Page 24 of All My Broken Pieces

Rolling to the side of the bed, I drop my feet to the floor and slowly push myself upright. I stumble to the bathroom, turning on the shower and brushing my teeth while I wait for the water to heat up. Staring at my reflection in the mirror, I fight against the melancholy threatening to consume me.

“I can’t do this.”

“It’ll hurt less now than later.”

Fallon’s words repeat in my head, only serving to further my downward spiral of misery. I slam my palms down on the counter, glowering at my warped reflection. “Hurt less my ass.” I grumble, pushing away from the sink.

After a quick shower, I towel dry my hair and pull on some clothes. My phone buzzes from my jeans still lying pooled on the floor. I take a step toward it and notice the strap-on next to the bed, my chest spasming at the reminder of last night. Pivoting, I scoop up the sex toy and quickly clean it up before returning it and the lube to their spot in our closet.

Best to be prepared in case Fallon decides to drop by unannounced again.

Hunting for my phone, I finally locate it and hold my breath as I see the multiple messages. Most of them are from Andrew wondering what the fuck happened to me last night. There’s even an annoyed text from Killian demanding I respond to Andrew so he stops blowing uphisphone.

My lips quirk at the thought of the old man being bombarded by my friend.

One message remains, and I take several breaths to prepare myself for whatever it might say. Closing my eyes, I release one last exhale before clicking on the text. My heart shatters at the words reflecting up at me on the screen.

I don’t know what I expected. A heartfelt declaration of love? If that was the case, she would have been here when I woke up.

I tuck my phone in my back pocket and snatch my keys. Storming out of the apartment, I slam the door behind me. The need to release some of this pent up frustration consumes me so I text Andrew asking for a job, any job, it doesn’t matter. His response is immediate, details of a hit along with a bunch of texts demanding to know what happened and if I’m alright. I can’t respond to his concerns, not now.

Instead, I thank him for the info and exit the building, on the hunt to let out my need for violence to settle the turmoil inside. My mind wanders back to the text over and over the entire drive. The whole time I hack and chop at the target, even as I scrub up the blood and stage the crime scene, my mind is focused on her words.

Mi Vida

I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.

Chapter 9

Fallon

“I know I fucked it all up. Believe me, I know. I regretted leaving that church every single fucking day.” Running a hand through his hair, he blows out a breath. “I was so hurt I didn’t stop to think how much it was hurting you too. How much I was hurting you.”

He pauses, his shoulders slumping. “I wish I could say I would do things differently if we went back, but I don’t fucking know. I was just a kid and my mom, she was…”

I put my hand on his arm, pulling his attention to me. “I know.” I say, aching at the sorrow I find in his eyes.

He holds my gaze briefly before nodding. Reaching up a hand, he covers mine with his own. “No matter how much I was hurting over her, I never could have imagined the pain I would feel at the loss of you.”

My phone buzzes beside me, pulling my attention from the book. I blink several times to fight against the moisture pooling in my eyes. The broken words of a broken boy hitting a little too close to home for my liking.

Unknown number

Hey sis it’s Hudson. I got your

new number from mom. Look,

can we talk? It's important

I stare at the phone in shock. Except for the dinner several days ago, I haven’t spoken to Hudson in years, and now he wants to talk?

My thumbs hover over the screen as I contemplate my response. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to connect again, I miss my big brother.

Taking a deep breath, I begin typing out a reply when my phone goes black,Momfilling the screen at her incoming call. I sigh heavily as I slide to answer. “Hello?” I try and fail to hide the hollowness in my voice.

Oblivious to my discontent, my mom’s cheery voice comes through the speaker. “Well, hello to you too, Fallon. I have some great news, honey.” My stomach drops, her good news is hardly ever something that I can get excited about. “We’ve got a date!”

My brows furrow as I try to decipher what she’s talking about. “Huh?” I ask lamely when I come up blank.

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