Page 47 of Fractured Heart

“Get away from me,” I shout.

“No.”

“Fuck off, Lakeland.”

“I’ll never let go,” she vows. Fuck, I can’t stop it, a sound so horrendous and painful rips out of me.

“Argggh,” I scream out as I collapse in her hold, taking us both to the ground but still, she won’t let go as I break in her arms. I try to fight back against the emotions bursting out of me without consent but now that they have finally emerged, I can’t shove them back in the box I have kept them in for years. “He died!” I cry out. “They took him from me.” Now that the tears and the sobbing has begun I can’t stop it.

“I got you, Wave. I’ll never let you go. I’ll put you back together, one beautifully broken piece at a time.” I grip the back of her shirt and claw at her, needing to keep her close, terrified that if an inch of space comes between us that I will fracture and shatter into a million pieces that I will never be able to patch up again. I’m not strong enough to save myself twice. I can’t do it again. The first time nearly killed me and I was emotionless then but now, she has forced me to face the feelings I had buried which means I wouldn’t be able to save myself from hell a second time.

“It hurts, Lake!” I scream out. Her hold on me tightens as she pulls me as close as she can to her.

“Knox,” she screams his name and within seconds I can hear people surrounding us but I keep my face buried in the crook of her neck as I fall the fuck apart. “Xander, Trey and Taylan are going to carry us to a car and you and I are going to stay in a hotel.”

“No the fuck you aren’t!”

“Shut the hell up, Knox. She needs your wife and you are going to let Lake help or I’ll break your fucking jaw,” Xander vows.

“And I’ll shoot your other fucking shoulder,” Taylan adds a second before Lake and I are lifted awkwardly. I refuse to even chance a peek, getting in the backseat isn’t an option so they lift us onto the bed of a pickup and wrap some blankets around us.

“I love you, kitten.” I hear Knox say to Lake.

“I love you too. Call the boys and tell them Mommy loves them and I’ll speak to them soon,” she answers.

“We won’t come in but Xander and I will be keeping watch outside the hotel and so will the rest of the Da Luca… family,” Trey announces.

“Fine, now piss off so we can go,” she snaps at the guys.

“I love you, Wave,” Xan mutters.

“What he said, Doxy,” Trey tacks on.

“Well I refuse to be left out so I love you both and will see you soon,” Taylan the twat bucket says.

Doxy

When we arrived at the hotel, Lake led me to a room that she somehow miraculously had the key for and then dragged me into the large bathroom that had a jacuzzi size tub in it. She ran me a bath, then undressed me without uttering a single word. She placed me in the bath before disappearing for a few minutes only to return with two bottles of vodka. I shook my head when she stripped off her clothes and climbed into the bath with me, handing me a bottle and keeping one for herself. I can tell from the way she keeps eyeing me that the tattoos I now have are making her curious. I know Lakeland and it is just a matter of time before all the question bursts out of her so I pop the cap off the bottle and take a long pull.

After the first drink I can’t seem to stop myself from drinking more or maybe I don’t want to stop, I just want to feel numb again. It’s fucking terrifying feeling again after so long. I thought I was dead inside but turns out all it took to shatter the carefully crafted walls I had built inside myself was the sound of my best friends voice.

“I saw them, Wave,” she whispers hesitantly before taking a drink of her own bottle.

“Saw what, Lakeland?” I bite out.

“The scars,” she whispers brokenly with unshed tears in her eyes. “The tattoos are beautiful but they don’t hide the raised skin.”

“What the fuck do you want from me? Do you want me to tell you that they were kind, loving and never laid a hand on me? Do you want me to make up a fairytale story so you can feel good about the past fourteen years and not feel guilty because you were happy and I was being treated worse than a dog and fucked like a pig?” Tears trail down her cheeks and I hate I just said all of that and want to blame the fucking vodka for loosening my lips but that’s a lie. I was never good at holding back when it came to her. No matter how hard I tried to keep things from her, I couldn’t. The only thing I managed to keep hidden was my relationship with Xander because I feared she would tell Knox and he would take him from me.

“If hating me is what helps you, then hate me because I can take it so long as you don’t leave me. For years I envisioned you being laid up in a hospital in a coma or something like that but I never thought…” She shakes her head and takes a deep breath. “He came to the meetings with the head families, went to Switzerland with Knox and the others to play mediator for the Argyros and the Murdochs and never once did Knox suspect that his sister’s tormenter was right there beside him.”

“Why the fuck would he suspect anything? My own twin thought I was dead!” I hear the bitterness in my own voice.

“He didn’t know, Wave. You know him, there is no way he would have stopped searching for you if he thought you made it out of that car. Xander jumped in after you and searched for hours and no one could locate you. How the fuck did Karl find you before us?”

I purse my lips and ponder her question for a second. “I actually don’t know how he found me.” We remain silent for a long while as we get lost in our own thoughts and drink. I’m starting to feel light, like I can almost float.

“We need to get out before we get too drunk and drown.” Laughter bursts out of me the second she finishes speaking, I have no idea why I am laughing. It feels weird to do it and even hear the sound. “Why are you laughing at me?” she snaps, clearly getting annoyed.

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