A PROMISE KEPT: Book 1 in the 'Promises' Series Read online

  A PROMISE KEPT

  By Cece Peters

  Copyright 2020

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  CHAPTER ONE

  I do not want to be here. I swore I would not be here. But here I am, at my ten-year college reunion.

  Make no mistake: I had done everything I could to avoid this event. I was out of the country on a European vacation during the five-year reunion. Yes, I may have booked that trip once the date for the reunion was announced. But, regardless, I was touring Paris while my former classmates gathered without me. But my luck ran out for the ten-year occasion, as not only did I live in the same town as the college I had graduated from, but I also worked there. And with this reunion planned right smack dab in the middle of the summer session, during which I teaching, there was no way I could escape.

  So here I was, suddenly regretting my decision not to relocate after graduation, as avoiding reunions would have been much easier if I lived somewhere else. I should have considered that when I decided to take my job at the university. Fortunately, I had come with my best friend, Krista Miller; and I knew that a lot of friendly faces were waiting for us inside. And thanks to social media, it’s not like I hadn’t already been in touch with a lot of former classmates. But tonight, I not only had to get dressed up, but I also had to spend the entire evening chit chatting; I would have to be “on” for hours on end, which was not something I ever enjoyed doing. I longed to be at home in my pajamas, snuggled with my dogs, flipping through magazines, and watching TV. Or just sitting alone in my house with no electricity and nothing to pass the time. Either would have worked for me.

  “Come on, Leah; it isn’t enough to come to the venue, you have to actually go IN,” Krista said while laughing at the sight of me still standing by my car. “These are our friends; no one is going to bite you!”

  “Who is to say I won’t bite them?!” I responded sarcastically with an evil look before rolling my eyes and falling into step alongside Krista. “At what time can we leave?”

  “Oh, good grief! We haven’t even gotten in the door yet. This may be the most fun you’ll ever have in your life; don’t be such a downer!” Krista, always bubbly and outgoing, her dark brown, almost black, curls bouncing at her shoulders and her pink dress rustling in the wind, was bursting to get inside, where no doubt she would spend the entire night jetting from group to group to catch up. Lord help us if a bunch of her fellow elementary education department alumni were in attendance; they could suck all the air out of room with their non-stop talking. Grade school teachers were the perkiest people I had ever met. And I, myself, was the antithesis of perky. Which made my friendship with Krista seem very odd to outsiders.

  Krista and I had gone to school together our entire lives, from pre-school through high school and then on through college. We were the only two kids from our high school graduating class to attend Lakeview College, choosing it as it offered us a chance to go somewhere new without being too far from home as it was only one state over and a four-hour drive from our parent’s homes. We were able to experience another part of the country without having the leave the Midwest. And Midwestern girls we were. And while neither of our families were hurting for money, the partial scholarships we received were another bonus for us accepting admission to Lakeview.

  While we were a bit of an odd pair, we balanced each other out. Krista was spontaneous, fun, and happy, always up for whatever life had in store. I, on the other hand, was quiet and cautious. While I wasn’t anti-social in that I could hold my own in a gathering, I didn’t need to be surrounded by people the way Krista did. She pushed me to expand my horizons, while I was the source of reason when she was taking things too far.

  And, even though we had always been good friends growing up, we had become much closer during our college years and were now solidly best friends. Krista was an extrovert to the extreme. So, while she had had fun during our Lakeview College experience, it was surprising that she had also decided to stay in our university town after graduation as I, and she, had fully expected that she would move to a larger city with more action. But she had fallen in love with a fellow teaching student during our senior year and they had both gotten jobs at the local elementary school after graduation. By the time they eventually broke up a couple of years later and he had, thankfully, moved away to teach at a different school, Krista was already deeply embedded in the community. In Lakeview, she was a big fish in a small pond. Krista loved her status in the town, and she lived for nights like college reunions.

  Unlike Krista, however, I was an extreme introvert. Just the thought of making small talk for several hours, even to people I knew, made me sick to my stomach. Yes, I could put on a happy face and keep up with the conversations, but it was going to drain me. I was exhausted just thinking about the night ahead. I’d only left my house ten minutes ago and hadn’t even gone inside yet, but I was already thinking of excuses to leave the event early.

  However, I was here now, and I told myself that there was no escape; I knew that I had to just suck it up and get through the next few hours. It was only one night, after all. I had taken a couple of Xanax beforehand and was counting on the numbing effects to get me through the evening. I had chosen a simple black sheath dress for the reunion and a pair of comfortable black kitten heels. My jewelry, as always, was simple; just a single pearl on a gold chain hung around my neck, matching my pearl stud earrings. No bangle bracelets that would annoyingly jiggle and clank the entire evening, potentially drawing attention to myself. I also wore an oversized vintage ruby ring, my July birthstone, on my left hand to add a little bit of color to my outfit; Krista and I had found it while antiquing one summer.

  My thick, wavy brown hair with its natural reddish undertone was in a braided updo. I had kept my makeup simple, per usual; just a touch of mascara, a little bit of eyeshadow, and lipstick. My complexation had always been clear and even; I had managed to avoid needing foundation for my fair skin up until recently, when I began dabbing on a bit of under eye concealer and using a mineral powder to even things out. I had always looked younger than I actually was; but at thirty-two, the signs of aging had started to slowly creep across my face.

  A large banner that read, “Lakeview College 10-Year Class Reunion” hung above the double door entrance to the Lakeview Country Club, the site of the evening’s soiree. Lakeview College was a small, private school; hence why the event was able to be held at the local country club and not on the school grounds or at a larger venue. With a graduating class of only four hundred and less than a third expected to attend, the country club offered just enough space to accommodate everyone but not enough room to escape or even find a corner to hide in. Basically, it was my worst nightmare. Fortunately, I had been to the club many times as college staff events were frequently held there; I had the hallways and exists memorized in case I needed to take a break from tonight’s crowd for a bit.

  Krista bounced ahead of me as we approached the doors, which swung open with a loud, “Hello, girls!” followed by a stampede of a small group of women rushing towards us. The blast of air conditioning that came with them felt good after being out in the warm June air. And fortunately, all of the faces coming at us were familiar being that they were former classmates both Krista and I had remained close to after graduation: Elizabet
h, who was a fellow English major like me and who worked in journalism; Samantha and Lisa, both teachers like Krista; and Julia, the radical of the group who had been pursuing an acting career since before we even graduated. In between auditions in New York City, she did temp work and waited tables.

  The six of us had roomed on the same floors right next to one another – two to a room – our entire four years of college. I had been so grateful to have formed a close friend circle so soon after starting school, especially after I had left such a group back home, friends who, like Krista, I had known most of my life. Even Krista, normally so outgoing, had been nervous about starting over in a new town and making new friends. But the six of us clicked immediately at our first dorm meeting and stuck together all four years of college. Even though the other four had moved to different states after graduation, we had kept in touch and got together for a girl’s weekend once a year. In between, there was social media and group texting to keep us connected.

  All of us, who had actually already seen each other the day before when we had gone shopping and to the day spa in preparation for tonight’s event, smashed into each other and squealed as though we had been apart for years. Well, Krista, Sam, Lisa, and Julia did most of squealing; Elizabeth and I just laughed and rolled our eyes. Being with our tight-knit group instantly made me relax.

  Even though the girls were being so loud that I was almost disoriented, this was the only group of people I really cared about seeing; and I was grateful they were here. Had even one of them not been able to attend this evening, I maybe would have been able to make an excuse not to come, too. But looking around at my longtime friends, the night suddenly didn’t seem so daunting. I relaxed and reminded myself again that it was just one night and to go with the flow.

  Once inside the country club, I quickly found myself amongst more old friends and classmates, hugging most and giving a curt nod and fake smile to others. Surprisingly, a lot of my fellow English classmates were in attendance; I hadn’t been sure many would come considering most were, like me, introverts. But I was glad they were here as we all quickly started reminiscing about the old days old of studying literature and writing essays. All were anxious to hear how it was for me working in the English department now; and I found myself happy to oblige them with some gossip about our former professors, many of whom were now my co-workers.

  I was having a decent enough time, some may even argue that I was having fun, when Krista suddenly whispered in my ear, “Look out, Miss Molly is in the house!”

  My stomach dropped. Molly Timmerman. The one person on earth I can say that I could not stand. Truthfully, it was worse than that. I hated her. I hated Molly Timmerman with every fiber of my being. To say she was a bitch was putting it mildly. The only bad memories I had of my time at Lakeview College involved Molly. I hadn’t anticipated her being here as Krista had heard she wasn’t going to be able to make it. Now I was really wishing I hadn’t come.

  Krista subtly pointed Molly out across the room, and I could see that not much had changed since I’d last seen her ten years ago. Same bleached blond hair, same overdone makeup, same phony laugh, and same fake smile. At first glance, one would assume that Molly Timmerman was the most popular girl in our graduating class as she appeared to be holding court over a group of our former classmates. And while she surrounded herself with several other girls who boosted her status, most of us could not stand her or her little clique. She was the center of attention because she made herself that way. She was loud and bossy, and most people just let her have the floor, not wanting to attempt to take her on knowing they would just get bowled over by Molly’s insatiable need to feel like she was the most important person in the room.

  Being around Molly and her friends during college had been like going back in time to junior high. They were malicious, stuck up and often just plain rude. In fact, it was worse than junior high because while my fellow childhood classmates and I had all had our share of ugly moments as tweens and teens, none of us where ever as bad as Molly was on her nicest day. But she and her groupies got away with their behavior because all of them came from money, which is why they ended up at a private college and not their respective state universities where the academic requirements were stricter. While many students choose Lakeview College because of the curriculum and desire for smaller class sizes, girls like Molly came because their parents could buy them admission. And that wealth alone seemed to make both students and staff alike feel as though they could not stand up to them. Most of us just did our best to avoid Molly and her friends, putting on our own fake smiles when forced to deal with them.

  And for whatever reason, Molly seemed to target me more than any other girl on campus. Even though Molly told anyone who would listen that I was one of her best friends, she never missed a chance to take a dig at me or to humiliate me in front of others. Her college major seemed to be “Making Leah Andrews Miserable.” She and her best friend, Jenn, lived in the dorm room next to Krista and me our freshman year; so perhaps she was just presented with an easy target straight out of the gate. I had no time for drama, and had honestly never really dealt with it before; but it was what Molly was always trying to stir up. My refusal to go along with her childishness seemed to fuel her desire to bully me even more.

  “Do you know how many calories are in bagels? I could never eat a bagel; I would get so fat!” she always exclaimed anytime she saw me eating a bagel. And I liked bagels; they were my go-to lunch during freshman year. But as soon as she spotted me eating one, she would dash across the room, insert herself into our group’s conversation, and then make her bagel-shaming comments. “Careful with those bagels, Leah,” she’d say in a mock serious tone, “you don’t want to put on any MORE weight!” To this day, I cannot even look at a bagel without shuddering and remembering Molly.

  Finally, one day Krista told Molly to shut up about the bagels already as the whole damn school by now knew her opinion of them and were sick of hearing about it. And as outgoing as Krista was, even she never stood up to Molly. I was eternally grateful to Krista for speaking up for me as I was too scared to do it myself for fear of how Molly would retaliate. And while Molly did start picking on Krista for a while, Krista fought back; and eventually Molly stopped. Instead, she made more of an effort to hide her jabs at me behind a “I’m just trying to help!” façade.

  Molly started (and always in front of other people) commenting on my looks, saying that I’d be so pretty if I knew how to apply makeup, that my hair would be really cute if I knew how to style it, and that my outfits would be better if I just choose different colors. “You’re majoring in English? Well, that is perfect for someone like you!” she exclaimed with fake admiration. “Librarians are so important, aren’t they, girls?” she would ask her cronies, who would nod in agreement. “I can already see you growing old in a big old library, checking out books and telling people to be quiet.” She would then give me a wink before tossing her hair and prancing off.

  “I’m not going to be a librarian!” I remember calling after her, albeit in a faint voice. “I’m going to be a writer. Or an editor.” I sighed and thought to myself that maybe I would end up as a librarian, wearing itchy wool cardigan sweaters and surrounded by dusty old books. Even as a freshman, I had started to wonder about my career prospects, or lack thereof, with an English degree.

  Pretty much the only time Molly and I interacted was when she was insulting me in front of other people. But she would always back it up with a big smile and a hug saying how much she loved me and that she was only trying to help. We never spent any one-on-one time together, so our interactions were always with an audience, my humiliation always public.

  Everyone knew Molly was being mean to me; no one believed she was well-meaning in her “advice.” And that made it worse, the fact that she not only embarrassed me in front of other people, but that everyone knew what she was doing. I hated having people look at me, but whenever Molly was around, that’s what they did. And eve
n though so many of our classmates would tell me in private that they thought Molly was horrible to me, they never stood up for me. And I was just never able to stand up for myself.

  Truthfully, Molly’s back-handed bullying caused me to dissolve into tears on more than one occasion. I was usually able to hold in my crying until I was safely back in my dorm room. But I spent several afternoons and evenings during freshman year sobbing over Molly’s treatment of me. As much as I tried to avoid her, it was nearly impossible on a campus so small. And considering that we lived next do each other in the same dorm, Molly was usually there to terrorize me. I quickly began a habit of leaving events early or just not going to gatherings at all just to avoid her.

  By sophomore year, when all freshmen girls moved to another dorm building, Krista and I at least managed to get ourselves a room on a different floor from Molly and Jenn; and then those two moved off campus for junior and senior years, renting a big house with several of their other friends. And as the years of school went on and we all got more heavily involved in our respective majors, I saw less of Molly not only because she lived off-campus but also because my time was spent in the English department while she was over in the section of campus where communications classes were held. Not surprisingly, Molly pictured herself as a television anchor. By our junior year, she was leading the campus newscasts on Monday’s and Thursday’s. The shows aired via a local cable news station that fed into the campus television system; I stayed in my dorm room while my fellow classmates gathered around the TV’s in the common rooms to get their news from Molly.

  On graduation day, she tearfully hugged everyone, including me, making me promise to keep in touch. “Oh Leah, what will I do without you?” she said as she cried into my hair. I patted her back and wished her luck before spinning around and losing myself in the crowd of my fellow graduates. I was proud of the diploma I had earned, but I was happier to finally be free of Molly Timmerman.