Make Me a Promise

Courage. It's a tricky thing. It takes courage to do things and sometimes, you would rather play the coward. I know right now that I would rather play the coward, rather just cut off contact than speak face to face. But life is hard and if you play the coward, it is not only unfair to the other party, but also to yourself. So here I stand, at the front door of his house, my palms sweaty, my nervous all bundled up and ready to combust, and my mind running through a million different possibilities. Three knocks and my hands return by my sides, listening for any movement on the other side.

"Amory?" He asks, confused as I stand before him, the early morning bright, and I've just come from a long jog that helped me calm down a bit. "We're you in the area?" He just woke up from what I can tell, his hair all messy, face unwashed, and clothes wrinkled from a deep sleep.

I take in a deep breath. "I was sort of in the area," I reply to his last question. Meeting his blue eyes, I pull myself together. "We need to talk and I'm sorry I woke you up." He can tell by the serious tone of my voice that this is important, how he comes from relax to attentive in a mere second. Nodding, Augustus opens the door to his house wider, allowing me into the homey house as he shuts the door behind me.

"What's up?"

Courage. Don't be unfair. It's unfair anyway, how I was with him while I was slowly seeing that it's not him I want, but a boy who has a girl out there just waiting to meet him.

"I know how this happened all really quickly..." I begin, watching as he awaits my words. "But I have to call us off. Whatever we are, I have to call it off."

"What!?"

"I'm breaking up with you," I whisper, my heart feeling as if it's been stabbed. How will rejection feel anyway? Worse? Most certainly it will, there's no denying it. "I'm breaking up with you because I think it is best."

"On what grounds?" He asks, his voice stern as my throat runs dry.

Do I tell him that I've fallen head over heels for another while I was with him? Do I tell him we happened to quick and he is probably still in love with Molly? Hell, he broke Molly's heart, yet I believe that he will go back to her because he still loves her. You cannot fall out of love just because of one kiss. "On the grounds that I-I think that I love someone."

"Someone like who? How did this happen? When? Was this going on the whole time?" He asks, enraged as my wolf cowers. Our mate is mad at us and the mate bond is still present. "Was this going on from the second I asked you out, because if so, that's a very low blow."

"I know," I whisper. "I just realized it days ago, but I thought I could push him away, but I can't, Augustus. I can't because he's won me over and I feel like a jerk for doing that to you. I thought that I could forget my feeling for him, but I can't."

"So our date, was that you trying to think you could forget your feelings for him?"

Silence.

He's broken.

But that's the mate bond. I know he's not broken and that if the mate bond was not present, he would be fine. How do I know this? Because he was never in love with me, but with the thought of me. We were both in love with the thought of one another because that's what the mate bond does: it's a glue stick.

"Who?"

"Why?" I ask, my eyes beginning to water as I see his lips form a thin line.

"Because I'm going to beat the son of a bitch to a pulp."

I shake my head. "I am ending this relationship because it is unfair to the two of us, unfair to you because I have feeling for someone-

I'm cut off, Augustus pulling me in for a passionate and aggressive kiss, as if reassurance for him as the sparks fly. The sparks are just a side effect that does nothing. The sparks are a glue stick and they are temporary for us. I push him away, taking a step back as I see his jaw clench. "I love you, Amory."

I shake my head. "You love Molly."

He's speechless, watching as I walk to the front door, opening it and shutting it as I head to the sidewalk. I did it. I broke up, but I have to reject him. I have to reject him because he cannot go around still having a connection to me when it really means nothing. Molly is who he loves and I know that cannot change. Molly deserves him because she too loves him. I take off, jogging around the corner as I leave Augustus alone, my heart beating painfully in my chest as a tear falls down my face. I wipe it away quickly, increasing my speed as I have to get away. Today I was brave by actually letting Augustus know that I had feeling for someone else. If this had happened a month ago, I would of simply told me him were over and would of never told him the reason why. I owe it to Flynn, to how he stood up for his father not only for himself, but for me. I stood up for us today as well, ending the relationship with my mate as it was unjust. Ten points to Gryffindor just now.

Arriving home, I see the car parked outside my house, the sleek car making my own look like a scrap of tin on the side of the road. He's not in his car, and by the looks of it, my parents have let him in and I just pray that they are not making a big deal out of the Alpha's son being here. Jogging up the steps, I pull out my keys, opening the door to hear laughter followed by a snort from my mother. Piercing around the corner and into the kitchen, Flynn sits at the breakfast bar, cracking a joke to my mother who pours him some ice water.

"Oh, Amory," mother greets, a massive smile upon her face. "Flynn just came over for a visit."

"A visit?" I ask, looking to see a plate of bacon and scrambled eggs before him as a fork is in his hand. "Breakfast?"

"Come and make yourself some," she replies. I frown as she made Flynn breakfast and not me.

"Why are you here?" I ask Flynn, looking the clock to see its barely even eight. "Up early? Bored?"

"Both." I nod, heading to the fridge as I grab a water bottle.

"I'm going to head to my room, I have some college documents to take care of," I lie, needing privacy right now as I want to burry my face in my pillow and sob. It's pathetic, but the mate bond is strong. "Nice to see you, Flynn."

My mother watches me as I head up to my room, closing the door behind me as I don't bother to lock it. I know he's going to try and get in here anyway. He always finds a way. I can hear them downstairs, wrapping up their conversation as I plant myself into my bed, the covers thrown over my body as I enclose my body in the sheets. My hands fly to my mouth, muffling the sobs that follow as my eyes are filled with tears. I did this all because I love someone else. I did this and have yet to reject him.

I can hear the footsteps, how he gets closer every second. I now wish I should of locked my door, to at least felt him by two minutes and collect myself. Rolling onto my stomach, I close my eyes, my eyelashes wet as they brush against my pillow. The door opens, his scent strong as he enters the room, striding in as if he owns the place, but I know he's here because he knows I'm in a bad state with now.

"Amory?"

I pull the covers down a tad, bunching the ends just below my nose to hide my trembling lips as I want to sob again.

"Amory."

He quickly walks over, his hands resting up my cheeks, wiping away the loose tears as I shake my head. "I thought rejection would feel like this, not just breaking up," I whisper, my voice cracking as Flynn nods his head, his eyes filled with sadness. He's hurting because I am too. Flynn crouches down to his knees, eye level with me as he rests his chin upon the bed. "I told him that we loved the idea of us together, not each other." Flynn nods, his face glum as I take in a shaky breath. "He looked heartbroken, but it was just the mate bond."

"How about you?" He asks as I roll my eyes. "I'm sorry, that was dumb to ask-

"My state is pretty well explained by my posture right now," I mutter, closing my eyes as I try and calm down my breathing. I need to calm down. I need to relax and try to not remain in the same state. I wonder what Augustus is doing? I wonder if he's like me, all depressed and miserable as he feels broken. I haven't even rejected him yet.

"Amory?"

"What?" I ask softly, trying to keep my emotions at bay.

"You're strong." I open my eyes. "You have courage and did not leave Augustus to an unfair or unjust breakup. You showed strength today and traits that many do not have the courage to display."

"To break up with someone?" I scoff.

"To tell someone that you love someone else and so do they," I mutter, turning onto my side to face Flynn. "I told him I loved the idea of him but not him. I told him he still loves Molly."

"Amory," Flynn whispers, tucking a strand of my messy hair behind one ear. "I want you to know-

"That what you're proud of me? You're proud that I broke up with someone?" I snap, instantly regretting my words as I shake my head. "I'm sorry, Flynn, I-I just had such a chaotic morning and you don't deserve this treatment," I apologize as I scan his face, his jaw lightly bruised as his nose is a tad crooked. He's back to normal for the most part. But what is normal for him? Daily beatings by his father and told he could be disowned and never be taken back into the pack? His father is miserable and I pity Alpha Cade.

"You don't have to apologize," Flynn whispers. "I feel responsible for this."

I shake my head. "It was my call. I called the shots. You did nothing," I explain, inching forward to where he is before my bed. "Can you promise me something?"

Flynn nods.

"You may not like what I have to say," I warn, my eyes scanning his own for any sign of resentment.

"Say it."

My heart skips a beat.

"Promise me that you'll tell me when you find her."

He knows exactly what I mean. He knows exactly who we are speaking of and he knows what kind of load his promise could put upon me. Him telling me when he's found his mate means that he will be there was my heart is broken and I wonder if he will break up with me right away.

"Am-

"Promise me?"

Flynn looks torn, knowing the emotional damage that could cause. His eyes search my face, his hands cupping my tear-dried face as he wonders what to say. He knows he will have to drop that load when the time comes and watch as I break apart.

"I promise."