Broken Promises

Chapter Eighteen

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

I dreamed of something peaceful, happy. My parents and I were sitting at the dinner table, waiting for my brother to get home from football practice. It was nearing six o'clock, which meant he should be home in a few minutes. When he came stumbling into the front door, Oliver trailing behind him, I perked up. They were laughing, and Adam let out an ugly snort at something his best friend told them. My mom smiled and welcomed Oliver. My parents loved him as if he was their own son, too.

"I'm glad I made enough food. It's nice to see you again, Oliver."

She said that anytime he came over, which was often. But most of the time she wasn't home because of work. But every now and then – like once a month – she took off work. Today was one of those few days. Oliver gave my mom a soft smile of his own, and when his gaze shifted to me, he lifted his hand in a half wave. I didn't say anything, but looked down at my plate of food. It was little things like that that made my cheeks warm. But I shouldn't be feeling like this, because I had my first date with Brody next weekend.

Which I hadn't even told my parents about yet.

Mom walked into the kitchen to fix another plate of food for our uninvited guest. But whether he was invited or not, Oliver knew he was always welcomed to family dinners. He took the spot directly across from me, and he kicked my foot. I thought maybe that it was an accident, but when I looked up at him, my eyes wide, I saw the glint of amusement in those grey eyes. The blue specks in them stood out a little more than usual because of the light blue shirt he was wearing.

We combined hands, and my father was the one who spoke the prayer. When he was done and everyone said amen, we dug into our food. Mom had made pot roast with homemade buttermilk biscuits, literally one of my favorite things she ever cooked. My dad was a good cook, too. But it was rare when my mom cooked dinner, so whenever she did, I was always excited.

For a while, no words were spoken. We were all enjoying each other's presence in a comfortable silence. It wasn't until I was swallowing a bite of my biscuit when Adam said something that made me choke on my food. "Sierra has a date next Saturday." He wiggled his eyebrows at me, and I sent him a glare.

My mom widened her eyes in surprise. "You do, Hun? Why didn't you tell me?" She clapped her hands in excitement. "My baby girl has her very fist date? With a boy?"

My cheeks heated up in embarrassment, and I tried to hide my face with my hair. "It's no big deal."

My brother laughed and nudged me in the shoulder. "No big deal? For a freshman, he is one of the popular kids at school."

My mother seemed to swoon at this. She looked at my dad with a huge smile, and he laughed. "Baby, our little girl has a date. I'm honestly so surprised." This made me frown. What did she mean by that? She must have saw the hurt on my face, because she immediately fixed what she said. "It's nothing bad, honey. You were always just so quiet when it came to school. And even at home. The total opposite of your brother."

Adam grinned and ruffled my hair. I scowled at him, and then glanced at Oliver. He seemed to be pondering the conversation we were having, but he never gave him opinion on the matter. He just ate his food and listened, and I wished I knew what was going on in that head of his. For as long as I knew him, I was never able to read him. Most people were like open books to me, but Oliver? He had always been a mystery to me.

But it shouldn't matter what he thought. He was my brother's best friend, and I knew that. I knew that was what he saw me as. Nothing more. Which was okay with me. Besides, I had a date with Brody freaking Anderson. The most popular guy in the ninth-grade class. Football team. Future golden boy whenever he became a senior. My heart fluttered at the thought of us actually becoming something serious. Little did I know, it wasn't going to last long.