Broken Pieces (Riverdale #2) (33 page)

“He’ll come around.” Nick said, hoping he would. He made a mental note that once he was back in Riverdale, he needed to sit down with Luke and try to get inside his head.

“I hope so. Anyway, maybe I can get somewhere with Cara. From the little I overheard, Leah stormed out on Luke because she thinks he’s obsessed with taking care of Cara.” She paused and pondered if that could be the case.
 
      
“I think he’s more obsessed with the promise he made to Jake.”

“What promise?” She asked softly.

“Jake asked him to take care of Cara, to make sure she went on with her life.”

Sam grew silent. Sounds about right, she thought, Jake would trust Luke to make sure Cara was living life for the both of them. She smiled slightly as she thought of her brother, the ache in her heart evident. “Sam?”

“Sorry…” She said shutting down her grief. “I’m here.”

“You miss him.” Nick stated, understanding the silence that fell upon them.

“I do.” She waited a beat and then spoke softly into the phone. “I miss you too.”

His lips curved with the slightest hint of a smile. “I miss you too.” The elevator doors opened. “I’m stepping into the elevator. I might lose you.”

“Go. I just wanted to hear your voice.” She took a deep breath. There was so much she wanted to say. She wanted so badly to tell him that their future now had so much waiting for them. “You’ll be home soon right?” She asked, needing the reassurance.

“Soon, baby.” He didn’t want to tell her, he may be home sooner than he thought. It all depended on how things went in, the board meeting this morning. He didn’t want to make a promise he might not be able to keep. He would just surprise her if he could.

“Okay.” She waited her voice just above a whisper. “Have a good day.”

“You too, sweetheart.” He said as he held the doors open. He waited a moment to see if she said anything else. When she didn’t, he ended the call and stepped into the elevator. He stood in the center as the door closed. He rode the elevator up to the office and all the while he smiled at the thought that he had someone waiting for him back home. He never thought it would be a comforting feeling, yet alone one that warmed him.

* * * * * *

Sam knocked on the door and for a second she pictured her brother swinging open the door and grinning at her. God, she missed him. She smiled and thought about how happy he would be that she and Nick were having a baby. He always supported them as a couple. Sure, he teased her mercilessly over her crush on him, but he saw beneath that crush, and knew Nick had always been something more than just a silly crush to his sister. Cara pulled open the door; it took her a minute to focus her eyes. “Sam? What’re you doing here?”

Sam’s eyes widened as she took in Cara’s appearance. She looked as if she had been up all night. Her hair was wild; her eyes looked as they were struggling to stay open. Suddenly her expression changed and she peered at Sam suspiciously.

“He sent you here didn’t he?” She clenched her fists.  Shaking her
head, she bellowed, “I can’t believe him!”

Sam held up her hands defensively. “Who are you talking about? Luke?”

Cara placed a hand on her hip her body trembled slightly as she looked at Sam expectantly.  “Who else?”

“No one sent me Cara. I’ve been trying to call you.” She watched as Cara’s guard came down slowly, relaxing a bit she opened the door wider. She stepped aside, inviting Sam inside.

“I’m sorry.” She muttered and ran her hands through her tangled hair.

Sam looked around inside the apartment.  Everything looked the same as it had when Jake lived there except for the couch that was full of his clothes. She chose not to question
it, instead she turned around and looked at Cara.

“No need for apologies.” She watched as Cara closed the door, leaning
her back against it her arms folded over her chest.  Sam looked her over and noticed her eyes held no life in them. They were blank, much like her expression. “Has Luke been giving you a hard time?” Sam threaded softly.

Cara pushed off the door and walked passed her into the kitchen. “Luke thinks I’m his responsibility now that Jake is gone.” She said flatly. “Do you want something to drink?”

“No, I’m good thanks.” Sam said as she pulled up a stool at the kitchen island and sat down. “That’s just Luke’s nature, he’s always been the protective brother. He needs to be helping someone or thinking that he is.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I think it’s what gets him by.”

Cara braced arms on the countertop of the island pinning Sam with a glare. “I don’t care what he needs to get by.” She sighed. “I’m not his charity case Sam. I have enough to deal with without having him on my back.”

“Losing Jake is a lot to deal with.” Sam agreed, knowing that Cara was having a hard time coping, and probably was worse off than anyone else when it came to that.

“Living without Jake is a lot to deal with.” Cara conceded. She closed her eyes, the words slipped out of her mouth before she could stop them. “I just want to sleep. I never want to wake up because, in my dreams he’s alive.” The tears slid down her cheeks and then she opened her eyes and stared into Sam’s, so similar to Jakes, she thought.

“I don’t know how I can make it better for you.” Sam said honestly, her heart breaking for Cara.

“You can’t.”

“No, I probably can’t.” She reached out and placed her hand over Cara’s. Suddenly she was hit with a wave of nausea. She stilled and hoped she could will it to pass. Cara drew her eyebrows together as she looked at Sam’s face change.

“Are you okay?” Cara asked with concern evident in her voice. “Sam?”

She couldn’t answer as the bile rose in her throat. She jumped off the stool hurrying as quickly as she could to the bathroom, praying she didn’t toss her cookies before she made it to the toilet bowl. She kneeled before it and pulled the lid up just in time as she began to vomit violently. She hated throwing up more than anything. She hated the smell, the heaving, absolutely everything. Sam felt Cara lift her hair on top of her head and heard the running water. Moments later Cara was patting her down with a damp cloth.

The torture went on for about five minutes, but it felt like an hour. She was certain she had cleared her system of everything she had digested in the last week as well as whatever bile her stomach created. So this was morning sickness, she thought. Great. She rocked back and sat on her heels.

“Here, drink this.” Cara said, holding out a bottle of water to her. Sam took the bottle and chugged it down as if it was her salvation. Her mouth tasted disgusting and she hoped the water washed down the taste. When she felt hydrated she risked a glance at Cara, knowing very well she would be asking questions. Cara crouched down beside her.

“I’m sorry this is the first time that’s happened.” Sam said and looked down at her hands that were clutching the half empty bottle of water.

“The first time you threw up?” She asked incredulously and then shook her head. She had seen Sam throw up at least a dozen times that she could remember after they all had gone out.

“Can you keep a secret?” Sam asked softly as she lifted her gaze to meet Cara’s. She saw the change in her eyes and recognized it as fear. Cara nodded slowly and Sam just blurted out her secret. “I’m pregnant.”

Cara’s eyes widened for a moment as Sam’s words sunk in. “You’re pregnant.” She whispered more to herself than to Sam. She glanced at her flat stomach and then back up at her face.

“No one else knows.” Sam said quickly. “I’m waiting for Nick to come back home from Seattle before I tell anyone.”

Cara shook her head in confusion. “Nick is in Seattle?”

Sam rolled her eyes. “It’s a long story, but he’ll be back this weekend.” She bit her lower lip nervously as she gauged Cara’s reaction.

“Wow.” Cara said softly. Her hand hesitated a moment before she rested her palm on the flatness of Sam’s belly. She couldn’t explain what she felt at that moment. It was a mixture between happiness and sadness. She was happy for Sam because she knew she was finally getting her happily ever after. She was sad because the one person who would’ve loved to have witnessed
it, Jake, wouldn’t be there to welcome the newest member to the Lanza family.  A part of her was envious and she hated that part of her.  Her own happily ever had been ripped away from her. She swallowed the lump in her throat and smiled through her tears at the woman who would’ve been her sister-in-law.
      
“I hope you’ll still let him or her call me Aunt Cara.” She said softly and leaned in to hug Sam. “I’m so happy for you.” She whispered into her ear as Sam’s arms enveloped her.

“Of course you’ll be Aunt Cara.” She said as her own tears fell. She paused for a minute and relished in the embrace they shared. “You’ll always be a part of our family. We love you.”

“I love you too.” She said, pulling back looking down at her stomach once again. “And I already love this little peanut.” She said with a smile.

* * * * * *

Nick wrapped up his presentation and turned around and faced the long table that seated some of the wealthiest men on the west coast. Each one of them had their poker face on, not ready to commit to anything as the wheels in their head turned, processing Nick’s words. Nick knew he was good at this. It wasn’t his passion, but every once in a while it couldn’t hurt to dabble. He got a natural high from closing a deal, especially one that included such powerful men. He could sway them to gamble their money on a venture, well, it gave Nick a rush to say the least.

He stood at the head of the table and his eyes browsed the faces of each of the men. When he was certain he had reclaimed their attention he clasped the palms of his hands together as if he was about to pray. His fingertips pitched a tent at the seam of his lips as if he was in deep thought. Suddenly, he dropped his hands and his lips curved in the slightest of grins.

“Gentlemen, I will give you a few moments together, to come to a decision.” He paused. “Let me leave you with this. I flew across the country to pitch this deal to you, and not because I had to, but because I believe this business arrangement is full of promise and only great things can come if you sign on. I hope you come to the same conclusion.”

All eyes were on him as he left the boardroom. He slipped his hands into his pockets and decided to inform his father that the deal would close this afternoon and he would need to be present in the boardroom to sign off on the deal. Sure, no one had even verbally agreed to anything Nick had proposed, but he was confident that by the time he returned to that room with his father, they all would be eagerly waiting to close.

He made his way to the bank of elevators that would take him up to the top floor where his father’s office was. He considered the fact that it was the middle of the week and he had originally expected to be back home by the weekend, now he could surprise Sam and come home either tonight or tomorrow.

She certainly had surprised him this morning, when she called him to wish him luck. Gone, was the insecure girl who thought he had run away from
her, and instead he was graced with the woman who had faith in him and his promises. He stepped into the elevator and rode it to the top floor.  Smiling to
himself, he felt a calmness he had never felt before.

He stepped off the elevator and walked the long corridor to the elder Foti’s corner office. He didn’t think to knock, especially since there was no one else in sight. He wondered for a moment where his father's secretary was, but shrugged it off. The son of a bitch probably fired her because she was getting too old. Nick was wise to his father’s ways, and knew that every secretary that worked with him had an expiration date. Once they began to age and their bodies weren’t a glorious distraction to the old man, he let them go and hired a new girl fresh from the temp agency. He had watched his father corrupt quite a few women while he lived here. He shook his head and opened the door to the office.

Nick stopped mid stride, his eyes widened in shock. He would kick himself later for allowing himself; to be shocked. He watched his father still in between thrusting his dick into the little wench on his desk. There Erica sat propped on his father’s desk, her legs spread as wide as they would go, apparently, and she had perfected that position. Erica slapped the old man’s shoulder.

“Why did you stop?” She half whined, half panted.

Nick Foti Sr., looked at his son like a deer caught in headlights, or an old man caught with his pants down as he screwed his son’s ex.

Nick raised an eyebrow towards his father. “Don’t stop on my account.” He said flatly and nodded towards the eager whore on the desk that played him and suckered him into coming here.

Erica turned at the sound of his voice, her face turned an ugly shade of red.

“Nick this isn’t what it looks like.” His father said as he bent down to pull his pants up.

Nick leaned against the wall and laughed out loud. “You’re right, it’s not. I’m sure it’s worse.” He watched amused as his father zipped his pants and Erica hopped off the desk. So this is what it was like, he mused. This is what it looked like when Sam walked into his office all those years ago. Suddenly, he felt disgusted and not by the situation he had walked in on, but the one that he had been a part of. He glanced at Erica watching as she swept the room, looking anywhere but towards him.