Promises are always hard to keep. Andy didn't realize that until almost a whole year had gone by since the last time he had seen Carolyn. He told her he would go visit. He promised her he would never leave her behind. But he did.

It was never intentional. He still loved Carolyn just as much as he had before. Life just got hectic and that was what life was about. There isn't always time to fit everyone in. But now that their new album had finally been released, they had a little down time before touring again. Andy was determined to visit Carolyn. He had kept her waiting for way too long.

Carolyn had taken his absence as his goodbye. She didn't really think she would ever see him again. She knew how busy he would be with the band and she had decided not to get her hopes up that he would return to her. Yet she did. Every day that passed without Andy was like a sharp jab to her still beating, broken heart.

"Carolyn, you got a letter in the mail." Her father had said one day after returning inside from the mailbox.

Carolyn held the ivory envelope in her small hands and noticed the return address indicated it was from one of the most prestigious dance colleges in New York: Julliard.

This letter in her hands would determine her fate. If the letter inside was an acceptance letter, she would be on her way to New York in the next few days. If it was an apology letter stating she was rejected from the school, she didn't know where she was going to take her life. Just like Andy only had his music to take him places, she only had her dancing.

As she tore away the edges of the envelope slowly, her nerves were eating her away from the inside out. If this letter didn't say she was accepted, her life would be over.

Her eyes glided over the cold, solid black letters printed neatly on the page. Her mouth dropped open and she could feel the tears coming on.

"What? What does it say?" Her father pressed.

"I... I got in!" She exclaimed, still not believing that she was one of the only twelve girls that had been accepted into the college. On average, Julliard only accepted twelve girls and twelve boys into their freshman class.

"Honey, this is fantastic!" He father embraced her in such a tight hug that he lifted her off the ground and spun her around twice before putting her back down. At that moment in time, her father had never been that proud in his entire life. This had truly been a blessing from Carolyn's mother above.

"I need to start packing. I need to start practicing. I need to stretch and I need to work on my skills. I haven't really danced since..." She trailed off. Her mind wandered to Andy. "Since Andy left..." She finished.

"You better start that packing. I'll drive you to New York in a few days." Her father informed. Carolyn nodded and headed off towards her room. "Oh, and sweetie?" He stopped her briefly. "I'm very proud of you for doing something you love to do and chasing after your dreams. That's the girl I raised."

Carolyn smiled and hurried up to her room to start her packing.

---

For Carolyn's dad, living alone had been a big transition for him. He no longer had the clunk of ballet shoes against the floor of Carolyn's room upstairs. He couldn't stand at the window in the kitchen and watch his beautiful daughter express herself in the best way she knew how.

Everything was silent except for the occasional creak of the old house. The house was empty. Everything felt desolate.

As Carolyn's father wandered around the empty house one day, he heard an unusual new sound. It was someone knocking on the door. He cautiously made his way to the front door and opened it to see the very last person he ever expected to be standing on his front step.

"Hi, Mr. Monroe. Is... Is Carolyn here?" Andy stood awkwardly on the front step.

He pouted. "I'm sorry Andy. Carolyn isn't here anymore..." He informed.

"Oh my god..." The worst possible thoughts flooded Andy's mind in that instant second. He began to think that he had been too late. His constant absence drove her to suicide. "I'm... I'm sorry..."

"Oh, no, Andy. It's not what you think." Carolyn's father chuckled slightly. "Carolyn is in New York. She got accepted to Julliard on a full dance scholarship. If you want to see her, that's where you would find her. But... Maybe you should just let her be. I know you two loved each other very much but... she's living her dream and your living yours. I just don't want you to fuck things up for her." Those had been some of the harshest words he had ever said to Andy and Andy was taken aback.

"I'm sorry you think I'm going to 'fuck things up' for her. I just... I just wanted to see her." Andy said.

"I know, Andy. I know. I just don't want Carolyn to make a mistake and ruin her life and her future forever." Carolyn's father explained.

He had a good point. Carolyn was going to have to be completely committed to her dancing if she wanted to some day join a famous ballet company. But Andy didn't care. He was going to see her whether anyone liked that or not.

Notes

New story. It's a sequel so if you didn't read the prequel, I suggest reading it first. Although you can probably follow along fine if you don't read it but it's always good to read the prequel.