Page 42 of Broken Bonds

Holding the phone to my ear, I waited as it rang. “Hello?” she answered.

“Mom, it’s me!” I nearly cried with relief upon hearing her voice. Tears burned in my eyes, and I had to squeeze them shut to keep them from spilling over.

“Oh, my God! Rick, it’s Celine! She’s okay! My baby is okay!” My mom was crying. “Where are you, baby? I’ve been so worried.”

“Oh, Mom, it was so awful.” Tears rolled down my cheeks. I couldn’t swallow, a lump forming in my throat, and the flood gates opened. Sobbing, talking became impossible. I couldn’t make my mouth work.

“It’s okay, baby. I’m here. I’m here, my love,” my mom tried to reassure me through the phone, but it wasn’t enough. I needed herhere. I shouldn’t have had to go through any of this.

The tears were flowing freely down my cheeks in a never-ending stream. Putting a hand to my chest, I clutched at the sweater. My heart was beating too fast, and ithurt. I triedbreathing through my nose and not my mouth, but it didn’t help. I was losing control of my breathing, of myself, and I could hear my mother trying to calm me through the phone, but she was physically so far away. She couldn’t help me here.

All I could seem to hear was the drumming of my heart in my ears.

And then, there were two large hands holding my face. Ace’s face was in front of mine—so close. He was talking, but I couldn’t hear him. The drumming in my ears was so loud. I clutched my chest tighter. It hurt so much. I couldn’t breathe. He was still looking into my eyes, his face blurring as more tears fell and sobs tore themselves through my aching throat.

He didn’t let go of my face when I started to shake. “Celine, princess, listen to me.” I could finally hear his voice through the loud drumming in my ears. and it was like a balm to my bleeding, figurative wounds. “I’m here. Breathe. Breathe, princess. Through your mouth, out your nose. Inhale and exhale.” He opened his mouth and inhaled, and I copied him. And then, he closed his mouth and exhaled through his nose. He repeated it with me again.

When my breaths came easier and I didn’t feel like I was drowning once again, Ace let go of my face, sitting back in his seat again. Instantly, I missed his touch. I felt… empty without it.

He took the phone from my shaking hand to speak to my mom. “Hi, yes, she’s alright. I think she was having a panic attack.” He paused, looking at me. “We made it to the shelter. There’s food and water.” He grabbed my trembling hand in his, squeezing gently, his warmth seeping into my veins through our connected palms.

“We did have some trouble getting here—lots of flooding. She’s having trouble walking…. There’s a nurse here who gave her some pain medicine, and she’s eating soup now.” At his words, I picked up the spoon and almost started crying againwhen the warm soup burst over my tongue. Ace listened to whatever my mom was saying and nodded his head, looking at my legs and then at my face again. “I’ll take care of her. The man in charge here, Oscar, said the outer bands have just passed. I’m not sure how much longer this will last… No, they didn’t mention anything about a generator, but I’ll ask… Do you want to speak to her again?” When my mom obviously said yes, he handed the phone to me again.

“My love, listen to me; you are going to be okay,” Mom urged. My chin wobbled. I set my spoon down, the shaking coming back to my hands. “You’re strong and brave. This will be over soon. Eat your soup and take those pain pills. Take them every six hours. I already told Ace to make sure you keep taking them. I’ll make an appointment with Dr. Alex when this is over to check out your legs. I don’t want you to worry anymore.” Dr. Alex was the surgeon in Germany, who had since moved to the states. And I saw him each year on a regular basis for my legs after the surgery. The fact that mom wanted me to see him before my next appointment filled me with terror—terror I tried so hard to hide from both her and Ace. “I love you, baby.”

“Okay. I love you, too.” A tear ran down my cheek, and Ace squeezed my hand.

“Don’t cry anymore. You’re safe. You aren’t alone. Ace isn’t Aiden—remember that. He will protect you.” I nodded, forgetting she couldn’t see me. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. Just be grateful you still have power so we can talk. I love you so much, baby. No more crying.”

“I’ll see you soon. I love you, Mom.” She disconnected the call, and I was left cradling the phone to my ear with tears running down my cheeks.

Ace took the phone from my hand and put it back on its perch before pulling me into his arms, holding me as I shook with uncontrollable sobs. He didn’t tell me to stop crying. Instead, hestroked my back with one hand and held my head with the other, surrounding me in his warmth and safety where my fears, the outside world, and the uncertainty of my future couldn’t touch me.

When my cries finally turned to sniffles, Ace pulled away, looked into my eyes, and smiled. The smile was small and warm and took my breath away. “You have the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen, princess,” he rasped.

And there went my fucking heart.

chapter eighteen

CELINE

Ace’s words shocked me, leaving me speechless. I could feel the heat radiating off my skin as I blushed. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how much of a mess I must have looked all red-eyed, puffy, and—fuck, was my nose running?

“Thanks,” I croaked. “Crying tends to bring out the best in me.”

Ace laughed, his shoulders shaking. His laugh was deep and smooth, a rich baritone that settled something deep inside me and made me feel all warm inside. “Let’s head back to Barb and Oscar and find out about sleeping arrangements. I’m beat.”

I yawned, nodding in agreement. Sleep in a sturdy building where the hurricane couldn’t touch us sounded downright magical.

“You don’t want to call your parents first?” I asked. “I’m in no rush.” That was a teensy lie, but he needed to contact his parents, didn’t he? He hadn’t talked to them at all. He hadn’t even attempted to reach out to them.

“No; they won’t care what’s happened to me,” he snapped, anger flooding his blue eyes. His mood shifted so quickly, giving me mental whiplash. I chose to remain quiet this time, not having the energy to fight or press for more. It was clear hewouldn’t talk about it anyway. When it came to his parents, Ace was always evasive.

I watched as he stacked our empty bowls on top of each other. I didn’t even remember eating mine, but I apparently had, and I was warmer inside because of it, too. Full, too. Full for the first time indays.

Ace silently handed them to me and threw our empty water bottles in the trash. He then stood, stretching his arms above his head, and twisted his torso from side to side. His shirt rode up, revealing a sliver of his flat stomach, and I quickly averted my eyes, hating the warmth that pulled in my belly at the sight of his lean body. A pop reached my ears that made me wince before it was followed by a sigh of relief.

He strapped our backpack onto his back, and as I was trying to stand on my shaky, weak legs, he swept me into his arms. I sighed, a little more prepared for it this time as he cradled me to his chest. I linked my arms around his neck, frowning at the wall across from me.

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