Page 41 of Broken

Fuck Noah, Fuck Callum and Tess, and Fuck Mia. All of them were at Kai's stupid-ass party the night after I came into town, the same party Mia and Noah intentionally left me out of. I was hurt and pissed off at all of them. I forgave Mia and Tess. Tess might actually come down and murder me and bury me in the desert if I didn't.

I was so upset and had cried for a good part of the drive, that I didn't realize I'd been on the road for over four hours and halfway home. On a full tank of gas, I could drive almost to Bakersfield, but I left town with my tank at the three-quarters mark.

I pulled off the freeway and into a roadside gas station slash truck stop to fill up. While the pump ran, I checked my missed call or calls. There was one from Kai, I rolled my eyes and laughed, and three from Mia. The last call, the one that caught my attention was from an unknown number.

Fuck that. The last time I answered an unknown number, it was fucking Kai. Been there, done that, and had no intentions of doing it again. I checked the few texts I had. Mostly from Mia asking why I ignored her calls.

A couple was from Kai. The first one was just to check up on me, telling me he looked forward to tonight. Fucking liar. The last two were asking why I didn't answer. He worried about me, again liar. I wanted to fucking throw my phone in the trash.

I didn't though. After I filled up, I sent Mia a text:

Alive. Dealing with shit and don't feel like talking. Will call later.

Love you.

I hit send and she replied almost immediately:

I'm here if you need me, Babes. Love you back. Oh, FYI Kai is freaking pissed about whatever you’re up to.

I didn't bother to reply. Mia was good with my explanation, and that's all I needed. I was going home to my Aine, my only true light in this world.

twenty-one

Kai

Whydidn'tsheanswerany of my calls or texts? I shouldn't have pushed her. The last time I was this angry, I just found out about the abuse Sin experienced from her father. I was fourteen when my own father sat me down and explained why Sin had to go to court when her father went to jail after the lawn fire, he told me how Sin had been abused by her father.

He didn't tell me much more than that, everything else he fell under patient-doctor confidentiality. I remember wanting to go over there and hurt Sin's father and mother because they'd hurt her. Instead, Mia and I sat in court with Sinclair. Three kids, dealing with more emotion and pain than anyone deserved to deal with in a lifetime.

I loved Sin even more after that. She didn't cry, she didn't look away as her father walked out of the courtroom in shackles. She was the bravest and strongest person I'd ever known. So why the fuck did she run now?

I thought things were good between us. We talked so much; she told me the truth about what happened the night Adam died. It killed me to hear her blame herself for what happened to her.

We even discussed us finding a way to make a long-distance relationship work. I wondered now if she meant it when she said she wanted me to come down to Palm Springs.

It took every ounce of control in me to keep from losing my temper. Something I never did, but Sin was the only person who ever pushed my buttons, the only person to get under my skin and make me do things without thinking.

I called Mia. We rarely talked anymore. She and Noah had been getting close the past few months, but neither of them would talk about or admit to anything other than a long-time friendship.

"Hey Kai. What's up?" If Mia knew anything, she wouldn't tell me.

"Sins gone. She fucking promised not to run again." It was impossible for me to hide the frustration in my voice.

"Oh, she just texted me saying she's dealing with some shit. That's all. I'm sorry Kai."

"What fucking shit? We had fucking plans to talk tonight. She's not supposed to leave till tomorrow."

Mia, obviously bothered by the tone in my voice, hesitated before answering me. "Look, Kai. I don't know what's going through her head, okay? We've both watched as Sin went through shit that neither of us can imagine. We agreed years ago to give her space. What's your deal right now? This anger, it's bullshit."

She was right. my anger wouldn't bring her back. It wasn't going to fix whatever fears, whatever ghosts still chased Sinclair.

"I love her Mia." I was such a selfish asshole at times. I shouldn't have been so forward with Sin the past two days.

"We all do babes."

"No, Mia I'm in love with her. I've been in love with her since we were kids. I told her the other night. I told her this morning." I waited for my confession to sink in. I never told anyone how I felt about Sin, even as a teen, I never had the courage to tell her I loved her.

"Fuck, Kai. I don't know what to tell you." Mia's tone was sympathetic, almost apologetic.

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