Page 81 of Broken Bonds

I rolled my jaw around. “I’ll see you Tuesday.” Ending the call, I turned to look at the parking lot again. Ryan was right—I didn’t deserve Celine. But she didn’t deserve me either.

She deserved better, and I would give her better, no matter how long it took me.

chapter twenty-eight

CELINE

Ace didn’t come to class for the rest of the week. He didn’t come around the house either. Guilt ate away at me with every day that passed. The only conclusion I could come to was that he was avoiding me. I knew I was the one that’d pushed him away. I had overreacted when he was just trying to protect me. But he had never turned his back on me like this before. Clearly, I’d taken advantage of him always coming back around when I treated him like shit.

I typed out an apology three times on iMessage but erased it each time, my pride getting in the way. I knew he shouldn’t have punched the kid, but it wasn’t like the kid didn’t deserve it with the way his hungry eyes roamed over my body like I was some slab of meat. His lewd comments still rang in my ears five days later. But I still shouldn’t have lashed out at Ace like I had. He hadn’t deserved it.

In just a few hours, I was going into surgery, and I wanted Ace here. Amber slept soundly on the floor, not leaving my side since my fight with Ace, except at night to go home. But last night, she insisted on sleeping over, and we stayed up well into the early hours of the morning talking about Ace and Ryan.

She hadn’t outright admitted it, but I knew she liked my brother. The red that tinged her cheeks at the mention of his name was confirmation enough. I wished I could have blushed like she did as I talked about Ace, but I was so worried what we had was over that I was filled with more anxiety than butterflies.

“My heart and soul are already broken, Amber, and he can’t possibly break it any further,” I told Amber in the darkness of my bedroom, my words soft.

“What do you mean?”

She had remained silent as I told her about Aidan, her arms wrapping around me when I cried. She didn’t ask questions. She just nodded, whispered she was sorry, and held me while I cried.

I was so thankful for her.

A soft snore startled her awake, and she shot up, her bleary, green eyes staring at me. “Mornin’,” she grumbled, closing her eyes and turning onto her side, swiping at her red curls. “Time?”

“Early. Go back to sleep.”

She groaned. “What’s early?”

A small smile tilted my lips. “Six A.M.”

“Why are you awake?” she mumbled, her words mixing together and almost unintelligible. She was clearly still more asleep than she was awake.

“I’m nervous,” I lied, wanting her to go back to bed. Instead, she rolled over and raised her head to look at me. Obviously, that was the wrong thing to say to her if I wanted her to leave me to my thoughts.

“It’s going to be okay. I promise. Don’t worry, Celine.” She reached for my hand and squeezed it. I forced a smile to my lips for her benefit. “And stop thinking about that prick.” A small huff of amusement escaped my lips. “He doesn’t deserve you.”

We fell asleep shortly after, and we were woken up a while later by my mother holding two steaming cups of coffee in thedimly lit room. “Time to wake up, girls.” Mom eased herself onto the corner of my bed, handing us each a cup. “Get any sleep?”

Amber snorted, almost choking on her sip. “Not really,” I mumbled, bringing the cup to my lips and taking a long sip, feeling the instant warmth flood my veins. Why did my coffee always taste better when my mom made it for me?

“I’m sorry, my love.” She patted my foot gently. “Don’t be nervous. It’s going to be better than last time. Look at your support team—me, your dad, Ryan, Amber, and Ace.” She hesitated on Ace’s name. My heart clenched. Could I really count on Ace anymore?

“I think that ship has sailed, Mom.” I hated the sadness in my voice. Why couldn’t I just be indifferent to it all?

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that, honey.” A tentative smile tilted her lips. “He’s downstairs waiting for you now.”

“What?!” Amber and I both stared at my mom in disbelief.

Mom softly laughed. “He’s downstairs with Ryan and your dad.” I frowned at her, my brows furrowing. “Don’t look at me like that, Celine. He’s here now.”

“Pfft, here now? Kick him to the curb, Mrs. Wilson,” Amber said. “He’s bad news for our girl.” My mother stifled laugher at the obnoxious redhead.

“Come now, girls. Leave the boy alone. He’s been good to you, Celine. I don’t know any boys who would be there for you like he was last week.” I frowned because she was right. He’d risked his life to save me from dying in a hurricane. I guess I shouldn’t have expected him to give up on me so easily. But if he wasn’t giving up on me—on us—then where the hell had he been? “Get ready. We have to leave soon.” She stood, her bones creaking softly, and walked out of the room, the smell of her perfume lingering in the air.

Putting my coffee down on the bedside table, I fell back on the pillows, confused and twisted up inside. Part of me wasangry with Ace for breaking his word to me and leaving for the past few days, and the other part of me was ecstatic he was here. That he’d shown up for me.

Amber groaned, and then her loud gulps filled the silence as she downed her hot coffee. She stood over me after she finished, her red hair sticking up, her green eyes soft.

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