Page 16 of Broken

"Just wondering. Mom is going to be disappointed. She always liked Sinclair." My brother didn't seem disappointed though. He seemed relieved I didn't invite Sin to the party.

I looked around the small bar. The dark wood and rustic atmosphere made the place warm and inviting. The wooden barstools and bar tables scattered around the floor were the perfect combination of wood and wrought iron to give the place a medieval tavern look.

I loved that Callum chose to use colors and framed pictures of Ireland in honor of our mother's ancestry. She was proud of her Irish descent, having been named after the Irish Goddess of Summer, a name given to her by her great-grandmother, and both of her younger sons had strong Gaelic names.

There were pictures of us growing up too. Family pictures, and pictures of mom and dad early in their marriage, when mom supported him as he went through medical school while trying to raise three young boys. The entire place was a beautiful nod to family and friends.

nine

Sinclair

Theafternoonwentbyquickly. The system we set up made the work quick and easy. Mia put the boxes together, I packed them, and Noah stacked them neatly in the living room for someone else to pick up later.

After a couple of hours, we finished the kitchen. Noah took a few of the boxes of food to his car to drop off at the Women’s shelter by the hospital. Mia prepared to leave too.

"So. Umm..." The silence was deafening.

"Don't, Sin." Her tone was harsh and biting. Nothing like earlier this morning. I thought things went well today. We had spent the day laughing, talking about our lives, and sharing jokes, almost like I never left home. Like I didn't cut her off for over ten years.

"Mia I'm sorry. For everything."

"Everything Babes? Are you sure? Because it sure as fuck seems like you're going to do up and leave all over again." She turned to look me in the eyes. Heart-shattering pain reflected in her eyes. Loneliness and betrayal were carved into the angry lines near her eyes as she glared at me. The sadness and heartbreak flashed behind them like a neon light in a bar window.

"I don't understand why you bothered to come back Sin. You chose to leave and cut all of us off. You send one letter a year. One fucking letter. Yes, we agreed to keep in touch that way, but do you have any idea, or do you even care what your being gone did to all of us? We fucking loved you."

The past tense was there. I really had no business being here. I should have let Kai handle everything from here. Noah could sell the house for me; everything could be signed through email. I never had to show up and disrupt the happy lives they built for themselves. Once I took myself, and my problems away from their peaceful lives.

"Mia. I."

"No. You don't get to give me a shit excuse. You will listen this time because I will say what I need to say and that will be all. I'm done. I won't lose my best friend all over again." I nodded as she continued.

"We've been friends since we were six. I, Mia, the one who held you when you cried after your mother would beat you. I held your hand when you had to talk to the police every time they got called because of your parents, and I sat by your side when your dad went to jail. Me. Not Kai, not Adam or Noah, and not any of the people in your new life."

Mia took a deep breath and swiped at the tears on her cheek. "So, when I ask you what the fuck was so important to you, that you would cut me out of your life like I was nothing, I expect the fucking truth."

Silence. She just looked at me, watching, waiting. I didn't have an answer for her. Not one that I wanted to give at least. I couldn't tell her about Aine. I couldn't let the poison and darkness of my past touch my innocent little girl. My sweet bright light.

Mia's eyes told me everything. If I didn't come clean here and now, I would lose her. She would cut me, and my pathetic one card or letter a year, out of her life for good. And that thought hurt so much more than walking away all those years ago.

"I have a daughter." My voice was barely above a whisper. "I'm afraid if she knew my past, if she saw any of this, I'd ruin her too." I cried. Tears rolled down my cheeks like droplets of rain down a windshield. No matter what I did to protect my child, the darkness of my past was going to reach her.

"Babes." Mia hugged me and held me in her arms. I missed her more than I ever thought possible. My best friend, my sister, and my family that I chose.

Fate moved us all like pieces on a chessboard, a dark, evil chessboard filled with ghosts, all looking to cut me down and take me to the depths of hell for eternity. At that very moment, before Mia asked for any details, Noah walked back into the kitchen.

The same blue eyes as my daughter stared back at me with a questioning expression on his face. He was unaware of what he walked into, and I prayed my demons stayed in the shadows they hid in.

Once Mia realized we weren't alone, she released me and stood helping me up with her. God, she was tall. I'm pretty sure she grew another inch after high school.

"Well. Looks like we will have a lot to talk about over breakfast tomorrow. You'll join me and Tess, right?" Another panic attack threatened to consume me. Tess, breakfast, Mia, tomorrow? It was all too much.

"Am I missing something?" Noah asked, obviously confused by the tension in the room. Noah's big brother mode had switched on and I said a silent little prayer asking that Mia wouldn't say a word to him.

"Oh. You know, just pulling out a few of Sin's old skeletons from the closet to play with them." She gave me a wink and kissed my cheek.

"Tomorrow. Breakfast, us girls."

"Mia, please," I begged, wiping my face from any proof of emotion.

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