Promise Me Always Published by Kari March Copyright © 2014 by Kari March This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and you did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for supporting and respecting the hard work of this author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. The author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark owners of various products referenced in the work of fiction. Cover Designed by K23 Design Edited by Cara Arthur and Jaime Witkamp Content Editors - Cara Arthur and Megan Noelle Interior Design by Angela McLaurin, Fictional Formats Prologue—Four years ago… Chapter 1—Here we go again… Chapter 2—Forever Friends… Chapter 3—Complications… Chapter 4—Confusion… Chapter 5—Interrupted… Chapter 6—It’s Not Like That… Chapter 7—Another Side… Chapter 8—Fall For You… Chapter 9—Claim Me… Chapter 10—All The Way… Chapter 11—Crossing Over… Chapter 12—None of Your Business… Chapter 13—Pushing her Away… Chapter 14—Cutting In… Chapter 15—Get it Over With… Chapter 16—What the Hell is Wrong With You… Chapter 17—Just Walk Away… Chapter 18—Time to Forget… Chapter 19—Awkward… Chapter 20—I Need a Hero… Chapter 21—It’s All My Fault… Chapter 22—Never Going to Change… Chapter 23—Pulling Away… Chapter 24—Whatever it takes… Chapter 25—Perfect… Chapter 26—Fireworks… Chapter 27—Nervous Wreck… Chapter 28—Surprise… Chapter 29—Always and Forever… Epilogue—Present Day… Acknowledgements This book is dedicated to my husband. Thanks for inspiring me every day. Without you, this story would have never been possible. I love you. You’re worthless. A fucking accident. You don’t deserve shit. Those words had been resounding in my head my whole life and, right now, they were blaring louder than ever. She was gone and I knew why. She finally saw the truth, she finally realized she was too good for me and that’s why she left. He was right—I wasn’t good enough. I never would be. “Blake, hand me the crescent wrench, would ya?” Devin asked from under the hood of the Bronco, snapping me from my thoughts. I usually hated hanging out with my brother when he worked on cars, but anything was better than sitting at home alone. At least here I could try to get my mind off of the destruction that was my life. I handed Dev the wrench and then took a seat in the corner of the garage, popping open my third beer of the day. Devin usually hated it when I drank—he was such a hypocrite. He was drunk every weekend in high school, yet had the nerve to get mad at me when I had one lousy beer. Today, he was making an exception. It was my first weekend without her and he knew I was devastated. “How’s she coming?” Cole asked as he and Shane entered the garage. Cole was one of Devin’s best friends. The carburetor on his Ford Bronco needed to be replaced and Cole didn’t let anyone, but my brother, touch his baby. Shane was Cole’s neighbor and was always around. He went to school with me but was a senior this year instead of a junior. “Almost finished, man. She should be good as new once I’m done,” Devin replied, his head still buried in the engine. “Thanks, Dev,” Cole said as he took a seat next to me. “So, Blake, how are you holding up?” He asked, slapping me on the back. I didn’t even know how to answer him. I was fucking falling apart, but there was no way I was telling him that. I just shrugged my shoulders and tossed back a large swig of beer. Maybe if I drink enough, it will numb the pain. “That bad, huh?” He said as he gave me a pathetic look. “Don’t sweat it, man. She’s obviously psycho—what kind of person does something like that, anyway?” Shane started to laugh and, for a moment, all I wanted to do was kick his ass. “You just need to get drunk¸ find some hot piece of ass, and forget about her,” he said nonchalantly from the corner. If only it were that easy. I didn’t know if I would ever be able to forget about her, but getting drunk seemed like the perfect place to start. “Step one – check,” I said, as I held my beer can up in the air. “And it looks like step two just arrived.” I heard Devin say with a chuckle, nodding his head down the driveway. “Looks like Palmer brought that hot piece of ass with her.” “Holy shit! I call dibs,” Shane said, a little too eagerly. All Shane thought about was sex. He was hornier than Devin. The only difference was that Devin had standards. Shane would screw anything, as long as it was female. “Hell, that isn’t a piece of ass. That’s Palmer’s little sister!” Cole exclaimed as he stood up. Before he headed their way, he added quietly, “I’m not kidding. She’s off limits. Palmer will kill you if you even look at her wrong and then she’ll kill me for being friends with you.” I still hadn’t even seen the girl they were talking about, not that it mattered. The way I was feeling, a fucking Victoria’s Secret model could be walking up the driveway and I wouldn’t care. There was only one face I wanted to see and I knew whoever was walking up the driveway—it wasn’t her. I watched as Cole came back into the garage. Palmer was right next to him, his arm draped around her shoulders. “Hey guys!” Palmer said cheerfully. “Do any of you know my sister?” Devin finally took his head out of the Bronco and looked up to where I’m assuming Palmer’s sister was standing. He looked like a total dumbass, standing there and staring at her with a stupid smile on his face. I looked over at Shane and he was watching her with the same dopy smile as my brother. “No, we don’t,” Devin said, taking a step closer and wiping his hands off on a towel. “And it’s a damn shame. Where have you been hiding her, Palmer?” Shane said, sounding like a complete moron. He was on his feet in no time, looking like he had just won the lottery. I couldn’t believe them. They were acting like she was a fucking supermodel or some shit. Not fucking caring who her sister was, I dropped my head and looked at the beer can in my hands. I pulled back and forth on the tab until it broke off, furiously flicking it towards the trash can and missing it entirely. With a heavy sigh, I got up and headed over to pick it up. “Well, Tess, this is Devin, Shane and that angry fella in the back there– that’s Blake. Guys, this is Tessa,” Palmer announced. Not wanting to be a complete jackass, I threw the tab in the trash and turned to say hello. I suddenly understood why Devin and Shane were staring like idiots. All the air left my lungs at the sight of her. She was glowing brighter than the sun in her yellow dress and light pouring in from behind her made her look like an angel. The corners of my mouth turned upward and I realized I was gazing at her like a goddamn fool as well. Shit, she probably thinks we’re all insane. I tried to look away, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t tell what it was, but there was something special about her. I had never seen anything so beautiful in all my life and then she smiled at me… The dark roadway in front of me was blurring through my tears. I glanced at the clock—11:32pm. I could not believe this was happening. Again. Why didn’t I just stay away from him the first time? I reached for my phone and tried calling my sister for a third time, the tears continuing to flow down my cheeks. Damn! I tossed my phone into the cup holder as her voicemail picked up. What the hell was she doing? Two red lights later, I heard a buzzing noise and held my breath as my phone jiggled beside me. That better be Palmer! I looked at the screen and saw a picture of Jared blowing me a kiss. Fuck! What the hell could he possibly have to say to me after what I just caught him doing?! After what I just witnessed, I had nothing to say to him. A few minutes later my phone buzzed again. This time, it was a text from Jared. Baby I really need to talk 2 u. Plz. No, thanks. I switched my phone off vibrate so I would hear it when my sister finally called me back. I threw it down on my passenger seat and just started sobbing again. How could I be so stupid? I wiped the tears from my eyes with the back of my hand as I replayed his words from the first time this happened. “I’m sorry, baby! I will never do it again!” he had pleaded with me. “It means nothing, Tess! Nothing! I was just drunk! That’s all, baby.” I never should have taken him back after that. Even though I was really hesitant, he begged, pleaded, brought me flowers – the whole shebang—for over three months and I finally broke down. He was really convincing; I figured any guy that asked for forgiveness for that long really must be sorry.