Page 4 of Fracture

By the time I’ve submitted the order and the little orange scooter icon appears on my screen, I’ve calmed down enough to head across the yard to the garage. Music meets me as I step through the door.

“Hey!” Thankfully my raised voice doesn’t crack, and is heard over the music that’s almost loud enough to have the floor vibrating. Both men look up from where they’re crouched next to their bikes. I hold up my phone and give it a wave, instantly feeling like an idiot. “I ordered dinner!”

Dylan rises to his feet and goes over to the speaker, swiping his finger across the screen to turn the music down. The sudden silence is almost startling, and we all just stare at each other for a moment before I remember why I came in here.

“Sorry to bother you, but I ordered some food.” I am feeling totally out of my depth for absolutely no reason.

Dylan smiles warmly, and retrieves a beer from the fridge. “You’re not bothering us, sweetheart. This is your house, we’re just guests.”

“Oh no, come on, this is your house. I want you to be comfortable here.” I gesture around the garage. “That’s why I did this. For you. Both of you.” I swallow hard. “You do like it, right?” I want to slap myself, standing here begging for approval from these two.

Levi grunts from where he’s crouched next to his bike, not looking up from the wrench he has jammed into the engine. “You kidding? This place is great.” He runs the back of his hand across his forehead. “But I wouldn’t expect anything less from you.”

My cheeks burn at the praise and my eyes drop to the floor. “Well, thanks.”

“Gotta say, I nearly died when I heard you were a lawyer,” Dylan says, taking a swig of his beer.

I give him a blank stare. “Why would that shock you?”

He shrugs, putting the beer bottle on the bar and twirling it back and forth between his fingers. “I don’t know. Guess everything I know about you now is a shock. You know, since you never told us anything.”

“Or came to see us,” Levi mutters from the floor, and my head snaps to look over at him.

“I heard that.”

Levi rises to his feet, wiping his hands on a rag. “I kind of meant you to.”

I try to swallow down any unpleasant words I want to hurl in his direction. I’m determined to be nice Stella tonight, not Overthinking Stella, not Paranoid Stella. But his words leave behind a sting so sharp they make my throat turn sour.

“And where are all my letters, huh?” I put my hands on my hips. “Or did you forget how to write as soon as you were inside?”

“Stella.” Dylan approaches me with his hands raised, like I’m a bomb ready to go off. “Come on, things were weird and-”

“Weird?” I laugh cynically. “Weird, Dylan? Weird doesn’t even begin to fucking cover it. That still doesn’t explain why neither of you ever once replied to a single letter of mine until it came to you through my fuckinglawyer.”

“We needed a place to stay,” Levi interjects, crossing his tattooed arms over his chest.

“So, that’s all I am to you, huh? A place to crash?” I stalk towards him so we’re almost chest to chest. “That’s it? After all your fucking ‘oh baby girl’ this and ‘don’t cry’ that?”

“Hey, I’m happy to see you, but-”

“Butwhat?” I shove him in the shoulder with my open palm. “But what, huh?”

He leans down, his eyes narrowing. “But I guess I’m not surprised to see that you fell into line.”

My mouth gapes, and I suppress the urge to slap him. “I fell into line?”

“Sure you did, look at you. Pretty little Stella Langford. Perfect as ever, doing exactly what everyone ever expected of her.”

Dylan is beside us, looking back and forth between us. “Hey, come on now, it’s been a crazy day for everyone. Let’s not ruin it with fighting.”

Levi laughs out loud, and turns to him. “Don’t you even pretend you’re here for anything more than a piece of ass.”

Dylan’s jaw ticks, and he puts his hands against his hips. “That was fucking uncalled for, man.”

“Oh, but is it true?” I round on Dylan, and hurt flashes through his eyes. “Because the first thing you asked about is a husband.”

He tries to move closer to me, and I take a step back, which just has more pain etching across his face.

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