Fall To Pieces: Broken #2 (The Broken Series) (11 page)

I shook my head. “You don’t have anything to prove, princess. Not to Cam, or me, or anyone else.”

“I need to prove it to myself,” she confessed, staring right into my soul with her deep, gray eyes. “I need to know that I’m strong and that night didn’t break me. I need to claim my life back.”

I pulled her into my arms, probably squeezing her too tightly, but I needed to feel her in my arms. I needed that proof for myself.

“Will you come with me?” she whispered against my chest, and I couldn’t breathe.

I didn’t dare breathe.

She pulled back, looking into my eyes. “I know it’s weird, and we’re not together, but I just…I really need you with me right now.”

Lee pushed away from me, a
nd unlocked my bedroom door. I followed her across the hall, my heart thundering in my chest.

I stopped at the door.

“You’re sure this is good idea?” I croaked out.

Lee took a deep breath, push
ed the bathroom door open, and walked in slowly.

Standing in the middle of the bathroom, she turned to face me.

“I’ve never been much good at knowing what’s good for me.” Lifting the corners of her shirt, she pulled it over her head. “But right now, I’m sure about what I need.”

I closed the door behind us, and made my legs move towards her.

*****

Lee

There was a completely new bathroom installed upstairs, two days later, reminding me of how much money Kyle had.

I stood in the doorway, looking in. It looked nothing like the last
one.

The old
tiles had been replaced with gold and white ones, along with a white toilet, sink and glass double shower. There was an additional feature that hadn’t been there before. A white, oval shaped bathtub, sat against the center of the back wall.

Derek joined me in the doorway.

“Damn, that guy moves fast.” He let out a whistle. “Do you think you could ask for a pool, next time, or one of those hula-hula girls with the grassy skirts and coconut bikini tops? Lee, with you around, the possibilities for this place are endless.”

I laughed. It felt good. I hadn’t felt much like laughing since my fight with Cam.

I was hurt, and confused, and
really
embarrassed.

What I had asked Kyle to do; to shower with me…I cringed thinking about it.

He had been so gentle with me. He had held me in his arms, stroked my hair, my back, my arms.

We had stood completely naked, under the warm spray of water, holding each other.

It had been one of the most intimate moments of my life.

And nothing had happened…Nothing, not even a kiss.

“Have you spoken to Cam, today?” Derek asked, stirring me from my reverie.

I shook my head, and headed downstairs. “No, I haven’t seen her since the other night.”

Cam was doing a pretty good job at avoiding me.

“She hasn’t come home,” Derek muttered. “I’m worried.”

We walked into the kitchen.

“Has she called
, or text?” I asked, as I plopped two slices of bread into the toaster.

Derek leaned against the refrigerator and sighed. “One text, saying that she’s sorry, and that she need
s space.”

The concern in Derek’s voice was heartbreaking.

“It will be okay, Der,” I said moving towards him.

I wrapped my arms around hi
s waist. He returned my hug and chuckled.

“Hey, look how far you’ve come,” he teased gently. “This time
, nine months ago, you were afraid to breathe too close to me.”

Stepping back, I looked up at his face and grinned. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I had a lot going on back then.”

I’d been dealing with a very real fear of men, when I first moved to the hill.

My father’s alcohol induced abuse and beatings
, had given me more than enough to fear, but it was Perry Franklin’s attempt at raping me that had terrified me to my core. All of that seemed so long ago now....

Derek ruffled my curls with his hand. “You got there once.” He grabbed his keys off the table. “And you’ll get there again. You’re a tough little ball of curls. This stuff you’re going through, isn’t even tipping the scales on what you
are capable of handling.”

I stood there in shock, as Derek waved and headed out. That boy could say the nicest things, when he wasn’t being a douchebag.

*****

Lee

I paced outside Kyle’s bedroom door.

I’d been doing this with the past five minutes. I didn’t know why I was so freaking nervous. Kyle had asked to be involved.

It wasn’t a big deal.

I should just knock the door and say what I had to say.

Moving forward, I raised my hand to the door, then quickly retreated. I was such a wimp.

Just do it, just knock on the damn door
.

My thoughts were spared when the door opened out and Kyle stood in front of me, wearing nothing
, but a pair of black boxer shorts.

My heart catapulted in my chest, as my eyes fed upon his carved stomach.

Everything on his body was just so pleasing to the eye. From his broad, defined, sun-kissed chest, to the rippling mass of muscles in his stomach, to those sexy indentations between his narrow hips, and that strip of dark hair trailing from his belly button, south….There wasn’t one unappealing slither of skin on the man’s body.

Oblivious to my ogling, Kyle stretched his arms o
ver his head, his biceps bulged, as he yawned widely.

“Princess, what are you doing banging around out here?” His voice was thick from sleep as he scratched his bare chest, and looked around the hall. “All the footsteps…I thought someone had broken in. What time is it?”

“Uh…” I cringed.

It was five forty-five, way too early for the normal people of the world to be up-or at least creeping around outside bedroom doors.

His eyes rested on me, blinking twice, before a concerned look crossed his face.

“Are you okay? Is the baby all right? Are you in pain?”

He was throwing questions at me, quicker than I had time to answer them.

“I’m fine. We’re fine,” I said quickly. “I was just going to… I just wanted to let you know, to ask you really…” I was babbling.

Kyle smirked.

Reaching out, he briefly stroked my cheek with his fingers. “Say it
, baby. Say what’s on your mind.” 

I breathed deeply, steadying myself.

“I have an appointment at the hospital today, and I was going to get Mike to take me, but he has work and I don’t want to mess his day up. And you said you wanted to be involved. But if you’re busy, I totally understand. I mean, I know you have a busy schedule, and I just dropped this on you, I don’t expect you to drop everything. I just…”

Kyle put his finger over my mouth silencing me.

“Of course I want to go. I’m not busy. There is nowhere else I’d want to be.”

I exhaled a huge lungful of air and nodded.

“Great. Good, I mean that’s cool. We have a couple of hours before we have to go, so I’ll let you get dressed, or sleep, or shower.”

I blushed, then scurried away
, mortified.

“Hey, princess?”

I was at the top of the stairs, and turned back.

Kyle was standing at his bedroom door, his head tilted to one side as he rubbed his hand over his chest.

“Yes?” I asked nervously.

He smiled. “Thank you.”

I nodded, blushing, before turning around and climbing down the stairs, shakily. I thought I heard Kyle chuckle from his doorway.

*****

Kyle

I couldn’t sit still.

My knee kept jerking as I tried to sit patiently next to Lee, while we waited for her name to be called.

My heart swelled up with pride as I sat beside her. She looked beautiful today, wrapped up in her khaki coat and tight faded jeans.

Damn, I needed to take my girl shopping.

No fucking way
, was the mother of my child, going to wear clothes too small for her. Of course she’d freak, if I suggested it. I’d have to thread carefully. These pregnancy hormones were a crazy, unknown, terrifying bitch.

“Are you nervous?” I whispered nudging her softly.

She looked up from the magazine I knew she was pretending to read. She’d been staring at the same page for the past twenty minutes. She looked at me, chewing on her lip, she nodded slowly.

I rested my hand on her knee.

I felt her stiffen, but I didn’t move it and slowly, she relaxed. 

A burly looking
, redheaded nurse stood with a folder in her hand, as her eyes swept across the crowded waiting room.

“Delia Bennett?”

Lee raised her hand timidly and started to stand.

I stood with her and walked towards the nurse.

The nurse introduced herself as Nurse Swallow-I nearly pissed myself at that at-and instructed us to follow her down a clean, clinical corridor, to the last door on the right.

“You can make yourself comfortable on the bed, sweetie. This will be an external ultrasound, so no need to remove anything this time,” the nurse instructed
, when Lee began to pull her jeans down her hips.

Her fingers froze, her face blushed scarlet.

So fucking adorable
.

“I’ll be
back in a jiffy with the doctor.”

The nurse left, leaving Lee and me alone.

“That was so embarrassing,” Lee said, laughing quietly as she readjusted her jeans, and climbed onto the bed.

“Nah, I’m sure there’s not much that could embarrass Nurse Swallow.” I laughed again at her name, and Lee joined me.

“What do you think her brothers and sisters names are?” I asked. “Crow and Swan?”

Lee snorted. “Swallow isn’t so bad. Her parents could have named her Thrush.”

I had to bend over, I laughed so hard.

“Well, princess, I hope you don’t have any weird animal fetishes
, because we are not naming our child after a bird.”

Lee chuckled
, wiping a tear from her eye. “Agreed.”

“Out of curiosity, what did she mean by doing an
external
ultrasound?”

Lee leaned back, getting comfortable. She folded her arms behind her head and sighed. “I’ve had to have a few done, internally.”

I gaped at her. “Internally how, where?”

Call me a fool, but I didn’t get it.

Lee pointed down to her crotch, and I blushed.

I fucking blushed and nearly lost my breakfast.

Jesus Christ, how the hell did that work? Did they put a camera inside of her, or something? 

I spotted a dildo-shaped
, microphone thing, and a pack of condoms on the tray of the machine next to the bed, and cringed.

Ugh, Got it.

I felt like cupping my balls in sympathy.

No wonder she hated me, she had doctors sticking god knows what
, inside of her, because of me and my reproducing dick.

The door opened and a white haired middle aged doctor strolled into the room. A middle aged
male
doctor.

I wasn’t too sure I was cool with this. Didn’t they have any female doctors?

His smile was friendly, and he had honest eyes, but still, I didn’t like it. Not one fucking bit.

The doctor smile
d broadly as he came to stand at the other side of Lee. “Lee. How have you been? Settling back into routine?”

The way he called her
‘Lee’
made me think he knew her.

Lee smiled, shaking the doctor’s hand. “Hello Dr. Ashcroft, I’m doing well
, thank you. I’m getting there.”

The good doctor nodded and raised his head.

His eyes met mine, and I suddenly felt like I was the one being examined.

Lee cleared her throat. “This is Kyle Carter. He’s my…He is the father.” She turned to me. “Kyle, Dr. Ashcroft was one of the doctors’ who operated on me.”

I quickly understood the sudden scrutiny and cold appraisal.
He knew.

Dr. Ashcroft held his out hand towards me. “Hello
, Mr. Carter, glad to finally meet you.” I could hear the snide undertone of his comment ‘
Finally.
’