PROMISE

CHAPTER ONE

AMANDA

I WAS ECSTATIC. For the first time in a really long time l was looking forward to something that was important. To me at least. The excitement at the prospect of what came next was like a high I couldn't get enough of.

The adrenaline pumping in my body got rid of all the nervousness l should have been feeling. Moving forward l knew l had found my soul purpose.

Something other than the constant pain in my heart that never seemed to go away. It was amazing.

"Are you sure that is everything honey? Maybe you should double check in case you left something really important."

My mother's rambling pulled me from my jumbled thoughts to the task at hand. We had packed the last of my things into my car a few minutes ago.

"I'll head inside to make extra sure everything was packed for your move. We wouldn't want you leaving something you may really need..." I grabbed her slightly shaky hands to still her animated movement. My mother was panicking and it was making me nervous.

I understood her anxiety more than anything. This was big and was bound to happen sooner than later. Mothers tended to hog their kids expecting them not to grow up. Or leave them at some point. But it was inevitable. But it also wasn't forever.

"Mom stop. Just take a deep breath and try to calm down. I already checked twice. I have everything..."

"Lets check one more time." I swallowed back the tears threatening to overwhelm me.

My mum didn't possess that much strength as tears fell unbidden down her cheeks.

"If you start crying then l won't be able to leave." I smiled.

"I'm sorry. God why does this have to be so hard? Is it so wrong of me to want to lock you up in the storeroom for all eternity." She said through her tears. A few of mine fell from my eyes and l pulled her for a massive hug.

"No it's not wrong but we knew this day was going to come eventually." I said trying to comfort both of us. Leaving her behind was hard even for me too.

I still remembered the day l received an email from one of the biggest hospitals in Pretoria.

It had been a few months prior to that when l sent an application to intern there. I had nearly given up hope of ever joining the hospital. Now a few months later l was on my way to intern as an assistant surgeon. It was surreal.

Never in my wildest dreams would l have imagined such a thing. To be fair to my mum, everything was happening too fast even for my taste. I had graduated from university that same year and already had a job. No wonder my mother was freaking out. She wanted more time. As did I to be honest but I needed this.

I needed to be away from the constant reminder of my past. Every inch of this place was a memory I once shared with the person who abondoned me. It was heartbreaking.

I hated leaving her as much as she did. It made me feel terrible. Parents had a way of making you feel guilty for doing everything they set you out to do and living up to their expectations. Here I was, landing an ideal career she obviously wanted for me yet my mother still found a way to make me feel shitty about it. Intentional or otherwise, it worked. I called it their superpower.

Surprisingly enough, it wasn't as bad as when Kyle left me all those years ago. I had been beyond distraught.

It had nearly destroyed me. I sighed, pushing any thoughts of... the-one-who-can't-be-named from my mind. He had no business being there.

"What am l doing? I should be happy for you not making you feel guilty about leaving me behind."

Too late. l thought.

I had half a mind to cancel the offer and look at other hospitals that didn't require me leaving to the city. But working at Pretoria Central Hospital had always been my dream.

I simply couldn't overlook that. I had shared that dream once with Kyle. I groaned at my slip. Like everytime thoughts of him came uninvited to me, l pushed them away.

You would think things would be easier after six years of him going radio silent. To be honest it was probably for the best.

The less l knew about his surly, egotistic hot air head asshole the better it was. For both of us.

"It's okay mum. I am going to miss you too. So terribly. But l promise to call you as often as I possibly can till you get bored of me. Trust me you won't even notice l'm not here."

I wiped away my tears and gave a wide smile before pulling her for another hug.

This time it was much longer, neither of us willing to pull away. I savoured the few moments of serenity I felt in her arms. She was my home.

With strength I didn't know l possessed, I pulled away from her embrace, once again checking if l had everything.

"I really am very proud of you even if l'm not showing it at the moment. I pray that you continue to get everything that you wish for. And good luck on your first day. Better show them what you are really made of."

After numerous hugs and kisses l finally got into my car and drove away. It would take me two hours to get to the city.

I had enough time to get settled in my shared apartment with a friend of mine then take a long nap to be fully refreshed for my first

day.

I swallowed back more tears as l left the only home l ever knew. All my fond memories were of that place. Many firsts. Everything important and major took place in that town.

But l was also ready for the next phase of my life. Being an only child, my mother had always sheltered me most of my life. Now l was ready to take on the world with all its mysteries and challenges.

My mother wasn't a single mother per se. It was times like these that l appreciated my step dad. Aleast l knew she wasn't alone.

My stepdad had gone on a business trip but would be back before the day ended.

That put my mind at ease.

*******

"IS IT ME or you're awfully early?" I tossed the keys on the kitchen island and glanced at Lisa who sleepily rubbed her eyes, walking to the refrigerator.

We had found the place as soon as we both found jobs at the same city. It was an added bonus that Lisa Ncube also happened to be my best friend.

"How would you know? You just woke up." I cringed when she grabbed a juice and downed the contents straight from the container. I swatted the back of her head and tried to hide my glee when she choked.

"What was that for?" She feigned innocence as she put the juice back in the fridge.

"Don't even pretend like you didn't deserve that. That was really gross." She rolled her before leaning in for a hug.

"I missed you." She mumbled her words muffled by my shoulder.

"I saw you last week." Lisa could be dramatic at times. We all had friends like that.

It was one of the things that made her one of the most fun people l knew. Not that l was even acquainted with that many people.

We had checked the place together before we rented it weeks ago. Lisa had moved in immediately thankful to be away from her hateful mother. That woman was dreadful.

It was fate that we were employed so close to each other.

"Don't matter. l still missed you." I smiled pulling away from our hug.

"Actually it was the week before that." She exclaimed pouting her lips.

"I missed you too." I said nudging her with my shoulder.

"So find any new play things already?" A naughty glint shown in her eyes.

"Speaking of playthings..." She started to say. But a voice came down the hall before he reached us.

"Hey I thought you said you wanted something to drink. Come back to bed. Daddy is ready for round fou..." His voice trailed off when he saw Lisa had company.

My jaw dropped as l stared at the half naked man in our way too small kitchen. He stood frozen on the spot for a few seconds.

My words caught on my throat as we stared at each other in mortification. The shake of Lisa's head seemed to bring him back to his senses.

"Umm...I didn't know that...so sorry....umm....if you will excuse me." He scrambled back the way he came from, I assumed to Lisa's room.

"Close your damn mouth and stop acting like you've never seen a naked man in your kitchen." I stared at my friend who was having too much fun with this.

"Oh my God." We erupted into a series of giggles.

"Why didn't you tell me you had someone over?" She shrugged like it was the most natural thing ever.

"Seriously it just slipped my mind." I swallowed the envy l felt at my friend's ability to sleep with whoever she wanted without catching any feelings. I called it her superpower.

"Well l'm glad he was at least wearing briefs." I shuddered to think what would have happened had he skipped those.

"Let me not keep my latest conquest waiting. In the meantime you can order some dinner or cook or whatever." I nodded then something came to my mind.

"Wait did he say round four?" No way. We both laughed hard.

"Is he a horse or something?"

"He's got some serious moves." She snorted and winked.

With that she was gone leaving me to my thoughts.

Since l had no help, unloading my stuff from the car proved to be a tedious and exhausting task.

I couldn't have been more thankful after putting the last box on my bedroom floor. I sighed staring at all the scattered things that needed to be unpacked and put in their place.

I was not particularly a domesticated person hence I hated anything that involved any sort of labour. Exaggerated as that may be but l was a lazy person.

It was a wonder l wanted to be a surgeon. With all the hours l would be subjected to, it still surprised me how willing and ready l was to jump into this.

I turned my neck and a muscle popped. Lazily glancing at the boxes one more time, l made a conscious decision to deal with the rest on the weekend when l was free.

It was already late so l had to take a long shower to rid myself of the tension on my shoulders.

Tomorrow was my first day at the hospital so l wanted to be fresh and ready to tackle whatever task l had. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach as I thought about what tomorrow was.

Being a surgeon was something both Kyle and l were positively passionate about. That was the one thing we both cherished. I cursed for letting myself think of the man that shattered my heart all those years ago.

"He's banned from my mind for eternity."

I grabbed my stuff heading to the bathroom. Humming a tune, l wrapped a showercap on my head and stepped into the shower.

After my refreshing shower l was ready for bed and to start my day tomorrow. My earlier excitement returned with full force.

I was at my happiest and hopefully it stayed that way. For the first time in forever l fell asleep without any thoughts of Kyle Griffin on my mind. Things were finally looking up.