The Promise

Chapter 32

"Hey, wake up." Someone said as they repeatedly slapped my cheeks.

I forced my eyes open and stared blankly at Caleb. He was still slapping me.

"Hey," I said groggily as I slowly smacked his hand away. "What happened?"

"You passed out again."

"Why?" I asked.

"Probably due to loss of blood and also because of the shock of seeing something."

I looked at him quizzically. "What did I see?"

Caleb remained silent, pursing his lips.

"You saw me." A voice said from in front of me. I turned my head away from Caleb and towards the end of the bed. Ash stood there, in all his dead glory.

"Ash?" I whispered.

He moved from his position and came close to me. "Hey there, kiddo." Caleb moved away from my side and Ash took his place.

"What happened to you?" I was feeling a surge of different emotions. I was angry, hurt and happy all at once. Happy, because I got to see and talk to my brother once more. Hurt, because he let me think he was dead. Angry, because he lied to me.

"I'm so sorry Sienna." Ash mumbled as he leaned forward to hug me.

I jerked away from him, wincing as I did so. Pain shot through me as I remembered my gift from my loving ex-boyfriend. I shouldn't be making any sudden movements. "Don't."

Ash's face fell. He bit his lip and pulled a chair close to the bed. "Let me explain. I know you're mad at me."

"Mad at you? I'm furious! How could you lie to Mom and Dad? To Jean? To me?" I exclaimed.

Ash kept silent and took his scolding. "I'm sorry," he muttered.

I shook my head at him. "Is that all you can say?"

"Sienna, you don't understand. I did it to protect you." As he said that, something in me snapped.

"What is wrong with you all? I can look after myself. You don't have to lie to me to protect me." I yelled. "First Luke leaves me and breaks my heart. When I find him, he won't tell me why he left. Now you fake your death to protect me? Didn't you geniuses think that telling me and letting me be apart of these decisions could help protect me better? Not to mention, all this hurt and heart break could have easily been avoided."

"Sienna." Luke said from the doorway.

I snapped my head in his direction, shooting him a death glare. "What?" I growled.

He winced as he walked into the room. "I think you need to let us explain," he hesitated. "From the begining."

I blinked at him, surprised. "You're gonna tell me why you left?"

He nodded his head. "Yeah. It's a very long story."

I shrugged and gestured at myself. "I got time."

*****

"Okay, so first of all, I'm sorry for leaving." Luke said. He had dragged up another chair beside Ash and was seated in it. Caleb had wanted to leave, but I didn't let him. I was too mad at the other two to be left alone with them. Caleb understood that and agreed to stay.

"Yes, I know. You always tell me that. Now stop being a chicken and get to it." I shot at him.

A flicker of surprise passed over his face as Ash snickered. I shot a glare at Ash causing him to shut up. Luke nodded and started. "One night, four years ago, there was an incident. I was driving home from a party and happened to stop at the traffic light. And as I was waiting, a girl started to cross the road and-" He paused, "-and all of a sudden a car sped by and hit her. It was a hit and run."