Promise Me Always Read online

  Promise Me Always

  B.K Leigh

  Copyright

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright © 2018 B.K Leigh. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means.

  ISBN-10: 1727492269

  ISBN-13: 978-1727492262

  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Copyright

  DEDICATION

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Epilogue

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  About The Author

  Dedication

  For Steve, whose love and support is never ending

  Prologue

  Raegan

  I manage to escape through the kitchen door unseen and unscathed, running to my secret spot hidden just behind the big oak in the backyard. My erratic breathing seems to slow down as soon as my back hits the wooden ruts of the old fence that cage me in. In the distance I can hear mamma’s cries and Kurt’s screams.

  I clutch my small hand against my chest as the flood gates open and tears spill over like a broken dam. It hurt so bad I started seeing spots. My vision started to slowly fade. I had no doubt I was only seconds away from passing out, but mamma showed up bringing with her the surprise that caused Kurt to stop.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” she screamed as Kurt pressed my forearm against the flaming hot stove burner. The smell of burnt skin made my stomach twist in knots. I tried like hell not to show any emotion but that only seemed to make it worse.

  “The fuck does it look like Ivy teaching your fucking kid here a goddamn lesson.” In annoyance he rips my arm away from the burner and throws me to the floor.

  “Fuck Kurt did you not fucking realize people will be able to fucking see that shit? What the hell did she even do?” she asks him, only glancing down at me briefly. I beg her with my eyes to take my side, to help me for just this once. But I know this will never happened, she fell under Kurt’s spell the moment they met. It started small with name calling, a shove here and there and my mamma would just call me clumsy and move on. As Kurt’s punishments got worse mamma seemed to always turn a blind eye, pretending not to notice the damage he was causing me.

  “The dumb little bitch doesn’t fucking understand the meaning of cleaning. I came downstairs this morning to a fucking sink full of dishes. How many goddamn times do I have to fucking tell her to clean her shit up?” he waves an arm in my direction and continues to yell at my mamma. I take that time to make my escape, knowing it’s better to disappear quickly then to stick around and see what else will happen.

  “What do you expect Kurt she’s only ten goddam years old, she’s not some fucking house maid.” I hear my mammar yell as I slip through the broken screen door.

  So now as I sit in my favorite hideout, with the morning air encompassing me I’m able to finally calm down. The early morning birds sing a song that drown out my quiet sniffles. As my bad arm rest against the cotton of my yellow T-shirt the other starts pulling blades of grass and dandelions out of the ground. I keep chanting ‘Mamma had a baby and her head popped off’ every time I pop the bud off of the stem. “Hey! What are you doing?” a small voice says as a piece of the fence moves out of place. I jump back in surprise, completely startled by the small boy who slides his body between the fence boards and plops down in front of me. “Hello?” he waves a hand in front of me trying to gain my attention. “Are you deaf or something?” his eye brows pinch together as he studies me from head to toe.

  Finally finding my voice I answer him. “No, I’m not deaf!” I say as I toss a blade of grass onto his knee. I finally allow myself to study him. His hair is chocolate colored and shaggy, reaching all the way down to his ears and neck and curling up around the edges. His eyes shine like bright green emeralds. He looks to be around my age, his body still that of a little boy, he barley fills out the black cotton T-shirt that hangs off his shoulders.

  “I’m Knox Caedance Blackburn,” he says jabbing a thumb against his chest. “I’m Eleven, I live right over there, what’s your name?” he asks as he leans against the oak tree directly in front of me. He impatiently waits for me to answer.

  “Raegan.” I say, avoiding his penetrating eyes.

  “What about the rest of it?” he asks and it confuses me. I pinch my eyebrows together in silent question and encourage him to elaborate. “My mom says when you meet someone new you’re supposed to tell them your name and shake hands, we can’t shake hands unless I know your whole name. And then we can even be friends.” I liked the idea of having a friend, but it would have to stay secret. Kurt would do anything to destroy it.

  “Fine, my name is Raegan Allen Taylor. My mamma gave me my dad’s name, said it makes me strong. And I’m ten and a half.” I look up as Knox reaches his tiny hand out in my direction, patiently waiting for me to take it. I don’t hesitate. I wrap my tiny hand around his and shake three times and a huge smile spreads across my face.

  “See now we can be friends, best friends!” we sit together for hours and talk. Well he talks and I mostly listen. He tells me about his older brother, who went into the military, and how he wants to be just like him when he grows up. How his mom is making blueberry pie, my favorite for lunch. My stomach growls at the mere mention of food.

  “Hey, what happened to your arm?” I let my arm down for a minute and forgot he’d be able to see. I try to hide it in shame, but he grabs hold of it and holds it out for him to inspect. I watch in horror as his face contorts with a flurry of mixed emotions, stopping on anger. “Who did this to you Rae?” his voice sounds angry and filled with hatred but my heart still seems to flutter at my new nickname.

  “No one, it’s nothing.” I try to pull it out of his grasp but he’s relentless and it hurts. For someone so small he sure is strong. His grip is firm and resilient but soft and gentle at the same time.

  “Tell me.” he demands. What a complete three sixty e’s done. The boy he is right now is so much different from the one I met hours ago. He’s protective and dangerous, but somehow I still feel comfortable in his grasp… safe.

  “I told you Knox it’s nothing.” I feel the faint touch of his fingertips trace around the edge of the large piece of burned flesh.

  “This is not nothing Rae, what happened?” maybe it’s his voice, the way it soothes me, wraps me up like a warm blanket and smothers me in comfort. But somehow he manages to get it out of me.

  “It was my fault anyway,” his eyes darken as I continue. “I forgot to clean up the kitchen before bed last night and this was my punishment.” I look away embarrassed to see the pity etched across his facial features.

  “Your mom did this to you?” he seethes in question.

  “No, my mamma never hurts me, it was her husband Kurt. He just doesn’t like me very much.” I shrug my shoulders, pretending it doesn’t bother me.

  “How can anyone not like you?” he asks in wonder. I look up at him and his
eyes seem to soften into brilliant pools of emeralds as they connect with mine. I shrug my shoulders, not exactly sure on how I should react to his question. It seemed as though he said it to himself, but out loud. “We have to do something about it.”

  “What can we do Knox? There’s nothing that can be done.” I sound defeated. “If I tell anyone they’ll send me away from my momma, put me in some sort of home.” I’ve heard the grotesque stories Kurt threatens me with on the daily.

  “Let’s make a pact.” He says with conviction.

  “Like a pinkie swear?” I ask. I’ve never made a pact before.

  “Yeah exactly like that, but a pact is ten times more sacred then a pinkie swear.” I watch him intently as he speaks.

  “What should it be about?” I ask in excitement.

  “Ok so I say my half first and you say yours next, then we spit on it, but we can never ever break it.” I shake my head in agreement and wait for him to say his half of the pact. “I Knox Caedance Blackburn promise to always be your best friend, to meet you in this spot every day.” He pauses as he thinks of more to say and I giggle. “And to always protect you, no matter what from anything and anyone. I won’t let anyone hurt you ever Raegan Allen Taylor.” The last part is said with seriousness in his voice I’ve never even heard before. He speaks with conviction and certainty, but I know in my heart nothing can protect me from Kurt’s wrath.

  “Your turn.” His voice brings me back, and I think of my half of the pact. He nudges me with his elbow.

  “I Raegan Allen Taylor promise to be the best friend you ever had, to always meet you in this spot every day, and to always protect you from anything and everyone.” My voice goes soft towards the end, barely audible but loud enough he can still hear me. It feels weird to make a promise to someone I’ve only just met, but I mean every word of it right down to my very core.

  I watch him spit into his hand and stick it out in my direction. I do the same, take his hand in mine and bind our lives together for good. Because that’s exactly what that pact did. It took two halves of a whole and incessantly bound us together.

  Forever.

  That was the best thing that I’ve ever done. And Knox soon became the most important person in my small world. We did anything and everything together. He took my world and turned it upside down for the better. It was amazing. I was on a permanent high. Not even Kurt couldn’t bring me down from. Until Knox left. Leaving my heart to die a slow and painful death.

  Chapter 1

  Raegan

  (Eight Years Later)

  Today’s the first day back from winter break. The kids around me stand in the halls boasting about all the gifts they were lavished with and vacations they went on. I pull on the fraying end of my knit purple sweater as I walk past a group of girls. They snicker and sneer as I head to my math class. The school year is half way over. Five more months and I’ll finally be free. Free of this god forsaken town and all of the people in it.

  I settle into the only open desk that just so happens to be in the middle of Mr. Peters classroom and wait for him to start attendance. A few minutes later I’m almost half asleep as he drones on and on about the start of the new semester when a light knock sounds at the door.

  “Mr. Peters? I have a new student joining your class.” The woman moves aside and in walks a boy, more like a man. His brown hair is mussed as if he’s just walked out of bed and curls in around his small round ears. The T-shirt he’s wearing stretches tightly across his large chest, and practically sticks to his enormous biceps like a second skin. An intricate black tattoo sticks out beneath the sleeve of his left bicep traveling all the way down to his thick forearm. His tall six foot something frame almost reaches the top of the doorframe. I take in his face and can’t help but feel like I know him. His chiseled strong jaw outlines his high cheek bones. His eyes are what strike me the most. Dark pools of liquid emerald encompass his irises, reminding me of a boy I used to know.

  “Oh right, Mr. Blackburn.” He says as he scans the sheet the woman handed him, making my heart stop completely. “Please take a seat. I was just going over the itinerary for the next few months.” I watch as the boy searches for a seat and completely freeze when his eyes zero in on mine. I feel the life get sucked out of me as I stare into the eyes of the boy I used to know and love. Knox. His eyebrow lifts in question as he walks right past me to the last empty seat.

  When he finally walks past I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. Is this even real? Did Knox Blackburn really just walk by me? When he left it broke me, tore me apart and gave me nothing left to hold onto. I was lost, and torn, a fraction of the little girl I was when he first found me. The pact we made was shredded to pieces the moment I realized he wasn’t coming back. And now some eight years later he just appears out of nowhere? The whole length of class I do nothing but think about him. The memories we shared flood my mind, the good the bad and the ugly.

  When the bell rings it brings me back to the here and now. In a hurry I pack up my note book and practically run out of the classroom.

  “Raegan!” a deep masculine voice yells. I don’t have to look back to know who it belongs to. “Raegan wait! Please!” his voice grows closer, causing me to pick up my speed. I round a corner just as a large hand snakes out and grabs my elbow. His large frame cages me in against the wall, causing me to feel claustrophobic, my heart rate speeds up. “Raegan Allen Taylor.” He whispers as if he can’t believe it’s actually me.

  “Knox Blackburn.” I say softly as I take in his manly features. He’s changed completely from the eleven year old boy I used to love. He’s bigger, stronger, and manly. His eyes are stormy, like he’s fighting a battle within himself. Caught in the trap of his eyes I forget for a moment I’m angry, angry at this beautiful man for leaving me, when he swore to always protect me. I know we were only kids but when you have little to hold onto in the first place you cling to any hopeful thing.

  “Please just let me go.” I look away not wanting to make eye contact with him. “I have to get to class.”

  “What happened to you Rae?” he says as he tries and fails to get me to look at him. I can’t take this right now. It all feels like too much especially when I thought I’d never see him again.

  “What happened to me?” I scoff. “You left me!” I practically scream. “You left me with them, and I needed you!” I push against his chest taking this moment to make my escape. In all reality I know there’s nothing he could have actually done but it still hurts anyway. I hurry down the stairs but even the loud thud of my footsteps can’t drown out his voice.

  “I had no choice Raegan!” he yells. “This isn’t over!” his threat sends chills down my spine, rippling the blood in my veins with unwanted trepidation.

  ∞∞∞

  I manage to make it through my next classes avoiding him completely. Getting to lunch unnoticed will be the hardest part. All seniors share the same lunch, which means Knox will no doubt be there. Not wanting to cause any sort of scene I walk past the lunch room doors and turn the corner, shrieking in surprise when I come in contact with a hard wall of muscle.

  “Rae?” Knox says from above me. I land on the floor with a hard thud on my ass. He sticks his large hand out to help me up but I ignore it. “Can we talk Rae?” he asks his voice hopeful I’ll agree.

  “What could you possibly want to talk about Knox?” I feign annoyance, and desperately try not to indulge him.

  “Don’t do that Rae.” He says, slowly backing me into a wall.

  “Do what?” I ask in confusion.

  “Lie to me. You never were a good liar, my little Rae of sunshine.” My body betrays me as a blush creeps up my neck and spreads across my cheeks. Just hearing the old nickname brings back old feelings. “You want answers, and I want nothing more than to give them to you.” His words are laced with sincerity. It causes me to finally look up at him and really take him in.

  “I know, so don’t make me.” Up close his eyes seem tired and wo
rn. His hair is array and wild from lack of sleep. I huff out a breath. “I don’t need anything from you Knox.” I sigh.

  His fingers come up and pinch my chin bringing my eyes back to his. “Do. Not. Lie. To. Me.” his breathing is hitched. “I know you to well Raegan.” The hand holding my chin moves down and grips on to my arm. On instinct I wince in pain.

  “Ow Shit.” I say through clenched teeth. I rip my arm out of his grasp, relieving the pain it caused me.

  “What is it? What’s the matter?” he asks, worry etched in his voice. I go to answer him and he cuts me off almost immediately. “The truth Rae.” His voice is stern as he speaks to me.

  “I just had a little run in with Kurt last night, nothing serious.” I barely get the words out when he takes my arm once again and starts to roll up the sleeve. Inch by agonizing inch a dark angry purple bruise is revealed.

  “This is still happening?” he asks as anger floods his voice and venom practically pours off of him in waves.

  “What did you expect? That it would just all magically stop when you left? That I would be fine? Kurt does whatever the hell he wants to me when he wants and no one has ever stopped him.” I say angry as hell. How dare he? How dare he just expect me to be perfectly fine? He knew how Kurt was, what he was and is capable of. How can he just expect all of that to change?

  “I don’t fucking know Raegan, I don’t know what I expected.” He sounds defeated and it makes me square my shoulders just a little more. “I’m fucking sorry.” My eyes shoot up to him in surprise. No one ever has ever told me they were sorry. I watch as hatred morphs into pity and it makes my fucking blood boil.

  “Don’t you do that Knox Caedance! Don’t you dare pity me!” My breathing is erratic. The one thing I absolutely hate is pity. I can handle and take care of myself the last thing I need is anyone feeling sorry for me.

  “I’m not pitying you Rae. I never have and never will. You’re so fucking strong. I’m going to fucking kill him.” he vows, sending my heart rate through the roof.