Broken (18 page)

I bang on Lena’s door like a crazy person.
Lena opens the door entirely out of breath. The vision in front of me is one I will never be able to get out of my head. My eyes wander up and down her body trying to grasp what I see in front of me. Lena is in a bra and panties made out of tin foil. Honestly, she looks fucking amazing.

At first, she tries to cover herself. Then, she gives up on that notion and allows me to study her. “You got my text.”

I didn’t. I have no idea what she is talking about. I remember my phone dropping out of my jacket while I was fighting Levi. Shit. I hope someone picked it up. I shake my head. “I lost my phone. What are you wearing?”

She examines my face. I forgot about the bruise. I don’t even know how bad it looks. “What happened to your face?”

One of Lena’s neighbors passes her door. The dude is beyond middle aged. He whistles at her and I fight the urge to rip his face off. “Can we go inside?”

Lena moves to allow me inside. She shuts the door behind her. “What happened, Eric?”

Sitting down on her couch, I blow out air through my lips making a sound. Here goes nothing. “I kicked the shit out of Levi. Before you go all psycho on me, hear me out.” To my surprise, she doesn’t flip out. There’s a look of satisfaction on her face. “He touched Bree. But, it was what he said about you that made me fucking flip out.”

“What did he say?”

I can barely look at her. I don’t want to hurt her. “He said he would buy you the way his dad bought your mother. I’m sorry, Lena. I couldn’t hear him talk about you that way.”

Her mouth hangs open a little. “Oh.
What a dick.”

I don’t want her to get upset so I change the subject quickly.
“Are you going to tell me what this get-up is all about?” I’m really curious. I refer to Lena wrapped up in tin foil.

She looks down almost like she forgot what she was wearing. Letting out a shy laugh, she answers. “I texted you to come over. I wanted you to see this.”

Fuck yeah. “Okay…as much as I love the outfit…I’m not sure what I’m looking at Lena. You need to help me with this.” I laugh.

“I’m your fucktard in tin foil.”
Her arms are wide open and she has a ta-da pose.

Hysterical laughter fills the room. Finally, we both calm down. I ask her to spin around so I can see the entire outfit. “I never thought I would find a girl in tin foil so attractive. You look beautiful, Lena. How the hell did you get that on?”

“Bree came over before the show. She wrapped me up.” The image of Bree wrapping a naked Lena consumes my mind. I can’t hide the smirk on my face. Lena catches on within minutes. “Get your mind out of the gutter, Eric.”

I’m enjoying the light conversation. I know it won’t be too long before it gets heavy. “Can’t help it.”

Lena’s shivering. Once she sits down next to me, I cover her with a throw blanket that was lying on the back of the couch. “Thanks for sticking up for me, Eric. It means more than you know. For the record, I kicked him out too.” She proceeds to tell me that she offered Levi fifty bucks to get the fuck out of her life. I’m so proud of her. It’s about time she sees herself as someone who is worth respect.

The room gets eerily quiet. I want to tell her how lost I have been without her. Unfortunately, my mouth chooses not to work. Viv pops into my head. What would Viv want me to do? What would Viv want me to say? The answer is simple. The truth. “You broke my heart when you walked away from me. The hurt I felt taught me something.
It hurt because I love you. I lived in darkness for so fucking long, Lena. The night I met you, it was like the sun came out.” It feels good getting all of it out. Viv is right. The truth does set you free.

I’m not done with her. I need to get it all out. And, if she decides it’s all too much, at least I told her everything that is in my heart. “
For me, this isn’t over until the fight is over…until we stop trying. And, I don’t plan to stop fighting for you…ever.”

There are tears in Lena’s eyes. Springing forward, she wraps her arms around me. I hug her back, holding onto her, afraid to let her go.

***

LENA

I can’t help but let my tears fall. Eric loves me. All of me. He even loves the girl who walked out on him.

I let out a shaky breath. “Eric, I’m sorry for walking out. Believe it or not, it wasn’t about you. It was about me. There is one thing that I know in my heart that is true. You. I love you.”

His mouth is on mine before I know it. The blanket I had wrapped around me falls off my body. Straddling Eric’s lap makes my tin foil panties fall apart. Eric lets out a soft laugh. “That was easy.”

Within seconds, my tin foil bra is shredded and I’m completely naked. Eric’s mouth is rolling over my nipple and I’m moaning in his ear.

A moment later, Eric’s pants are resting on my floor and he is inside me. I move my body up and down on him, never breaking eye contact.

He kisses me
ardently, consuming all of me. I allow myself to be taken and loved by Eric and it feels magnificent. Minutes later we are clinging to each other coming undone.

***

Watching Eric sleep is one of my favorite things to do. He’s exquisite. I grab my camera off of the nightstand and begin to quietly snap pictures of him.

In some of the pictures, I’ve captured his chest. I’m not sure how he will feel about
those particular photos, but to me there is nothing more beautiful than a shirtless Eric…scars and all.

I get tired of living through my camera. I want to capture this moment. I slide my tongue from the base of his neck to right behind his ear. He stirs, waking up to me licking and sucking his neck. “Mmm…you are
insatiable.”

I purr into his ear, “I’m just making up for lost time.”

His hands grab onto my waist and flip me onto my back. He rocks into me and I’m lost in him all over again. It’s rougher than I expected, but I welcome it. Eric pumps and pumps until I’m screaming his name. Finally, he allows himself to let go.

We lie in bed for at least half of the day. Hunger eventually wins and we have to eat something. While Eric cooks, I transfer my pictures from my camera to my desktop. Eric hands me a bowl of noodles with parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. Together we look at the pictures.

Many of the pictures are of me, Bree, Josh and Eric. In most of them, we are goofing off, making funny faces. I took some of the pictures without them knowing. I caught Bree staring at Josh with adoration while he was on stage. In some photos, I caught the laughter Eric and Josh share when they think no one is looking. Before the slideshow ends, Eric views the pictures I took of him while he slept. “You took these today?”

“Yeah. I hope you don’t mind.”

Eric quirks his lips, “I like them. It’s the real me.”

“I like them too.”

Eric slides his chair next to me. We eat our noodles in silence. I can tell Eric is thinking. Hard. I hope he’s not regretting taking me back. “So, Josh and Bree really need space to work some things out. I was thinking that maybe we do too.”

It’s so damn cute watching Eric struggle with this conversation. I think he is asking me to move in with him. “What are you saying?”

His tongue is tied. Exhaling, he begins to talk super fast. “I want to move in together. I want us to try this out. As Viv says, who says two fuck ups can’t be together? Being without you was torture. I can’t do that again.”

I grab his hand and lead him to
the couch. I make Eric sit down. I position my tripod in front of the sofa and set the timer on my camera. Eric looks at me in confusion. Plopping myself next to Eric on the couch, I tell him to look forward and smile. My lips touch his cheek and I close my eyes. The camera light flashes and takes the picture.

“What are you doing?” Eric asks.

“I just took the first picture of us that will hang in our new place.” I can’t help but to smile. Eric and I are going to build our life together…one picture at a time.

***

ERIC

Josh and Bree are destroying what used to be my kitchen. But, they look happy doing it. It’s what they do every Sunday. They cook dinner for Lena,
Viv, Lena’s mom, and me. We all gather at their dining room table, drink wine, and catch up on what has happened during the week. It’s become a tradition…a tradition none of us ever miss.

Tonight we have a special guest at the table. Joey’s aunt allowed him to join us.
Joey’s aunt gained custody of him after his family was destroyed.

It feels like our little, dysfunctional family is complete. I watch
Joey as he colors a picture and I think of how he has come such a long way since his mom has passed. He looks like a normal, happy, little kid. His shaggy hair hangs over his brow. Joey pushes up the sleeves of the Taking Back Sunday sweatshirt I gave to him. It’s funny. He’s starting to look just like me.

Lena passes me, lightly brushing her fingertips across my neck.
Yeah, that never gets old. My skin immediately responds to her touch by sending pleasurable chills through my body. She sits next to Joey and I see her smile when she looks at the picture. Joey puts his fingers to his lips shushing Lena. “Don’t say anything, Lena. It’s a surprise.”

Lena gazes at me with love in her eyes and returns her attention to the picture. I know she is going to be a great mom. She is so in love with Joey. I can just imagine what she will be like with our kids.

Viv helps Bree and Josh get dinner on the table. We sit down and begin our family dinner. I stare at each face that is at the table. Each person at this table went through hell and back to make it here. Together, we have made our own family. I couldn’t have been blessed with a better people in my life.

The laughter takes over the room with each of us sharing a story or event that has happened to us while we were apart.
Joey laughs along and I mentally thank the adults in the room for keeping the conversation kid friendly. The sense of normalcy is welcoming. It’s something none of us ever had.

Sure, we still work and fight at it every day. Josh and Bree still struggle with losing their baby. Lena toils with loving herself. But, at least, she allows me to love her. I can deal with that.

Viv and Lenora relish in the fact that they have their children in their lives again. We all may be adults but we belong to them. I catch them in the corner discussing our lives, finding joy in bragging in what we have accomplished.

Once the conversation has died down and the women go into the kitchen to clean up, I set Joey up on my X-box. I’m left sitting at the table with Josh. We drink our beer
s in silence for a few seconds and then Josh breaks it. “Did you ever think we’d have all this?”

I give him a lopsided grin. I get what he is saying. “The drunken nights of nameless women and forgetfulness weren’t fulfilling for you?” I joke.

Josh laughs, “Yeah, I guess not. I can’t imagine my life without Bree. Without this,” he points to the people in the kitchen.

Just as he points to the kitchen, Josh makes eye contact with Bree. She blows him a kiss. He catches it. Yeah, I’m not letting that go. “Really?”

“Shut up, man. You do the same shit with Lena. Speaking of Lena…how’s living together?” I think I just made Josh blush.

I visually check on Joey real quick. He’s zoned in on his games. “Good. It’s nice to come home to her every day. Even better sleeping with her every night.”

“That is a positive.” Josh smirks.

“Seriously, dude. Life is pretty fucking good.” I’m happy.
I mean, really happy. Genuinely, happy. I have everything I want. The girl. The family. The best friend. The mother. The sister. It’s almost too good to be true.

The ladies bring dessert to the table. Joey runs to the table looking to score a cookie. “I have a surprise.”

As we sit and enjoy the goodies on the table, Joey holds up the picture he was working on before dinner. It’s labeled, ‘My Family’. The little guy drew each one of us sitting at the table. A look of glee is on his face. He’s so proud of his work. I am too. Words cannot describe the feelings gushing through my body. I have a feeling of so much love and devotion to the people at this table.

Scanning the room, it is easy to tell that Joey has touched the hearts of each one of us. We praise his work and give him hugs. The kid is beaming. He runs to Josh and Bree’s refrigerator. Grabbing a magnet and placing his masterpiece on the refrigerator, he returns to the table smiling.

“I love it, Joey. I’m never taking it down.” Bree admires Joey’s work.

“Thanks, Bree.” Joey sits on my lap. Peeking his head over his shoulder, he looks up. “Do you like it Eric?”

I tussle the hair on his head. “It’s better than any picture Lena has taken.” I tease.

Lena winks at me. “Sure is, Joey.”

Just like a kid, Joey is over it and wants to go back to playing his games. He jumps off my lap and returns to the X-box.

Viv leans towards me whispering. “How does it feel?”

Looking Viv in the eye, I choke up. “Fucking awesome.” I grab a hold of her and hug her. “None of this would have been possible if it weren’t for you, Viv. None of it.”

“Don’t think I didn’t benefit from knowing you, Eric. Look at all I have gained.
Thank you for including me in your life. I love you, son.” Viv holds on to me as if her life depends on it.

“Love you, too.” I choke back the tears.

As our embrace folds, we sit back and watch our new family. Sure, it’s not perfect. No, we are not blood. We argue. We fight. But, we also accept each other for our faults and forgive our pasts. In my eyes, each one of us was hand picked to come together.

Some may say that each one of us was beaten down…
broken. But, you don’t throw away something of value. Instead, you find the right kind of glue to hold it together. Each person in this room has filled in the gaping holes of our broken hearts and made it whole again.

THE END