Promise

ONE.

"I can't do this anymore, Sadè," her boyfriend of two years finally confessed.

"D-do what? What are you talking about, Jerrell..." Sadé spoke, mind running a mile a minute trying to figure out any outcome besides the glaringly obvious one.

"This, us. I can't. I don't think we're gonna work, Dae," he sighed, visibly watching her heart breaking before his eyes.

"Wha-why? What? D-did I do something wrong? Can-can we fix it?" she rambled, her brain not wanting to accept what he was saying at all.

"It's not you, Sadé. I love you—I just...I can't be the man to live up to your expectations for your life. I'm not ready for marriage or to have a family—I'm not ready to be committed to just one person for my whole life and honestly, Dae. I'm just...I'm not in love with you anymore,"

Those words bounced around in her head like a never ending echo ever since he uttered them.

She was silent, at a complete loss for words. She didn't know what to say or how to explain what she was feeling. She'd experienced a break up before but this was so unexpected, if didn't make any sense to her. This was supposed to be the last time, he was supposed to be the man she'd grow old with. She was in love with him, and now she had to watch him walk through the door, there was nothing she could do to stop it.

He hated seeing her cry, but this was something he had to do. "Hey hey, don't cry Sadé. I'm not just gonna abandon you, I got love for you, if you ever need me just call me, you know I'll be there," he wiped the tears from her face. She looked up at him and he smiled reassuringly. "I promise," he said, wiping another tear.

For some reason, that broke her heart further. An empty promise, a 'let's be friends'. As she looked up at the smile of the man she'd hopelessly fallen for, the tears fell more rapidly, because she knew, even if he meant well that promise was hollow. It was over now, and there wasn't a thing she could do to change his mind.

"Kash! Fat fat! Hello?!" her brother, Khyren's voice snapped her out of her sad memories as he repeatedly yelled her name.

"What, Khy?" she sighed, wiping her eyes. It had been about two months since that day, and as badly as Sadé wanted to say she was over him and moving on, it wasn't true. She still found herself crying listening to certain songs, her mind constantly drifted back to the day he broke her heart. She scrolled through pictures, she watched his instagram posts, she was sad all over.

"What you in here doin?! I gotta go to work man," he grumbled and she remembered she was washing her face and her mind carried her away somewhere completely different.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled as she opened the door, avoiding her brother's glare. "I got distracted," she sighed.

"Kash look at me," he said. She shook her head and was about to walk away until he held his arm out. "Sadé. You was in there cryin'?" he asked and she hesitated before nodding. She heard him sigh a little before he pulled her into a hug, instantly making her sadder, and she started to cry again. He rocked her side to side gently, wishing he could take his sister's pain away.