Broken Promises

Chapter 3

I slept through most of the flight and when I arrived in Mexico it was quite sunny and warm. Outside the airport, I could see Auntie Marissa waiting for me. She looked so elegant. Her long, golden hair was styled in large curls and her fringe fell into her chocolate brown eyes. Her lips were a dark red colour and her cheeks were slightly flushed. She was wearing a black, elegant, sleeveless dress with gorgeous black heels on a platform. When she noticed me, she smiled showing off her pearly white teeth.

"Cassie, look at you. You've changed so much since I last seen you." She hugged me.

"Well it's probably 'cause I was 13 since you last seen me." I laughed.

"You're almost an adult." She winked at me. "We should start making our way home."

We talked the whole way to her house. She wanted to know everything about my life but I was more fascinated by hers. I always wondered what it was like to live the glamorous life where you didn't have to look at the price tags. My auntie was very rich. Whenever she was 19, her father died and he gave her all his money. However, her father wasn't my dad's father. My dad and Marissa were step-siblings so he didn't get any money. Marissa moved to Mexico, went to college and invested in a few businesses. Now she's 26 and she's probably the richest woman in Mexico. But even though she has enough money to do nothing for the rest of her life she still works. She used her college education and became a fashion designer, and even had a few modelling jobs here and there. In Mexico, the name Marissa Valentino is well-known. She was given her mother's name because her father was married and he didn't want to accept her as his daughter at first. Marissa then changed Valentine to Valentino to make it more Hispanic sounding.

From what I saw from the car, Mexico seemed like a very beautiful country. We drove through the town and then through a forest. In about an hour we reached a large, iron gate. Marissa opened the window and pressed a few buttons on the small machine at the side of the of the gate. A few seconds later it started to open. We drove up a hill and we reached the beautiful house. To the right of the house was the sea and to the left, you could see a view of the city.

"So this is my humble home." She smiled.

"Humble," I repeated, staring in awe. The house was huge and very expensive looking. It was so beautiful. The walls were stone at the bottom and at the top they were snowy white. There was a lot of large windows and three large balconies. The house was surrounded by palm trees and flowers which made it even more beautiful.

"Anyway..." She giggled. " we should get your stuff to your room." She opened the trunk of her black Lexus and I reached for my suitcase. I then followed her in through the big glass doors. We came into the large hallway which had two sets of stairs coming from the sides.

"I should give you a small tour. Opposite us, is the kitchen."
I quietly followed her, observing all the beauty. The kitchen looked very modern. The cupboards were white and the desktop was a marble grey.

She walked over to the huge fridge and took out the apple juice. "Want some juice?"

I nodded. One of the walls was made up entirely of windows. Behind them was the back garden. The garden looked like something out of a magazine. There was a pool, an area to just relax and sunbathe, a swing and even a little pond. It looked like paradise and I couldn't wait to just chill by the pool with a good book.

We then headed to the next room. It was a living room. This room also had large windows. In the corner of the room was a large tv and opposite it was a corner sofa. On the wall was an electric fireplace and there were a few modern paintings. Next, we went to the dining room. This room was quite simple. In the middle of the room was a glass dining table surrounded by 6 chairs and by the wall was a large aquarium with tropical fish.

As I followed her upstairs I noticed that there was a beautiful crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling in the hallway. She opened the closest door in the hallway and gestured me to come in.

"This is my office. I spend most of my time here."

This room wasn't big but it wasn't small either. Opposite me was a window with a breathtaking view of the city and on the left was a white, wooden desk with a computer, a sewing machine and a few magazines. Behind the desk, on the wall, was a large display with photos and drawings of clothing. Hanging from the ceiling was another crystal chandelier and underneath it, on the wooden floor, was a white, fluffy rug. On the other side of the room, stood two white mannequins wearing gorgeous dresses. The first one was a sparkly, golden one. It was a tight, sleeveless, sexy dress with some cleavage but even though it was sexy, it was still classy. And the second one was a dark blue dress. It was more like a gown. Floor-length with a train, strapless with gems around the waist area. It was truly beautiful.

"Wow", I gasped. "You made these?"

"Yep." She giggled.

"They're amazing."

"Glad you like them. I picked out a few of my designs and put them in your closet." She smiled.

"Really? Oh, my god... Thank you." I hugged her, excitedly. We returned to the long hallway again.

"That's just where I keep all the fabric and stuff." She said opening a door, revealing a small, dark, messy room.

Next, she showed me the bathroom. It was just an ordinary bathroom with a sink, a shower area and, obviously, a toilet.

"That's the bathroom for the guests. Not for you, though." She winked walking over to a different door. "There's a special bathroom for the guests that stay over night. Now... Are you ready to see your room?" She asked, holding the door handle.

"Yes!" I replied excitedly.

She opened the door, revealing a huge room with white walls and a wooden floor. One of the walls was made up of windows and in the middle was a glass door that led to the balcony. The view from the windows was amazing. I could see the whole city and sun setting made it look so beautiful. On the left side of the room were two more windows and in between them, was a white, canopy, king-sized bed. It looked so comfy with all the pillows. On each side of the bed was a white nightstand with a small lamp. Opposite the bed was a white desk and above it was a plasma tv.

"Snowball! What are you doing here?" Marissa walked over to the bed and from underneath it, she pulled out a tiny, white, fluffy kitten with blue eyes.

"Oh my god!!! You have a cat?! It's so cute!!" I almost squealed in excitement. I loved animals. Especially cats and dogs.

Marissa laughed. "So I see that won't be a problem. I was worried in case you were allergic or something. Go check out your closet and your bathroom." She smiled pointing to the two doors that were on each side of the desk. I entered the one on the left first. It was a huge walk-in closet. Opposite me, were shelves with shoes. There many different types and colours. And on left and right were shelves and racks of clothes. It was like heaven. And in the middle of the room was a desk with a mirror. In the drawers of the desk, were different makeup products. There were all types of brands.

I stood in awe. "This is every girl's dream. Thank you so much, Auntie Marissa!" I ran over to hug her.

"You're welcome." She hugged me back.

I walked over to the other door and opened it. It was a huge bathroom with a vintage bathtub in the middle. On the side was a sink with a big mirror that was bordered by shelves filled with lotions, hair products, bath bombs and shower gels. There was also a corner shower and obviously, there was a toilet too. The whole house was just so perfect.

"Wow. This is truly amazing. Thank you so much for letting me stay with you. I really needed a distraction like this."

"No worries, Cassie. I know and you're always welcome to stay with me." She smiled. "Now make yourself at home. Mi casa, Su casa." She stroked Snowball and left me to unpack. "I'm going to bed now. Feel free to do some more exploring around the house if you want. I recommend a night swim. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, auntie," I replied.

I put all my stuff in place. It took some time and when I was done it was nearly midnight. I wasn't tired so I decided to actually go for the midnight swim Marissa recommended. I put on my bikini and headed downstairs. I opened the door to the garden. It was quite warm outside even though it was November and the middle of the night.

I sat at the side of the pool and slowly slid into it. This reminded me so much of last summer. Blake, his friend Daniel. Lucy and I, we went on a trip to California. We rented a pool house for the weekend. The last night of the trip were all outside just sitting by the pool, talking.

"We should come back to this place sometime," Blake said.

"We definitely should. This place is amazing." I smiled.

"Look at them two..." He pointed towards Lucy and Daniel. "They would make such a cute couple."

"I know right? Not as cute as us, though." I smirked.

He leant over and just as he was about to kiss me, I splashed some water on him, from the pool. I started laughing.

"Yes. We're definitely the cutest couple in the whole world." He picked me up and threw me into the pool, fully clothed. Lucy and Daniel both started laughing.

"Ha ha ...Very funny."

"You actually have no idea how funny it is!" He laughed. " Come here, I'll help you out." He reached out his hand. I grabbed it but instead of getting out, I used all my strength and I pulled him into the pool.

"Who's laughing now?" I splashed him with some more water.

"That's it, Cassie Rose Valentine!" He pulled closer to him and he gazed into my eyes. We just stood there for a short while before he moved in closer and gently started to kiss me.

"Right... We're going inside." Lucy giggled. "We'll order some pizza."

"Pizza sounds great!" I shouted still staring into Blake's eyes. I could hear Lucy and Daniel giggling before disappearing inside.

"I love you, Blake."

"I love you too, Cassie." He hugged me.

"This trip was amazing. We should do this again soon."

"Oh, we will! After we graduate we can travel the world. Christmas in Paris. New Years in New York."

"Oh my god that would be like a dream. But I don't care where we go, as long as you're there with me." I kissed him. "Now I hate to ruin the magic of the moment but if we don't hurry up and get out of the pool, Daniel and Lucy will eat our pizza."

He laughed. "You're right. Let's go."

That's one of my favourite memories of us. That moment, in the pool, I felt like it would last forever. It never crossed my mind that only a few months later, he would be gone. Leaving me alone and unintentionally breaking all the promises that he made. It hurts so much that he's gone and I just feel so lonely and empty without him. He wasn't supposed to die. He had his whole life ahead of him.

I got out of the pool and tiptoed into my room while drying myself with a towel. I changed into my pyjamas and I put on the necklace that Lauren gave me. I walked over to the window, still holding the pendant. The view of the city lights was just beautiful. The full moon shone brightly in the night sky, surrounded by stars.

Back in Roseville, whenever it was a full moon, Blake and I always used to drive up to a hill where you could see the whole city. We just sat on the hood of the car with the radio on. It was our little monthly tradition.

I went to lay down on the bed and turned to the side so that I could still watch the view. For a moment, I felt like he was there with me. Like he was laying behind me, holding me tightly around my waist. I felt his warm breath on my neck. It sent chills down my spine and in my stomach I felt butterflies. I didn't want to move because I knew that if I did it would all disappear. So I just lay there and within minutes, even seconds, I fell asleep.

How was I supposed to just move on with my life whenever I was constantly reminded of him, even in a different country. It's going to be a long battle and the thing is that I'm not sure if I'm strong enough to win.