FRACTURED (2 page)

Just as I opened my mouth to offer some placating remark, he snatched me into his arms and hugged me violently. A rush of emotions emanated from him, relief being the primary―anger and love were right behind. As happy as I was to know that my empath abilities from childhood still remained intact even though Scarlet was missing, I would have preferred a much more pleasant way to test the waters.

As quickly as he'd taken me in, he let me loose, turning on his heels to walk away and grab his phone off the kitchen island. He rounded the corner to the hall, dialing as he went. Once my head stopped spinning and my vision sorted itself out, I followed behind, mute, still unable to formulate a defense of any kind. I didn't think claiming head trauma was going to help my case for very long.

“She's back,” he said gruffly. “Nope. About ten minutes ago.” He paused for a moment. I tried to hear the words that were being shouted at Cooper, but I couldn't make them out. The owner of the voice, however, I could.

“She says she has no clue...well, I think it's very interesting too,” he said, drumming his fingers along the wall, his back still to me. “She's skin and bones, but she doesn't look injured, if that's what you mean.

She's right here if you want to—”

He pulled the phone from his ear and hung up. The line had gone dead before he’d even finished his sentence. A knot immediately formed in my stomach, twisting tighter and tighter with every passing second.

“Sean doesn't want to talk to me, does he?” I asked sheepishly.

Cooper turned to face me slowly.

“No, he doesn't,” he said with a pause. “And I'm not entirely sure that I'm ready to either.”

He at least had the decency to look remotely pained while sharing his sentiment, his eyes returning to their human, hazel color. A moment later, the door to his room slammed shut, announcing the official end to my homecoming. I hadn't thought that much about how I'd be received upon my arrival, but I would never have guessed that hostility and the cold shoulder would be the options of choice.

Embarrassed, I schlepped my way to my room and quietly closed the door. I turned on the small lamp just inside, shying away from brightness it emanated; my eyes were having a hard time adapting to the light. Three weeks of virtual darkness seemed to have real-life lasting effects.

I made my way over to the bay window that faced the downtown streets of Portsmouth and looked out over them. Since it also faced the apartment of the one I wanted to talk to most, I quickly located the grand windows on the top floor of Sean's building. It was only two streets over from mine, and though dimly lit, there was just enough light to outline a figure hovering. A figure that immediately turned and walked away.

Darkness fell on his apartment only moments after. He had refused to speak to me only moments earlier. I guess he didn't want to see me either.

My stomach lurched at his actions, but I couldn't analyze the situation any further. I was thoroughly exhausted, and all I wanted to do was climb into my bed and sleep until the sun woke me. Stripping off the clothes given to me by my rescuers, I threw them in the trash. I scanned the floor for something to wear to bed, but found nothing. Someone had tidied my room in my absence, preparing it for my return. Too tired to rifle through my drawers, I threw back the covers on my bed before I plopped my naked, weary body onto it and wrapped the duvet up tight around me. I liked the feeling it gave me―warm and secure. I hadn't felt that way for a while.

I plummeted into a deep sleep instantly, but regretted it almost as quickly. An auditory montage of screams plagued my dreams. I saw nothing, but felt everything. The horror enveloped me, coming to a crashing crescendo of fear and pain that I could not escape.

When I finally broke free, I shot up out of bed, only to be greeted with more darkness. Frightened beyond measure, I launched myself to the wall switch, squinting tightly when the deluge of light assaulted my still-sensitive eyes. My breath came shaky and rapid while sweat poured down my face and back. I ran to my closet, pulled out a white robe and threw it on, fastening it snugly around me before heading out of the room.

I tiptoed up to Cooper's door, leaning my ear against it as soundlessly as I could. He'd told me once that I had the grace of an elephant, and he could hear me coming from miles away. I didn't want to wake him. What I did selfishly want was the feeling of safety he could offer in times of distress. Just being close to him helped, and that was exactly what I needed.

The door was shut tightly, so I carefully turned the knob, creating as little sound as possible, and pushed slowly inward. Cooper's back was to me, lit only by the moonlight penetrating the gap in the curtains. I really needed to get him some that fit the window better. He never stirred, so I continued my way in, stopping at the edge of the bed. I eased my way on as gingerly as I could, thankful that foam mattresses didn't transfer much motion.

Once on top of the comforter, I inelegantly scooted my way backward towards him an inch at a time. He'd have laughed if he'd been watching me; I'm sure I looked utterly ridiculous. Stopping just before I made contact with him, I balled myself up into the fetal position and tried to go back to sleep.

“Did you get lost on your way to the bathroom?” Cooper asked over his shoulder. His tone was cold, but his humor was back.

“Sorry,” I said, sitting up. “I'll go. I just—” I cut my explanation off at the start. He didn't want to hear my excuses. In fact, he'd been pretty clear that he didn't want to hear anything from me. Not for a while.

I moved to push off of the bed when his hand caught my wrist, turning me to face him as he rolled towards me. We shared a long moment eyeing each other in that lone sliver of light that shone across his bed.

“You 'just' what?” he asked, his voice noticeably softer.

“I can't sleep. The sounds in my head...,” I said, trailing off.

“Sounds of what, Ruby? What happened when you were gone?”

I wanted to offer him something concrete, something to help end the agony he'd clearly felt during my absence, but there was nothing to give.

Whatever horrors Scarlet had inflicted on the world while she’d held me hostage were unknown. All I had were occasional soundbites and audio snippets, none of which were encouraging.

“I don't know, Coop. Honest,” I said, tears again rolling off my face.

“All I know is that two days ago I was sitting in the woods, naked, freezing, and scared shitless. It was like—” I choked on the words that I couldn't bring myself to say. Cooper, seeing my distress, finished them for me.

“When your parents were killed?” he said softly, wiping the tears from my face.

“Yes,” I whispered.

“And you don't remember
anything
before that?”

“
No.
”

His face scrunched up in confused frustration.

“What happened with Sean? Why did you leave in the first place?”

“She tried to kill him,” I said quietly, staring at my hands resting in my lap. “Scarlet nearly let Matty stab him to death. He tried to get her to kill Sean, which she, of course, didn't do in the end. She killed Matty instead. The pain she felt...Cooper...it was unbearable,” I whispered.

“Angry...she was so, so angry. She told Sean he would pay and ran off.

Right before her escape, she shut me out. After that, I didn't see a thing.”

He stared at me in utter disbelief. I couldn't blame him; it was a lot to take in.

“I thought Sean was...? How did Scarlet...? Wait...how did you get back?” he stammered, barely able to finish his thoughts. I hesitated, not knowing what exactly to say to any of his questions. I really only knew the answer to one.

Sensing my anxiety, he pulled me down to lie next to him, and I nestled in close, still resting on top of the bedding. He wrapped his long, muscular arms around me, tucking me into the crook of his neck. My apprehension left me instantly. That was the homecoming I had wanted.

“Do you not want to talk about this tonight?” he asked, stroking my hair slowly.

“It's just that I don't have the answers, Coop. I can tell you a bit about the men who found me, but that's it.”

“Then start there.”

“Like I said before, Scarlet left me deep in the woods. When I came to, I saw them through the trees, walking towards me. It was like they knew I'd come to my senses, like they'd been following me for a while, waiting for me to snap out of it. Of course, I panicked and took off running, but as soon as I heard them behind me, I knew what they were.”

“Werewolves...,” Cooper said, his grip on me tightening ever so slightly. I wondered if he noticed.

“Exactly
.
One of them tackled me from behind. I cracked my head on a log and knocked myself out. I woke up a day later. They'd brought me back to the cabin where they lived. They patched me up, treating what they could, and then they helped me get home,” I said, hedging slightly.

“To my
mate
.”

“Your mate? But—”

“I don't know what they sensed, Coop, but that's what they said.

They treated me with the utmost respect. They never laid an unwanted finger on me the whole time I was around them―barring the tackling incident, of course,” I explained. “There was something about the way they said mate...it made me wonder if I might have been in trouble if they hadn't sensed what they did.”

“You might have,” Cooper growled. “And who exactly were these wolves?”

“I don't know. They must have mentioned their names, but I don't remember.”

“You don't remember?”

“Hello, I had a head injury. Wasn't thinking clearly.”

“You're a walking head injury,” he mocked, giving me a playful nudge in an effort to calm his growing rage. “So do you know
where
you were?”

“Somewhere up in Maine, they said. Near the Canadian border.

They said they had been trying to track me for a while, but they couldn't catch me. As far as they knew, I had only been in northern Maine for a few days. They never saw me before that.”

“So Scarlet was on the move?”

“I guess.”

“That would explain why it was so hard to find you.”

“I'm sorry, Coop. I know you tried. If I could have stopped her—”

“Make me a deal, okay?” he asked. “No more apologizing tonight. I think it actually makes me angrier.”

“Fine. Consider it retracted then,” I said, yawning. “I'm going to try and sleep now.”

“Okay, Rubes, but I gotta say that something isn't adding up with all of this,” he said, adjusting his arm under my head. “I mean...where's Scarlet? She didn't come out when you were in the woods; she didn't come out when I was ready to attack you. She
lives
for moments like that.

Why didn't she come out to help you?”

“Because she's gone, Cooper,” I whispered in reply.

“Gone?” he asked, his disbelief apparent.

“Yep. Gone, as in left the building.”

“But
you're
the building. She's part of
you
.”

“Exactly.”

“I'm not trying to be thick here, Ruby, but I don't get it.”

“I don't either, Coop, but my guess is that whatever darkened space she shoved me down into is exactly where she's gone. I don't hear her. I can't feel her. And no amount of fear or anxiety even coaxes her,” I informed him. “Something went wrong, Cooper. Really, really wrong.”

“You need to tell—”

“Don't say it.
Please
don't say it,” I said, propping myself up on my arms. “It's pretty plain that he wants nothing to do with me, and I certainly can't blame him for that. Telling him won't change anything.

Not right now, anyway.” I lay back down, cutting off the conversation before my true emotions spilled out. Sean's dismissal had been a knife through my heart.

Cooper kissed me on my forehead and pulled me in closer.

“If that's what you want. I'll leave it alone for now.”

I said nothing, but snuggled into him tightly. I was done talking about things I couldn't understand. Couldn't change. Couldn't fix. I wanted to press into the comfort that Cooper provided and dream the pleasant dreams that always came when I was in his net of safety.

Cooper was
home
.

And I was glad to be there.

2

"I know you're exhausted, Rubes, but you need to call Peyta," Cooper said as he expertly scrambled eggs. "I can't even begin to describe the stress she's been feeling. First the whole thing with her dad, then you..." He paused mid-stir, staring at the pan in his hand.

"Why do I feel like there's something else you're leaving off that list?" I asked while gingerly sipping my orange juice. After scarfing down the noodles the night before, I felt terrible―my stomach wasn't adjusting well to food.

He sighed heavily before turning to look at me.

"It's Jay."

My heart instantly sank. My attention was immediately brought back to the screams I'd heard coming from the hallway outside Sean's apartment the night that Scarlet took over. Jay had been out there, guarding the door.

“Nooo...,” I whispered, eyes searching Cooper's for any shred of evidence that what I feared wasn't true. All I found in his expression was pain.

“It was bad, Ruby,” he said soberly.

I couldn't listen. I sprang from my seat and headed straight for my room. I needed to find my keys.

“Ruby!” Cooper called to me as he pursued me to my room. “Would you wait a second?”

He caught my arm and whirled me around to face him.

“This is my fault,” I said, sniffling softly.

“It's not what you think, Rubes. He's not dead,” he said, still gripping my arm. “Sean got to him just in time, apparently, and then took him to Peyta. From what I've managed to surmise, Sean was in pretty rough shape himself when they arrived at Ronnie's.”

“Peyta healed them,” I muttered under my breath.

I felt sick. I fell to my knees, and what little food I'd been able to keep down came up violently all over the hardwood floor. I knew what it was like to look down at someone you loved and watch while their life slipped away. Luckily for Jay, Peyta wasn't a helpless bystander in that situation.