Broken Promises (Port-Cartier #1)

1. Lucy

lucy

. . .

Luzzini’s: Are you up for some fun time later?

The words swirled in front of my eyes, followed with a winky smile face that only stabbed at my heart further.

I blinked once as if the motion would magically make the words disappear, but they remained on my boyfriend’s phone screen. My chest tightened as I dissected every letter in a simple text message.

“Jason, what’s this?” I stammered. It felt like the phone was somehow contagious with his betrayal, yet I couldn’t force myself to let go of it. My hands shook as I climbed out of bed and approached the door to our bathroom. “Jason!”

“What’s what, babe?” Jason called from the shower. He had just finished his workout, and we were meant to head out for dinner together. Now, it felt like a cold water had been poured over me.

“You got a message from Luzzini’s,” I said. Luzzini’s was a nearby Italian restaurant from which we often ordered pizza. There was no way they were asking him if he wanted to have some fun later. No, he was hiding someone’s number from me.

The moment the words left my lips, Jason rushed outside. He’d barely had time to properly wrap a towel around his waist. He grabbed the smallest one, which looked ridiculous around his muscular frame, as he tried to keep himself covered, before reaching for his phone. I stepped back, still holding the device in my hand.

“Since when did they start texting you to ask if you want to have some fun later?” I asked. Just saying it out loud made me sick to my stomach. Bile rose to my throat, threatening to spill at any point now.

This can’t be happening.

“Luce, I can explain…” His face was pleading as he took another step toward me.

“Go ahead. Explain.”

His mouth opened and then closed again. For once, Jason was speechless as I stared at all 6’5” of him. His blue eyes were frantic, and strands of still-soaked blonde hair scattered over his forehead. The silence that followed was louder than anything he could have said.

“Who is she?”

“Look, I?—”

“Who is she?!” I snapped. The back of my eyes burned, but I desperately tried to keep it under control. The last thing I wanted was to break into tears right now. He didn’t deserve it. He didn’t deserve me.

“I didn’t want you to find out like this. There’s really no easy way to say this, I suppose, but I want you to know that I didn’t plan on anything like this happening. It just…did. You were so busy all the time, and we’ve barely been spending any time together. And I guess I’ve just…needed someone by my side. I needed to feel loved and appreciated.” He swallowed, his entire body tense as he gathered the courage to say the words out loud. “What I’m trying to say is…I met someone else.” He leaned against the bathroom counter, still trying to hold up the towel wrapped around him.

The urge to scream and cry was there, but neither of those things happened. My heart shattered into a million pieces, yet I remained surprisingly calm. I didn’t know how I was doing it—all I knew was that I was taking the news well…all things considered. It seemed like disassociation went a long way. “And when were you planning to tell me any of this? How long has this been going on?”

He stayed silent, telling me it was longer than expected. I wasn’t in the mood to play around. I needed to know how badly he had messed up so I could go through with damage control. “How long?” I repeated myself.

Silence.

“How long!?”

He flinched as I snapped, finally daring to meet my eyes again. “Jesus. I’ve been seeing her for six months! I didn’t mean to; it just…happened. I was lonely, and she was there, and I…what are you doing?” he asked as I dashed out of the bathroom and into the bedroom.

“If you’re lonely, you get a cat, Jason. You don’t find someone else to stick your dick in,” I told him, opening the closet we shared and nearly tearing the door out of its hinges. He followed closely behind, watching me grab the suitcase and pull it out.

“Please, can we talk about this? I can’t?—”

“I never would have cheated on you!” I snap at him, opening my underwear drawer and tossing a few panties into the suitcase. For all I knew, I was packing six pairs of underwear and nothing else. I just needed to get out of here. “This doesn’t need to be said, but we’re done. We’re so fucking done ,” I swore. The tears threatened to spill down my cheeks at any point, so I tried to focus on the task ahead. I needed to pack my things as soon as possible.

I quickly rummaged through my shelves next, grabbing only the most necessary items and throwing them in my suitcase. I’d come back for the rest of my things later—for now; I just wanted to be able to get through the next day or two.

Jason grasped my arm, turning me around so I’d face him. I couldn’t even look at him.

“Babe, please, let’s just talk about this. Don’t make any rash decisions,” he said softly. “Please, let’s just talk all of this through. Let me explain myself.”

“No. There’s nothing to explain. Nothing you say is going to change my mind.” My hands trembled more. I could barely grab the items I wanted to put in my suitcase. “You don’t cheat on someone you love.”

“Luce…”

“Don’t!” I snapped at him. “Don’t call me that. You don’t get to call me that after what you’ve done.” I zipped my suitcase up and quickly moved into the living room to grab my purse. I was on the verge of tears; I just needed to make it out before I let it happen. I’d be damned if I let him see me crying because of him. “I’ll be back to pack up the rest of my stuff at some point.”

A few more steps, and I was finally out of the door, slamming it shut behind me. Thankfully, he didn’t try to follow me as I quickly made it to the car. I drew in a shaky breath as I popped the trunk open and put my suitcase in, not wasting a second before hopping in the driver’s seat.

The moment I started the car, tears flooded my cheeks. My chest was tight, to the point where it felt like I couldn’t breathe—to the point where it felt like I’d suffocate from this pain. This wasn’t how things were meant to go. We built a life together, and our future was all planned out. Hell, we were planning to get a dog at some point soon. Who the hell cheated on the person they were planning to have a dog with?

Jason Blackwell, that was who.

Sure, I wasn’t perfect, but neither was he. I had been busy with teaching lately, but that didn’t give him a pass to cheat on me because he was lonely. Being away from home so much sucked for me too—and somehow, I managed to refrain from finding someone else…someone more convenient.

A small sob left my lips as I tried to process everything that had happened in the past twenty minutes. I mean, I did decide I was leaving him the moment he admitted that he cheated with no proper plan.

I’d been through a breakup that broke me before, and I wasn’t about to let myself go through the same thing again. Pulling up to the side of the road, I grabbed my phone and set a timer for five minutes.

Five minutes.

That was all I’d give myself today to cry and sob before I figured out my next move and found a way to move on. I watched as the clock started ticking down, second by second, counting down the time to the definite end of my relationship. I slammed my hand against the steering wheel, feeling more tears make their way down my cheeks.

How could this be happening to me?

I thought he was the one.

And that’s what you get for opening your heart up to someone again, I cursed myself, my throat closing up. Every cell in my body hurt from not only the betrayal but also the grief of a life lost and left behind.

More sobs made it past my lips—the ugly ones that you can’t control and that leave you heaving for air.

The five minutes I had given myself seemed to drag on forever, to the point where it didn’t feel like I had any more tears left. When the last few seconds ticked away, I had nothing but soft sniffles left to give.

When my timer finally did buzz, I knew I needed to figure out where I was going to go. I could book a hotel room for the night, but the thought of being alone terrified me.

I needed to be not alone, at least not tonight. So, I called the only person I could count on right now.

I thought my fingers would have stopped shaking as I dialed my best friend, Sailor, but apparently not.

Sailor and I met during freshmen orientation and have been inseparable ever since. After our first year of college, we moved into an apartment and shared one until a year ago when Jason asked me to move in with him. Looking back, Sailor had been against it all along. And she was right. It was the biggest mistake of my life.

But still, I knew she’d have my back, no matter what, and she’d be able to be there for me. She worked from home for a graphic design company, so at least I wouldn’t be left alone right now.

Sailor answered on the second ring, “What’s up, girly-pop?”

“Hey.” I suppressed another sob. “How would you feel about a roommate for a few weeks?”

Sailor sucked in a breath. She knew me better than I knew myself, so it wasn’t surprising that she could instantly tell something was wrong. “What happened?”

“Let’s just say that I wasn’t the only person Jason was dating. I packed up my things and left—well, some of my things, anyway. I still need to go back and pick up everything I left behind, but I just…I couldn’t stay there for a moment longer. I needed to get out. I didn’t have a plan?—”

“You don’t even need to ask. Don’t be ridiculous. And that asshole…he better pray I don’t walk into him because there will be a price to pay. I can’t believe it. The audacity this man has! Well, screw him! You’re coming back home. Yes, of course, you can stay. You’re welcome for as long as you need. I’ll order pizza, and we can make margaritas. Then we can make voodoo dolls of Jason and stab his stupid face.”

A small chuckle escaped my lips. “God, I love you.”

“Of course you do. Now get your ass over here. And don’t ever ask me a stupid question like that again. You should’ve just come right to my door. My home is yours, too. It always will be.”

I sniffled, relieved that I had somewhat of a plan. Not that I doubted her. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

An hour later, I recounted the whole incident with Jason to Sailor, along with a pizza and several margaritas as she promised. I was on her cream sofa, surrounded by dozens of pillows, as she sat on the floor beside me, snagging another slice of pizza.

“You can’t go back there under any circumstances. I’m more than happy to go and pick up your things if you need me to,” she said, brushing her blonde hair behind her shoulders. Her brown eyes remained glued to me. “You’re welcome to stay here for as long as you’d like…but do you know what’s your move now?”

“Thank you,” I said softly, leaning back against the fluffy sofa. “I appreciate you letting me stay here. I’m going to start looking for a new place soon. Lucky for me, it’s summer break from teaching, so that’s one less headache.” I sighed. “And, of course, I have to break the news to my mom.”

Sailor munched on her pizza. “Oh, Eve’s going to be fine with it. Don’t you worry.” She and my mom were on a first-name basis. They met a few times during the time we shared an apartment and have adored each other ever since. My mom considered Sailor her second daughter.

“I’m not too worried about that. My mom’s always been cool with my choices. It’s just…” I trailed off. “I think she may push for me to move back home.”

“Well….” Sailor dragged the word out. “You know, that might not be the worst idea,” she suggested between bites. “I mean, you do need a fresh start, and you need to be as far from that asshole as possible.”

“What, moving?” I raised my eyebrow. “Love you too, babe.”

Sailor laughed. “You know I love you, and you know I’d love nothing more than for you to spend the rest of your life by my side…but maybe taking a little vacation to see your mom could be the right way to go about it. Clear your mind, get out of the city for a bit…” She leaned up to nudge me. “You’ll have fun.”

“I don’t know,” I debated. “It’s been a decade since I last visited. Not since high school graduation. Mom’s always been the one hopping on planes to come here.” And for a good reason. The heartbreak that I endured back then left me scarred for life.

“I get it, but a change of scenery might do wonders for you. Just think about it,” she urged, her eyes reflecting genuine concern. And her words were getting through to me. Maybe I was crazy, but for once, I was actually considering it.

“I’ll think about it,” I conceded. The idea of escaping the city, even if I would inevitably run into my now ex-boyfriend, sounded good right now. Out of the two, Luke was currently the lesser evil.