Broken Promises

Chapter 4

The next morning I woke up quite early. I joined Auntie Marissa for some breakfast, outside. The sun was shining so brightly that it felt like summer. I sat down at the garden table.

"Mornin' auntie," I smiled, looking down at the delicious-looking pancakes in front of me.

"Good morning!" She replied excitedly, "You're up early. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes. I haven't slept that well in ages." I lied.

"That's good. Want some orange juice?"

"Uh huh." I nodded, eating the pancakes.

"So any plans for today?" She asked as she poured me some juice.

"No, not really, I haven't really made any plans, to be honest."

"That's okay. I actually have to go to town to organise my fashion show. So if you want you can come with me and do some exploring."

"I'm not sure. I'm not really in the mood for that today. Maybe I should just stay here. Maybe go to the beach."

"No Cassie! I'm not letting you stay here and be miserable. You need to go out and have fun." She took a sip from her glass. Her sudden change of tone shocked me. 

I looked down. Fun? I almost forgot what that word meant. I haven't had any fun in ages.

"Come on, Cassie." She looked me in the eyes. "I know that you miss him. And that right now being happy is not easy. But you have to learn how to live on without him. I'm not telling you to forget about him. Definitely not! He's still with you... in your heart and all those beautiful memories that you have of him." She placed her hand on my cheek. I smiled, remembering my dad saying the exact same thing to me. "You're young and you have to have fun. You can't let this break you down."

As much as I hated to admit it, she was right. But the truth is, I was already broken down. Now it was up to me if I could build myself back up again. And the truth is I didn't think I could.

"Town sounds good," I smiled a little to make her happy.

"I was hoping you would say that. Now go and get dressed. You should have more than enough time to get ready. We're leaving just before 9."

I got up and walked back inside. I made my way to my room, made up my bed and then took a shower. Deep in thought, I stood there as the water rolled down my skin, giving me goosebumps. I stood there, wondering how my life could change so much almost in the blink of an eye. One minute being the joyful girl that loved every minute of life, the girl with hopes and dreams....and the next... a girl that dreaded every minute, hour, in this world. It's funny how one person, one stranger, could change your life with a word as simple as "Hello" and how they can leave you standing alone, in the dark, with a heart shattered into tiny pieces just by walking out of your life -whether by choice or unintentionally. At that moment, it doesn't matter to you if they actually wanted to leave you or if it was unplanned. All you see is that you're here and they're nowhere near. And no matter how hard you want them to come back... sometimes you just have to accept that they're gone. You're angry and you want to scream and shout but you know that there's no point. That nothing you could do or say would bring them back and you feel useless and so lonely. And a mixture of other emotions that you've never felt before.

I stepped out of the shower and wrapped myself in a soft, fluffy, warm towel. I walked over to the closet and sat down in front of the dressing table mirror, loosening the clip in my hair. The clip released my loose, chestnut curls. I took a hair brush and carefully, started brushing my hair before applying some makeup to cover my pale face. I looked around, to decide what to wear. I chose a simple, casual, white dress and I chose a belt to go with it. The shoes I wore were white heels and I took my nude coloured handbag that I've had for ages. Just as I was about to leave my room, I noticed the necklace glistening on the night stand. As I put the necklace on, I suddenly felt something. I looked up at the reflection in the mirror in front of me, only to find that he was there. He was standing behind me, smiling. As soon as I turned around he was gone again. I knew that it was just my mind playing tricks on me but the feeling of his presence made me happy and a bit heartbroken at the same time. I felt like I was going crazy but I didn't want my sanity back if it meant losing him again.