His Broken Promise

Chapter 5

Greg and Lauren came back a few days after the incident. I stayed in my room, hoping no one would notice me. But of course, Greg came in. He apologized again, telling me how he was never going to hurt me again. He tried reassuring me of his love, but I was terrified. I was hoping this would just go away, but there was tension for a couple more weeks. I began to relax after I had some alone time. School helped take my mind off of it. Although the school year was going to end soon, I spent all my time studying. I tried everything to get my mind off of Greg. Eventually, it did.

​Greg spent a lot of alone time with me a couple months later. He taught me how to drive some more, he helped talk me through my problems, and he gave me more attention than anyone. Things were starting to go back to normal. I prayed for help in forgiving him since I had been taught at a young age that holding a grudge is not right. I tried to move on with my life and start fresh. I scheduled more youth activities with my friends which made me feel special again. I went to sleepovers with them and just relaxed. I felt safe with them. Sarah was really sweet to me when I'd hang out with them. We'd act like nerds and talk about British guys we thought were attractive. Rosie and Abby kept me laughing all the time. I brought my Nintendo DSi over and we'd act crazy until it got late in the night. Although Joey was Cameron's friend, his energy seemed to rub off on us. I was happy again. I didn't pay much attention to them individually, just as a group. I treated them all the same way.

​During the month of May, Greg had me spend the night alone quite a number of times. Most of the time, we'd practice on my driving. He let me drive to Sandi and Joe's house and around their neighborhood to get familiar with my area. It was about 30 minutes from Lauren's apartment so I had plenty of practice time. One night, he asked me to drive around in the neighborhood near his apartment complex. I obeyed and drove down the dark roads with the sound of the highway in the distance. Trees were hovering over the street as we drove along. We didn't talk much, but Greg turned on Blink 182 to ease the tension. I found the old playground and parked in the tiny lot. We switched spots like we usually did, but we sat in the car for quite some time. He asked me if I had a crush on anyone at my school and I hesitated as I told him of a boy in my math class. He pressed me. "This boy...have you thought about kissing him?" I shrugged. He frowned and said "Have you ever made out with anyone before?" I tensed up. I shook my head and saw him turn his body towards me. I turned my face from him. He cleared his throat. "Haha, you wanna hear something weird?" I kept still. "I just thought 'Hey, why don't I teach her', but I don't think you'd like that very much would you?" My face was hot. I stuttered in my speech as I said "W-well no, I-uh, don't think so, I mean, Lauren would get mad at you wouldn't she?" He shrugged. He put the car in reverse and drove to the apartment.

​June 2012. Cameron was going to camp soon and with school ending, I was excited for a week on my own. Rosie had mentioned a youth get-together over the summer called Summer Youth Series. I was every Tuesday until the end of August. Every week would be at a new church building. I was excited to go; Abby told me the singing was going to be really beautiful. On the 5th, my mom and Lauren drove me all the way to where it was being hosted, which was about 30 minutes away. I was eager to see how many people I'd recognize. When we finally arrived, I noticed Sandi and Joe had pulled up at the same time. I saw my friends pile out one by one and I smiled. I waved to them and Abby and Rosie came over to greet me. I hugged them both before entering the building. I was nervous, Ashton was with us and I wasn't sure how he'd react to the noise. I made sure Lauren and my mom had a seat before running off to be with the girls. I was incredibly shy and felt way out of my comfort zone. I saw Rosie and Sarah run see their friends from a distance. Abby stayed with me for a couple minutes longer until finding her friends. I inched my way out of the crowd and walked over to Lauren. I was thinking I'd sit with her and Ashton so I wouldn't be an annoyance to the girls. I heard someone call my name behind me but I didn't turn around. I felt a hand wrap around my arm and I froze. I turned to see Rosie pulling me towards the crowds. My nerves were high and I didn't know what was going to happen. I lost Sarah and Abby in the crowd but Rosie held on to my arm. "You're gonna sit with us, okay?" I nodded sheepishly as I followed her to an empty row. Before we got there, a bunch of teens ran ahead of us and filled up the pew. Rosie sighed and asked people to clear a spot. We were able to squeeze down the row until finding a clear area towards the middle. We sat down and I relaxed. I wasn't sure I'd be relaxed for long with all the people around, but I took advantage of my time. I turned around to look for Lauren and saw her a few rows back. She was trying to say something, but I couldn't make it out. I squinted to try and understand it better, but it was no use. She rolled her eyes and pointed to the end of my row. I looked past everyone to see a very familiar face sitting at the end. Alanna had made her way to the front after asking Lauren where I was. I tried to get her attention, but she was distracted. When the song leader led a few songs, I glanced over to see Alanna smiling at me. I smiled back and waved to her. The lesson was terrific, and the singing was beautiful. I was overjoyed with the good things that seemed to keep happening. Once we all stood for the closing prayer, everyone on my row joined hands. The person to my left felt just as awkward as I did, but with Rosie on my other side, it was normal. When we were dismissed to go eat, I let everyone else slip past me so I could see Alanna. She hugged me tightly and told me how happy she was to see me. I hadn't seen her in months, I was ecstatic to see her. We talked for a little bit and then I followed her out the front doors. There were people lined up to get food that had been prepared in the parking lot. Alanna and I both felt a little uneasy to be eating so we found a spot on the sidewalk and sat down. It wasn't long until our parents met up and sat with us. Lauren set Ashton's carrier beside me and went to go eat. I was so distracted by him, I didn't see Alanna get up and walk away. When some time had passed, I went looking for people to talk to and saw Abby and Rosie in parking lot with some of their friends. I debated on whether or not I should turn back or continue walking towards them. Abby saw me and called me over to her. I guess that answers that. I smiled and stood behind her while she laughed with her friends. I looked around the parking lot in case I had missed someone and saw Rosie taking pictures with some of her friends. I smiled and refocused on staying hidden. Abby put her arm around mine and pulled me in front of her. "Talk to people!" I chuckled and felt my face get flushed as I looked around at her friends. They greeted me and brought me into their conversation. As the night went on, I saw my mom walking to our car. That was my cue to leave apparently. I hugged my friends and waved to my new ones. Halfway to my car, Alanna yelled her goodbyes from a distance. As I turned to wave, I saw Abby and Rosie coming in my direction. I laughed and they walked with me to my car. "I hope you had a good time!" Rosie smiled and hugged me again. Abby agreed and hugged me too. "I'll see you tomorrow", she said. I smiled and jumped in my car. I watched my friends wave to me as we drove off. I rested my head against my seat and closed my eyes. Man, I love them. Lauren was in the front seat. "Hey Mom, can Greg and I spend the night?" My mom nodded. I didn't hear any more of their conversation the rest of the ride home. I plugged my ears with my music and closed my eyes. I let the world fly on by.