Fall To Pieces: Broken #2 (The Broken Series) (17 page)

CHAPTER NINE

Lee

“You’re sure?” I asked the nurse nervously, as she prodded my belly with the heart monitor.

“Yes, I’m quite sure. Can you hear that, Delia? That’s a strong healthy heartbeat,” she assured me kindly.

Thank God.

I’d woken up with twinges in my stomach this morning and came straight to the hospital.

The taxi I had paid to drive me here had
wiped out my paltry savings, but money had been the least of my worries.

The cramping pain I had experienced was all too familiar to me
, and I wasn’t taking any more risks. Not with this baby.

“Everything is fine? You’re absolutely sure?”

I couldn’t help but ask. I needed the reassurance. I was terrified. I wanted my baby so desperately.

“Honey,” the nurse said in a soft voice. “Are you feeling okay? Have you been under any excess strain recently?”

“A little,” I muttered, Rachel’s name coming to mind.

Checking my blood pressure, t
he nurse clicked her tongue, and frowned.

“I’ll be back in just a moment,” she muttered. “Stay lying down and try to relax.”

Twenty minutes later, the door of the examination room swung inwards, and my mouth dropped open.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, scrambling off the bed, adjusting my shirt.

Kyle’s eye locked on me and he darted over to where I was standing.

“Jesus, baby,” he breathed, pulling me into his arms.

His voice was laced with concern as he kissed the top of my head. “I got a call from the hospital, said you were here. What happened? Are you okay?”

I was baffled. Absolutely stunned… I couldn’t move a muscle with the shock of him being here.

“I’m fine,” I muttered, patting him on the back, awkwardly. “I had some pain when I woke up, so I came in to get it checked out.”

Even my voice sounded confused
, as I comforted Kyle, whose powerful body was trembling against mine.

“I’m sorry about Rachel
. I’m sorry, baby.”

I dropped my hand from his back and pushed him away.

“I don’t want to talk about her, ever. Don’t bring her up in conversation with me, ever again.”

“Ah, Mr. Carter, thank you for coming so quickly,” the nurse who had been treating me earlier
, said. “I have some concerns about Delia and checked her file. You’re signified as her next of kin, and the baby’s father, is that correct?”  

Kyle straightened, and nodded. “Yes, that’s right,” he confirmed, masking his earlier emotion. “Why, what’s wrong with her? Is it the baby?”

I could do nothing but gape, at both the nurse and Kyle. Since when was Kyle signified as my next of kin?

I wanted to see those damn files.

“The baby is fine,” the nurse reassured. “It’s Delia, who I am concerned about.”

“Me?” I asked in alarm.

What the hell was going on?

*****

Kyle

“I called you in because I’m concerned for Delia. Her blood pressure levels are rather high, not dangerously, but enough for me to be concerned about the level of anxiety and stress she’s under.”

My heart dropped, and my guilt overrode me as the nurse continued.

“As you already know, Delia is only nineteen and has
had a traumatic pregnancy. At thirty-six weeks gestation, I can’t stress to you enough, the importance of a calm and stress-free environment.

“You may not be aware, but Preeclampsia is a common, but in many cases, fatal, medial issue during late pregnancy, in particular to girls as young as Delia.”

“But I’m fine though, right?” Lee asked calmly, too calmly, as she picked up her purse from a chair. “I’m fine and so is the baby?”

The nurse nodded slowly. “Your blood pressure is a little high, but yes, you and the baby are well.”

“Well then,” Lee muttered, moving to the door. “If that’s all, I would like to go home.”

*****

I followed her out of the hospital, expecting to have to chase her down the street.

She surprised me by walking
silently to my car.

“I don’t have enough money to get home, and I’m tired,”
she said quietly.

My heart fucking fell.

Jesus.

I unlocked the car, and we climbed in, driving in silence
, until we reached the house.

“Lee,” I sighed, turning off the engine.

“Don’t,” she warned, climbing out.

I got out and walked ahead of her to open the door.

“Do you hate me?” I asked, as she stormed into the kitchen. “Did you mean what you said?”

Lee swung around, facing me. Her mouth was hanging open a little.

“My feelings for you haven’t changed, Kyle. Don’t confuse hurt with hate.”

“You
still love me?”

Lee shuddered and looked me straight in the eye.

“Yes, I still love you, Kyle. And apparently, that won’t change, no matter how many times you betray me, or shatter my trust.”

The door opened inwards and Derek hurried inside, closing it, sliding the deadbolt.

“Kyle, where the hell have you been?” he panted, out of breath, face flushed, concern etched across his features.

“What’s wrong?” Lee demanded, moving towards Derek. “Derek, what’s the matter? Is it Cam? Is she okay?” 

Derek eyes slipped from her to me. “I need to talk to you, in private.”

*****

“What the hell is wrong with you?” I asked, closing the kitchen door on us. “That was really, fucking rude, dude.”

Derek paced the floor, his movements frantic. “Believe me, Kyle; you do not want Lee to hear this.”

Okay, now I was getting worried.

“Jesus,
just tell me already, you’re freaking me out.”

Derek stopped moving, shrugged off his coat, and I froze.

His white t-shirt was covered in blood.

“Fuck,” I hissed
, charging towards him. “What the hell happened to you, man?”

Tearing his shirt off, he tossed it in the trash.

“I don’t know what happened, dude,” he whispered, trembling.

Moving to the sink, he turned on the faucet and grabbed a bar of soap. “One minute, everything was fine, and then the next, he just started pissing blood.”

Scrubbing his hands, his body shook. “I tried, Kyle. I fucking tried to save him, but the blood; there was so much fucking blood. He went down so quickly.”

I stood, frozen to the spot, and confused as fuck.

“Derek, who are you talking about?”

Tossing the soap in the trash, he grabbed a towel. “I got him in the car
. Kyle, took him to the vet, but it was…too late.”

My mouth dropped open.

“Bruno?” I asked, breathless. “Bruno died?”

Oh Jesus, no…

Derek threw the towel on the floor, and ran his hand over his shaved head.

“He
didn’t just die, Kyle.”

Shaking his head, he rubbed
his jaw. “He was fucking poisoned.”

The kitchen door blew in, and Lee stood in front of us, tears streaming down her face.

“Poisoned?” she cried. “Who would poison my dog?”

She sank to the floor, and I rushed to her side. “Baby, are you okay?”

“No,” she sobbed, curling her face into my shirt.

“I’ll tell you who would poison him,” Cam hissed, storming into the kitche
n, red eyed, and raging. “Your crazy bitch of an ex.”

“Rachel?” I asked, shaking my head. “No, she wouldn’t do that.”

“She would,” Cam countered. “She did. She was here this morning. I caught her snooping around in the kitchen. Bruno was fine and after I kicked her out, he…”

Cam stopped, her voice cracking with emotion.

“Oh, my god,” Lee wailed. “Of course.”

“Hang on guys,” I said, trying to be rational about this fucked up situation.

I stood up and paced the floor. “Maybe he ate something…soap, or washing detergent, or something?”

“It was no accident, Kyle,” Cam snapped as she knelt beside Lee and pulled her into her arms. “Stop defending her. She did it. And I’ve called her ass on it.”

“What do you mean?” I asked warily, finding it fucking, unbelievably hard, to believe that anyone, including Rachel, would poison a dog.

“I called the cops on her crazy ass,” she snapped. “Something
you
should have done a long time ago.”

“You okay, Lee?” Derek asked, hurrying across the kitchen.

I swung around to look at her.

My heart fucking broke at the sight.

She was huddled into Cam’s side, shaking and crying uncontrollably.

“Lee,” I whispered, rushing towards her.

“Don’t,” she screamed, staggering to her feet. “This is all your fault. You are the one who brought her into our lives, and look what’s happened.”

“Come on, babe,” Cam crooned, wrapping an arm around Lee as they walked out of the kitchen.

I couldn’t fucking breathe.

Did she do it? Was Rachel capable of such a fucking thing?

I didn’t know. I really didn’t.

CHAPTER TEN

Lee

We said goodbyes to Bruno, on a Sunday morning in May, scattering his ashes in Chautauqua Park as the watery sun shone down on us.

Some people might think of it
as a ridiculous gesture, but that just showed what they knew.

Bruno had been my best friend, and I’d loved him, and would miss him always.

He’d protected me from a rapist, kept me company when I was a lonely, scared, little girl, and had given me almost thirteen years of unconditional love and loyalty.

There
weren’t many human relationships you could say that about.

All three of my roommates
, came to the park to silently say farewell, and pay their respects.

None of us spoke.

I stood with Cam,

Derek stood with
Kyle.

The cops hadn’t charged Rachel, because
of lack of evidence.

But I knew she did
it.

I
knew.

*****

“You’re moving out?” I gasped, as I watched from the doorway as Cam piled her clothes and possessions into bags.

“Yeah,” she said, sighing. “It’s time for me to go, Lee,” she said in a shaky voice. “I’m graduating next week, and since the breakup, I don’t…I can’t. I just can’t, you know?”

Sadly, I did know.

I completely understood what she meant, and how she felt.

Cam and Derek hadn’t spoken since their breakup, not a word. He was completely torn up about it.

They tolerated being in the same room as each other
, but after a month of tension and unhappiness, I could understand why Cam couldn’t stay here.

“Where will you go?” I asked quietly. “Have you somewhere to go?”

“I have a friend who will put me up for a while,” she replied.

“I’m going to miss you, Cam,” I muttered
.

Cam stopped packing and came towards me.

Wrapping me in a massive hug, she squeezed me tightly.

“I love you,” she whispered. “And I am so terribly sorry for how I have treated you
, these past few months. I’ve been a terrible friend to you, but I promise, from now on, I’ll have your back.”

“You’ve always had my back, Cam,” I repl
ied, squeezing her hard.

“Will you be okay here, with him?”

I nodded slowly. “I hope so.”

“He loves you,” she whispered.

I sighed. “He thinks he does.”

*****

Lee

I walked around aimlessly for half the day, trying to rid myself of the strange swell of guilt, loneliness and neediness inside of my heart since Bruno
’s memorial.

I found myself sitting on
a bench in the campus of C.U, watching Kyle as he strolled across the quad, alone, and with a deep frown creasing his forehead.

Even in my depressed state
, I was aware of his beauty. He made casual, look mouthwateringly sexy.

His blue over-washed jeans
, hung low on his hips, and his long-sleeved, black t-shirt clung to him, pressing against every sculpted muscle on his stomach.

When his eyes found me
, his frown disappeared, replaced by a nervous smile.

He prowled towards me and I remained perched on the bench, not trusting my legs to be steady enough for walking. Kyle claimed the space between us in a few brisk strides.

“Hey, princess,” he said quietly.

Kissing my cheek, he dropped his bag on the bench and sat.

“Hey,” I mumbled awkwardly.

We hadn’t spoken since the morning we’d found out about Bruno, and I wasn’t sure what to say now.

Maybe I was a glutton for heartbreak, but I needed to speak to him. I needed to find a common ground.

My due date was in three weeks,
and I was terrified. I needed…Him.

“So, what do I owe the pleasure?”

Kyle was smiling. His dimple widened in his cheek.

I shook my head, to clear my thoughts.

“I was hoping we could take a walk?” I asked, returning his smile with a small one of my own.

“Sure,” he said.

Standing, he offered me his hand. I took it.

We walked for a few minutes before he spoke.

“How has your day been?”

“Okay,” I said quietly, strolling across the quad, trying to calm my soaring heart rate, as the feel of Kyle’s hand covering mine thrilled me. “Kyle, I need to talk to you.”

Kyle tightened his hold on my hand. “I thought we were talking.”

“You know, that’s not what I mean.”

Kyle sighed, and pulled me closer to him.

“Can we pretend?” he whispered, as his hand slipped from mine, only to fi
nd my waist and squeeze me tighter. “Just for a little while, can we pretend that the past two weeks haven’t happened, and we’re deliriously happy?

“That you love me and I love you. And we are just two human beings, carefree and despe
rately in love with one another?”

“Kyle,” I choked out, overwhelmed by his words.

His eyes searched mine, almost pleadingly. “Please, baby, just for a little while?”

His arms came around my waist, holding me close to his body.

Against my better judgment, I nodded, and stepped closer.

Kyle smiled in relief.

Taking my hands, he placed them around his neck.

My
heart thrashed against my ribs as Kyle tucked my hair behind my ears, trailing his fingertips over my cheekbone, before cupping my cheek.

“You burn me,” he whispered. “I close my eyes you
’re there. I open them you’re everywhere, surrounding me, possessing me. I scorch for you. I breathe for you. I’m drowning so deep in you, that I never want to come up for air.”

“Kyle, I…”

“I can’t cope with the thought of losing you…I can’t, baby, it makes my chest squeeze so fucking tight, I can’t breathe.”

Kissing my neck, my jaw, my cheek, he whispered, “Let me back in. Let me love you and I will, forever.”

I was drowning in his words, suffocating in the ecstasy of his presence.

“I love you,” I breathed, as I claimed his mouth.

“I love you so much,” I said against his lips, before his tongue slipped inside. “I’ve missed you so much.”

My tears soaked both our cheeks as we clung to each other.

“Don’t leave me again,” he murmured against my lips. “I won’t survive you twice.”

I shook my head. “I won’t, I’m yours.” 

My hands tangled in his hair, he melded my body to his. “You own me.”

This was the most exposing, intimate, tender moment
, Kyle and I had ever shared, as we claimed one another, possessed each other, reveled in our insecurities and soared. 

I wasn’t playing pretend, anymore.

I meant every word.

“Get your hands off
him, you whore. I know what you’re doing, trying to pass that the kid off as his, when everyone knows you’ve been fucking his brother.”

My blood ran cold.

Panting, I tore my mouth away from Kyle’s and glared at the evil, bitch troll, who was standing a couple of feet away from us.

I was about to respond, but Kyle beat me to it.

“Rachel,” Kyle sighed, pulling me close to his chest, as if to shield me from his ex-girlfriend. “For the love of god, can you please, just leave us alone?”

“I’m not giving up on you,” Rachel shot back, eyes glued on Kyle. “I love you, she doesn’t. She doesn’t love you like I do. No one does. Just me. Just me. I do, I do, Kyle. It’s me, just me.”

Rachel launched herself at Kyle, shoving me away from him.

“Please,” she cried, tugging at his arm, running her hands all over him. “Take me back. Take me back or I’ll die. I will die if you don’t forgive me.”

I staggered away, gaping in horror, and shock.

“Kyle,” I whispered.

He didn’t hear me.

His focus was completely on Rachel, who was clinging to him like a baby monkey, and raving like a lunatic. “Me, me, me, not her.”

“Kyle,” I shouted louder.

Nothing.

I couldn’t look at this for one more second.

This was everything I’d been afraid would happen. My worst nightmare was coming true.

Unable to stomach the sight of Kyle, comforting Rachel, I turned around and rushed away on shaken legs.

*****

Kyle

“I need an ambulance, C.U campus,” I demanded before hanging up, and slipping my phone into my pocket.

“I’m sorry,” Rachel cried pitifully.

Dropping to her knees, she hugged my leg. “I love you, that’s why I did it. She doesn’t love you. She is a bad person. She wants to take you away from me. But she won’t. You won’t let that happen, will you?”

Rachel’s body shook violently and I had no idea of what to do.

Going against every instinct in my body, I stroked Rachel’s h
air.

“Shh, it’s okay,” I soothed. “You’ll be okay. I’m gonna get you some help. Real soon.”

I hoped the ambulance would hurry the fuck up.

Or campus security, where the hell were those guys when you needed them?

There was a crowd gathering around us, and even though I couldn’t stand Rachel, I didn’t want this for her.

She was sick, not a fucking spectacle.

“What the fuck are you looking at?” I snarled, which caused a few bodies to scamper.

Tugging off my t-shirt, I slipped it over Rachel’s head, and then put her arms through the sleeves.

“Is she gone?” Rachel howled, shaking her head viciously. “She has to go. She has to leave. She has to disappear.”

“She’s gone,” I soothed, crouching down beside her.

I couldn’t blame Lee for running off.

I’d deal with her later. I couldn’t think about her right now…

I heard the sound of a siren blaring, moments before an ambulance pulled up next to us.

Rachel scrambled into my lap, clinging to me. “They want to keep us apart, but they can’t. Nothing can keep us apart.”

I kept my arm around her shoulder, and my eyes on the paramedic rushing towards us.

“Shh,” I whispered, praying to god they’d hurry the hell up.

“Come on, sweetheart,” one of the paramedic’s said, wrapping a brown blanket around Rachel’s shoulders.

“Tell them Kyle,” she begged. “Tell them we belong together.”

“We belong together,” I said in a coaxing voice as I peeled her arms away from me, and pushed her into the arms of the medic.

They bundled Rachel into the ambulance, and I staggered away, unable to watch, or listen
to the feral screams coming from her throat.

***** 

“Open the door, Lee,” I asked for the fifth time, in a matter of minutes.

Banging louder, I tried the door handle, even though I knew it was locked.

“Lee, please, open this door.”

Leaning against her bedroom door, I allowed myself to sink to the floor.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.