Unbreak Me (Second Chances #1)

Unbreak Me

H. D'Agostino

Chapter 1

August 2012

It had been almost eleven years since Sean had died.

From that moment, Melanie felt like she’d been stuck in a revolving door. The days blended together. Happiness eluded her as she went about her daily routine of work and taking care of their daughter Katie. Katie…she was a teenager now. She didn’t need as much care as she once had, and Melanie was slowly watching the mother/ daughter bond loosen. Katie had been only three when her father died, she barely remembered him. Melanie had done her best to provide memories for her...pictures of what her dad looked like, stories about how they met.

As she rolled over to slap the alarm clock, she shoved the covers back and sat up on the edge of the bed.
Time to get up and face the day,
she mused. She and Katie had been back in Boston for a week now. Melanie had transferred from Long Island Memorial to Boston Memorial. She needed a change, and she was hoping that moving back near her parents would help. Katie was to start school at St. Vincent’s today and Melanie was starting her new job as Head of Pediatric Surgery.

She groaned as she stood and made her way down the hall towards her daughter’s room. The door was closed and she could hear the alarm buzzing.

“Katie, you need to get up,” she knocked gently on the door.

“Go away,” Katie groaned.

“You don’t want to be late for school today. It’s your first day,” Melanie sighed.

Having to leave all her friends behind, Katie had not been happy about her mother’s decision. Private Catholic school was not her idea of a “good” move, and she’d begged her mom to let her stay in New York.
You’re not living in New York with the rest of the family in Boston,
Melanie had told her.

Melanie opened Katie’s door. “Get up or I’m pulling the covers off,” she warned.

“Mom, get out of my room,” Katie screeched. “I’m up, leave me alone.”

Melanie sighed. “Breakfast in 30, you’d better hurry.”

Melanie closed the door and made her way back to her room to grab a shower. As she turned on the water, the warm spray cascaded over her body. Her tense muscles began to relax and her mind began to drift back to the past.

May 1997

“You need to get to class babe,” Sean mumbled into her ear as she stretched her sore limbs. “Professor Webber is not going to tolerate you being late again.”

“
Five more minutes,” Melanie begged. “I think you broke me last night.”

Sean chuckled, “Look who’s calling the kettle black. I never realized you were such a tigress in bed.” He rolled to the side and began to rise. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he looked over his shoulder and grinned, “I’ll go turn the shower on and join you if you promise not to fall asleep by the time I come back.”

“Fine,” she grumbled. “I’m up.”

He trekked across the small bedroom and disappeared into the bathroom. Within minutes she heard the shower roar to life. She quickly rolled to the side, pulling the cover up to her chin and feigning sleep. A giggle escaped her lips as she felt the bed dip when he returned.

“Thought you weren’t going back to sleep,” he whispered as he kissed her neck right below her ear. He slowly slid his hand up her back and dragged the sheet down to her waist. Tiny goose bumps began to rise on her back where the sheet had tickled her skin.

“I’m not sleeping,” she groaned.

He slowly moved his hand up her back, kneading the soft skin as he went. She lifted her head and glanced over her shoulder at him. “If you keep doing that, we’re never going to get in the shower.”

“Doing what?” he crooned innocently as he cocked his head to the side and leaned down to place a kiss to the smooth skin between her shoulders.

“That…ohhhh,” she moaned as his tongue darted out and licked against the now sensitive skin.

“You like that huh?” he laughed and moved the sheet lower, running his hands along her backside in the process.

Melanie mumbled something incoherent into the pillow before rolling onto her back. Sean groaned and moved to cover her with his body. “You are going to end me, you know that right?”

She giggled. “I think we might run out of hot water at this pace.” She moved her hands to trail them down his chest before placing a deep kiss to his lips. “Join me and I’ll take care of you before work.”

“Ahhhh”, he threw his head back and flopped to the side.

She jumped up and ran towards the shower giggling, “What are you waiting for?”

As soon as she stepped under the water, she felt him press himself to her back. As his hand began to glide over her, she relaxed into him and closed her eyes. He began to caress her breasts and roll the nipples between his fingers bringing them to hard peeks. One hand made a quick descent to her lower belly before sliding between her thighs. “How’s that?” he whispered as he began to stroke the warm slit.

“Oh Sean,” she gasped as she began to grind herself against him. She could feel his throbbing cock against her as she pushed her hips into him harder. As she felt her orgasm building, she turned around to face him, reached down between them, and took him in her hand, slowly running her fingers over his length. He leaned his back against the shower wall with a gasp, and then dipped his head to place a wet kiss to her neck, groaning and thrusting his hips toward her as she gripped him with more force.

“Ahhh shit babe, you’re gonna end me right here,” he gasped frantically.

She giggled and lifted her leg to place it around his hip bringing herself so close he was now rubbing against her. “Make love to me,” she whispered into his ear as he slid his hand down her back, gripping her by the thigh.

With a growl he lifted her up, slamming himself into her with one quick movement. As she sank down onto him, she released a contented sigh and quickly wrapped her legs around him. He began to thrust in and out of her at a lightning pace. She gripped his shoulders and buried her face in his neck as he pressed her into the wall, panting as he worked to hold her up while he kept up his assault.

“I love you so much,” she gasped as she felt herself building. Soon she cried out in pleasure as her world began to spin and her orgasm rocketed through her body. As soon as Sean felt her constricting around him, he quickly followed her over the edge.

She shook and shuddered as she began to come back to earth. “What a way to wake up,” she giggled. “Maybe I should stay home from class today.”

“Not a chance.” He handed her a towel as he stepped out of the shower. “Your mom would kill me if she thought that her newest son-in-law was keeping his wife home from class to do all kinds of naughty things. Besides, we have the rest of our lives for this,” he winked.

August 2012

The rest of their lives
she thought, if only that were true. Melanie sighed as she reached over to turn off the shower. If she knew back then that Sean would be taken away so soon, she probably would have spent more mornings like that.

After dressing in a navy pants suit, she made her way to the kitchen to begin making breakfast for her and Katie. She could hear Katie grumbling in her room and called, “Put a move on it,” as she passed her door.

Katie slowly pulled herself out of bed and made her way over to her closet. It wasn’t like getting dressed would take very long now since her mom had decided to put her in catholic school. She had a uniform, which she hated, to wear everyday. The blue and green plaid skirt did nothing for her fair skin. The white blouse was plain and stiff. She had a navy sweater she could wear when the weather was cooler, but for now she was fighting with her knee socks.

“Who ever heard of wearing knee socks in the summer time?” she grumbled to herself. She pulled her blonde hair back into a ponytail, brushed on some pale pink lip-gloss, and headed out to the kitchen.

As she stalked over to the breakfast bar, she threw her backpack onto the barstool beside her. Melanie placed a plate of toast and eggs in front of her, instructing, “Eat up, you’ll need the energy.”

Katie pushed her food around with her fork while Melanie grabbed a juice out of the fridge. “I’m not hungry mom. Why do I have to dress like this? I hate this!” she pulled at her skirt and shifted in her chair.

“St. Vincent’s is the best school in the city. It’s where your dad and I went to school. You’ll get a great education and get into a good college.”

“What if I don’t want to go to college?” she whined.

“I’m not talking about this again,” Melanie scolded. “You’re going to school, you’re going to behave, and you’re going to stop this incessant whining!”

“Fine, I’ll go, but I don’t have to like it,” Katie stuffed a piece of toast in her mouth, grabbed her backpack, stormed out the door, and headed for the L-train.

Melanie leaned her head on her hand and sighed, “Why is this so hard? Katie has everything she could want...except a dad in her life.” Melanie knew that Sean’s absence had made life harder for both of them. She was trying, she really was, but Katie was growing up and pushing the boundaries. She knew that she needed to keep a lid on the teen angst or she wouldn’t survive adolescence.

After finishing her own breakfast, she grabbed her keys and headed to the hospital. On her drive, her mind began to drift back to that awful day. It seemed that whenever she was alone and had time for her brain to slow down, the memories came flooding back. Like in the shower, she couldn’t help but almost zone out as her memories engulfed her.

September 11, 2001

“I gotta go babe, I’m gonna miss my flight,” Sean leaned in to give her one last kiss. He was on his way to DC for a medical conference.

“Just one more,” she laughed as she pulled on his tie.

“I gotta tell Katie bye too,” he chuckled. “I don’t want her mad at me while I’m gone.”

As he leaned in to kiss her again she deepened it. “Melanie, I gotta go, really now. I don’t want to have to race to the airport.”

“Fine, I wish we could go with you,” she sighed.

“Me too, but I know you have that big surgery today.” He smiled as he turned his back to her and walked towards Katie’s room.

After telling her goodbye he gave a final wave and left the apartment. If Melanie had known that that was the last time she would see him alive, she would have never let him go.

August 2012

She leaned her head against the steering wheel and let a few tears fall before pulling herself together and getting out of the car. She was here to start over. New job, new apartment, and new life she told herself. She had friends that she hadn’t seen in years and old schoolmates who would become colleagues in a matter of minutes.

She walked into the hospital and grabbed an elevator to the tenth floor. Once arriving, she found the Chief of Surgery, Dr. Green, who introduced her to the staff. Her small corner office had a beautiful view of the city. Dr. Green told her that he kept her schedule clear for the day, so she could settle in and learn her way around. The other doctors were very welcoming and Melanie knew she had made the right choice by coming here. After thanking Dr. Green, she closed the door to her office and began setting things up to her liking.

The room contained a large desk in one corner, which she moved to face the window, and several file cabinets that she placed along one wall. A futon that she’d had delivered from her old office in New York she placed along another wall. Boxes began to litter the floor as she began unpacking. She was busy placing pictures on the walls and her desk when she heard a soft knock on the door.

“William!” she exclaimed as she rushed forward and offered him a hug.

“I can’t believe you’re really here,” he laughed.

“Yep, I’m here, at least for now,” she smiled.

William had grown up around the corner from Melanie and gone to school with her and Sean. They’d graduated college together with the hopes of one day working together. When Melanie had married Sean and announced that she was moving to New York, William and she had parted ways. They’d kept in touch over the years, but she hadn’t seen him in forever.

“Want to grab a cup of coffee in a little while?” he asked.

“Sure, I’ll meet you in say, an hour? I just want to finish unpacking first,” she gestured with her hand at the mess that surrounded her.

“Alright, an hour. I’ll come by here and meet you. It’s so nice to see you here again,” he smiled as he closed her office door and walked away.

Melanie sat down on the futon and moved a box over in front of her. She pulled out several photos of Katie and smiled at them. The last photo in the box brought a choked sob though. It was a picture of Sean holding Katie only moments after her birth. He was smiling down at the tiny infant.

September 11, 2001

Melanie was frantically running around the emergency room at Long Island Memorial as nurses and rescue workers shouted orders. Two planes had struck the World Trade Center towers, and victims were being rushed in in droves. She was trying to understand what had happened, listen to the news on TV, and concentrate on treating people as best as she could. Katie was at daycare at the moment, so she didn’t need to fret about her, but Sean. Sean was on a plane.
Oh god, what if Sean was on one of the planes.
Her breathing became erratic and her knees felt weak. Just as she was making her way to the bathroom, her cell phone started ringing.