Love By Grace: The Story: Part 1: Broken Vow
Based on the song by Lara Fabian
Tell me her name I want to know The way she looks And where you go I need to see her face I need to understand Why you and I came to an end
Tell me again I want to hear Who broke my faith in all these years Who lays with you at night When I'm here all alone Remembering when I was your own
I'll let you go I'll let you fly Why do I keeping on asking why I'll let you go Now that I found A way to keep somehow More than a broken vow
Tell me the words I never said Show me the tears you never shed Give me the touch That one you promised to be mine Or has it vanished for all time
I'll let you go I'll let you fly Why do I keeping on asking why I'll let you go Now that I found A way to keep somehow More than a broken vow
I close my eyes And dream of you and I And then I realize There's more to life than only bitterness and lies I close my eyes
I'd give away my soul To hold you once again And never let this promise end
I'll let you go I'll let you fly Why do I keeping on asking why I'll let you go Now that I found A way to keep somehow More than a broken vow
-Broken Vow, by Lara Fabian (CD: self-titled)
Nick laughed as he beat Dayley at the new video game, yet again.
"Nick, that's not fair! I never play video games," Dayley pouted, as she tossed the controller on the ground, showing that she was giving up.
"Oh, come on, Ley... It's just a game," Nick grinned at her, feeling triumphant nonetheless.
Dayley laughed at his expression, before standing up and heading into the kitchen with their empty glasses. She placed them in the sink as Nick walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.
"Y'know... if you were to practice and take it a little more seriously, you may just be able to beat me someday..." he snickered.
She rolled her eyes and turned around, placing a kiss on his lips gently, "That's alright, Nicky. I'll leave the addiction to you..." she paused for a while, staring at him intently, "I love you, Nick."
Dayley swore she'd seen his eyes cloud over for a few moments, but as fast as it had come, it had gone. Nick didn't answer for a while, and Dayley could feel her heart drop. He didn't love her? She had been sure she was going to get a positive response, but Nick's eyes were slowly filling with tears... but then they vanished as he told her he loved her too. She didn't want to dig farther into it, but she couldn't help herself - he hadn't sounded very honest, and as he kissed her head, telling her he was going for a run, she could feel her heart shatter into a million pieces.
It was an hour later when Nick came back and saw, from the driveway, a woman standing at the doorway with Dayley on the other side, having opened the door to her. It was then that Nick realized just who that woman was. His heart seemed to skip a beat as he neared the only two women that he'd ever been in a serious relationship with. They were standing together for the first time, and if Nick didn't know that at any moment his life could quite possibly fall apart, he would have been almost thrilled.
"Peyton? What are you doing here?" Nick's voice quivered just slightly as he neared her.
Peyton turned around and stared down at Nick, from the doorstep. Her eyes immediately filled with tears at the sight of him, "Nick... I..." she couldn't continue, and Nick knew it was because Dayley was standing there, watching her intently.
Nick gulped and tore his eyes from Peyton, turning to the woman in his life at the time, "Dayley... could you maybe give us a few minutes?"
Dayley didn't budge, but instead just stared down at him. Nick knew he was in for it, with her.
He turned back to Peyton with a gulp, "Um... Peyt, maybe you could come back at a better time? I'll call you tonight, okay?"
Peyton tried to hide her quivering lip from him, but she knew by the expression on his face that he had seen it.
"I'm sorry, Peyton," he whispered. "I promise I'll call."
She nodded, before running from their doorstep and getting in her car, driving off a moment later.
Nick looked over to Dayley who no longer looked mad, but as if her heart had just been crushed. She walked inside the house, knowing he'd follow. Nick stood behind her as she placed her hands on the counter and leaned over, trying to breathe.
"Dayley??" he asked tentatively, placing his hand gently on her back.
Dayley spun around, knocking his hand from her body. Anger flashed through her eyes again, but once again it disappeared quickly and was replaced with sadness, "Are you cheating on me, Nick?"
Nick's eyes widened, "No! Dayley... Dayley..."
"...Because if you didn't love me, you could have just told me-"
"Dayley, listen to me! I'm not cheating on you," his face contorted as he tried not to show his emotion, "Peyton was the one that I'd cheated on..."
"WHAT?!"
"...with you."
"You had a girlfriend?!?!"
"Fiance."
Dayley's eyes widened farther as she opened her mouth in shock, "You were engaged?!? Oh my gosh, oh my gosh," she covered her face, before looking back up at him, "Nick, why didn't you tell me?!"
"Dayley, I..." he tried helplessly, but felt like a total fool. He was a fool. "Peyton told me she was pregnant, and I freaked."
Dayley gasped, wanting to strangle him, "Oh my gosh, could this story get any worse?? She was pregnant, Nick?! And you left her when she was pregnant with your child?!"
"Ley..." Nick sighed, feeling humiliated, "I hadn't had sex with her."
Dayley suddenly understood, as she held her breath, without even knowing it, "Oh... okay."
It all fell into place at that moment.
"Okay, so you find out that your fiance has cheated on you... and was pregnant with someone elses baby... and so... you leave... find some other girl to use in order to get your fiance back for what she did to you..."
"Dayley... it... it wasn't like that. I began to really lik-" Nick paused for a minute, realizing what he'd just said as he closed his eyes. "...like you," he finished in a whisper.
She nodded, her lips pursed as she tried to will back the tears, "I know, Nick... I was fun, to you... for a while. But fun isn't enough to keep a relationship together. And I think this relationship's over," she walked to him and placed her hands on his face, gently. "I think you really should call Peyton," she whispered, before placing a gentle kiss on his lips. "I can tell she really needs you... and you really need her."
Dayley squeezed his hand gently, before grabbing her jacket and leaving.
~ * ~
Peyton had known that Nick had cheated on her, after he'd left. They hadn't broken up. She'd told him about being pregnant, giving away the fact that she'd slept with another man, since Nick and her had never had sex. But Nick hadn't waited around for the full story... now she didn't even know if she wanted him to know the full story. She was sure by now he may have very well been used to the story that he'd already known - she'd given to another man what they'd been keeping for each other. Maybe he wouldn't be able to handle the true story... maybe he wouldn't believe her.
Peyton had found out a week after Nick had left, saying they "needed a break", that she wasn't really pregnant... the test had been wrong. She'd lost Nick for no reason, but she knew that it was for the better that he knew... there was no reason in getting married with secrets being kept from each other.
While Nick was "taking a break" and Peyton was waiting patiently for him, each day her heart breaking more and more, Nick got together with another girl... making sure that Peyton knew all about it.
Nick and Peyton were engaged, and while Nick was going on with some other girl, Peyton's mother was still planning the wedding... Peyton couldn't bring herself to tell her mother, because of her own humiliation at what had happened between herself and Nick.
So although Peyton had known about Dayley the whole time, seeing her face to face that day killed her. She didn't know if Dayley knew about her before, or not, but by the look on her face when she opened the door to Peyton, Peyton had a feeling she hadn't.
Peyton ran up her staircase, after getting home from Nick's, and collapsed on her bed in tears. She understood that Nick didn't know the real story of what had happened, but Nick had broken a vow... a vow that he thought she had broken even before him. But the truth was, she hadn't... intentionally.
