Page 93 of Little Broken Pieces

I roll my eyes sarcastically. “Ew, rude much?” I wrap my towel around my body and face her.

“I’m sorry, I’m just anxious,” she sighs in response.

“It’s fine, but just so you know, your man is downstairs.” She stares at her manicure like it’s no big deal.

“Fuck,” I whisper and she looks up at me as she sits on the lip of the tub.

“I knew you were acting weird because of him, what's wrong?”

I sigh in defeat. “I did something stupid,” I admit, eyes welling with tears already.

“Oh god, Alex, what did you do?” She stands, wiping the tear that fell from my cheek.

“I can’t tell you, I think it's best if I tell Kohen first.”

“Okay, no worries. I’m leaving anyway. Edward and I have a date.” The reflection of my best friend in the mirror makes my heart swell. She is beautiful and worthy of all the love. Which brings thoughts of the conversation I also have to have with her up.

Fuck, I’m just screwing everything up with the only two people I love in the world. “You deserve better than him” I spit out.

She looks at me incredulously. “Alex, stop. You don't know what I deserve.” What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Her phone rings and she looks at it a second before ignoring the call. “Okay, I’m leaving but I love you and whatever happened, don't worry. Kohen is freaking obsessed with you. Have you seen the way that man looks at you? He would hang the moon for you.” She kisses me on the cheek and rushes out the door, leaving me in a whirlwind of emotions behind her.

I smell popcorn and smile, he’s making snacks. The stairs creak and butterflies erupt. I’m just going to tell him the truth. I should have just asked Cora for advice about it. He taps his knuckles on the door, even though it's open.

“You decent in here, Angel?”

I don't respond, my mouth is dry, and my throat feels like it's closing up. What the hell is wrong with me?

Damn he looks good, he looks like a damn GQ model in the simplest shit. He walks straight over and kisses me on the forehead, the tip of my nose, and then he plants a soft kiss on my lips. “Hey, beautiful,” he whispers. The intimate gesture pushes me into a panic. Guilt overwhelms me and the words fly out of my mouth like word vomit.

“I texted Xzavien the night of the fight after you fell asleep.”

He stays frozen, hunched over the bed with his lips still inches from my lips. He scoots back, the room going quiet. My stomach is in knots waiting for him to say something. He bites his bottom lip and I move to get up, but he holds a hand out to stop me, shaking his head in disappointment.

“Why?” The words leave his lips so quietly, I almost didn’t hear him. He stands silent one more time, his eyes trained on me, filled with questions. The look on his face isn’t one I've seen before, it is not angry but hurt? Heartbroken?

“I don't know, handsome. I just… I guess I wanted to see why he did all of that. I thought he was my friend. I…”

He interrupts me and now I see the emotions in his face that I expected. Anger. “Bullshit!” he yells, and I flinch at the unexpected volume. “I call absolute fucking bullshit, you fucking like him don’t you?”

I start to say no but he doesn’t let me get a word in.

“You know what, Alex? Don't even answer that. I don’t want to hear the fucking excuses that are sure to come out of your mouth. I fought my best fucking friend for causing issues between me and you by not only crossing lines, but he also knew how I felt about you over and over, but he also fucked my ex and tried to set us up.”

“You mean your ex-fiancé,” I scoff, my anger rising as an armor surrounds me with its protection.

“Do not change the subject. We aren’t flipping this on me, you fucking texted him while I was asleep, making me look stupid.”

“I’m sorry, baby. I was confused and I wanted to know why. This is all new to me, Kohen.”

He scoffs, pacing the room like a madman, his hands running through his hair as I continue.

“I haven’t ever been with someone who treats me like you do and sometimes I don’t know how to handle it. I’m doing my fucking best here. I’m coming from one extreme to the other. I told you I didn’t want this, but you kept on and kept on, and I mean…you tell me, Kohen. What are the rules here? I know I need to learn to deal with shit in a healthier way but I’m doing my best.”

His phone rings and he ignores it. “I don’t know, Alex, but what I do know is if the shoe was on the other foot, and I texted a girl after they started shit between us, you would have my balls for it.” He isn’t wrong but before I can respond, his phone rings again. He is about to ignore it when I grab for it. Erica flashes on the screen. Perfect timing. I answer.

“Hello”

“Hello? Kohen?

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