Break Me (The Summer Series) (19 page)

“What’s the matter, Gem?” His eyes narrowed in confusion and she
could see a hint of hurt.

“It’s been a year, Abe. I haven’t seen, talked to, or held you in
a year. Can we please take this slow? At least for now? I know it seems silly
but I had so much hurt and regret after last summer. I need to make sure I’m
where I need to be so that this relationship can go where I want it to. I want
forever, not just another summer.”

Abe smiled down at her. “Yeah,” he cleared his throat and only
then did she see the water forming in his eyes. “I know what you mean. The
thought of losing you, either by force or my own mistakes isn’t something I can
handle.” He reached out and ran his fingertips along her jaw. “I’ll do anything
to make you happy, Gem. Forever. Laying in this bed, holding you, is absolutely
no sacrifice. It’s more than I ever thought I’d get again.”

Smiling she raised her head from the pillow and allowed their
lips to touch. “Thank you.”

“I love you so damn much, Gem.”

“I love you too. I missed you so much.” She
turned into his shoulder and finally allowed herself to cry.

“You have no idea.” He wrapped her up and
kissed the top of her head. “It’s going to be okay.”

“I just can’t believe we lost a year.”

“At least we’re together now, right?”

“Always,” she promised.

“Always.”

Twenty-Four

The next day Gemma and Abe took their
time getting out of bed. By 10:00 a.m. they were both tired of hearing their
phones ring and decided to go to the beach and meet everyone. As they
approached, they could see Emily and Ryan with Kate as they laughed at
something. It was nice to see everyone together again. It had been harder than
anyone would have guessed to shut each other out so abruptly. Gemma saw Kate
look up and notice them, and a second later they were all on their feet,
clapping and whooping. Gemma laughed and Abe pulled her closer.

“Thank the Lord,” Ryan yelled.

“No, joke.” Kate high-fived him.

The group sat around and caught up on the year
they had missed out on. Turned out Gemma’s depression had nothing on Abe’s
because along with losing her he had to deal with the guilt of knowing he
somehow cheated on her. It had taken its toll. His scholarship had survived but
just barely. She also found out about the nights he had driven to Chapel Hill
just to try to catch a glimpse of her by dumb luck. He told them about all the
calls with her father, starting a few days after the last time they spoke the
summer before. He’d begged her father to help, begged him for a chance. “He
made me earn it; that’s for sure.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well”—Abe looked away embarrassed—“I had to
come have dinner with him and Karen one night so they could ask me some
questions about that night and my intentions. I had to get my school situation
resolved and my scholarship back in good standing because he would never let
you be with a loser. To be honest, he probably saved my ass.” He reached out
and grabbed her hand. “He also made me wait. He knew you had some things you
needed to figure out and that in time you may be willing to talk, but he also
knew you weren’t ready yet. I guess he just wanted to make sure you would be
okay, with or without me.”

“Wow.” Gemma looked at Kate in confusion. “Did
you know?”

Kate shook her head. “He protected you.” She
looked at Gemma with sympathy and excitement.

“He wanted me to figure it out on my own, not
only if I could trust Abe but how to be me. Not a kid following her mother’s
rules or a girl following a guy. Just me.”

“I’m sorry,” Emily interrupted, “you got all
that out of your dad making Abe work for it?”

“You have to know the situation.” Kate laughed.

“What’s so funny?” Kate’s eyes went wide at the
sound of Simon’s voice, and Gemma had to bite her lip to keep from smiling. Served
her right.

“They are crazy.” Emily said, pointing between
Kate and Gemma.

“In bed?” Simon asked, sitting next to Kate and
nudging her. Abe cleared his throat and Gemma elbowed him in the ribs.

“So, Kate, you want to go for a walk?” Simon
leaned over and rested his palm on her exposed thigh.

“Yeah,
Kate
, you want to go for that
walk?” Gemma smirked at her sister’s obvious struggle.

“Shut up.” She glared at Gemma and stood. “Sure.”
She shrugged and started walking, not even waiting on Simon to follow.

“She’s gonna make him work for it.” Ryan
laughed.

“Don’t count on it.” Gemma scoffed, and then
seconds later they heard Kate squeal as she was scooped up and Simon started
running to the parking lot, both of them laughing. Gemma rolled her eyes and
Ryan snorted.

~~~

The group decided to go to Dockside
for lunch, and Gemma let Gray know in case he wanted to join them. They were
sitting in their usual seats, and after Sarah cried and pulled both Gemma and
Abe into a hug, she promised everything on the house. At the offer, Gemma
ordered the largest size iced coffee on the menu and refused any food.

“Baby,” Abe leaned over and whispered, “I think
you need to eat too. You’re looking too thin.”

She smiled up at him. “I promise I still eat, probably
more than I used to. I’ve just been working out more, eating a little healthier,
and training with Kate for a half marathon. I promise.”

“I’m going to keep a close eye on you.”

“Probably better check me every day. Make sure
my body still looks right. For accuracy and all that.”

 “Yeah”—he leaned forward and kissed her—“accuracy.”

“Gross! Get off my sister.” Gray laughed as he
walked toward the group. Gemma looked up just in time to see Emily and Ryan
notice his arrival. Clearly excited to see him, Emily jumped up and hugged him.
Gray nearly swallowed his tongue and looked toward Ryan with a smug grin. Gemma
was pretty sure Ryan could kick his ass without much effort, but Gray still had
Emily in his arms and clearly didn’t care.

“Hey, little guy.” Ryan reached out and shook
his hand. Emily was about the only one who missed the dig.

“Hey. How are you all doing?”

“Great, now.” Emily gushed. “We got these two
fools back together, and now you’re here. Just like old times.”

“So I take that to mean Kate and Simon are
missing?” Gray asked, trying not to show his disgust but failing miserably.

“Good guess.” Abe said as he stood. “Anyone
need anything? Apparently, it’s on the house.”

They all gave him their orders and spent the
rest of the lunch catching up and trying to figure out what Megan had on Trey. It
was decided they probably didn’t want to know after all. One thing was for sure,
Trey had promptly disappeared the night before. They said that after he talked
to Gemma and told her the truth no one had seen him again. Megan wasn’t even at
the party, and they assumed it was because she knew her secret was about to be
let out of the bag. It was only a matter of time in a place like Emerald Isle before
they would both have to face what they had done.

Epilogue

“Hey baby,” Abe said, pulling Gemma
toward him in front of the bathroom mirror, “you about ready?”

“Yep,” she said, leaning forward and applying
her mascara, all while still being held in his arms.

“Will Kate actually be ready or should we give
them a few?” he asked as his hand started working up her thigh under her skirt.
She swatted him away and put her mascara on the counter.

“I told her we would be there thirty minutes
ago. She should be about ready now.”

“Then let’s go.”

When they walked in the house, Gray and Karen
were waiting in the kitchen, talking, and Kate was just running down the stairs
frantically. “I’m so sorry I’m late.”

“You’re perfect.” Gemma pulled her into a hug
and then turned to the others. “Where’s Dad?”

They looked at her confused, and then Gray
pointed up, indicating the office. “I didn’t know he was coming.”

Gemma looked at them, confused. “Why wouldn’t
he be coming?”

“He’s never done the birthday thing with you
before. I think he just assumed he wouldn’t be this time either.”

“Well neither has Karen, and she knew she was
invited.” They shrugged, so Gemma shook her head and marched up the stairs to
her father.

“Dad?” He turned, surprised, and looked at her.

“Wow, you look very pretty, Gem.”

“Oh.” She blushed. “Thanks.” She walked over
and clicked save on his computer. “Are you ready for dinner?” She pushed the
lid closed on his laptop.

“I’m going?” There was awe and hope in his voice.

She looked at him for a moment, studying him. “Daddy,
I don’t know if I didn’t say it or if you didn’t believe me, but I forgive you.
I know you did something stupid. That will always hurt a little, not because
you left but because, even though I know different now, the way you did it made
me feel unwanted. Today I am celebrating my last year as a teenager, and I want
you there. So”—she stepped back and held out a hand for him—“are you ready?”

Tears filled his eyes and he ignored her hand,
pulling her into a tight hug. “I’m so sorry, Gem. I love you. I love you so, so
much.”

“Good.” She choked on a few tears at the back
of her throat, burning her eyes. “I love you too. Now let’s go eat some food.”

Simon, Emily, and Ryan had joined the others
downstairs, and she laughed as Kate tried to play it cool while Gray was
anything but when he followed Emily out the door like a lost puppy. Yeah, this
was perfect. Abe came up behind her and pulled her aside kissing her in the
hall after everyone else was out the door. “I love you, Gemma Andrews.”

“I love you too, Abe North. Always.”

Look for Kate and Simon’s story,
Ruin Me
,
coming early 2015.

Acknowledgments

First and foremost I want to thank my
husband, Jake. I know this job takes up my time and my thoughts, but you always
seem to find a way to break through. You are so amazing, and I love you more
than you know.

Theresa
Wegand
, you are the most patient editor in the world. I know it’s hard work,
but I adore you for making me look so much more talented than I am. Thank you
for everything!

Emily Cutrer, you are my hero. Thank you for
making my cover beautiful. Thank you for being my beta. Thank you for being my
friend. I love you.

Micalea Smeltzer and Regina Bartley, Thank
you so much for reading through my drafts and helping me make them pretty. I
love you, ladies.

Laura and Chaz, thank you so much for
bringing your adorable selves to my cover. You made the shoot magical, and I
can’t thank you enough for helping me.

Mom, thank you as always for being you. You
are my go-to sitter, and I love you for loving me and my babies.

Michelle, I love you and want to thank you
for being such an inspiration. I am motivated daily by your hard work and
dedication to whatever task is ahead of you.

Paul, thank you so much for supporting me in
everything I do. It means more than you’ll ever know.

Taylor and Thad, I am so proud to be your
sister. Thank you for letting me share this piece of me with you.

Emmy, I love you so much, baby girl. Please
don’t read this book until you’re much, much, much older, and even then, please
don’t tell Mommy you did.

Memphis, you are my gift from God. I love you
and your perfect smile.

The following is an excerpt from
Fight for
Her
, available now at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

One

Chloe

Humming to herself, Chloe rounded one of the many corners of
Jackson High School, headed toward the science lab. She usually didn’t make it
down this particular hall at this time of day, so she tried to keep her head
down and focus on the task at hand.
Get the study guide, get home, cram, and
get a good grade.
It was a basic chant that was getting her through her
day-to-day life. Good grades equal good scholarship. Good scholarship equals
distance. Distance equals freedom. How was it that after years of idolizing her
father she now counted the days until she was rid of him? Maybe if her mother
were still here? Then, as if some cosmic hand were helping her back from
that
train of thought, she was snapped back to reality with the blunt force of a
body slamming into one side of her and a locker slamming into the other.

“Shit!” The human assailant grunted
while the lockers rocked in response. “Damn it, Scott. What the hell?”

Chloe was too busy trying to get
her bearings, while slumped on the ground, to attempt figuring out who was
crushing her left side and who “Scott” was. Before she could even locate the
book she had dropped while plummeting, a hand had it clutched as another was
reaching for her elbow, pulling her to her feet.

“Are you okay?” Two voices said in
unison. Lifting her eyes, she realized she was in the middle of a crowd she
hadn’t noticed. The two boys in front of her showed genuine concern, and each,
with pleading eyes, waited for her response.

The taller of the two towered so
far above her head that she felt like a small child as she looked up into his
bright baby-blue eyes. His short brown hair enhanced his strong jaw and perfect
complexion. Fear creased his eyebrows, and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he waited
for her to respond to his question.

Chloe let her eyes wander over to
the other boy and felt the breath leave her lungs. He was like a painting of a
Roman soldier. He was shorter than his opponent, but that enabled him to look
that much more muscular and stoic. His skin was a deep olive shade that made
him appear as though he never left the sunlight, and his eyes matched the black
shaggy hair that hung in waves around his face.

Once Chloe let her eyes follow his
outstretched arm to where his hand still held onto her just below the elbow,
she was unable to focus on anything but his strong fingers cradling her. She
chewed on her lower lip nervously and mumbled a “yeah” before grabbing her book
from his other hand and, scarlet red with mortification, scurried down the hall
toward her science class.

~*~

Nate

Nate couldn’t stop looking at his hand. It was as if the
heat he felt inside himself from just touching her had singed him all the way
to his fingertips. She was beautiful. She stood more than a few inches shorter
than he did and about a foot shorter than Scott. Her hair had been so long
that, when he’d helped her stand by gripping her elbow, it had brushed his hand
and sent chills over his entire body. Her gray eyes had made him weak in the
knees as soon as they pierced his own. But what was the most amazing about her
was her mouth. Her lips were full and sexy. Just standing there, she looked as
if she were waiting on a kiss. He found himself shaking his head in an effort
to get the image of her chewing on her lower lip out of his brain.

Mr. Davies arrived moments after
she fled, and the hall quickly cleared. The principal now stood staring at Nate
and Scott, waiting on an explanation. Scott would have to take this one. Nate
was too dumbfounded to speak. He distantly heard Scott clear his throat and try
to explain everything away, but Nate knew better than anyone that it was
nothing but a waste of time. This would go no further. The principal would
never be able to make anything stick to Nate Fennell. His life was a series of
screw-ups fixed by his old man. Everyone knew it was pointless to try and get
something close to Nate’s records. Daddy would have it erased within the week.

“Very well,” he heard Mr. Davies
say. “Head on back to class, and, boys, why don’t you try avoiding each other?
It would make all of our lives a lot easier.”

After a round of “yes sir’s,” they
were on their way. Nate ditched his intended direction and hurried down the
hall toward where she had disappeared. He had to see if he could find her.
Who
was she? Why had he never seen her before? And damn it, how could he see her
again?

~*~

Chloe

“Phew, look at the red in those cheeks. Did you trip walking
down the hall?” Mr. Jones leaned back against the lab table he had been
preparing for his next class and crossed his arms over his protruding potbelly.
One eyebrow rose over the rim of his too round glasses.

“Actually, smartass, I didn’t trip.
I was pushed then squished,” Chloe said as she rubbed her still sore shoulder.

“What?” He barked out a laugh then
shook his head as he turned back to his task. “Let me guess. You had the
audacity to wear the same shoes as some other girl, and she was just not
feelin’ it?”

“Okay, first, don’t ever say
‘feelin’ it’ again. Second, I wasn’t in the fight . . . technically.”

“Yeah,” he said as he rolled the
chair back and gave her his full attention. “I’m going to need a little more
information than that.”

“Oh, you know if you try hard
enough to be invisible one day it just might work.”

“So am I really seeing you or are
you just a figment of my imagination?”

“Depends, if you have the study
guide ready, then I am definitely here. If not, I’m a figment of your
imagination, so in a few seconds when someone kicks you, I can assure you it
was most definitely not me.”

Chuckling to himself, he stood and
smiled at her before he started for his desk. “You know there aren’t any other
students in this building I would let talk to me the way you do.”

“You know there aren’t any other
students in this building you like as much as me either.”

“Don’t confuse ‘like’ with
‘determined to get rid of.’”

“Oh, you love me, but for the sake
of the children, we can pretend I’m just another one of your minions.” Grabbing
the guide from him, she gave him the cheesiest smile she could muster and
turned for the door with a wave over her shoulder. She could faintly hear his
grunted response.

~*~

Nate

Silently lecturing himself for not just following her as she
fled from the fight, Nate turned to head back to the class he was now well over
twenty minutes late for. He had searched the entire east wing of the school and
found no sign of her. Maybe he had imagined her. She was freaking hot enough;
it would be easy to believe she wasn’t real. His bag slid from his left
shoulder and hung just above the ground, duplicating the droop of his head as
he made his way down the long empty hall toward the commons area.

Just then Mr. Jones walked out of
his room. “Mr. Fennell, is there a reason you’re walking around my hall
twenty”—he lifted his wrist and examined his watch, pulling it back and forth
to adjust for his thick glasses—“three minutes after the tardy bell rang?”

“I, uh, nope, just got a little
lost. Actually, I was just headed to my room now.”

“Uh-huh. Well, since you’re here
and I have another student who wanted the study guide for her class early, I
may as well give you the one for yours as well.” He turned and motioned to Nate
to follow him into the room and around the corner to where his desk was
situated. “Here. Study this and you’ll be fine.”

“Thanks.” Nate started to turn and
then stopped, crossing his arms and staring at Mr. Jones. “You usually don’t
give these out early, what’s that all about?”

“Well, she, the other student, is .
. . persistent. I also know you’re trying to get the best scholarship you can,
so I thought, ‘What the hell; help out the less fortunate.’”

Nate raised a sarcastic eyebrow but
said nothing and was met by an equally sarcastic grin from Mr. Jones. “Yeah,
thanks.”

~*~

Scott

“Scott, please tell me that what I heard from Julie Hill was
a complete lie.”

Scott shifted in his chair as his
twin sister’s eyes grew wider while staring over at him. “Well, what exactly
did you hear?”

“Oh, my God!” she half yelled, half
whispered. “Do you know what will happen if anyone finds out? Mom and Dad will
freak. Please tell me this isn’t going on your permanent record. How will you
get a scholarship if schools find out that you’re getting into fights?
Especially when an entire hallway saw you break some guy’s nose and some girl’s
leg?” Only after she had finished asking her extensive list of questions did
she pause long enough to breathe.

Scott, who thought the day couldn’t
get any worse, let out a groan and smacked his own forehead with his palm.
“Since that’s not at all what happened, then I guess I shouldn’t have to worry
about it.”

“Well,” Olivia encouraged, “what
exactly did happen?”

“Uh . . .” Scott lifted his head
and looked over at his twin sister. “I was walking down the hall, and Nate was
standing there talking to some friends. He turned to head down toward his class
right as I was passing and ran into my arm, making me drop my book. The next
thing I knew I was in his face, telling him to watch where he was going because
he wasn’t a”—Scott looked around and leaned closer to Olivia—“
fucking
god.”

“Holy crap, Scott.” Olivia’s eyes
were round, red flames on her cheeks. “I’ve never heard you say that word in my
life.” Poor, sweet Olivia was a great friend and sister but a bit clueless
about the real world.

“That’s because I’ve never said
that word in my life,” Scott lied. “I have no idea what came over me. All of a
sudden I was just pissed off and felt all this pent up anger toward him. So
when he told me to step back before I got myself into more trouble than I could
handle, I shoved him as hard as I could toward the lockers. That was where the
girl came in; she must not have noticed us like the rest of the crowd because
Nate fell back against her and knocked her over.”

“Well, is she okay?” It was so like
Olivia to forget about everything else that mattered at that moment but the
person who could have been, even the slightest bit, hurt.

“Yeah, she was fine. Nate helped
her up, and then she took off running.”

“You guys probably scared her to
death. You need to apologize to her and stop being stupid. Fighting with Nate
will get you nowhere. It did you no good when you were ten. It’ll do you no
good now.”

“At least I lost it on
him
.
You know the Fennells; it’s not as if anything will happen to me.” He shrugged.
“They won’t want word getting around that they’re less than perfect.”

“True.” Olivia’s lips puckered to
the side as she thought for a moment. “So what did Davies say to you?”

“Liv, I was with Nate.” Scott
raised his eyebrows. “He told us to get to class.”

“Figures.”

“Hey Liv . . .” She turned her body
toward him while keeping her eyes on the front of the room. Not listening in
Mrs. Lawson’s history class meant certain detention, and there were no Fennells
in this class to help the twins get out of it. “Did anyone mention who the girl
was that we pushed?”

“No. Why? Who was she?”

“That’s the thing. I have no idea,
but Liv”—he let out a slow breath before he continued—“can you do me a favor
and find out?”

“So you can apologize?” Olivia
asked as she raised one eyebrow.

“Uh, yeah.” Scott turned to his
book, instantly fascinated. “I feel like I really need to find her and tell her
I’m sorry.”

“Scott?” Olivia whispered.

He exhaled an exasperated breath.
“God, Liv, she was so beautiful. I swear. I’ve been here for four years. I’m
student council president and captain of the basketball team. How is it
possible that I’ve never seen her before when, now that I’ve seen her once, I
can’t get her out of my head?”

Olivia’s eye went wide and her
mouth dropped open. She had never heard her brother talk like this before. He
had liked girls because he was supposed to like them, but it had never been a
big deal. “She was that pretty, huh?”

“You can’t even imagine, sis.”

~*~

Chloe

When she got home, Chloe pulled the chicken that she had set
on a plate earlier that morning to defrost from the fridge. Once she had it
seasoned and in the oven baking, she started in on her salad. She was addicted
to salad. There were at least fifteen different dressings in her refrigerator
and more supplies for toppings than any one person should need. Tonight, she
was slicing avocado, peeling tangerines, and adding dried cranberries and
candied pecans.

When she heard the phone ring
midway through dicing her baked chicken, she second-guessed whether answering
was worth the trouble. Flashes of her father’s car in a ditch had her wiping
her hands and reaching for the cordless. “This is Chloe.”

“Are you forty or answering the phone
for a lawyer?” Chloe’s friend Anna asked.

“You know I’m not.”

“Is your leg broken?”

“You know it’s not.”

“Am I your friend?”

“You know you’re not.”

“Funny. Is your cell broken?
Because I swear we’ve all been texting you for an hour.”

“Nope, just left it upstairs. What
do you need Anna? I’m cooking.”

“Fine, tell me why I’m hearing from
half the school that Nate tackled Scott in the hall today and they both took
you down in the process, breaking your leg and giving you a nose bleed?”