The Promise I Was Afraid to Keep

Chapter 1: Saturday evening

The house looked completely normal when I came home that Saturday.

That was the part I kept thinking about afterward.

Sunlight stretched across the living-room floor, turning the windows pale gold. My parents were out, the television was off, and nothing seemed unusual. I dropped my bag on the couch and went into the garden.

The afternoon was warm but comfortable. For a few minutes, I sat outside and enjoyed the quiet. At seventeen, I had become good at disappearing into my own world whenever I had the chance.

Then I heard shouting.

It came from upstairs, muffled by the walls. I recognized my brother’s voice first, followed by my sister’s.

They argued sometimes. We all did.

My brother was twenty and attended university. My sister had recently started university herself. They could both be stubborn, especially with each other. Normally, I stayed out of their disagreements because they always settled down eventually.

So when I first heard them, I ignored it.

A few minutes later, their voices became louder.