A Treat for Fans of 'A Promise Kept' my novel! (Patreon)

Hey guys! Sooo I figured I'd give you all a 'sneak peek' into something that I'm looking to move forward with: the sequel to my novel 'A Promise Kept' which is titled 'The Secret'! At present it's 100 190 words (OMG) so I just need to edit it! In the meantime though before it's submitted to publishers etc I thought I'd give you all an exclusive sneak peek into the novel by giving you the entire first chapter!!! This is exclusive ONLY for patrons and no one -not even my best friend of 23 years- has read this yet! I hope you enjoy and PLEASE LEAVE SOME FEEDBACK ON IT! <3 I'm still editing and if anything needs fixing up I'm down to consider that! So thanks for being patrons and ENJOY! Please note: this does contain spoilers about the ending to the last book 'A Promise Kept' so don't read if you don't want that book spoiled for ya! 

The Secret

Chapter One

August 31st, 2000

It’s hard to believe that there’s only 5 more days left until school starts! It seems like it’s been forever since we left grade ten, probably because so much has happened this summer. So much has changed during these past two months, and we are definitely not the same people now as we were at the end of June. I think it’s safe to say that this summer was a summer of change, for all of us in The Lair as well as Quatre.

Everyone’s become different people; but for the better. We’re all closer now, thanks in part (ironically) to a curse. It still feels weird to talk about it. It was only about a month and a half ago, and yet it seems some days to be ages ago and other days it feels like it was only yesterday.

They say what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger. How right they are. It scares me to think of it, but it’s true. In fact, it changed us all tremendously.

I guess I’ll start with Draco. We’ve always been somewhat close I guess but with everything that’s happened, it’s brought us so much closer. When I was faced with the idea of never seeing anyone ever again, I realized that Draco’s always been there for me, and for everyone else too. He’s been like a brother for me; helping me out, guiding me along and giving me sensible advice, even when I never asked for it or pretended not to hear it. Although he’ll never say it, I know he loves me like a sister and would do anything to keep me safe. Before last year, I secretly felt out of place at The Lair because one: I’m a Halfling and two: my mom and dad aren’t here. Well, I guess right now, no parents are here, but at least everyone has some sort of family. I don’t have any. But it’s taken Draco for me to realize that we don’t need to be related by blood to care about each other and feel a part. And for this, I’ll be eternally grateful.

And now I’m seeing a change in just how much he cares. See, Draco doesn’t really openly admit things like how much he cares or loves someone so if he shows any sign of open love or affection or concern, it’s usually in a way that’s not obvious or when they won’t know about it. In my case, he thinks I won’t know about it. But I do. 

I found out by accident, actually. I was asleep and I was partially woken up by the sound and feeling of my covers being tucked up under my chin. I opened my eyes slightly, just enough to see who it was and saw Draco leaving my room. He stopped at the door, turned around to look at me and whispered goodnight and then left presumably to his own room. I was unfazed by this, for the most part. But then I’ve woken up a couple of nights to see him standing at my doorway, watching me sleep. Sounds creepy, I know, but it was actually kinda cute! He was leaning against my doorway, eyes drooped, just watching over me. I would have told him to go to sleep but I didn’t want him to know that I’ve seen him. He’d become too embarrassed I think. And just the thought of it comforts me somewhat, in knowing of his active concern for me and his wanting to make sure I’m safe. I think Draco probably knows that everything’s alright now but it seems to me he just wanted a bit of reassurance. And I’m fine with that, as long as he does go to bed sometime and stay there! I don’t want to find him asleep in my doorway one morning!

It seems I’m not the only girl that Drake’s been caring more for lately though. It seems as though his feelings towards Amara have changed too! I would have never thought of anything like this happening at The Lair between us friends but then again, Quatre and I… Well, anyway, I think it’s cute that he likes Amara!

I can’t pinpoint exactly when I noticed a change in him towards her, although I’d like to say it probably started the day Amara dyed her hair back to her natural color; red. She went a lot darker than what it’s supposed to be because she says that way when the color fades and her roots grow in, they’ll be growing in lighter or close to the same color as the rest of her hair. Anyway, so she came down the stairs to show it to us and Draco looked… well, he was speechless anyway and only nodded when she asked us all if we liked it. I’ve never seen that look from him before, it was like… total awe or something and you could tell that he thought it looked really nice. I didn’t really see much else different between them after that until they started going out at the end of July. We all found out one or two days later when we were all downstairs, and they told us. We were shocked a bit but happy and excited for them too.

The more and more I think about it, the more I think they’ll make a great couple. They’ve known each other for so long (since they were kids), which helps them to be comfortable hanging out together, for one. And they just seem…I dunno how to put it, but in admiration of one another. I guess what I mean to say is that Amara has always liked Draco, but since they were friends it never occurred to her that the reasons she liked him as a friend could move into that step further. And I think it’s taken Draco's realization of Amara’s…beauty I guess, physically, for them to see each other different emotionally. I think that by seeing Drake’s physical attraction to her it has made Amara see him differently too. I mean, Drake’s not bad looking, after all, so she needed to see him without their mutual friendship standing in front of her I suppose to let a little bit of physical attraction sink in.

But anyway, I hope things work out for them whether they stay together or not, because I can’t imagine how things would be if they don’t.

Now I don’t know if it’s because he’s going out with Amara and just wants to spend more time with her and the rest of us or if he’s grown out of it (I don’t think it’s this) but Draco has started to spend less and less time with his video games! At this time last year, this would’ve been unspeakable; he wouldn’t have even accepted the thought of doing that! Video games were his life; him and Gorgo’s both. Now that Draco’s priorities have changed so much I’m trying to figure out when they did. I think I can trace it back to when Quatre began to hang out at The Lair.

You know, it’s weird that Draco began to seem happier after breaking the rules by hanging out with Quatre! Sure, at first he didn’t know it was breaking them but when he found out, it didn’t seem to matter to him, did it? I dunno, but either way Drake’s now become less of a spaz when it comes to The Rules. It’s kinda nice actually. I kinda like his rebellious side more than I do his keep-it-legal, keep-it-safe side! Then again that’s probably because that’s what I am, deep down; a rebel!

Speaking of rule breaking and following, there’s been another major change here at The Lair: Sin. I can honestly say I have absolutely no idea what’s made her change so much. It’s like she doesn’t…how do I put it? I guess it’s like The Rules don’t matter as much to her anymore either. It seems that she doesn’t really care about whether we are or aren’t following them. This is not to say she wants us to break them, I think it’s more that there won’t necessarily be hell to pay if we slip up a bit.

I’m beginning to wonder if it’s because of Quatre, or if it’s because of me. I’m not sure if she accepted Quatre and that he being with us breaks The Rules because of wanting me to be happy after everything that’s happened. Or does she like Quatre because she wants to, and maybe she’s seen that by breaking the ‘No Mortals’ rule that we’ve all gained someone really important in our lives? I’d like to think this, but I’m not entirely sure. I guess I didn’t know Sin that well before but from what I did, she didn’t seem the type to be open to change and to be friendly and inviting and care about people, which she does now! It’s all so confusing!

Somehow I get the feeling though that being faced with my death has taught everyone not be so critical of life anymore. I know that I’ve realized that we only have one life to live; one chance to take and I’m not going to take what I have for granted! It’s absolutely rare to get another chance like I did. And I’m grateful for that everyday.

I think everyone sees that too, with a special note on Sin in particular. I think there’s been a total of three or something days in the past two months or so that she hasn’t been at The Lair for the majority of the day (or night). To tell you the truth I really appreciate it. Although, she’s not totally open and…enthusiastic I guess, which is fine with me. If Sin was laughing and joking with us or giving a lot of input into everything, I think it would be really weird, mostly because I don’t think she’s that type of person. She’s more reserved, especially when it comes to her emotions and most particularly the positive and caring ones. She’s better at expressing things like anger, disappointment and seriousness than liking or loving, sadness, excitement or happiness.

Now don’t get me wrong; Sin isn’t just a quiet, all serious person around us. She smiles every once in awhile and on occasion laughs softly to herself when we’re fooling around or something’s funny. But like I said, she keeps everything mostly to herself, which is how she is just like Gorgo is not a talkative person. That’s just how they are.

Oh yeah, and we managed to see her in a dress (which is a whole other story)! Amara and I had this bet going that we’d never see her in one, but Drake said he could get her to and anyway, by some weird stroke of luck or persuasiveness (or whatever he’s got), we lost!

Needless to say, Amara and I are much closer now. We finally understand each other a bit better, which has made things easier to go from I guess. We have more in common than I thought, which is great. She and I are the only girls our age in the house and I’m really grateful to finally be able to share time together. I guess I was too shy and too stubborn before to try, but now we both know what a poor excuse that was.

In taking this time, I’ve come to learn what a great artist Amara is! Then again when I think about it, she might not be as good as she is now if we’d always spent time together before because of all the free time she had to doodle and stuff when we weren’t hanging out.

It’s kinda weird to think of it that way and say it was a good thing we didn’t hang out but at the same time, I know I’m not going to waste time on regrets of what I did or didn’t do before this summer! I’m trying to focus on what I CAN do now as opposed to what I can’t change, which I think everyone else has a good sense of too and that’s why we’re becoming so tight knit!

Oh yeah, and I almost forgot; Amara loved her birthday present from Quatre and I; the collage we did. Well, the one I forced him to help me with anyway! She started crying when she saw all the pictures of all of us, and then I started too! Unbelievable how us girls work, eh? The guys (and Sin) just sat there awkwardly for a second as we hugged and stuff. Then Amara wanted to thank Quatre so she tried to stop crying but of course we just kept bawling, me because she was so happy and moved by our gift and her probably because it really summed up our years together that could have been gone after July 16th and we now know we’ll treasure from now on. I suppose it’ll serve as a reminder of what we have and what we could have lost.

And the weird thing is, I never intended it that way, I mean, we made it before I knew about The Curse and everything. I had no idea it would mean so much!

Has Gorgo changed? I guess you could say so. Instead of adding to a rock collection, he’s started a mineral one!? Yep, he spent two hours in his room sorting his rocks into mineral types and plans to find more rare minerals to display! Some people never change and some change just when you think you know their basics! Gorgo seems to do both! 

Ok on a more serious note, Gorgo has changed a little. I can see just on his face sometimes that he cares so much about me and about all of us. He’s happy to have us as his friends and I’m happy to have him there too. It doesn’t matter that he’s quiet or totally random when he does talk or even doesn’t make complete sense sometimes but he cares, just as deeply as anybody, about the strong friendships we’ve formed here at The Lair. He’s just as much a part of our group as any of us and I love him for it. One day I hope I can tell him this somehow. But I think he knows.

And you’d never know but Gorgo is so strong –physically I mean. He’s carried me a couple times now –though I only really remember the once when he took me upstairs just after that fateful night and I’d woke up. He carried me all the way from the basement up the stairs, down the hall and into my room. And he didn’t even seem to be breaking a sweat or… anything! It was like it was nothing for him! Sometimes I wonder now, secretly, if he… I’m embarrassed to say this but if he works out at all? You’d never think so considering his stature –and the fact that he sits on the couch like all the time watching TV or playing video games. I guess I’ll never know really!

Anyway, with all that said, I think I’ll move onto Quatre. The thing is, where do I begin? So much has changed for us, yet it all has served to bring us even closer in our already close friendship. Things are never going to be the same again between us, and between him and everyone else at The Lair, and I think I’m okay with that. Quatre proved beyond any doubt or expectation his love and loyalty and pureness of heart, something not even I, who’s known him longer than anyone else here, can understand.

I can’t even imagine what it took for him to go through and to do everything he did. Just accepting the fact that his best friend was going to die must’ve been hard enough, never mind agreeing to be the one to do it and make the stake and everything. And then giving into having his memory erased of everyone and everything we’ve all done together… I just can’t even begin to understand what he was going through. And on top of all that, he managed to remain sane? I’d never even known anything was wrong before, and it’s mostly because of how he acted around me. After asking the others recently, I’ve found out he did almost the same thing around them; he tried to act like nothing was bothering him –that is until after I disappeared. How he didn’t go insane I’ll never know. Just thinking about it makes me crazy and uneasy. But I suppose it’s safe to say that Quatre’s emotional strength is far greater than anyone could imagine.

This is one of the reasons I love him so much. I know that no matter what, the bond we all share with him is being infinitely kept strong on his end, and nothing will change that. (Or at least I hope.)

He actually told me not too long ago that he thinks even if The Elder had actually erased his memory that he could never truly forget us. And somehow, I think that’s entirely true. I once heard a quote that said something like: ‘Friends are one soul dwelling in two bodies’, but in our case, about five bodies! Ok, so that’s a far stretch but what I mean to say is that I think we’ve all become a small part of Quatre’s soul; who he is sort of and there’s no way any amount of suppressing memories will take that– take us– away from him.

There are no good words to say how I feel about this except perhaps overwhelming gratitude and…awe. Before a year ago and even during this year I would’ve never imagined to find someone who cares that much. My whole life I’ve always felt that I’ve never had anyone who truly loved me and I wasn’t sure that I ever would. These past couple of months have shown me, and everyone else too that sometimes it’s right in front of you and the worst part is that sometimes it needs to be threatened to become visible.

It’s amazing how meeting just one person can change absolutely everything. Which has got me thinking a lot for the past month and a half about all this and about Quatre and all we’ve been through together. It’s made me wonder: was it really coincidence that Quatre and I met?

I mean really, there are too many things that ended up fitting into place because we became friends. Quatre came into high school looking for some way to make friends that he could talk to on a regular basis; something he’d never been able to have before, (which he doesn’t really like to talk about now that it’s over). And he found that with me, and later with the others. I on the other hand wasn’t looking to interact with anyone except occasionally with Draco, Amara and Gorgo. I wouldn’t `ve minded if I’d spent the year alone because I’d spent pretty much the rest of my life before with no one but myself and the few moments I’d felt close to the others. But Quatre changed that by indirectly making me realize how much I needed a close friend. But we all know now that even if I had survived the year without Quatre, I wouldn’t have survived afterward and so it’s got me thinking that just maybe Quatre and I’s meeting was meant to be and not just some “happenstance coincidence” because then there’s the fact that Quatre was able to fit into the role of the Pure-Heart to vanquish The Curse. Not only that but he was the one who could conquer it too and bring me back. I can’t even… I don’t even know what to say. I owe Quatre my life and yet somehow it seems by reversing The Curse alone Quatre was paid back that debt. I really don’t know how to explain it. But I think that’s how he feels because he won’t allow me to feel like I owe him anything. Not losing me was reward enough for what he did, even though he felt and still feels horrible about it. I’ve tried convincing him that what he did was noble and selfless and heroic and that I never once felt ill will towards his choice. He pretends to listen to me but I still see the guilt in his eyes. He’s too good of a guy, honestly. I’m not sure what I did to deserve him; what any of us did to deserve someone like him as a friend and protector. He kept his promise never to betray us and do his best to remain in that loyalty. He kept his silent promise to me to be my best friend, no matter what. No matter what became something so much more when we all were faced with The Curse, and I can’t explain (as I’ve said many times now) how grateful I am to have met him; befriended him.

Sometimes I wonder if I hadn’t met Quatre, if I would have been cursed at all. What I mean is not because being friends with him was forbidden but because he could both rid me of the Curse and free me of its fatal outcome. Then again, if I was cursed, and Quatre wasn’t there, who would the others have gotten to be the Pure-Heart to save everyone from me; from The Demon? And I’ve thought about it quite hard, and to be honest, I have no idea who that person would have been. But I have a very strong feeling that this person –whomever they chose– would not have had the ability to do anywhere near the same thing as Quatre did and I definitely wouldn’t be here. Oh crap, I’m smudging the page with my tears! Better stop thinking all overly emotional like this!

Anyway, with everything said and done, I think that this year as I said is going to be very, very different from what it was last year and I’m a little nervous. But not as bad as it was last year for sure, `cuz I know this year I have all my best friends with me by my side. And even then I am a bit nervous as to what this year is going to bring, being that it’s grade eleven, and obviously none of us have been through this experience before, (except for Sin, but she’s obviously not going back to school with us). Hopefully we’ll have a good year but an interesting one at that –though again I have a great feeling that there’s no way it couldn’t be, not with the best friends that I have with me by my side.