Broken (2 page)

Two teenage girls with long blonde hair dressed in black cocktail dresses wearing calla lily corsages were eager to hand them the ribbon embellished program for the ceremony and asked them to quickly sign the guest book. Just as Gabby put the feather pen down, she saw two ushers on the right side of the church—the groom’s side—framing the doors waiting to usher them to their seats. Suddenly, she felt all the air leave her body and she gasped as her mouth dried. She took a deep breath and tried to grab her composure. That was the first time she saw him, their eyes met and his piercing blue-eyed gaze was magnetic.

Sam smirked at her sister’s reaction. She pushed her forward so she would be given the opportunity to walk briefly down the aisle with him. Gabby wasn’t sure if she appreciated the gesture or not, and suddenly felt flushed and her eyes became large and bright. She tried hard to slow her breathing, but to no avail. The closer she got, the more intense the feelings became.
Please don’t let me fall, please don’t let me fall, please don’t let me be a clutz for once in my life,
she prayed struggling to feel her legs that had begun to feel like jello. The thought of falling in front of him would be beyond embarrassing. When she finally reached the usher, he was waiting with his arm ready to receive hers. His smile was breathtaking, his teeth white and straight.

His southern voice was low and had a seductive undertone, “Hello, Ms...” he patiently waited for her to fill in the blank. His smile slightly shifted as she placed her arm in his, his eyes never leaving hers and she wondered if he had also felt the electricity that had traveled through her stomach and then further down making her entire body feel like she was on fire. She was thankful at this moment she had not applied a blush, as she knew she had achieved that look all on her own; she could feel her scarlet face burning from her blush. She hoped that the throbbing sensation washing over her entire body wasn’t obvious to him. Remembering he had asked her for her name, Gabby tried to speak, but her voice was nowhere to be found and still holding his gaze after what seemed like an eternity, she was finally able to quietly mutter, “Gabriella Gerhart, call me Gabby.” She shyly smiled, breaking their gaze as she hung her head low, knowing her blush was growing as they began their walk.

“Nice to meet you, Gabby. How do you know Cade? I was told you two were to be seated in the family section,” he asked her and she quickly replied, “He’s an old family friend, he grew up with my older sister Sam.” She wondered how he had known through his implication they weren’t actually family. Was he somehow related to Cade? If so, how had she never met him before? Maybe Sam knew who he was. She would have to ask her when they were seated. Five pews from the front, their walk was complete and he was holding one arm out gesturing for her to take her seat. Looking back into his eyes, she found it difficult to pry herself away, but for the sake of not gawking, she politely smiled her most charming smile and calmly muttered, “Thank you,” as her head shyly bowed contradicting the tone of her voice. With that, she released his other arm and she took her seat. Gabby was moving her hair away from her face trying to cool down when a few seconds later Sam approached and the usher kindly smiled and walked away as she scooted next to Gabby. Sam couldn’t resist and leaned into Gabby’s ear, “Gabs, did you get his name?” Gabby could feel her face redden again and she got butterflies in her stomach just thinking about him. It took every bit of self-control not to turn and scour the place like she was looking for someone, for him, but she didn’t. “Gabs, did you hear me, the guy who walked you in, he was
hot
! Did you get his name? He never took his eyes off you. I don’t know how he could even see where he was going.” Gabby had forgotten for a moment she was supposed to answer her sister and looked up a little disoriented from her thoughts, “Yes, I mean no, ugh I mean yes he is hot and no I didn’t get his name. He seemed to know we weren’t family, though. I thought maybe you knew him. I was going to ask you, but clearly you don’t know him, either.”

She frowned at the thought she might never know his name, how could she have missed that perfect opportunity to ask such a simple question? That’s okay, though. She had no intention of doing anything other than looking at him, the eye candy she had earlier hoped for while getting ready. Gabby reassured herself and held her head high releasing a sigh and a smile. “Well, it was obvious there was something between you two, I could even feel the electricity. I just would have thought you would have gotten his name, that’s all. I wonder how he knows Cade. I have definitely never met him before, I would remember that face and
O.M.Goh my God
those perfect blue eyes.” Sam leaned closer to Gabby whispering into her ear.

Gabby sighed, rolled her eyes at herself and shook her head disapprovingly as the string quartet started Pachelbel’s Canon in D. Everyone hushed and turned toward the back of the church, still seated. Here was her chance to look without being obvious. She opened her program and thought quickly that perhaps, if she was lucky, the wedding planner had lined the ushers up in the order in which their names appeared in the program. But it became evident quickly that the names were in alphabetical order and the men ordered by height. Why couldn’t anything ever be easy for her? She drew a small half smile because the thought had become almost comical. Shaking her head again, she thought, no, easy and Gabby don’t go together in the same sentence.

The list of groomsmen started with the name, Bradley Banks. She wondered if he looked like a Bradley. Geez, how ridiculous, she thought. Did she honestly think she could figure out his name based on the way he looked? It sounded strong and sexy. She smiled because she liked it thinking it suited him, recalling the brief moments she had been on his arm. She could tell that he spent a lot of time at the gym. Through his tux she could tell that his arms and shoulders were muscular, much wider than his waist. His suit was just snug enough to show that what was beneath would not be a disappointment. She swallowed as she quickly tried to dismiss her wandering thoughts about what was beneath his tux. She had drank in his features and tried to memorize his face. He had messy black hair that she could imagine would be soft, clean and perfect for fingers to slide through. He was clean-shaven and had a masculine, rigid square jaw. He could have easily been a model for Calvin Klein. His blue eyes were rimmed in a darker navy blue. She couldn’t decide if it was that feature or the black, naturally arched eyebrows that were above them that made them so piercing. There was always something she loved about a guy with dark features and blue eyes. But, she resigned that she had never seen eyes as beautiful as his. The man was near perfection.

She made a subtle sound and smiled when she thought again of running her fingers through his hair. Sam nudged her, “Hey, snap out of it over there,” she whispered and smiled a wry smile. The sisters had a way of knowing what the other was thinking and Sam knew Gabby had not just made that sound because of the bridesmaids’ dresses. Gabby grinned and put her head down trying not to giggle out loud like a giddy teenager, she slid her program down committing to forget about him, well at least for the next twenty minutes or so until the formalities were finished. She was, after all in a church, and she was certainly lusting after some stranger, gorgeous stranger, but a stranger no less.

He was one of the last groomsmen. As soon as he stepped into the aisle, he immediately met her gaze and he smiled a small smile before turning his eyes to others, to familiar faces. He could feel her gaze and tried hard not to make it too obvious she was the only person he could think about. She was beautiful. She wasn’t like the other girls he had dated. She wasn’t stick thin and she certainly didn’t have blonde straight hair. He wondered if she would be as fun as she looked. Quickly, he tried to dismiss his thoughts, but oh how he loved weddings. It was the perfect opportunity to meet chicks without committing to them, because in most cases, he would leave to go home and never have to speak to them again. But, something was different this time. She didn’t fit his type at all and the thought of never seeing that gorgeous face, those curves, well, the thought was disarming. What was it about her? Who was she and why was she seated with his family, but yet he’d never heard of her or met her before? He knew he would have to ask Cade about her at the first moment he was available. He reached his mark and turned with a big grin on his face. He couldn’t help but quickly look in her direction. What he had felt when he first saw her, what he had felt when she touched him, they were not familiar feelings. What’s more is that he found letting her hand go one of the most difficult things he had ever had to do. He would make it his mission for the night to find out who she was and if his prayer was answered, he’d get to wrap his arms around those curves during a slow dance at the reception.

As he settled into his place, Gabby noticed that he was looking at another girl a few rows up from her smiling sweetly. All she could see was her profile and the back of her head. She could tell she was a tall girl and she had perfectly straight black hair. She looked like she should be a model, maybe she was a model. She wondered if that was his sister and dismissed the thought quickly. No, she had to be his gorgeous model girlfriend. Why had she let herself feel those feelings and actually daydream about dancing with him at the reception? There was no way he could actually be single looking like that. Yes, that had to be his girlfriend. She could feel his gaze as she looked up and met his blazing blue eyes alight with fire. How could she just feel his stare like that? It made her stomach flutter again and she found her hands fidgeting in her lap. They looked into each other’s eyes for a brief, all too brief moment, and he was gone again. What a jerk, she thought. Who would flirt with another girl, look at another girl like that with your girlfriend right in front of you? Suddenly, her infatuation turned into anger. She should have known he was a jerk with an ego. Of course, he knew how beautiful he was. He could have any girl he wanted, why in the world would he even look twice at her. Yet, he kept looking at her. How could one man emit so many emotions in such a short period of time? Gabby wondered what her problem was and closed her eyes and tried hard to regain her composure. With her eyes still closed, she vowed this time not to look at this alluring man just five pews ahead of her standing next to the best man.

When she opened her eyes she realized she had nearly missed the entire ceremony. The saying that Baptist weddings were over in the blink of an eye, rang true. After Cade placed the ring on Kristin’s finger, the priest announced that Cade could kiss his bride and the church erupted with applause as he delicately moved her veil back, caressing her cheek with his palms. He slowly planted a gentle kiss on her lips for the first time as her husband. Gabby thought it was the most romantic kiss she’d ever seen, like something out of a movie. A huge smile spread across her face and when she looked at Sam, she too, was grinning ear to ear at the sight of their friend’s bliss. Gabby momentarily forgot about the usher and giggled with her sister. Oh, she loved weddings and longed for the day she would have her own. She longed for the day she would be kissed like that by a man who wouldn’t leave her, a man who would promise to love her, to make it his mission to worship and cherish her for the rest of his life. She caught his gaze again and he was smiling at her and then his eyes left again and traveled to her, and the thought of him having a girlfriend made the pit in her stomach invoke a feeling of nausea.

She startled at the organs’ commencement of “Trumpet Voluntary.” The wedding party began to file out, their faces bearing huge grins, arm in arm. She tried to look cool but she felt his presence nearing and she looked up to see his quick familiar smirk as he passed by her. His smiles and gestures toward her were as if he had known her as long as she had known Cade. She rolled her eyes and put her head down not sure what emotion she was feeling. She felt silly, frustrated, turned on, and hopeful. Did she actually feel happy? The flurry of emotion was something she didn’t welcome. Anytime she had ever felt these feelings, they always brought on heartache.

Chapter 2

August 2007

“Gabby, are you coming to the back-to-school party tonight,” asked Lindsey. Gabby and Lindsey Howard had been best friends for as long as she could remember. Their moms had grown up together and been best friends and the two teenagers were usually inseparable. Lindsey was outgoing and vivacious. She had long, auburn, ringlet-curly hair. Her face looked like a porcelain doll and she had sparkling blue eyes. Lindsey was part of the
in
crowd and often invited Gabby to popular happenings. Gabby, didn’t really fit into any one crowd or clique. She was one of the girls who got along with everyone. She came across shy and introverted, but once she got to know you, she was giggly, talkative, and fun, which made her well-liked and well-known because she was genuinely sweet, caring, and smart. In fact, she was nerd-smart, often burying herself in books or romantic movies on the weekends rather than going to parties with immature drunk teenagers. She hated being around drunken people and especially hated the smell of cigarettes. It brought up too many raw emotions from her childhood. Her brutal honesty wasn’t always very popular, either. There wasn’t a fake bone in her body. Gabby knew that type of girl didn’t fit into the scene of the typical parties Lindsey attended.

“Gabby, are you there,” Lindsey asked. “Yeah, I’m here. Sorry. No, I think I’ll stay home tonight. You know I don’t particularly like hanging out at those types of parties. Underage drinking isn’t really my thing, Linds.”

“Gabby, did you not get the memo? This isn’t one of those parties. This party is at John’s house and his parents will be there. Should be innocent. It’s a pool party, grab your suit and I’ll pick you up in thirty minutes. You’re not getting out of this party tonight. Got it? Capiche,” Lindsey giggled. Gabby rolled her eyes and let a loud laugh. “Yeah, yeah yeah, capiche—whatever Linds. But, if it turns out to be not so innocent and there is any drinking there, I’m out—got that?”

“Yep, loud and clear Gabs. See you in a few.”

Gabby undressed and started to put on her hot pink polka-dot bikini. Lindsey had insisted she gets it for this summer. She usually wore tankinis because she wasn’t as comfortable with her figure. She had been heavier, but she had lost a lot of weight the year before when she started running with Lindsey. Being a bit of a tom boy, Gabby had only agreed to get this bathing suit because it had boyshorts bottoms and the top was a cute halter top with a bow in the back at the top of the neck. She would never admit to Lindsey, but she loved it and the way it made her feel when she wore it. She pulled on a pair of cutoff jeans over the bottoms and then threw on a V-neck sleeveless white T-shirt. She slid on her zebra print flip-flops and threw sunscreen, her iPod, and sunglasses into her personalized summer straw handbag. She applied her usual makeup, just a little waterproof mascara and lip gloss. There was no need to put anything else on; it would surely be washed away with the water. She ran downstairs and left a note for her aunt, Emma, saying she was going to John’s for a back-to-school party and was riding with Lindsey. She grabbed her cell phone and ran out the front door giggling as she saw Lindsey pull up in her red Camaro convertible, top down and her hair pulled back in a loose messy ponytail and oversized sunglasses. Lindsey definitely had a much easier life than Gabby, but Gabby wasn’t jealous. She loved Lindsey, like she was a sister.

“Hey, Chica! Is that your new bikini I see under your shirt?” Lindsey smirked making Gabby blush. “Yep. You like?”

“Uh-huh, glad you didn’t go with something safe, like you usually do.” Lindsey pulled out and turned the radio up and knowing Gabby could no longer escape said, “In fact, I’m really glad you didn’t go with the safe black tankini, because I heard Ian is going to be here tonight!”

Lindsey smiled and quickly glanced over at Gabby and it made her laugh to see her friend look so stern. Yes, if Lindsey had told her that her crush of the past four years was going to be there, there was no way she would have worn that hot pink bikini. She would have been far too self-conscious to wear such a flirty bikini.

“Great, just great. You know Linds, if I didn’t love you, I might kill you right now.” Gabby couldn’t stay mad long and started laughing and let herself daydream that she’d get to the party and Ian would just be so excited to see her that he’d sweep her off her feet and madly fall in love with her. That had been her dream for the past four years, and she knew better. Ian was on the soccer team. He wore his sandy-blond hair slightly long and shaggy. She loved his big green eyes. They had several classes together through the years. They were cordial, but she was sure that other than a classmate, Ian had no interest in her. Gabby had not had a lot of boyfriends like Lindsey. She had gone on some dates, but most of the time, the guys had become her best friend and there were no romantic feelings there. She thought back to her first kiss and it had been far more awkward than romantic.

“Gabs, what are you thinking about, over there? You’re not mad at me, are you? It’s just I knew if I told you, there was no way you would come and I have really missed hanging out with you. I really wanted you to come. I figured since there would be no drinking I had a chance at actually getting you to come and I didn’t want to spoil it by telling you Ian would be here. You look great in that suit, don’t worry—I’m sure you’ll take his breath away,” Lindsey said in one almost run-on sentence giggling at the end.

“No, Linds, I’m not mad. I was just thinking that I don’t know why I let my feelings for Ian bother me so much. I am not girlfriend material. I should just accept that and just try to be his friend. Being his friend would be better than nothing, right,” Gabby shrugged. She got butterflies in her stomach at the very mention of Ian, and she had never felt that way about a boy before. The thought of him rejecting her had been too much though and she was far too shy and giddy to actually make the first move.

“We’re here, Gabs. You look great, don’t be nervous,” Lindsey smiled, closing the top of her convertible. “I’m not. I’m glad you talked me into coming. Maybe this year I should try to come out of my shell some because I miss hanging out with you, too. I promise we’ll have a good time.” Gabby reached over and hugged Lindsey and then they busted out laughing at their sappy moment. Shaking their heads in unison, they grabbed their bags, and walked up to the front door.

The Martins’ house was a large three-story home situated across the street from Folly Beach. Unlike Gabby’s small cottage, the home was massive and held perfect views of the ocean. There were white wrap-around balconies on all of the floors. The smaller driveway led to the garage, which was under the house, like most of the homes in the area.

The girls climbed the stairs to the home and before they could knock or ring the doorbell, John answered the door. He immediately hugged Lindsey and then he gave Gabby a warm hug. He pulled away and surveyed Gabby like a big brother and said, “Hey Gabs, it’s so good to see you.” He surveyed her, “You look amazing, how was your summer?” Blushing at the amazing part of his statement, Gabby held her head slightly down and looking up with her big eyes cordially replied, “Busy, I spent most of it babysitting. It went by way too fast. How was yours, John?”

“Good, went to this soccer camp at Wake Forest with Ian and then spent the rest of the time surfing at the beach.”

John and Ian were best friends. They were both on the soccer team and John had dark brown hair, thick dark eyebrows, and big brown eyes. He was not just cute, but he was such a sweet guy. He was always polite and charming. John had formed a very protective bond over Gabby, much like the brother she didn’t have. Despite this, Gabby had tried to avoid John for the last year. He was a reminder of heartache for her. Nonetheless, John was always polite, kind, and even gracious to her. He was a true friend in every sense of the word.

“Anyway, where are my manners? Gabby. Lindsey. Come in. Please help yourself to the food in the kitchen. I’m sure my mom would love to see you both, especially you Gabby,” John said warmly holding his arm out and backed up to open the entryway.

The girls walked around into the foyer, which had high fifteen-foot ceilings and balconies from the second floor overlooking the area. The kitchen was just around the corner to the right and it held spectacular views of the ocean. There were dark granite countertops, all stainless steel appliances with a chef’s range and hood. Located in the center of the kitchen was a spacious eat-in island with five bar stools lined up in a row. The kitchen opened up to the living room, which was decorated in a sophisticated tropical theme décor. Most of the people in the living room were watching television or playing games. Since Gabby kept more to herself, most of them knew Lindsey better than her, but they all knew and loved Gabby. They all greeted the girls, some getting up to embrace them, asking how their summer was spent.

“Gabriella Gerhart! Is that you,” John’s mom Stella smiled a large smile and immediately opened her arms wide to embrace Gabby. Stella had long, black straight hair. She had an olive complexion, was naturally tanned, and her skin was flawless. She was in her mid-forties, but she carried her age well. It was clear that John got his good looks directly from Stella. It was no secret she ran a mile every morning on the beach, she was tall, toned, and very lean. As Gabby approached Stella, both couldn’t help but smile, even though seeing Stella was hard for Gabby because she reminded her of her mother.

When Gabby and her mother, Grace, had joined the same small church as the Martins, Stella and Grace had become best friends almost immediately and loved sewing together. They would hang out by the pool reading the same book, and then they would spend hours talking about their different interpretations. Stella invited Grace over to her weekly Bible studies before Grace was diagnosed with breast cancer and had introduced her to so many people who had been so good to Grace, Gabby and Sam. When Stella had learned Grace was sick, Stella had promised to help Grace’s sister, Emma, take care of her. Emma was a young widow with no children of her own. She moved in with Gabby and Grace in Charleston from Augusta, Georgia, when she got the news that Stella had stage-four cancer. Stella and Emma took turns taking Grace to treatments and being her caregiver. They both tried to make sure Gabby’s life continued as normal as possible. High school was hard enough without a father, but the thought of Gabby now losing her mother was difficult for those who knew Grace, Sam and Gabby and all they had been through, and all they had overcome.

“Gabby, my dear, you look lovely. I sure have missed seeing you at church. How have you been, sweety?” Stella released their embrace and holding Gabby out at arm’s length to look her over to make sure she looked well, she beamed a large smile.

Smiling her shy smile, Gabby replied, “Good, Mrs. Martin. I’ve been good. I spent the summer babysitting and helping Emma around the house. I went and spent a week with Sam in Columbia. She finished her freshman year at USC and she decided given what we went through with mom that she wanted to be an oncologist. So, she changed her major to pre-med. That obviously has her pretty busy. She took a couple of summer classes to make up for the classes she missed this semester trying to stay on track to graduate in 2010. I miss her so much, but I am so proud of her.” Gabby smiled fondly thinking of her big sister. Yes, they had both been graced with intellect, but it made her feel so good to know that good was going to be coming from her mother’s cancer. Gabby still had plenty of time to think about college. She hadn’t been able to even think about which college she would attend, let alone what she’d study there. Although, she did think she wanted to be close to Sam, again.

Stella interrupted her thoughts and said, “Well, girls, I hope you’ll eat up and then enjoy the beautiful day in the pool. We were delighted to have this small party for you all. Are you excited about your junior year?” The girls looked at each other and giggled, oh they were so excited to get to go to the prom, to get their high school rings, and knowing they were almost seniors. It wasn’t a rare occasion for the girls to respond in unison and together they let out a big “YES!”