I Promise {Jemi}

Chapter 8

Joe

"Wow you seem pretty serious about this." Nick said to me.

"I am. I think I'm starting to develop feelings for her." I couldn't believe the words coming out of my mouth.

"But what about Ashley? I know you have or had something for her. I know she felt the same towards you as you did to her." He was right. What am I going to tell Ashley? I didn't want to hurt her.

"I'll tell her when the time's right." I said. We sat there in silence for a moment before Nick spoke up.

"Well I'm heading off to bed. Goodnight." Nick said as he got off my bed and started walking towards the door.

"Goodnight." I got off my bed and shut the door behind him. I took my shirt off and changed into some pajama pants. I brushed my teeth in the bathroom and turned off the lights. I crawled into bed but I couldn't sleep. Many thoughts were keeping me up. Soon enough my eyelids got heavy and I fell asleep.

The next morning I woke up to the smell of breakfast. Pancakes, eggs, toast, hashbrowns, and more. I got off my bed, brushed my teeth and headed downstairs to see my family eating.

"Goodmorning." I said still sleepily.

"Goodmorning Joe. I made your favorite." My mom handed me the plate of food.

"Thanks mom." I went to sit down with my brothers. I ate all my food and remembered I was going to hang out with Demi today.

"Hey Mom I'm hanging out with Demi today is that alright?" I asked.

"Yeah. She seems like a nice girl. Just come back by dinner." I smiled softly when my mom said that she liked Demi.

"Alright." With that note in my mind I headed upstairs to my room and changed.

Hey coming over in a bit if that's alright :) I texted Demi. I soon got a response back.

Yeah it's cool :) she responded back. A smile grew on my face. I went back downstairs and headed for the door.

Demi

I woke up the next morning to my phone vibrating. It was a text from Joe. I opened it and my eyes grew big. I forgot we were going to hang out today. I quickly responded back and got ready. When I went to my bathroom there was a note on my mirror.

Goodmorning sweetheart. We went out to run some errands and we'll be back around the afternoon. Love you and be safe.

Good thing my parents were out now. Joe and I could finally have some alone time without distractions. I wore some jeans and a floral top. I applied a bit of make-up and looked at myself one last time. The doorbell rang and I went to the door. I fixed my hair one last time and opened the door and there he was. He smiled at me and my butterflies grew in my stomach again. I've been getting them more since Joe appeared in my life.

"Hey come on in. My family went out so it's just me." My voice shook as I was somewhat nervous.

"Yeah that's cool."He stepped in.

"So what do you want to do?" I asked him.

"Anything with you." He said. I blushed like crazy. I can tell he noticed because he smiled.

"Well we can go to my room and maybe we could play with my guitar." He nodded and we went up to my room. I sat on my bed and I grabbed my guitar we played for a while. Trying to come up with lyrics and laughing just having a great time. I haven't laughed like this in a long time.

"Well that was a bit of a fail." He said. I chuckled at his remark. We went downstairs into the living room and watched some tv.

"You want anything?" I asked him.

"Some water would be nice." He said from the living room. I went back to the living room with the water and sat down on the couch with him. I was handing him the water when he looked down. He looked upset. I was trying to look at where he was looking at. I looked down and saw my cuts were showing. I quickly tried covering it up but I knew it was too late.

"Demi.." He spoke softly. He was reaching out for my arm when I pulled away. I was trying hard not to cry. I didn't want him to know my secret. But it was too late.

"No Joe just go away." I was choking on my tears. I wiped them with my hand when he got up from his seat on my side to look at me.

"Demi I want to know why." He said soothingly in a calm voice.He was softly rubbing my back as a way of encouraging me to continue. I didn't want to tell him because then he might leave me like everyone else or make fun of me. I didn't know what to do.

"Because Joe. You won't understand." I said. He put his fingers under my chin and lifted it up so we were making eye contact. He wiped my tears away with his thumb. I looked into his eyes. It seemed like he was about to cry.

"But Demi I want to help you. You don't need to cut. You are so beautiful. I know you are so much better than that." He caressed my cheek. He just told me I was beautiful. And for the first time in my life I actually felt it.

"Thank you Joe." I gave him a weak smile. He smiled back weakly as well. I got up from the couch and went to the bathroom. My mascara was running and I looked like a raccoon. I quickly cleaned it up and opened my bathroom drawer. I saw my razor blades in there. Maybe Joe was right. I grabbed the blades and threw them in the trash bin. I let out a heavy sigh and went back to Joe seeing him sitting on the couch. I joined him and we watched some tv for a while when he spoke up.

"Demi promise me something." He turned towards me so we were looking at eachother. "Promise me that you won't cut anymore. I want you to live, stay strong, and to be happy." I looked into his eyes and saw that he was serious about this.

"I promise." I told him. He smiled at me and gave me a hug. He really does care for me. He grabbed my wrist and traced my scars.

"You're beautiful and don't forget it." He told me. For the first time in my life I felt beautiful.