The Broken (3 page)

I try to
swallow the lump in my throat, but his grip is too strong. He
inhales sharply. “That other guy had his hands all over you, and
you let him, River.”

I try to shake
my head, but he has me completely immobile in his grasp. I hear
voices, and Danny’s hands loosen and slide into my hair. “Go take a
shower and wash off his hands. You’re mine, River.”

A single tear
slips free from my eye, creating a wet path down my cheek. The
front door swings open and Blaydon enters.

“What’s going
on Riv? What happened with that guy?” he asks, then comes closer
and sees my tear. He reaches for me, pulling me from Danny. “What’s
wrong, Riv? Did the asshole hurt you?”

I shake my
head. “Sammy stopped him,” I croak, my voice hoarse, my throat
scratchy. I look over to Danny. He has a snarl contorting his
features. He’s angry still and I begin to shake.

“You’re
trembling,” Blay states, crushing his body to mine. “I would kill
anyone who hurt you.”

I grimace, and
he pales at his words and my reaction.

“Go shower,
River,” Danny commands. I pull away from Blaydon and smile weakly
at him. Running my hand down his arm, I turn and to go shower for
the second time today.

I pull on my
black dance leggings and sports top, tying my hair into a tight bun
and when I open the bedroom door, I come face to face with Danny.
He looks remorseful, his brow furrowed, eyes apologetic. I step
back as he steps forward. Closing the gap between us, he cups my
jaw, his touch soft and gentle. “I’m sorry about earlier,” he
breathes, and I let out the breath I was holding. “You know it
makes me crazy when guys touch you, River. I just love you so much.
” He nuzzles his lips into my neck. “I’m going away for a few days
for business and it’s been playing on my mind. I don’t like leaving
you.”

I reach up to
stroke the back of his head. “It’s okay. I’ll be here waiting for
you.”

He strokes my
cheek and brings his lips to shower kisses on my own. I swallow the
bitter bile in my throat and return his touch.

“Tell me who
you belong to, River.” His voice has taken on an edge I’m all too
familiar with. His hand slides from my cheek to grasp the nape of
my neck, my forehead being tipped forward to rest against his.

“I belong to
you, Danny,” I tell him, only a slight tremor in my voice. I know
why he needs to hear me say these things. I’ve woken up to him
sitting in the chair in our room, mumbling things his parents used
to tell him; he’s nobody, no one will ever love him, he doesn’t
belong, he’s poison.

He pulls away
and smiles before leaving. I exhale and inhale a few times, trying
to compose myself before I open the bedroom door. I walk through
the house to the garden.

Breathing in
the fresh air, I walk up the three steps to the raised decking
platform Blaydon had built for me to dance on. I slip my earphones
in, clip my iPod inside my bra, and I let Adele sing her soul into
my ears and take over my body.

T
he house hasn’t changed since I left. The walls are
still painted light green, the dark furniture is still the same
beaten down furniture we always had, and the stale smell of
cigarettes is stagnant in the air. The wood flooring looks a little
worse for wear, but I’m not surprised. Blay informed me that mom
likes to have parties most weekends.

In my old room,
memories assault me at the sight of my bed. My mind floods with
visions of River sleeping there. When her mom killed herself, River
used to have nightmares. If Blay wasn’t home, she would sneak
across the yard and sleep in my bed. I prayed for those moments
with her, to lie next to her breathing in her air, her scent.

God, I’ve been
home five minutes and I’m already growing a vagina over her, but
fuck, she’s still stunning. More so. I drop my bags down and take
in the familiarity of my room. Nothing has changed, even down to
the blue bedspread and drapes. The checked wallpaper reminds me of
the film
American Pie;
Jim’s room suffered the same
wallpaper. My old Mustang posters bring a smile to my face. That
was a dream of mine and Blay’s. We wanted to find and restore old
muscle cars in the garage once we bought it from his dad. It’s
crazy to walk back into a life you ran from.

Jase is a
little ass kicker on
Call of Duty
, he’s currently leading on
the score board and putting Jasper to shame. I gave up a while ago
to raid the fridge for sustenance. The only thing in the fridge is
a pack of expired eggs. I grumble, knowing I need to get some
shopping in. I hate going to the supermarket.

A shadow
catches my eye out the window; I walk over and nose out to see
River dancing on a raised platform in her backyard. God, she’s
breathtaking. The way her body moves is incredible.

“What you
looking at?” Jasper’s voice penetrates my ears. He looks out and
groans. I shoot my elbow back into his stomach. He makes a pained
noise and then slaps me around the head. “What the fuck?”

I turn to face
him. “She’s taken.”

He raises an
eyebrow. “And?”

“Her brother
and boyfriend are my friends, so she’s off limits, Jasper.”

“Seriously
Sammy? Because she is so fine. Fuck, have you seen that body?” He
leans over me to watch her again and I swallow the growl I want to
let rip from my throat. He looks back at me, and reading my
expression, holds his hands up. “Fine, off limits. I get it.”

“We need food,
the house is empty,” I tell him, changing the subject.

“Okay, well you
do a store run and I’ll stay with the kid.”

I pat my
pockets to make sure I have my wallet and car keys, and walk back
to the living room. “Jase, I’m away to the store. Look after Jasper
for me, okay?” Jasper slaps me in the back of the head again before
throwing himself onto the couch and picking up the controller. Jase
nods and gives me a quick wave, too involved in the game to care. I
open the door and catch Danny’s eye as I walk down the path. His
carrying a duffle bag and laptop case.

“Where are you
off to?” I ask.

“Work. I’ll be
gone a few days,” he answers, sounding deflated.

“What are you
doing these days? Still a whizz on the computers?” I ask with a
grin he returns with one of his own.

“Yeah, I work
with the old man selling computer programs. It’s a new business but
it’s going well and I’ll be bringing in the big bucks soon
enough.”

I laugh,
shaking my head. “Still planning on being a rich son of a bitch,
then?”

Danny had
always said he would be rich and buy a paradise island to live on
when he got older. Blaydon and I had always worked at the garage
Blaydon’s dad owned. The plan was for me to do a business course at
college and buy his dad out with some inheritance I have from my
gran passing when I was younger. Then Blay and I would run it
together; me the business side, him the grafting side, as his dad
was never there anyway. Too busy drinking his weight in whiskey
down the local rat hole.

“Yeah, I plan
on setting up the business then reaping the rewards while other
fuckers do the slack work, but I need to get the foundation laid
first.” He grins. I give Danny his due. He’s clued in when it comes
to computers. That shit just comes to him naturally. What surprises
me is him saying he’s in business with his old man. Danny hates his
dad and vice versa. It’s no secret they have an abusive
relationship. Danny had got drunk one night with me and Blay after
he got into a fight with his dad, and was sporting a black eye. He
rambled on and on about his dad hating him. Apparently, his dad
gave up a big time deal to play football because Danny’s mom got
pregnant at seventeen, so he married her and took a job at some
shitty accounting firm, only to later learn Danny wasn’t his.

“So, how’s Blay
doing? He looks strung out,” I say, slightly afraid of his reply.
Blay looks older than his twenty-two years. He’s too slim and
withdrawn; clearly on drugs.

Danny looks up
to the house then back at me. “He’s dependent on anti-depressants.”
His eyes search mine but I’m not sure what he’s looking for.

“What the fuck?
Since when?”

He runs a hand
through his hair. “Since their dad did a runner.”

My stomach
drops. Fuck, their dad was a waste of space. He couldn’t cope when
his wife killed herself when River was twelve, and turned to drink
and beating Blaydon to cope. To have both parents abandon you in
their own ways must have taken its toll. Fuck, we all had shit luck
in the parent lottery; between us I think the only half decent
parent is my dad, and even he struggles to show real affection. My
mind goes to River, her beautiful spirit. How could anyone want to
leave her?

“What you
looking at?” Danny’s voice breaks me from my musing, and I realise
I’m looking to the back gate that leads to where River is dancing.
“Nothing, sorry. I was just lost in memory lane. So when did he
leave?”

Danny furrows
his brow. “River’s sixteenth.” He raises an eyebrow like I should
have known this, but I didn’t. I left a couple days after her
birthday. I couldn’t watch her be with anyone who wasn’t me.

“Has he been in
touch or anything?”

I see something
flash across Danny’s face, but I can’t put my finger on what it
is.

“No, he’s
gone.” He says it with such finality. I look back at the house.
“How’s River been?”

I watch his jaw
tic with tension. “She has me. I look after her.”

I nod and offer
a weak smile. “We should have a party when you’re back, and Jase is
back with my dad. A reunion party.” I grin and he returns it.

“Sounds
good.”

We say our
goodbyes and go to our separate cars.

The supermarket
is empty, much to my pleasure. I hate trolley rammers and queues. I
throw in some random shit; eggs, cereal, bread, meat, juice, sodas.
I get to the beer fridge and collide with a petite blonde; her
dainty frame falls back and hits the glass door of the fridge.

“Fuck! Sorry,
sweetheart.” I grab her arm and steady her.

She looks up at
me and her familiar brown eyes dance with excitement. “Sam!” she
screeches and jumps, throwing her arms around my neck, her legs
around my waist. “Hey stranger!” She breathes in my face, her
intoxicated breath making me pull away.

“Chelsea, you
smell like a brewery.” I slide her to her feet.

“I may have
been drinking,” she slurs.

“You think?” I
cock an eyebrow and she giggles.

“God Sam, you
haven’t changed one bit. Look at you.” She bites on her bottom lip
and roams her eyes up my body shamelessly. “How was college?”

“Good,” I say,
watching her shift from foot to foot. She’s practically panting. I
could probably take her up against the fridge right now if I
wanted.

She steps
forward and runs a hand down my chest. “Girlfriend?” she asks, and
I laugh at how blatantly obvious she’s being. We hooked up in
school; she was a slut and wasn’t shy about being passed around at
parties. I look her up and down. She’s still hot; she has a tight
little body. She’s lacking in the tits department, but she makes up
for it by being filthy.

“No girlfriend,
Chels.”

She beams and
slides her body closer. I feel the heat coming off her and I grin
back. “Why don’t you stop by tomorrow? My aunt’s picking my brother
up in the morning, we can catch up.”

She bites her
lip. “Mmm, sounds good.”

I watch her
saunter away up one of the aisles. Shaking my head in disbelief at
how easy she still is, I open the fridge and grab a couple of six
packs, before making my way to the cashier.

When I get
back, I find Jasper leaning up against the counter talking to
River, who’s at the stove, stirring a sauce that smells fucking
divine.

“Hey, look who
came over to cook for us. Your mother left, by the way, and be glad
you weren’t here to see what she was wearing… or not wearing.”
Jasper shudders.

River shakes
her head. “Actually, I just came to get you started. I wanted to
make sure Jase has a real meal and not,” she puts down her spoon
and walks over to me, peering her head into my shopping bag, “beer
or cereal for his dinner.”

She lifts one
perfect brow at me, and I just stand there, taking in her presence
and her scent. Fuck me, I still want her. After all this time, I
still want to wrap her in my arms. Fuck. I hate that I still want
her when she chose Danny over me. She chose him, and now she’s
standing in my kitchen, telling me how to take care of my own
fucking brother.

“Actually, I’m
taking him out to eat,” I snap and she looks at me, confused by my
bitter tone.

“Oh, I’m sorry,
Sammy. I was only playing about the beer and cereal. I know you can
look after him,” she stutters and I feel like a dick. “You can use
this tomorrow, then. It will keep.”