Fall To Pieces: Broken #2 (The Broken Series) Read online

  Kyle stepped away from me and hissed. “He’s not your friend, Lee. He is fucking with you to get to me. That’s the only reason he’s sniffing around you.”

  I shook my head and turned away from him. “Oh my god, can you hear yourself?”

  I walked away from him and headed towards the stairs.

  “Where are you going? We need to talk about this. Lee?” Kyle shouted.

  I swung around to face him. “My room, is that okay with you, or do you want me to leave, too?”

  Kyle stepped back, like I’d just punched him in the gut. “Of course I don't. This is your home,” he said in a shocked voice.

  I nodded stiffly and continued upstairs, stomping extra hard on the steps, childish, but it made me feel better.

  “I don’t want him in my house again, Lee.”

  I paused at the top of the stairs and turned around. Kyle was standing at the bottom of the stairs with a pained expression.

  “And I don’t want you to tell me what to do,” I seethed. “We are not together. Oh, and FYI, Kyle, I can pay my own damn bills. I don’t want your money. Not one dime. You got it?”

  I didn’t wait for his answer, I just stormed into my old room.

  One hour, I was home less than one hour and the crap had hit the proverbial fan.

  ****

  Kyle

  One hour. Lee was home one fucking hour, and I’d screwed things up.

  What the hell was wrong with me?

  When I saw her standing in the back yard, I’d thought I’d imagined her. She’d looked so fucking beautiful, fragile, mine.

  I’d lost my shit when I saw that prick in my house, and dammit, I’d been making progress with her. I wanted to wrap her up and carry her straight up to my room, but I’d no doubt in my mind, that if I had tried, she’d have kicked me in the balls. God knows, I would have deserved it.

  Mike… She’d phoned my fucking brother to collect her. That hurt like something else. My chest was still stinging from my gloomy awareness that Lee trusted him, more than me.

  I knew she’d allowed Mike to visit her in the hospital, and that knowledge all but fucking killed me.

  But what could I have done about it? Not a damn thing that’s what.

  She wasn’t my wife, not even my girlfriend anymore. The only part of Lee’s life that I had a say in, was the baby, but up until this point she’d wanted nothing from me or to do with me. That left me kind of fucked.

  At least she was home now, back under my roof where I could keep her safe.

  *****

  Three hours had passed since she slammed her bedroom door, and I was getting anxious.

  Was she okay? Should I knock and check on her?

  I’d passed her door more than enough times to be deemed a stalker, but hell, I was worried.

  I shouldn’t have gotten so angry, not in front of her at least. She was just out of the damn hospital, and of course, I’d gone bat shit crazy in front of her. Smooth. I was jealous though, jealous that she called Mike before me.

  I pressed my ear against her door, hearing nothing but my own hammering heartbeat.

  I tapped lightly and waited. Ten seconds passed and still nothing.

  Fuck this.

  I eased the handle down and pushed the door inwards slightly. She could scream at me if she wanted, I’d prefer that to finding her sick, or worse.

  I peered through the crack in the door and sighed in relief.

  Lee was curled up on her bed, sleeping. I opened the door fully and walked over to her quietly.

  She was curled in a ball on top of the covers, with her face resting on her hands.

  My gaze flicked from her face to her rounded stomach. My chest filled with hope. I wanted, more than anything, to curl up on her bed and draw her to me. But I couldn’t, she wouldn’t want me to.

  I slipped back to my room and grabbed a blanket from my closet. Lee didn’t stir when I sat on her bed and set the blanket next to me.

  After hearing about Lee’s miscarriage in graphic description from Derek, I was paranoid. I immediately checked the covers for blood. I was so afraid since that night. I wanted this baby. I wanted this for Lee. I wanted this for us.

  I brushed a few tendrils of curls off her face. She sighed contently, moving closer to my hand.

  I placed my hand on her stomach, feeling for the first time the hard swell under her belly button.

  Shit, it was harder than I thought it would be. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting it to feel like, soft perhaps, cushiony. But her belly was hard.

  My hand trembled and I felt guilty as shit for stealing this moment without Lee’s consent, but I was desperate to be a part of this; to be included.

  I pulled my hand away quickly, covered Lee’s small body with the blanket, before I rushed out of her room. It was too much, and too fucking little.

  Lee thought I’d stayed away when she was in the hospital. She’d all but begged me to keep away, said that she needed space, and I’d given her what she thought she needed.

  But I wasn’t that selfless.

  Every single night I’d sat by her side in that hospital room, while she slept.

  Whether she needed me or not, was debatable. But I needed her, irrevocably. And I always would.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Lee

  I woke up in the same long, baggy t-shirt I’d worn leaving the hospital yesterday, with a nauseated pain in my stomach, and a crazy urge to pee.

  Throwing off the unfamiliar blanket, I jumped out of bed and rushed across the hall to the bathroom.

  I needed to pee too badly, to worry about where that blanket came from.

  I reached the door of the bathroom and my hand froze on the door knob. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t go there.

  My stomach rolled at the thought of going back into that room.

  I turned around and hurled down the stairs towards Cam and Derek’s bathroom. I didn’t bother to knock, I just ploughed in there.

  Thankfully, it was empty and I mastered the skill of peeing and puking at the same time.

  “Lee, are you alive in there?” I heard Derek’s say, and the door opened slightly.

  “Oh my god, Derek, don’t you dare come in here,” I half screamed, as I cleaned myself up quickly.

  I heard a nervous chuckle from outside the door, then the sound of his footsteps retreating.

  I paused in front of the mirror and cringed.

  I looked awful.

  My gray eyes were red rimmed; my skin was pale, lips cracked. Tugging the scrunchie out of my untamed curls, I retied my hair in a messy ponytail. I washed my hands and splashed some water on my face, before heading towards the kitchen, not bothering to go back upstairs and change.

  My days of modesty were over, and even though the shirt I had on didn’t completely conceal the scars my father had left on my thighs, I didn’t feel the need to cover them up as much as before.

  I grudgingly conceded that Kyle was the one I had to thank for that. All those nights he’d spent scattering kisses over every mark, welt and blemish on my body, had healed the insecurities that used to batter my confidence.

  Cam and Derek were huddled over the table, deep in conversation, when I got to the kitchen.

  I cleared my throat before walking inside. My presence triggered the end of their discussion.

  “Coffee?” Derek asked me, rising quickly, not making eye contact.

  “No thanks, Derek.”

  I couldn’t drink coffee anymore and it sucked. Dr. Ashcroft said the odd cup wouldn’t hurt, but all those pregnancies magazines I’d read while in hospital red flagged it.

  “Where’s Bruno?” I asked, sliding into the chair opposite Cam.

  “Out for his morning stroll with Kyle,” Derek replied without his usual punchy sarcasm. “You want some coffee Cam?” he asked.

  Cam shook her head, keeping her eyes trained on her cup. I tried to catch her eye, but she seemed preoccupied, stirring the contents of her cup almost violently. />
  Oh boy…

  “Hey Cam,” I said quietly.

  Her blonde head swung up, and her eyes met mine. “Hey Judas,” she retorted.

  Yep, she was mad at me.

  “I guess you’re mad about Mike collecting me, right?” I muttered, struggling to keep eye content with my angry best friend.

  Even when she was angry and snarling, Cam was stunning. Her poker straight blonde hair fell artfully down her back. She had an all-round tan, perfect skin and every feature on her face was enviable.

  “Mike? Oh no, how could I possibly be angry with you about Mike, collecting you from the hospital? When I was the one who sat with you and held your hand, every damn day for six weeks?” Cam said in a dramatic tone of voice. “No, I have absolutely no problem with that, at all.”

  Okay, she was angrier than I thought.

  It was always obvious when Cam was mad because she had that ‘look,’ on her face and used heavy sarcasm.

  The narrow eyed scowl she was directing at me and her sharp words, proved I was receiving both.

  “Cam, lay off her, she’s just home,” Derek said quietly.

  My head jerked towards where Derek was leaning against one of the oak countertops. His shaved head was turned in Cam’s direction; his green eyes narrowed, and focused on his girlfriend.

  This was a first.

  I had never, in all the time I’d known Derek, heard him say anything to Cam, or against her. I didn’t want them to argue over me.

  “Mike is not responsible for her, Derek. She shouldn’t be relying on him for anything,” Cam shot back, glaring at Derek.

  “No Derek, she’s right,” I said quickly, trying to ease the tension in the room. “I’m sorry, Cam. I didn’t do it to hurt your feelings. That wasn’t my intention.”

  Cam’s tight shoulders seemed to relax, slightly.

  She sighed and nodded.

  “Apology accepted,” she said, as she stood up. “I have a shoot in thirty minutes, so I’ll catch you both later.”

  She walked out of the room without so much as a backwards glance.

  The front door slammed loudly and Derek and I both seemed to blow out a breath.

  I knew she was lying about the photo shoot.

  Cam modeled on the side to pay for college and the bills, but never on a Saturday morning. Cam always went shopping on Saturday mornings. It was her version of church and she was completely devoted. And she always made me go with her, obviously, I wasn’t invited today.

  I turned to Derek.

  “Have you any idea what that was about?” I asked, more confused by Cam’s abruptness towards Derek than towards me.

  I deserved it, but what the heck had Derek done? Those two were the most affectionate couple I knew.

  “This is the way she’s been acting with weeks.” Derek sighed, shaking his head. “I better go after her,” he muttered, patting my shoulder, before rushing out after Cam.

  “Wait,” I called out when I noticed Derek’s keys on the table, but the sound of the front door slamming, confirmed he hadn’t heard me.

  I took Cam’s cup and busied myself with washing the breakfast dishes.

  I glanced at the clock on the wall over the stove. It was only nine thirty in the morning and the weekend was off to a crummy start.

  Filling the sink with water, I washed the dishes, as I pondered over the realization that Cam and Derek were having problems.

  Neither had mentioned anything when they visited.

  Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen much of Derek lately, and Cam had been kind of standoffish the last few days.

  Was she mad with him, or had I done something else, besides piss her off over Mike? What the hell had happened while I was gone?

  I jumped at the sound of the doorbell ringing.

  Drying my hands on a towel, I rushed down the hall and opened it, expecting it to be Derek, coming back for his keys.

  It was Rachel.

  Her groomed eyebrows shot up in surprise, her face twisted into a scowl.

  I guessed she was as surprised to see me as I was to see her, here, in Kyle’s house, again.

  And what the hell was she wearing?

  I could see her boobs through the skin tight fabric of the white dress she had on.

  “I’m here for Kyle,” she sneered, brushing past me, confident and stunning as usual.

  “He’s not here.”

  I closed the door behind her, standing as tall and fierce as I could. My short frame was dwarfed by Rachel.

  She towered over me in her neck-breaking thigh-high boots.

  “I figured that, hick. I said I was here for him, not asking if he was here. I already know where he is.”

  Derek had said Kyle was out walking Bruno, and I burned to ask Rachel how she knew that, but pride was impaling me, screaming at my common sense to shut the hell up and not give her the satisfaction.

  “Suit yourself, Rachel,” I muttered, stamping down on the pain in my heart from my bitter realization that Kyle was still in contact with Rachel.

  I moved past her to the kitchen. She followed me, way too close for comfort.

  “Packing a little extra weight there, Lee?”

  Forcing myself to ignore her derisive tone, I cut her one of my bored stares. She was not going to draw me into an argument. Not now, not ever again.

  “Yeah, I guess I am.”

  My voice sounded light and carefree, even though I was anything but. This bun Kyle had put in my oven, was definitely supersized.

  Rachel glowered at me; a look of pure revulsion encompassed her dainty features.

  She flicked her long red hair behind her shoulder.

  “I know what you did. He told me,” she spat.

  I had a fair idea who she meant by ‘he,’ but I forced myself to shrug casually.

  “I do a lot of things, Rachel, I’m sure you don’t know all of those. That would be creepy.” I was sort of proud of myself. The girl I’d been a month ago would never have said a word to Rachel.

  Good thing I wasn’t that girl anymore. I’d grown a spine and sprouted some nerve to go with it.

  “I know you trapped him, but it won’t work,” she said nastily, leaning way too close to my face.

  She pointed a perfectly manicured finger towards my stomach. “That mistake, isn’t going to help you keep Kyle forever. Hell, it hasn’t helped you keep him at all. Guess who he was with last night?”

  My breath caught in my lungs.

  Rachel seemed to know exactly what to say to press my buttons. And it hurt, oh god, did it hurt. Her words cut deep.

  “You,” I said, keeping my voice void of emotion, which was almost impossible to do, when her words were slitting my battered heart open.

  Rachel gawked at me, clearly surprised that I didn’t take her bait.

  “How astute of you,” she mused, recovering from her momentary speechlessness. “I had wondered if you’d come to your senses.”

  “What do you mean ‘come to my senses’?” I asked, mentally kicking myself for buying into her toxic game.

  Curiosity killed the cat.

  “I had wondered, whether or not your little detox stint, had helped you rethink your fantasy of a happy ever after with Kyle.”

  I gaped at her. “My little detox stint? You can’t seriously consider what I went through, a detox stint?”

  Rachel smiled darkly. “Oh, that’s exactly what I consider what you went through. But apparently, it only half worked, considering you’re still pregnant. I am disappointed that everything wasn’t flushed out. That is what a detox involves isn’t it, ridding the body of trash?”

  My whole body shook to the core.

  “You are one fucked up human being,” I spat, fighting back the tears. “You are the most heartless, spiteful, vindictive person I have ever had the misfortune of meeting. But believe it or not, as much as I hate you, and believe me, Rachel, I loathe you; I wouldn’t wish what happened to me on you or anyone else.”

  I pus
hed past her to the hall, needing to get the hell away before I did something stupid.

  Grabbing my arm, Rachel yanked me back towards her, and I had a moment of pure fear for my baby.

  “If it weren’t for you, Kyle and I would still be together. But you had to go and fucking ruin everything,” Rachel snarled, digging her fingers into my arm. “He is mine, he doesn’t belong to you. Keep your gold-digging fingers off of him, you little, fucking whore.”

  Jerking my arm free, I backed up a step closer to the door, shaking my head.

  “He doesn’t belong to anyone. Kyle is his own person and you are hardly in a position to call me a gold-digger, you freak,” I shouted as I ran for the front door.

  “Give up now, Delia. If you fight me on this, you will lose,” Rachel threatened.

  I opened the front door and stepped outside.

  “Goodbye, Rachel. I’d say have a nice life, but actually, I hope it’s a fucking disaster,” I said, before slamming the door.

  *****

  Kyle

  I decided to make a new plan. The last plan I had made sucked ass. Well, making good decisions and choices was never one of my fortitudes.

  Those qualities belonged to the calm, rational members of society. No, my strong points went hand in hand with my flaws.

  I had a temper, but I liked to think of it as being passionate, that was never going to change.

  I was hot-headed, loud, and fucking stupid as hell sometimes, all things I couldn’t change.

  But I could change one thing. I could open up. Let her in. Show her my vulnerability. She’d be the only one.

  Yeah, that was my new plan. Fuck, I hoped it worked.

  But I couldn’t sit at home all morning waiting for Lee to wake up. I’d been up since seven, waiting on her to get up, so we could talk, but Cam and Derek’s incessant bickering had driven me outside.

  I’d had to get out of my house for a while, walk, fucking run, anything to clear my head of their drama and steel myself for the battle of all battles.