Page 98 of A Broken Promise

My heart tightened but I smiled back at him, hoping that somehow that smile would make the next few words to come out less painful.

“I’ve come to say goodbye, Florian. I am leaving tonight. Right now. I… I don’t know for how long, but I know it’s going to be a while. And before you object,” I said, seeing his mouth open. “I have to do it. I have already promised,” I said, avoiding his persistent stare, worrying that those kind eyes would convince me to stay.

Knowing full well that a part of me begged them to.

“What happened, Finn? Did Priya find my amazing drawings of her? Is it because of those horns? And now she’s upset? I’ll send her a sorry card then.”

He rubbed my hand with his thumb in comforting strokes. Gods, this was so much harder than I thought it would be.

I turned my head to face a wall. Such a simple room for the heir of the drug empire.

“Seriously though, is it Priya?” he asked again, his tone picking up a bit; the only sign of desperation creeping in. “To hell with her, to hell with them all. Come live here. If it’s money, I have plenty, you can live here, and I can give you money and whatever else you need and beforeyou say no…No, you wouldn’t have to sleep with me for it, unless you really want to.” His tone was upbeat, yet his face filled with heartbreak.

I put on a smile, choking on the lump stuck in my throat. Florian was my friend.

A friend that I didn’t deserve.

“Finn, you have to say something.” He squeezed my hand, unwilling to let go.

“Florian, I am sorry, I wish I could explain everything and tell you everything, but I can’t. There is no point in it. I have to leave, but I do need you to do something for me.”

Florian just opened his mouth to object, yet a small meow sounded from my bag. I reached my hand into it, pulling out a small orange and white striped kitten. Florian raised his eyebrows in astonishment.

“Okay, when I wrotepussyon my drawing, I meant something completely different, but now in retrospect I see that I should've clarified,” Florian mumbled as he moved his hand to pet the cat.

“Meet Ray, like a ray of sunshine, Ray. I found him abandoned under the bridge in the Central market. Priya doesn’t allow any animals in the house, so I’ve kept coming back to him and feeding him or paying a maid at the Butcher’s shop to feed him if I was gone, but now I am leaving for a long time and with the winter….” My voice broke for a second. This hurt so much. I took a large breath calming my broken heart.

Later. I will deal with the heartbreak later.

“I need him to have a home, Florian. I need to know that he is going to be okay.”

Even if I am not.Unspoken words flowed in my mind.

But the reality was that I was never okay. Not from the moment I was born, not now. I took another look at my little kitty cat, my friend. He too, was abandoned at birth, left alone in the world to make it. Perhaps, he wasn’t okay before, but he would be now. One of us had to be.

“You brought me a cat?” he said, taking another look at the small ball of sunshine in my hands, now purring as he rubbed his headagainst my chest. “He is a boob man, I can relate,” Florian said, petting his belly. I laughed through watery eyes, blinking fast as if that somehow would help stop the tears building up.

“Please take good care of him. He was the only friend I had until I met you, and now it’s only fitting that two of my friends unite. You can even create a little red head club together and talk crap about me.” Even through my soft smile, tears slipped past me as I handed off my little Ray to Florian. With soft paws, he climbed onto Florian’s chest and purred as he rubbed his head against Florian’s chin.

“Finn, please tell me what I can do to stop this?” Florian dropped the boyish tone, his voice somber. “Whatever it is I can help, I am the freaking Casteol heir, that has to mean something. I have connections, I have influence. Whatever it is, I bet a few smiles from me, and we can figure it out.”

“I wish it was that simple,” I said sadly, smiling while discreetly wiping the salty tear away. I stood up, putting my cloak back on.

A part of me knew that if I offered to have him to come with me, he would. That if I told him that I was a runaway slave, and the truth about everything that had happened with me he would be there for me through it all.

A part of me wanted to tell him everything.

But I was selfish.

Selfish, because it was my burden to carry. Selfish, because for once I wanted to do it myself. It wasmypromise to fulfill.

It was selfish of me to deny him even that chance to help. I knew that.

But I had to do this alone.

When you were burned enough times, you tend to stay away from the fire no matter how cold you get.

“Finn, please. What can I do to help? Talk to me,” he asked again, letting me see the anguish and the heartache. I was glad the fur shaded my eyes away from him.

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