Page 13 of Fracture

I take her hand gently, wrapping it in both of mine. Her face doesn’t change, still regarding me with fury and deep, simmering hurt. “Baby girl, listen to me. I am so sorry for what I said.”

“I don’t believe you,” she snaps, trying to yank her hand away, but I don’t let go. “And quit it with thebaby girlall the time. I hate it.”

“Do you really?” I lean over here, and her eyes flicker wide for a split second.

“Y-yes. It reminds me of things that are gone, and dead.”

I take her hand and press it to my chest. “I’m not dead and gone, am I?”

Her amber eyes stay fixed on mine, the fury softening out of them ever so slightly. “Levi, don’t.”

“Stella, listen to me, just for a minute, please.” I attempt to pull her a little closer, and when she resists I take a step towards her. “I know we hurt you. I said things to you, and to Dylan, that you didn’t deserve. Not one little bit.”

She grits out a harsh little laugh. “So Dylan wasn’t just here for a piece of ass, huh?”

I smile down at her. “I mean, maybe the hope was there.” I laugh when she rolls her eyes. “No, come on, he loves you. He missed you. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Nice of you to recognise that.” Her eyes drop from mine.

“Baby girl, I missed you too.” I move even closer, so we’re almost chest to chest. I raise one hand to her cheek, running the back of my finger down her soft golden skin. “I know words aren’t going to help. I fucked up, and I hurt you. And I’m sorry I ruined this, all of this. Coming home to you.”

“I was so happy to see you,” she says, and the veneer cracks just a little, her eyes shining as she gazes up at me. “I missed you too. I was dreaming of that moment. God, I was so stupid. In my room, trying to find the right dress to wear.”

“You looked beautiful, baby girl.” I notch my fingers under her chin. “You hear me, you looked gorgeous. Perfect.”

I can’t tell her what I really thought when I saw her. That I called her baby girl, the nickname I gave her when we were kids, to try and stem the desire that flared in every cell in my body just at the sight of her.

That I let my anger and desire get the better of me in the garage, saying hurtful things just to push away that sweet scent of vanilla and that pretty smooth skin.

It wasn’t just 10 years in prison - it was being back in the presence of the girl I’d been obsessed with since I was 16 years old, since I saw her holding those white flowers in her pretty pink dress at our parents’ wedding.

I can't tell her any of this. She sees me as her big brother. So I smile down at her, and plant a kiss on her forehead. She sighs a little, and softens against me.

“Thank you.” She leans against my chest, and lets me wrap my arms around her.

“I’m so, so fucking sorry.”

“Yeah, yeah, OK.” She pulls back and smiles up at me, rolling her eyes a little. “Good thing for you I’m a sucker for lost causes.”

“Yeah Miss Lawyer Lady, that’s kinda your forte, huh?”

“Hmmm. I guess I am.” She quirks her mouth, then pushes out of my arms. “OK, you can stay.”

“And Dylan?”

She turns and points a finger at me. “He can make his own case.”

I hold my hands up. “You’re right, he’s a big boy, he can handle himself.”

“Damn straight.” She sweeps the Barnes and Noble bag up from the bench and heads into the kitchen. “So what did you do today?”

I follow her slowly, shoving my hands into my pockets. “I, uh, saw my mother.”

Stella freezes, a book hovering half in and half out of the bag. I swear her jaw starts trembling.

“You… You saw her, huh?”

“Yeah, she told me you’d sold the old house.” I shrug, leaning back against the wall. “I can’t blame you, not like we had a lot of positive memories in that old shack.”

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