Promised (The Promised Series)

losing her is too much for me to bear. And discussing it will be like throwing salt in my still open wound. I can’t do that yet. I fucked up big time. I love her, but I knew she wasn’t ready to choose and I forced it on her, causing her to run from me. From us.
    I hear my mom suck in a deep breath and then release it. She’s gearing up for a big motherly lecture. “Lincoln, I know you really liked this girl…”
    “Love.” I correct, turning my gaze from the window to her.
    “You haven’t known her long enough to love her.” I can see in her face that she’s trying to soften her words because she sees that I’m hurting, but it doesn’t matter. I’ve been through too much today for anything to calm me.
    “It doesn’t matter if it’s only been two weeks, two months, or two damn years. I love that girl and I told you I don’t want to talk about this shit. I’m done for today, Mom. D. O. N. E. DONE!” I get up and storm out of the kitchen, bound for my room. I faintly catch her giving me hell for cussing, but I’m so far gone that I ignore her as I shut myself in my room and lock the door.
    I throw myself on to my bed, pull out my cell, and send a text to Wyn. She doesn’t reply back.

Chapter 16 – Wyn
    ~It Got Serious~
    “You need to back away from the oven. You have baked enough cupcakes.” Dani teases, trying to lighten the mood. I called her after the blow up with Linc and she picked me up from school early. She brought me to her trailer to hide out after we made a quick stop at the supermarket to buy cupcake making supplies.
    I scan the counter that’s now covered with no less than four dozen cupcakes. Not only my favorite sprinkle kind, but seeing as the situation was so awful, I made some chocolate too. Chocolate fixes everything, right? Lord, I wish it could be as simple as that, but I know it’s not. I grab the bowl of chocolate batter and take a seat beside Dani.
    “He asked me to choose.” I tell her. Using the spoon, I take a big bite of the batter.
    “Choose?” She asks, watching me closely. I can tell she’s worried. I never leave school early and definitely not over a guy.
    I swallow the batter then answer. “Him.”
    She’s so shocked that her eyes grow to the size of saucers. “As in him over Shay and the family?”
    I nod my head and stuff another spoon full in my mouth.
    “Oh. My. Gosh.”
    “Yeah.” I agree around the spoon still stuck in my mouth.
    “Enough.” Dani jerks the spoon out of my mouth, tosses it in the bowl and removes it from my lap, placing it out of my reach. “Seriously, you can’t use a sugar coma to get rid of this.”
    “Hey! It’s my problems! I should know what will help.” I whine as I cross my arms, but I don’t make a grab for the bowl because somewhere deep down, I know she’s stopping me for my own good.
    “I’m saving you from yourself. Now what did you tell him?” She asks, turning to face me.
    “If I gave him good news, do you think I’d be here hiding and gorging on cupcake batter?” I grumble, standing up and grabbing one of the finished cupcakes.
    Standing up, taking the cupcake from me and setting it back on the counter, Dani asks. “Are you okay?”
    “I have to be.” I answer, picking the cupcake back up and stripping it of its wrapper and taking a huge bite before Dani can take it again.
    “It’s ok to be upset about this. You cared for him.” Her voice is so soft, but her eyes are laughing at me, probably more over the cupcake than the issue at hand.
    “I love him.” I correct around a mouthful of cupcake.
    She falls back on the couch in shock. “You never told me it got this serious.”
    I swallow the bite in my mouth and then sit down beside her. “It got serious.”
    “Did you, you know?” She turns to me with her eyebrows raised.
    It takes me a moment to realize what she means. Then shaking my head like my life depends on it, I answer her. “I don’t have a death wish.”
    “That’s good.” She lets out the breath she’d been holding. “Shay, your brothers, and your dad would kill him, and you, if you had.”
    “That’s why I ended it. Shay found out I was hanging around a Gorger boy. He doesn’t know for sure who he is, but he saw the Challenger so it won’t be hard for him to find out if he wants.”
    “Oh, Hades! When did this happen? You’ve been holding out on me.” I tell her about everything, starting with Christmas when Linc and I exchanged gifts and ending with what