Broken Promises

Chapter II

The smell of pancakes flooded my nose as I opened my eyes to bright light streaming through my window. My mind cried out in pain as the blinding light caused my head to pound. Heavily.

Stumbling out of bed, I hastily shut the blinds and looked down. I was wearing an oversized grey t-shirt and pyjama shorts. When did I change last night? Come to think of it, how did I get home?

Just as my thoughts began racing, a deep voice caught my attention.

"You snore when you sleep," I turned around to find Vincent casually leaning in the doorway, with a smirk plastered on his face. My head spun as I vaguely recalled him carrying me home and changing my clothes. I felt a blush creep up my neck as I groaned and covered my face with my hands. This was so much more embarrassing than even the time a fish pulled me into the water when I was fishing. To be fair, it was a large fish.

Vincent chuckled at my obvious unease as he walked into my room and sat on my queen bed lazily. "Don't worry, there wasn't much to see anyway," he winked, his eyes trailing down from my head to my thighs.

My heart sank at his words and Blake's sentence from yesterday resurfaced. I just don't find you attractive. It seemed like all guys thought the same thing; that I wasn't pretty. Usually, I would've replied with an equally snide comeback, but my energy was drained in a way which left me silent.

I looked down at my hands and sighed. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was gonna go home, but you passed out and I was left on babysitting duty because Ryan had to stay and make sure Seb was alright," he huffed, clearly displeased with how the night turned out, "Ryan told me where you have an extra set of keys, so I carried you in, took a lucky guess at which room was yours - which wasn't hard since you have polaroids all over your walls - changed you, and then I slept on the couch over there," he pointed to the lavender couch piled with plush pillows and velvety blankets which sat in the opposite corner of my room.

"Thanks, but I don't need you to babysit me," I replied, walking to my ensuite to take a shower and wash yesterday's mess off me.

"I'm making pancakes," he called out after me. On second thought, maybe a babysitter wasn't quite so bad.

"I'll be down in a bit," I answered, glancing over my shoulder at the god-like man casually sitting on my bed and shut the bathroom door. If it wasn't for his cruel comments, I would be swooning at his feet. Too bad personality is just as important as looks.

I walked up to the large mirror above the sink and gasped in horror at my appearance. My blue eyes were smudged with mascara, my face as pale as a ghost, and my waist-length blonde hair stuck up in all directions. I was a walking mess. I turned on the shower and quickly undressed, my face heating as I realised Vincent had been doing the same thing last night. Recalling his comment, my shoulders drooped and I stared at my body in the mirror in dismay. I had always thought I was a normal weight, isn't it funny how only one comment can change that.

Sighing, I stepped into the steaming shower and let the hot water rinse off my worries and drown my sorrows. I relished in the blissful warmth of the water and let my thoughts wander. Tomorrow was a Monday and I was going to have to face Blake again at school along with all our friends.

My breath got caught in my throat as I realised they must've all known about him cheating and hadn't told me. We had been a group since middle school and along the way, Blake and I had become a couple. Now, I stressed as I knew people were going to choose sides. I breathed in the addicting smell of vanilla as I washed and gave my mind a rest from thinking.

When I had finished getting ready, I slid on my Uggs and made my way downstairs. The house was eerily quiet except for the low sound of cooking coming from the kitchen. My father had left on a work trip a few days ago and he wasn't coming back for another week which was both a blessing and a curse; I was safe from arguments, but confined to loneliness.