Broken Promises

Did you kill him?

"Yeah, more like a 'don't hurt her or else' or an 'I could easily hurt you so don't f**k with me'," she answers.

"Why?" I scoff.

"Rylee you were like his little sister in some odd way I guess," she said kindly.

"So, breaking a few ribs or something is much better than expressing some concern for me?" I scoff.

"Apparently, you know Ace has never been well in affection Rylee..." she answers.

"Yeah, just figured some stuff would change. Guess it was wrong of me to think he would grow as a person." I scoff chuckling a little.

"He has, I think you coming back just spooked him." she laughs.

"Yeah, he's easily spooked. Like a horse or something." I laugh.

"Anyways, I came to tell you Collin was asking for you. He said something about dinner," she said, I looked at my phone and realized the time.

"Yeah, we have a dinner at 5 with his family." I sigh.

"You wanna yell one more time before we head back?" she asked

"Yeah, that would be nice." I laugh.

"So, yell." she laughs.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" I scream louder than before my lungs burning for air.

"Better?" Rose asks.

"Yeah, kind of." I laugh and walk back down to the four-wheeler.

"Be careful, okay?" Rose smiles as she gets on her four-wheeler.

"Mhm." I smile.  

Once I returned to the warehouse, I greeted everyone properly and apologized for how I had acted before. They understood in a way though I think Alex and Josh were mad at me still.

"So did you kill him?" Collin asked as I sat beside him.

"I wish, sadly no," I answered

"She couldn't kill me if she tried." Ace laughed as he walked over to us.

"Maybe not, but I could break your nose." I scoff.

"Calm down, I'm not here for you." he rolled his eyes.

"Collin, I'm sorry. I think what I did to you was for my own personal reasons." Ace sighs.

"So, you break a few of my ribs because you're having your own problems?" Collin laughs.

"I admit it wasn't my finest moment and I'm sorry." Ace answers, swallowing hard like there was a lump in his throat.

"Next time, if you feel like I'm overstepping or whatever your reason for doing this was; just talk to me," Collin says sternly.

"There won't be a next time." I scoff before walking away.

"What's that mean?" Ace asks following me.

"It means I won't be coming back and neither will Collin," I answer without turning around.

"What?" Ace scoffs.

"You physically hurt him for no reason, Ace. You think I could trust that if he comes back, you'll be able to control yourself?" I laugh.

"Control myself?" Ace laughs.

"Yes Ace, control. Don't know if you've heard that word." I laugh before walking away.

"Rylee you can't be serious..." Alex scoffs.

"Alex you of all people should understand," I speak softly.

"I do, but that's not fair to the rest of us Rylee, for us to not see you again is absurd," Alex complained.

"Yeah, I understand Alex. You guys can come to see me whenever but I won't bring Ace around Collin to lose his temper again." I answer.

"That's not your choice Rylee..." Collin says coming up behind me.

"Not my choice?" I scoff.

"Rylee I am fine; I can handle Ace and whatever he throws at me. It's not your choice if I come back or not it's mine." Collin explains, gently taking my hand.

"You could have been killed, Collin!" I yell ripping my hand away.

"Very unlikely but I understand where you are coming from and how you feel darling, I've always respected your opinion and your feelings but now you need to respect mine as well," Collin speaks lowly in a calming tone yet I'm trying so hard to understand why he wants to be here, around people he barely knows.

"Let's talk about this later darling, in private perhaps?" Collin spoke softly, barely a whisper as he leaned towards my ear.

"Mhm." I nodded and walked outside.

"You okay?" Alice asks as we walk outside.

"Mhm." I nod.

"Rylee it's okay to be upset with Ace, but not coming back isn't fair to everyone in there that was so happy to see you," Alice explains.

"Can you just take me home please?" I ask politely.

"Yeah Rylee, whatever you want." She smiles as I get in the car.

COLLIN'S P.O.V.

I knew by correcting Rylee in front of people was a bad idea but I didn't want her to make a choice she didn't actually want; I feel bad for what happened even though it wasn't my fault.

"She left." Bruce sighs.

"Yeah, I figured she would." Ace scoffs.

"So, what's your deal with Rylee dude?" I ask, curious and annoyed.

"I don't have a problem with Rylee." Ace laughs.

"I mean you rolled the four-wheeler for what reason then?" I ask.

"You really don't want to do this with me." he laughs.

"No, I think I do." I scoff.

"She left. One day she was here and the next she was gone." Alex says from behind me.

"Shut up." Ace scoffs.

"No Ace, you have been this way since she left. It wasn't her fault!" Alex yells.

"I know that now!" Ace yells back.

"Now?" Alex scoffs.

"I was never told, okay?" Ace answers lowly.

"That her parents died? You were never told that Colton, your dad's best friend died?!" Alex yells.

"No, he wasn't told," Rose says walking towards Alex.

"Why?" I ask confused.

"Colton and I chose not to tell him," Rose answers walking around Alex and me to Ace.

"You know I thought she just didn't want to see me anymore? Because of what I said to her the last time she was here." Ace continues.

"What did you say to her?" I ask curiously.

"Collin, we have to head back if you want to make dinner on time!" Bruce yells through the warehouse.

"It was really nice meeting you guys." I smile and wave before walking towards the front of the warehouse.

"Hey, Collin wait up!" Ace yells from behind me.

"Yeah?" I ask confused.

"I am sorry, I was mad at Rylee and took it out on you," he explains as we walk.

"I mean I understand now, but Rylee doesn't. Maybe that's something you should explain to her." I say kindly.

"If I ever see her again, I'll be sure to let her know." Ace says casually.

"Great." I smile as we reach the front.

"Everything okay?" Bruce asks raising a brow.

"Yeah, we're good." Ace laughs casually.

"Good, you ready Collin?" Bruce asks.

"Yeah, I'll meet you in the car," I answer and walk outside, I need a bit of air if I'm being honest, just hoping Rylee isn't as mad at me as she seems.

"Are you mad?" I ask sweetly.

"No, just don't want to talk." Rylee answers.

"Would it help if I tickled you?" I smirk.

"No, I think that would make it worse." she scoffs.

"Well, what can I do?" I ask.

"Just let me be upset for a minute," she answers.

"Okay," I reply and turn back to my video game.

A few hours have passed and she hasn't spoken a word to me, it's getting late and I don't want to go to bed with her mad at me. It's killing me, I haven't heard her talk in hours.

"Still mad?" I ask as I turn around.

She shakes her head but is silent, staring down at her homework. Her eyes scan over to the paper as she fills out the questions.

"Why did it upset you so much?" I asked sitting beside her.

"It was just a stupid comment." I continue after a moment of silence.

"Exactly, it was a stupid comment so I should be allowed to be upset over it," she answers.

"You have been, for hours Rylee," I say respectfully.

"Maybe I should just go home." she sighs.

"What? No, Rylee." I try to find words to explain that I was sorry without actually saying sorry.

"It's fine, I think I'm just gonna go get a shower," she answers and climbs off the bed.

I feel like a fool, all I said was that Luka wasn't in his right mind, I didn't mean to defend him but maybe it upset her because she likes him? f**k me. I get off the bed and clean her stuff off of it, I light some candles and turn off the lights, turn the T.V on, and run downstairs to grab ice cream.

"You almost done?" I asked knocking on the door.

"Yeah," she answered, opening the door a few seconds later.

"What's this?" She asked looking around the room confused.

"I didn't mean to upset you in any way. So, this is me saying sorry for being an idiot." I answer kindly.

"Collin it's fine, I was just stuck in my head." She laughs.

"Yeah, because of me. I feel bad and I wanted to make it up to you with a movie night." I smile.

"You really didn't have to." She smiles.

"I know I didn't have to Rylee; I like doing nice things for you." I smile. Helping her in any way always makes me feel better just to see her smile. It was the first time she told me about Luka and in a way, I defended him.

"Ready?" Bruce asks tearing me from my thoughts.

"Yeah," I answer.  

LUKA'S P.O.V.

"Why were you on the phone with Rylee?" I ask Lucas annoyed.

"She called me." Lucas answers.

"Why?" I ask angrily.

"Something happened she needed to talk about." Lucas scoffs taking his phone and walking out.

"She doesn't need to call you when things go wrong!" I yell as I walk after him.

"Hey, baby." Daisy smiles walking beside me.

I take a deep breath. "Hey." I smile. Trying to ignore the fact that Rylee called Lucas when something went wrong instead of me.

"Get used to it dude, as long as Daisy is around, she's not going to talk to you," Lucas whispers snarky in my ear.

I bite my tongue before I say something I'll regret; Daisy looks at me confused I force a smile and try to push it out of my head. Dinner with our parents to tell her parents she's pregnant wasn't going as well as I had hoped in the first place let alone adding Rylee to the situation.

"So, I just wanted to tell you guys that I'm pregnant," Daisy says excitedly.

"Pregnant?" Her father asks as her mother spits out her drink.

"Luka is the dad." She says cheerily.

"No." her father answers.

"No?" She looks at him confused.

"No," he says firmly glaring me down.

"How did this happen Daisy Ann?" her mother says sarcastically.

"We had sex." Daisy answers.

"Obviously but were you guys so stupid as to not use protection?!" She shouts.

"We did use protection Ma'am..." I state.

"So, a hole?" She scoffs.

"Unlikely," I answer.

"So, explain how this happened!" She yells hatefully.

"I wish I could, Daisy told me last night and I told my parents. I haven't actually seen the test." I answer respectfully.

"Are you calling her a liar!" Her father screams.

"Excuse me," Dad interjects.

"Luka was not calling Daisy a lair as I'm sure she wouldn't lie about something so serious. All he said was he didn't see the test, Which I'm sure Daisy has her reasons but without a positive test we can't know for sure." Dad continues.

"We were just as angry when we found out, rightfully so. However, we need a positive test to know for sure." My mother continues.

"Get your stuff, we are taking you to the clinic right now!" Her mother yells.

"I can just do another at-home test." Daisy answers.

"No, we are going to the clinic to have an accurate blood test done." Her father says calmly.

"After tonight you and Luka will not be allowed to see each other until we know for sure." Her mother states angrily.

"Maybe we should talk about that." My mother interjects.

"What is there to talk about?!" Her mother yells.

"Well, if she is, then Luka will be missing out on parts of the pregnancy. I feel like they should be allowed to see each other but they should have to be watched at all times." My mother continues.

"We can talk about it after we go to the Clinic." Her mother says angrily.

"You go with Daisy; Luka, Lucas, and I will stay here." My father says.

"If that's okay with you." My mother says respectfully to hers.

"That's fine," she answers as they throw their coats on.

It was silent after they left until Lucas looked at his phone and excused himself from the table. I sat there for a moment as my father tried to make polite conversation with hers but he seemed too just be angry and rightfully so.

"Can I be excused?" I ask politely.

My father nodded and I headed to see where Lucas had run off to.

"I'm not sure what to say about the situation. I mean things are tense and they just took her to do a test at the clinic." Lucas says through the phone.

"Yeah, I'll keep you updated, why don't you just talk to Luka?" He asks pausing for a moment.

"I understand, I'd be mad at him too considering he called her a w***e but you are his friend too," he says casually.

"No, I understand where you are coming from and I'll let you know when I know," he says softly.

"Yeah, talk to you later Jake." he sighs before turning around.

"So, you're spying on me for them?" I scoff.

"Dude he's worried about you but he's too mad to talk to you right now." he defends.

"That's not fair Lucas." I scoff rolling my eyes.

"It is, you told me stuff that was going on with Rylee, I'm telling Jake what's going on with you," he says in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Whatever." I scoff.

"Luka he is just worried about you." Lucas continues.

"You are my brother Lucas! You are supposed to keep things to yourself!" I yell.

"The whole school knows Luka! She told everyone!" he yells back.

"Everyone?" I ask confused.

"Everyone, I've gotten text messages all day about it. She told everyone not to tell you they knew." He continues.

"f*****g Christ." I sighed rolling my eyes.

"What if she is Lucas?" I ask concerned.

"Then you take it one day at a time," he says lowly.

"I'm not ready to be a dad," I say softly.

"I know, and who knows even if she is it might not even be your kid," he answers.

"I just don't know what to do, and I miss Rylee man," I speak, my voice wavering as I try to hide the pain.

"Rylee needs time, a lot of it after today. I can try to talk to her for you though if you would like." Lucas says softly.

I nod my head and pull out a cigarette, lighting and smoking it on the back patio as Lucas sits beside me in silence.  

RYLEE'S P.O.V.

After Alice dropped me off, I went to my room and grabbed clothes to shower before popping my head in Melissa's room.

"You busy?" I ask.

"Eh not really, what's up?" She replies happily.

"Talk to me while I shower? I'm pissed off." I scoff.

"Yeah." she smiles, climbing off the bed and following me to the bathroom.

"So, what's wrong?" she asks.

"When I first got here, do you remember me talking about Ace?" I ask.

"Yeah, the kid who used to make fun of you and stuff?" She asks.

"Yeah, so Collin and Bruce went over to the old warehouse and hung out," I speak clearly.

"Why?" she asks confused.

"Something about Collin meeting the rest of my extended family, the people I grew up around for ten years." I scoff.

"Yeah, I can see that," she says confused.

"Anyways, Collin went riding with Alex and Josh and they took him to meet Ace," I say displeased.

"Oh god, what happened?" She asked curiously.

"He ran into him with the four-wheeler and rolled him," I answer irritated.

"Is he okay?" she asks nervously.

"Yeah, a few broken ribs I think," I answer a sigh of relief comes out of her mouth.

"Well, I'm glad he's not hurt too badly," she says calmly.

"I still hate the fact that Ace did that so I confronted him about it," I explain as I continue to shower.

"And?" She asks curiously.

"I punched him." I chuckle.

"And then I went back to the warehouse and fought with Collin after he told me it wasn't my choice if he went back there or not." I continued.

"I mean he's right it's not, but that should have been something you discussed in private." She says coldly.

"I know, he told me we could talk about it later but I'm still mad about it." I scoff.

"Just try to remember that you like him, okay?" She laughs.

"I know I do." I groan.

"So, finish getting ready, it's 4:45." She smiles before leaving the room.

COLLIN'S P.O.V.

"Should I come in and explain what happened?" Bruce asks kindly.

"No, it'll be okay." I laugh lightly.

"You sure?" he asks once more.

"Yeah, they'll understand." I laugh and head inside.

"I'm home," I yell as I waddle into the kitchen.

"Hey!" Mom said happily as she turned to see me.

"What happened?" She asked panicked.

"I rolled a four-wheeler. I'm okay just a few broken ribs." I laugh softly

"A few broken ribs?!" she yells.

"I'm fine mom," I said in a calm tone trying to hide the pain.

"How did you roll a four-wheeler?" she asked lifting a brow.

"Just went to hang out with some of Rylee's family and we were riding and this kid bumped into me and it rolled," I answered, a little white lie here and there has never hurt anyone.

"Okay, so some kid you don't know?" She asked.

"Yeah, pretty much," I answered, before walking towards the steps.

"Where are you going?" She asked confused.

"To shower before I go to get Rylee..." I answered walking up the steps. I closed my door and left out a sigh before heading into the shower, it's been about an hour since I've talked to Rylee, I'm just hoping she's not still mad at me for the conversation from before.

Text: Darling.

'Hey, are we okay?'

'Yeah'

'Are you sure? If you're mad at me just tell me so I can fix it.'

'I already talked it out with Melissa, we are fine. I'm sorry.'

'Talked it out? Why are you sorry?'

'I shouldn't have said we won't be going back, that's your choice, not mine.'

'I shouldn't have corrected you in front of everyone, that was a conversation we should have had in private.'

'Well thank you, but sometimes I think too much into things and need to be put in my place before I say things I regret.'

'Me too, it's something we can work on together'

'You still coming to get me for dinner?'

'Of course, I'm getting in the shower now'

'Okay puppy.' 

RYLEE'S P.O.V.

I sit on the couch waiting for Collin to pick me up, making a casual conversation with Jake.

"So, they took Daisy to the clinic," Jake says suspiciously

"Yeah and?" I said irritated.

"They made her get blood work done to see if she is pregnant." he continues.

"No offensive but I don't really care." I scoff.

"I know, I just think it's weird." Jake answers.

"Fine, I'll bite." I sigh, pausing.

"What's weird Jake?" I asked rolling my eyes.

"Luka always used protection, never had an accident and there weren't any holes in the condoms," Jake says intriguing me.

"So how is she pregnant unless it's to someone else?" I asked confused.

"That's what Lucas was thinking, it could be someone else's kid. She just didn't want to lose Luka since she told him after that argument at the football game when Luka was going to break up with her." Jake explained.

"So, now I'm confused. Is she, or isn't she?" I asked in a concerned tone.

"She might be, I don't know for sure but when Lucas knows I'll know," Jake says as my phone rings.

"Speak of the devil..." I laugh lightly.

"Hey, Jake and I were just talking about you." I laugh.

"Well, that's a surprise." Lucas chuckles.

"What's up?" I ask.

"Are you busy?" he asks.

"I am getting ready to go to Collin's for dinner but I'll be home later," I answer.

"Would you mind if I came over later?" he asks.

"I don't see why that would be a problem," I answer.

"Okay, I was planning on coming to see Jake but just wanted to make sure it was okay with you," he says happily.

"Yeah, that's fine," I answer as there's a knock on the door.

"I gotta go but I'll see you later," I say kindly.

"See ya," Lucas says as I hang up the phone.

Jake opens the door as I hang up with Lucas, getting a questionable look from Collin.

"Everything okay darling?" Collin asks with a smile.

"Yeah, just Lucas asking if it would be weird that he came to hang out with Jake," I answer.

"Oh, okay." Collin gives me a weird look and I'm not really sure how to answer that, is it weird if Lucas comes to hang out with Jake?

"Are you ready to go?" he asks with a smile.

"Mhm," I nod walking towards the door.  

As we drive to Collins a part of me thinks back on the night I left. This is just a simple dinner with his family as I've had so many with them already it shouldn't feel different but it does in every way.

"You sure you want to come to stay with me?" He asks as we drive towards his house.

"It will be the last place they would look..." I answer watching out the window.

"Yeah, that's true but there have to be other places..." Collin continues.

"There is, but I chose to call you... If you want to just take me back, I can find somewhere else." I say softly.

"No, it's fine I don't mind. I just don't want you to be uncomfortable," he says kindly.

"I'm not uncomfortable, and if I am you'll be able to see it." I laugh lightly.

"What do you mean?" he asks confused.

"I have anxiety so if I start to, you'll be able to see it clearly." I smile.

"Anxiety huh?" he asks.

"Yeah, it can get pretty bad." I laugh.

"Seems like you are okay right now." he smiles.

"Yeah, I am." I smile.

"And what if I'm a serial killer or a r****t or something?" he asks raising a brow.

"Then you are, not sure what to do about that now." I laugh.

"Wow you just really don't care huh?" he asks.

"Not really." I continue to laugh.

"I think we should talk about our relationship status before we walk in here." Collin laughs.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." I smile, turning to him.

"So where are we at?" he asks.

"I really do like you," I answer, as he looks at me happily.

"I really like you too darling," he smirks.

"Should we just be together or just let it be known that we have feelings for each other." I laugh.

"I don't want to just be together." he laughs.

"So, we are just talking then?" I ask.

"Kind of, we are aware of our feelings for each other." he smiles.

"Mhm, okay," I answer opening the car door.

"Hey," he says pulling my arm.

"Yeah?" I ask.

"You look beautiful." he smiles.

"Thank you," I say softly.

"Darling," he smirks.

"Hmm?" I ask.

"Your face is red," he smirks.

"Shut up." I giggle slapping his arm.

We walk inside to see everyone already sitting down.

"Are we late?" Collin asks.

"No, we just sat down." Hazle smiles.

"Hello, Rylee." Hazle smiles.

LUKA'S P.O.V.

Lucas and I sat and waited on the couch for Daisy to get back, I looked through my phone reading some of Rylee and I's old messages.

'Best friends?'

'Always'

'I'm glad I have someone like you Luka'

'Why? Lol'

'Because I love that you are always there for me'

'I love always being here for you if you need me'

'I always need you lol'

'I know, it's a problem lol'

"Luka." Lucas nudged me pulling me from my thoughts.

"Yeah?" I asked confused.

"They are back," he whispers.

"Oh s**t," I mumble fumbling with my phone.

I look up to see Daisy staring at me with a confused look as I try to hurry and pick up my phone.

"Who are you talking to?" she asks.

"No one." I try to laugh it off.

"Someone, you were in someone's text messages." she scoffs.

"I wasn't talking to anyone I was reading an old text message," I answer.

"Who's?" She asks, crossing her arms.

"None of your business," I answer.

"Luka!" my father says sternly.

"No, it's not any of her business. I have a right to my own privacy." I scoff.

"It's really not a big thing for me to know whose text you were reading," she yells angrily.

"It really is, my phone is my business, I don't go through yours or ask who you are talking to at 2 in the morning," I say sternly.

"Who was it!" she yells again.

"None of your business Daisy," I answer calmly.

"We shouldn't be together anymore!" She yells.

"I agree." I laugh and walk out of the house.

"What the f**k was that?" Lucas says running after me.

"Lucas I'm done, okay? I miss Rylee, I miss being able to call her when I have a problem or when I'm upset about something. This is the most nerve-wracking part of my life and I can't even talk to her because I was such a f*****g i***t!" I yell.

"You are seriously still stuck on Rylee!" Daisy's shrill scream comes from behind Lucas.

"She was my best friend!" I yell back.

"She doesn't love you!" Daisy continues to yell.

"She doesn't have to love me! You ruined our friendship because of you being insecure in our relationship for no reason! You slapped her for no reason! She was walking away from me and our friendship but that wasn't good enough for you Daisy! You disrespected her dead parents! All because I looked at her!" I yell loudly reaching my breaking point.

"You slapped Rylee?" My father scoffs.

"She was being a w***e, wearing a short dress for Luka's attention!" Daisy yells.

"SHE WORE A SHORT DRESS FOR COLLIN! IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH ME! WHY CAN'T YOU GET THAT THROUGH YOUR f*****g HEAD DAISY! I KNOW SHE DOESN'T LOVE ME; SHE WAS STILL MY BEST FRIEND NO MATTER WHAT! IT WASN'T OKAY FOR YOU TO DEMAND WE STOP BEING FRIENDS JUST BECAUSE WE STARTED DATING!" I yell louder.

"Oh, f**k you, Luka!" Daisy yells running into the house, her father charges at me. As Lucas steps in between us.

"Enough, you will not touch my sons!" My father yells stomping behind him.

"Your son needs to learn respect for my daughter!" her father yells.

"Your daughter needs to learn a few things as well, first and foremost. My son will be friends with who he wants." My father says sternly.

"Your son is a garbage person!" her father yells.

"My son may not even be the father if your daughter even is pregnant." My father laughs.

"Are you calling my daughter a w***e?" Her father yells, gripping my dad's shirt.

"If the shoe fits." I laugh behind Lucas.

"You little fucker! You get my daughter pregnant and then disrespect her in my house!" He yells pushing Lucas out of the way.

"Listen, dude, that's not my kid." I laugh as he grabs my shirt.

"Pretty sure this is assaulting a minor. Wouldn't want that to get out, would you?" I laugh.

"You are a piece of s**t!" he yells in my face.

"At least I didn't f**k the whole football team!" I laugh a little harder.

I can feel the pain resonate throughout my face but everything goes black instead, I let out a small laugh before finally passing out.