Page 102 of All Her Broken Pieces

Please, can we talk?

Let me know when you’re ready to talk. I’m not going anywhere, you’re it for me.

I love you so fucking much, hellcat.

Gonna stop by your apartment tomorrow and pick up a few things. Be there around noon. Hope I see your gorgeous face

Hey sweetheart, just left your place. I left your favorite in the fridge. I hope you’re eating. The fridge looked pretty empty and Dre said you haven’t been by the restaurant. Love you

Not sure if you’re getting these messages or not since they’re not marked read. Please give me something to let me know you’re okay. Bouncing dots, leave me on read, something please, sweetheart

It’s snowing and all I want to do is hold you on the couch and watch the Cobras game with you and feel you against me. Not cuddling, of course cuz you don’t do that.

I miss you giving me shit, hellcat. I love your confidence. Strong women are hot as fuck and you’re the strongest woman I know

Hope you’re giving someone hell today, gorgeous, since it can’t be me. I’m here when you’re ready to talk. I love you

CHAPTER34

Bridget

It’s beentwo weeks since I asked Ethan for space, and my apartment doesn’t feel the same since he left. Work has been a welcome distraction, and I’ve been pouring myself into end-of-year income and cash flow statements. It could be the stress, but I’ve been craving salty snacks like crazy, and I’m bloated from all the extra salt intake.

My emotions are all over the place. One minute I’m sobbing uncontrollably, and the next I’m ready to break shit, mad at the world for everything it’s thrown at me. Why does he have to be related to that man? The one that broke me and changed the way I look at men.

Fuck, I need another snack. Padding into the kitchen, I rifle through the pantry like a rabid raccoon only to come up empty-handed. I slip on my winter boots and dig my keys out of my purse, but I can’t find them. Emptying out the contents onto the counter, I scan the items for my keys when my eyes lock on something that makes bile rise in my stomach.

Fuck.

Doing some quick mental math, I come up short. No, no, no. This can’t be right. The plastic crinkles between my fingers as I grip it tighter in my hand.

I can’t do this. I don’t want this. I just need some fucking pretzels, not an existential crisis as the world continues to fuck me over.

“Ahhh!” I angrily scream as I hurl the tampon across the room. It lands with a pathetic thump against the window before bouncing onto the floor.

I count to ten, focusing on my breathing, using all my senses like Ethan taught me. Fuck. Ethan. I could be carrying his child. A child he says he doesn’t want but definitely deserves. And in this moment, I realize that if I am pregnant, I can’t have an abortion; I couldn’t do that to him. But could I keep a baby? No, that’s not a life I want—but the thought of being tied to Ethan in a permanent way sparks hope in my chest.

I definitely don’t want to be a mother, but imagining Ethan being forever connected to me because of another person fills me with more emotion than I know how to handle as tears slip down my cheeks.

“Ethan’s soul is perfectly matched to yours in ways mine can’t be.”

Could Becka be right? Is that why the thought of keeping him overpowers my fear of potential motherhood?

I throw on my coat and wrap a scarf around my neck as I hurry out of my apartment and down to the street. The drug store is a few blocks away, and I need answers before I spiral out of control.

The cold December air nips at my exposed cheeks as I tug my scarf tighter. I’m so engrossed in my mission that I don’t hear the person behind me.

“Bridge.”

I spin around and come face to face with Henry. Hank. Whatever. “You don’t get to call me that. You burned this bridge, Hank.” I spit his name like venom. “You broke me. You don’t get to use pet names with me anymore.”

He throws his hands up in defense. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“Fuck you. What are you even doing here?” I look around, trying to spot Ethan, because that can be the only reason Hank’s here. “How do you know where I live?”

“I didn’t.”

“Did Ethan tell you?”

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