to. I slept with Kyle and he turned. He spread rumors about me at school. I got bullied pretty badly for it. Lost all my friends.” She shrugged, but continued. “At this party, as Nathan and I passed by Kyle, he was telling a group of people how I was a dirty slut. My brother instantly began to defend me. It didn’t end well.”

Realization hit him as he exhaled. “That’s why you were so scared tonight at the bar.” She nodded. “I saw that look on your face and it just stopped me, Grace. God, sweetheart, I’m so sorry.”

He hugged her to him and she found comfort in his arms. A piece of her wall was slowly crumbling, and as vulnerable as it was, it felt necessary to tell him.

“The similarities freaked me out,” she confessed.

“What happened when they fought?”

“They were near this swimming pool. They both slipped in, but Nathan hit his head on the edge. Kyle and I pulled him out of the water. EMS came and I thought he’d be okay. They’d revive him by giving him CPR or that maybe he was just unconscious.”

“He was already gone.”

Tears welled as she tried to keep her voice steady. “My parents sat with me in the waiting room. They told me how disappointed they were with the way things were being handled with my drama. I don’t think they realized how serious it was. Then the doctor told us Nathan had broken his neck. I had to watch my parents take in the news. And I had to soak in the fact that it was because of me that their golden child was dead.”

“That wasn’t your fault, Grace. It was a horrible accident.” His hand reached forward, removing tears from her cheeks. “Look at me. I’m sure they don’t blame you.”

“Years of therapy helped me to think that. Sometimes it’s a little hard to believe it though.”

His hand ran through her hair and stopped at the base of her neck, squeezing and kneading it for her comfort. “And your parents just left?”

“They moved as soon as I graduated. We were all so…empty. I stopped caring about impressing them. They had wanted me to be like Nathan. He had a full scholarship to Columbia, and he wanted to go into law like my dad.”

“You’re an artistic soul, Gracie. You’re not like he was.”

She smiled and nodded. “I was always different, and by that point, I just don’t think they cared anymore about anything. I was always into the arts, writing, drawing, daydreaming. They didn’t think I could be an author or make a decent living at it.” She laughed away the stirring of more tears. “I guess they were partially right, but I got a good side job and I can take care of myself. I don’t need their help.”

“And the memoir? What’s going on with that?”

“I don’t even know. I thought it was a therapeutic thing, but it might be causing more damage. I’m not even sure I want it published.”

“Sure you do.”

“I just want to write what I love. It might not make me much money, but at least I’m happy doing it.”

He gave a gentle kiss over her lips and caressed her face. “You’re living the dream, Grace. That takes courage. Keep doing that because it’s beautiful.”

“Thank you, Evan.”

“Thanks for confiding in me, Gracie.”

They both moved back over the pillows and fell asleep in each other’s arms, Grace never feeling closer to anyone until then.