Page 4 of False Promises

Jeff turned to face me. “Always. You’re the one person I trust the most, Carter. Never doubt it. Whatever happens in the future, just know I’ll always be there for you. No matter what. Even if I’m deployed on the other side of the world.” He swallowed as if overwhelmed with emotions.

“Same, okay? Other than Dah, you’re my most favorite person. And if the girl doesn’t agree to go to prom with you, she doesn’t deserve you. You’re the greatest guy I know, and you deserve the best. Always.”

“You really think that?”

I bobbed my head before he circled his vehicle, and we both climbed in.

“Carter, I love you, man,” my big brother said after a while. “Never forget it.”

“I know. I love you too.”

* * *

Locked in my bedroom, I was giving the finishing touches to the song I’d been writing for Dahlia. After my conversation with Jeff two days ago, I had decided I should grow some balls too and ask my best friend out. I thought it sounded hypocritical to tell Jeff to act on his crush when I was the one who’d been avoiding mine for the last two years.

Earlier, I had made a reservation for us on Friday night at the restaurant we always went to when we had something to celebrate. Dahlia loved their risotto, and it made her smile when we dined there. As long as she kept smiling, my life would forever be fulfilled.

I heard her enter through the kitchen door minutes ago, and now she was talking with Mom downstairs.

Since I came back from school, I had been so busy with my plan and hadn’t done the math homework that was due tomorrow. Once I was satisfied with the song, I rushed downstairs with my schoolwork and settled on the kitchen counter. Dahlia and I exchanged a grin as her gaze took me in while I flipped through the textbook. “You aren’t done?” she asked.

“Nah. I had something to do first.”

My heart galloped wild in my chest at the idea tonight would be the night. In the garage, I had put lilacs in a vase and set candles on the table. Purple ones because that was Dahlia’s favorite color. I had learned the new song by heart. I would pretend I needed her input on it, and then I would open my heart to her. Tell her what she meant to me. How much I loved her. She wasn’t just my best friend, but my everything. She would be scared it would change our friendship. I knew her. But I would assure her that it wouldn’t change us. Only make us better. Unstoppable. She and I against this world. She would worry about the consequences if we didn’t work out. But little did she know I had never been so sure of something. Dahlia and I belonged together. We had fifteen years of unconditional friendship and silent communication to prove it.

She was helping Mom with dinner, and I was finishing my homework when Jeff joined us in the kitchen.

His face was ghostly white. And he looked like he was about to faint. I squinted, hoping he would talk to me. I guessed his asking that girl to prom didn’t go so well after all. For a moment, I felt bad for encouraging him, but I hadn’t known she would turn him down. I’d find a way to cheer him up. Tomorrow. Because tonight, I had plans.

He neared us and cleared his throat. I watched him, wishing he would look at me. “Hey, Dah. I’ve been wanting to ask you something for a while now.” She glanced at him. “Would you go to prom with me?”

Some sort of gasp passed my lips, and my eyes widened. Heat traveled to my face, and I dropped the pencil I was holding.

I blinked. This couldn’t be happening. I was dreaming. No, it was a nightmare. How could he? He must have known how I felt. I was pretty sure the entire world could tell I was in love with my best friend.

No doubt she would turn him down. Dahlia would never agree to go to prom with my brother. She was my girl. Always had been. Even when we were running around, the three of us as little kids, she was always drawn to me. From day one. She was my best friend. Jeff and she never hung out together. They could hold a conversation, but that was the extent of it. They had never been close. Never been more than friendly acquaintances.

Jeff was wrong. And now things would be awkward between all of us.

And it fucked with my own plans to ask Dahlia out tonight. My fists clenched at my sides.

Mom gasped, and she pivoted on her heels to watch the scene unfold between them.

I would have to comfort my brother and find a solution so my best friend wouldn’t avoid coming over from now on because Jeff made a fool of himself.

Dahlia lifted her eyes and looked at Jeff. Then her gaze drifted to me and stayed fixed.

Without her lips moving, I could hear all the words she didn’t speak out loud.

We fixated on each other for a long beat as time idled. And my heart fractured piece by piece, bleeding on the kitchen floor.

2

CARTER

A boulder of emotions forming in my throat clogged my airways, preventing oxygen from reaching my brain. This was a joke. This couldn’t be happening. The back of my eyes burned with unshed tears. Dahlia didn’t have to utter a word for me to understand what she was about to say.

How could I have been so clueless?