Promise Me: Diamond In The Rough 2 Read online

  Promise Me

  Diamond In The Rough 2

  Rebel Hart

  Copyright 2019 © Amore Publishing

  Cover by Robin Harper of Wicked By Design

  Photo: © Regina Wamba

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  1. Raelynn

  2. Clinton

  3. Raelynn

  4. Clinton

  5. Raelynn

  6. Clinton

  7. Raelynn

  8. Clinton

  9. Raelynn

  10. Clinton

  11. Raelynn

  12. Clinton

  13. Raelynn

  14. Clinton

  15. Raelynn

  16. Clinton

  17. Raelynn

  18. Clinton

  19. Raelynn

  20. Clinton

  21. Raelynn

  22. Clinton

  23. Raelynn

  24. Clinton

  25. Raelynn

  26. Clinton

  27. Raelynn

  28. Clinton

  29. Raelynn

  30. Clinton

  31. Raelynn

  32. Clinton

  33. Raelynn

  34. Clinton

  35. Raelynn

  36. Clinton

  37. Raelynn

  38. Clinton

  39. Raelynn

  REBEL HART

  1

  Raelynn

  “Rae, stop!”

  I growled at him. “For the love of fuck, you’ll let me go. Even if it kills me.”

  My phone stumbled out of my hand as I bit down into Michael’s arm. But he released me. And I threw myself toward the edge of the bridge again. I felt him rushing for me, desperate to pull me back as I gazed over the twenty-foot drop. Sirens finally sounded in the distance. I flashed my light down there, catching yet another glimpse of where Clint was.

  After slipping away from Michael’s attempt to block me against the metal railing, I rushed for the tree line.

  “Rae, are you thick-headed? You’re going to get yourself killed!”

  “I’m not leaving him down there by himself, Michael! Get over it or go home if you don’t like it. I’ll have an officer take me home.”

  I tripped over tree roots I couldn't see and forced myself to slow down. It was a very long drop to the river. A drop that would easily put me in Clint’s position if I wasn’t careful. But I knew he was alive. He had to be alive. Because no God in this universe was as cruel as that. I refused to believe that.

  “I’m coming for you, Clint. Just hang on.”

  Sirens wailed at they rushed up the road. It felt like they were an eternity away. I heard the sirens, but I didn’t see their headlights. And I wondered how much longer until they actually got here. I pointed the flashlight on my camera down toward the ground. I heard Michael cursing my existence as I grabbed on to trees.

  They inched me down, centimeter by centimeter, until I slipped.

  “Rae!”

  “Shit!”

  I tumbled into a tree that caught me and I almost lost my phone. I lay against the tree, catching it as the steep ravine turned into damn-near the straightest drop I’d ever seen. Vines hung from the trees, dangling above the ground. And while I considered taking the chance, none of them dropped all the way to the river’s bank.

  Where Clint was sprawled out.

  I groaned. “Come on, Rae. Think.”

  “Rae! Can you hear me?”

  Michael’s voice echoed off the trees and I rolled my eyes.

  “Unfortunately!”

  “Quit being a smartass and stay there. If you move and that tree gives—”

  “Didn’t I tell you to go home if you couldn't stop ordering me around?”

  “Maybe I give too much of a shit to let my best friend kill herself over—”

  The sirens swallowed his voice and I was thankful for it. Because I was damn near ready to toss him over the bridge’s railing. I placed my phone inside my bra, with the flashlight facing outward. With the angle I was sitting at, it meant I had a clear shot of what the downslope had for me to cling to. Some rocks. A bunch of massive tree roots. If I was careful, I could still get down there.

  So I shimmied down the tree and hung on tight.

  “Damn it, Rae!”

  I blocked out Michael’s yelling as the sirens grew closer.

  “Don’t make me come down there after you!”

  I rolled my eyes as I slipped over the edge, placing my foot on the first rock.

  “Rae, Allison is going to kill you!”

  “Shut! The fuck! Up!”

  I heard Michael slam his hands against the metal guardrail as headlights slowly filtered through the trees, giving me more light to work with. I touched down on the first rock and let go of the tree, digging my nails into the dirt. I reached my foot out for the first tree root I saw and caught it, slipping my foot inside it.

  And just as I stepped off the rock, the tree root moved.

  “Ah!”

  “Rae!”

  I dug my hands into the dirt, feeling my fingernails scrape across rocks. I clung to the side of the earth, looking down at the fifteen-foot drop below me. I wasn’t even halfway down, and already I was struggling.

  He needs you, Rae. Don’t force him to be alone like he’s been all his life.

  I panted. “I’m coming for you, Clint. Just hang on.”

  With some careful maneuvering, and lots of dirt caked under my fingernails, I finally hit the halfway point. If I dropped, it wouldn't kill me But, it would hurt. I closed my eyes and breathed, allowing the rushing water to fill my ears. I plucked my phone out of my bra and shone it down, watching as the headlights through the trees poured light down onto us.

  “They’re here! They’re here, Rae! Stop moving!”

  I wanted to shove a damn sock down Michael’s throat.

  When I flashed my light down against the river, what I saw horrified me. The water was rising. The river rushed harder. And I saw Clint’s legs floating. If I didn’t hurry up, he’d be pulled away by the current. Swept away, without a trace.

  And I couldn't let that happen.

  I slipped my phone back into my bra and slowly made my way down. I slipped and yelped. I ripped my nails off my fingers as I clung to the side of the earth. Trees groaned as I stepped on their roots, making a staircase for myself. And just as I hit the last rock I needed, I drew in a deep breath.

  “Clint, can you hear me?”

  The sound of the rushing water grew behind me as I touched down onto the bank. My feet sank immediately into the mud. The silt. The thick of it all. Making it even harder to get to Clint. I lost a shoe prying my foot out of that shit. I heard tires squealing on the bridge as the smell of burnt rubber wafted up my nose.

  Reminding me of that disgusting dream I hoped to never have again.

  “Clint! Can you hear me?”

  I kept repeating the phrase as I made my way for him. As his body kept rising. As his legs kept floating. I saw his hips leave the ground. Then his lower back. I saw his body tilted in the direction of the current, and I was still a few feet away from him.

  “Clint!”

  A wave came out of nowhere, jostling his body. And before I knew it, he sank underneath the river. I threw myself at him, reaching out for him as best as I could. But it was no use. His body swept itself away, dragged with the current as the water levels kept rising
. Higher and higher, like some devil from below torturing me before he killed me, too.

  “Clint! No!”

  I sprinted as quickly as I could. It felt like I ran above the quicksand silt as my hand reached out for him. His leather jacket trailed behind him, fluttering on top of the water. And with one last lunge, I felt the fabric against my fingers. I clutched it, tugging as hard as I could. Tears rushed down my cheeks as my feet sank ankle-high into the silt and stuck, trapping me as the river rushed with a black fury.

  I wouldn't let it take me tonight, though.

  Because it wasn’t allowed to have Clint.

  “Come on. For fuck’s sake.”

  I groaned and grunted as more sirens approached. As more tires squealed. As Michael continued to yell and scream at me. I got Clint above the surface of the water and pulled him up the embankment, holding on to him for dear life. I reached up for a tree root, tugging on it as a tree fell over the edge of the river. I screamed as it landed just beside me. Finally giving up because of the water erosion against its roots.

  But it gave me something to cling to. Something to wrap my arm around as I held Clint against me.

  I drew in a shaking breath. “Just hang on, okay? Help is here.”

  I kept pulling on the tree, getting us higher and higher. There was a small perch. A small indent in the side of the earth that provided the dream of relief. My arm cried out for mercy. It shook with a need for rest. But I wouldn't let my body give up now. I slid my arm up the tree, hanging on to Clint as I slowly made my way for that indented earth.

  And when my back finally sat against it, I breathed a sigh of relief.

  Finally, a patch of dirt that didn’t try to swallow us whole.

  “Come on. On your back. Let’s go.”

  I rolled Clint off me and slid him to the ground. I put him on his back, gazing down into his face. The flashlight from my phone poking out of my bra gave me a hard glimpse at what he looked like. And it was hard to take in.

  “Clint, can you hear me?”

  I tapped his face softly, but I stopped soon after. His nose was broken. There was blood all over his cheeks and pooling in his mouth from the gash in his forehead. I reached out and checked his pulse. It was weak, but there. And as my eyes continued to roam over his body, I saw his shoulder was dislocated.

  “Clint, please. You have to wake up for me, okay?”

  I couldn't get over the blood. How much there was. How dark it looked against his skin. I didn’t know where the hell it was all coming from and I felt panic grip my chest. I tapped his neck. I placed my hand over his heart. It seemed to be beating slower and slower. Like he was slowly fading away from me.

  My tears dripped against his face. “Clint, please. You can’t do this to me, okay?”

  Memories flooded back. The first time he sat down next to me. The first time we kissed. That night in his room, where he stripped me of my clothes and made me feel things no other boy had. I remembered waking up to him in the middle of the night. Feeling his body wrapped around mine. And the only regret I had was that I hadn’t stayed that first night. My only regret out of anything was sneaking out that first night and not cherishing the time we did have together.

  “Clint, please!”

  My shrieking voice echoed off the trees. Off the water. Off the caverns underneath the bridge. I heard people crying out my name. Telling me to stay put. But I didn’t give them the time of day. I placed my forehead against Clint’s chest, no longer feeling his heartbeat. No longer feeling life pumping through his veins. And as I sobbed against his chest, I lay down next to him.

  “No, please. Clint.”

  I gripped his shirt. I cried until I heaved. My fingers slid down his arm, checking his pulse at his wrist. There was nothing. No beating. No rushing. No blood pumping through his veins. He felt cold as night. As cold as that fucking water that had almost whisked him away.

  “You’re a fighter, Clint. Fight for this. Fight for your life.”

  My words were nothing but a whisper in the wind. I kept repeating them, over and over. Hoping beyond all hope that he heard me. In the distance, I heard people coming down the ravine, headed for us as my sobs filled the space around us. The words kept tumbling from my lips like a prayer, reaching out to any God that was willing to look past my indiscretions and fulfill my only wish. I curled up next to his body. His dead, lifeless body. I clutched his chest, unable to make any sounds as my grief swallowed my voice whole.

  Until…

  “Holy shit.”

  The gasp startled me so badly I yelped. I shot up from Clint’s side, gazing down into his eyes. Holy fuck, his eyes were open. Holy fuck, he was talking!

  “Clint! Clint. Clint. Can you hear me, baby? Clint?”

  “R-Rae?”

  I cupped his cheek. “Holy shit. I—oh, my God. Clint! Don’t close your eyes, okay? Don’t close them again. The paramedics are coming. It’s almost over. Just—Clint!”

  I tapped his face as his eyes closed, and he groaned out in pain. I’d apologize later, but not right now. Because I sure as hell wasn’t about to let this miracle slip through my fingers.

  “That hurts.”

  “Because your nose is broken. Keep your eyes open, okay?”

  His reddened eyes slowly rolled over to me as the voices and footsteps grew closer. I smiled down at him, my heart filling with joy and relief as he attempted a smile back. He winced, though. I knew his nose was giving him some trouble. And rightfully so.

  Because it was practically flat against his face.

  2

  Clinton

  “Clint!”

  “Mom?”

  I whipped around, looking down as I saw myself clad in white. A white leather jacket, a white pair of jeans, and a white fucking turtleneck. Who the hell put me in a turtleneck? I looked up as I heard the sound of soft feet falling against a tile floor. I saw my mother running toward me, arms outstretched. And when I saw her, I smiled.

  “Mom!”

  I rushed for her, scooping her up into my arms. I twirled her around, hearing her giggle and laugh as my face fell against her bosom. That soft, glorious place I’d sought comfort in as a child. As a young boy, wanting nothing more than to seek shelter away from my father with her.

  I spun her around for what seemed like an eternity before I put her down.

  I buried my face into her shoulder. “It’s so good to see you.”

  She ran her fingers through my hair. “I’ve missed you so much.”

  “Where the hell are we?”

  “Language.”

  I snickered. “Thanks, Mom.”

  “Well, you and your father have always had such potty mouths.”

  I pulled back, gazing into her eyes. “Where are we?”

  “Why don’t you look around and see?”

  As my eyes slowly gazed out over the white expanse of nothingness, I saw edges come into view. A couch. A hallway. A projector television sitting against the wall. I saw the edges of windows, looking out onto a great, big, blue sky. Clouds as white as my clothing floated high above, and the green grass of our front lawn sparkled in the sun.

  I furrowed my brow. “We’re home.”

  “We are, yes.”

  “But this doesn't look like home.”

  “Well, it’s got a few changes.”

  “Why does it look so different?”

  And when I turned around, I saw sorrow in my mother’s eyes.

  I paused. “What?”

  Mom sighed. “Why don’t we have a little talk?”

  She reached her hand out for mine and I took it. She pulled me over to the couch. The one Roy and I always sat on. But it didn’t feel like our couch. It didn’t look like our space. It was a nice replica. Why the fuck was everything so white?

  “Mom, what’s going on?”

  She paused. “It’s complicated, sweetheart.”

  “I’m dreaming, aren’t I?”

  “In a way, yes.”

  “In a way?�
�

  “Your body is giving out on you right now.”

  “So I’m dying.”

  “Do you remember much of anything?”

  I nodded slowly. “I remember it all.”

  Mom patted my hand. “Who’s the pretty girl coming for you?”

  “Coming for me?”

  She smiled. “Just answer the question, sweetheart. We don’t have much time.”

  “I’m not following.”

  She cupped my cheek. “Who’s this girl you’ve been spending time with?”

  I felt so confused. And yet, this all still felt very natural. I nuzzled against my mother’s palm, wanting nothing more than to stay here with her. Stay here, in her arms. Stay here, with her touch. Stay here, and feel her run her fingers through my hair for all eternity.

  Maybe I’d get that, too. If I was really dying.

  “Her name’s Rae.”

  Mom smiled. “Pretty name. How’d you meet her?”

  I snickered. “School, actually. I used to—”

  And when I paused, Mom sighed.

  “You used to pick on her.”

  I nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “I still don’t understand why in the world you run around with those kids. That Roy boy. They’re such a bad influence on you.”

  I pulled away from her touch. “You don’t understand, Mom. I can’t expect you to.”

  “Then try. Try to explain it to me, while we have time.”

  “We’d have had time if you hadn’t left me with Dad.”

  “I was in no condition to take care of you. I was hooked on so many things and—”