Small Things You Promised Chapter 07
I removed the facial mask, wiped my face, and opened the door.
They came in one after another, and my 40-square-meter rental apartment was packed immediately.
My mom looked around. Her eyebrows knitted tightly when her eyes landed on the peeled packaging of junkie food, the messy blanket on the sofa, and the towel hanging on the balcony.
“How can you live here? It’s smaller than our storage room!” she commented.
Standing in the crowd, Cayson wore a suit. His hair was combed neatly.
He panicked a little when our eyes met.
“Rae, I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
I said nothing.
His mom walked over with red eyes and took my hand.
“Rae, I’m begging you. Don’t be mad at Cayson. He’s never cried since childhood. But he cried all night in his room the day before yesterday. It broke my heart.”
She wept before she could finish speaking.
“You two were on good terms before. How did it become like this? If Cayson did something wrong, you can tell me. I’ll chew him out.”
“Mom!” Cayson called, as if to play along.
“Shut up!”
His mom glared at him, turned to me, and remarked in a concerned tone, “Rae, it’s not easy to find someone. Couples fight. It’s normal. It’s kind of silly to throw away a five-year relationship because of a trifle, isn’t it?”
Huh, a trifle.
Like mother, like son.
“Mrs. Adkins, what’s not a trifle in your eyes?
“Cheating? Domestic violence?
“Cayson left me alone when I had a fever. My back hurt so much I could hardly stand up, and yet I still had to go to the hospital alone. You still think I’m making a fuss over a trifle?
“He can’t remember a single thing that I like. Isn’t that a trifle, too?”
Cayson’s mom opened her mouth but said nothing.
Cayson took one step forward and looked down at me with an earnestness that I had never seen before.
“Rae, I was wrong. I admit it.
“I was too busy and neglected you. Give me another chance. I’ll change.”
He sounded sincere when he said the last sentence.
It reminded me of the last time he said it.
It was on my birthday. When I cleaned the smashed cream cake off the floor, my back was out again. It hurt like hell. Unable to get up, I crouched on the floor and cried.
When Cayson came out of the bedroom, he was surprised to see me crying. Then, he squatted down, held me, and said, “I’ll change. It won’t happen again.”
What happened then?
Did he change?
“Did you hear that?”
My dad finally spoke, not so loudly but firmly.
“Cayson has apologized to you in front of his parents, your mom, and me. What else do you want? It’s only human to err.”
He seldom made such comments before.
In his eyes, I was sweet and sensible. He didn’t have to worry about me getting into trouble.
However, now, he was standing between Cayson and his parents. Clearly, they had persuaded him.
“Rae, Cayson is an outstanding man, and he’s been good to you. Don’t push things, or you’ll regret it.”
Something occurred to me. Last month, when I was on an IV drip at the hospital, an old lady had asked me, “Girl, why are you here alone? Where’s your family?” I had replied, “I have no family.”
It was true.
Because Cayson wasn’t my family.
At this moment, my parents were right in front of me in my apartment, but they took Cayson’s side.
All the while, Sadie had stood at the back of the crowd.
Just then, she suddenly came forward and cut in, “Cay thinks the world of you. After you left, he couldn’t sleep or eat. Will you forgive him this once?”
I looked at the pendant between her collarbones and then turned to Cayson.
Following my gaze, he also looked at the pendant. But his expression remained calm.
Apparently, he still didn’t remember what the pendant meant to me.
I laughed and declared, “All right. I’ll forgive you. On one condition!”