Shattered (Shattered #1)

Shattered

H.D’Agostino

Copyright
© January 2014 by Heather D’Agostino

All
Rights Reserved. This book may not be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in
any printed or electronic form without permission from the author. Please do
not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of
the author’s rights. All characters and storylines are the property of the
author and your support and respect is appreciated. The characters and events
portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living
or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

The
following story contains mature themes, profanity, and sexual situations. It is
intended for adult readers.

Cover
design by Michelle Warren of IndieBookCovers

ISBN
:
978-0-9892135-9-2
(ebook edition)

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Unbreak Me chapter 1

Chapter 1

Leah

As I stopped my car at the end of the empty street and glanced around, I
couldn’t believe how much the town looked the same. The same small grocery
store on the corner, the same flower shop announcing the newest sale, the same
single traffic light blinking at the one intersection we had. Pittsford was
North Carolina’s version of Mayberry. It was tucked away and untouched, just
like when I was a kid. It was as if time had skipped right over it. My dad was
right, I didn’t miss much in my five year hiatus.

The sign for Carmichael’s Pizzeria flickered in the distance. As I
huffed out a breath and began to ease down the road, I wondered if he would
still be there. My dad was known for working late. He always went above what
was asked of him, and now that my mom was sick, he seemed to work even more.

When I pulled into the parking lot, I cut the engine, and pulled myself
from the small Honda Civic. Straightening my shoulders, I trudged toward the
door of the pizza shop. As I opened it, and stepped inside, all the familiar
scents assailed me. My dad had his back to the door, but he knew it was me. It
was like he had this sixth sense about him. He spun, and I watched a giant
smile spread across his face.

“Leah, you finally made it. How was the drive?” he grinned as he marched
forward.

“Long,” I grumbled. “I’m just glad to finally be here.”

I glanced around the small shop taking it all in. The same checked
tables lined the front of the store, the same art work on the walls, the same
menu hanging over the counter.

“How’s mom?” I asked timidly.

I knew she wasn’t good. Dad would have never asked me to come back if
she was. He knew I’d left to pursue my dream. Being stuck in a small town with
my whole life ahead of me is why he pushed me to leave. I’d never been one for
adventure, but after the scouts had sought me out, I knew that living in
Pittsford was not my destiny.

“She’s doing ok. Good days and bad days. They seem to run together a lot
lately,” he shrugged as he tossed me a white towel.

I grabbed it and began wiping the table to my left. It was like I still
worked here. Dad knew that I would fall right back into the swing of things if
he asked me too. I could help him out in the shop, and take the new job I’d
been offered at the high school.

High school…that seemed like a lifetime ago. As I moved around the
tables in front of me, I let my mind drift back.

“Leah, you can’t let
this opportunity pass you by. Coach says you have it in you. You need to go for
it.”

“I know Dad, I just
don’t know if I can leave Nick. I love him.”

“Nick would never ask
you to give this up, baby. This is the big time. This is your chance to make
something of yourself. You always said you wanted to run in the Olympics one
day. This is it.”

“Please don’t ask me to
decide on this tonight. Please Dad…I need to think about it.”

“Olympics,” I sighed. Too bad no one told my ankle about that plan. I’d
spent the last year trying to rehab it after the car accident. Always believing
that I had a chance to make it back, never thinking that it was over. What a
stupid dream. I shook my head trying to bring back reality. The truth was, I
was never going to run competitively again. Gone in a moment…that was my
future.

Here I was back in Pittsford, the place I always dreamed of escaping. To
say I was bitter was an understatement. Knowing that my dreams had ended was
only the tip of the iceberg. My mom was fighting for her life against cancer,
and my Dad was drowning in depression. It was like my entire world was falling
away piece by piece.

As I finished wiping the last table, my dad rounded the corner, and
tossed his apron on the counter.

“So, have you been by the house yet?” he asked with pleading eyes. He
knew that I hadn’t seen my mom. If I had, I probably wouldn’t be holding it
together as good as I was.

“No, I’m thinking I might in the morning. Avery’s expecting me tonight,”
I shrugged.

“Well maybe we can have breakfast together tomorrow,” he looked at me
with a questioning stare.

“Yeah, maybe,” I shrugged again.

The truth was, I just wasn’t ready to see her. As long as I didn’t hang
around, I could pretend that everything was fine. No worrying about what the
future held. Right now as far as I was concerned, the future sucked. I wanted
to live in the here and now, and that meant meeting Avery for drinks at the
small bar in the next town.

“I’ll see you tomorrow Dad. I need to get settled,” I sighed as I headed
for the door.

“Alright baby, I’ll see you tomorrow,” he mumbled to my back as I
stepped out the door and headed for my car.

ooooooooo

When I pulled up to ‘Dave’s’, I climbed out and glanced around the
parking lot. Avery’s truck was over in the corner of the lot. She always was
worried about someone denting or scratching the paint. “Some things never
change,” I muttered I wandered toward the door.

When I pulled the door open, the smell of cheap beer and cigarette’s
assailed me. I coughed slightly and scanned the bar looking for my best friend.
Avery Southerland had been my best friend since we were five. We met on the
first day of kindergarten and were inseparable all the way through high school.
She knew everything about me, and I her. We shared so many important moments in
our lives together. It was almost like we were sisters.

“Oh my god!” a squeal came from across the room. Before I knew it, Avery
was launching herself at me. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

“Tell me about it,” I groaned. “I thought I left this place behind.”

“Come on Leah, it’s not that bad,” Avery giggled as I began to notice
the alcohol induced state she was in.

“Yeah, I guess once you’ve had a few beers, it’s really not,” I shook my
head at her.

“Nope,” she popped the P as she began to loosen her grip on me. “Hey
Joe,” she glanced over her shoulder at the bartender “get the golden girl a
beer huh?”

The bartender nodded before turning to reach into the cooler. He pulled
a Bud Light out, and popped the top before sliding it across the bar in my
direction.

“You couldn’t resist could you?” I shook my head at her.

Golden girl has been my nickname since I broke the high school record in
the 400 meters at the age of twelve. The fact that I was teased mercilessly
about being perfect growing up, made it that much worse. I was far from
perfect, but no one seemed to notice. I made okay grades, listened to my
parents most of time, and relentlessly pursued my dream of making it to the
Olympics one day, but was far from perfect. The boys named me Golden Girl
because they thought that I was untouchable, that I was too uptight, and prude
to be anything else. To say that I hated the name was an understatement. There
was only one guy I let call me that…Nick Sutter.

“So do you ever get
tired of doing the right thing?” Nick snickered as he watched me pick up a
piece of paper and toss it in the trash?”

“What are you talking
about?” I rolled my eyes. “Like you care about anything.”

Nick’s little brother,
Cameron, was in my grade. Cam and I both ran on the school’s track team, so I
saw Nick daily when he picked Cam up. He teased me relentlessly, but he was
hot.

“If you’re able to do
the right thing, you should,” I glared at him.

“Well I guess so…if
you’re perfect,” he groaned and turned away from me.

“What’s that’s supposed
to mean?” I whipped around.

“Figure it out Golden
Girl,” he shrugged before heading back to his car.

As much as the name bothered me, when it came from Nick’s mouth it
didn’t. That was first time he ever talked to me, and if I knew what was going
to happen, I probably would have stayed away. Nick Sutter almost ended me. He
was the one person I was hoping I would not run into again.

“Earth to Leah,” Avery tapped my shoulder.

“Sorry,” I shook my head. “It’s been a long day.”

“I bet,” Avery sighed. “Have you seen him yet?”

“Who?” I brought the bottle to my lips hoping that she wasn’t going to
force me to say his name.

“Don’t play dumb with me,” she shoved me in the shoulder causing me to
spill a small amount of beer.

“No I haven’t, and I’m hoping that I won’t,” I sighed as I looked down
at the ground. She knew how bad things ended with us. She knew how much I cried
over him, how hard it was to leave like I did. Why was she bringing it up now?

“When do you start work at the high school?” she cocked her head at me.

Happy to have a subject change, I took a large swallow before turning to
face her, “Monday.”

“Well at least you’ve got one day to settle in,” she laughed. “We better
enjoy the night.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” I agreed. Monday was going to come soon enough,
and I had no desire to do anything other than get trashed tonight. “I didn’t
mean to wait until the last minute, but I had to get the ankle cleared to train
on.”

“Train?” her eyes flashed wide. “What do you mean to train?”

“I want to run with the kids,” I shrugged. “How can I coach them and
tell them what to do, if I’m not doing it myself. Besides,” I rolled my eyes
“maybe we’ll be on the same level with me having a bum leg.”

“Oh Leah, I don’t know what to say to that,” she wiped her hand across
her eyes.

“Don’t say anything. I know I’m never going to be what I once was. My
life’s changed in so many ways over the last year. I know things are going to
be different,” I shrugged.

“Different for you maybe, not for the rest of us. Those of us that
stayed behind are still doing the same things we were when we graduated,” she
raised one shoulder and rolled her eyes. “We just have different titles now. I
mean…I’m still at my mom’s flower shop, only now I do more than sweep.”

“I guess you’re right,” I chuckled. “Pittsford sucks…that’s why I wanted
to get away from here. This town sucks you in and won’t let you leave. It’s
obvious that I was never meant to get away from it.”