Hanging by a Moment (From this Moment Book 1) (29 page)

I part my lips and kiss him back... I know it is the last time and I want to burn this kiss into my memory. I want to remember the taste of him, his touch, his minty fresh scent... I want to remember it all. It is all I have of him. Our one true moment. Where there are no secrets between us. Time tick by as we are hanging by a moment.

He knows what is coming when his warm tongue invades my mouth urgently like he is trying to seal this kiss in his memory forever. Our tongues clash violently and his body presses deeper into me, his hips grinding into me.

We feel so right together. Having his arms around me feels like home, where I belong. And he feels so good… comfortable, I don’t want it to end but I have to do this. Jerking my mouth away, I separate our lips. He is not ready to let go and uses his full weight to push against me, plastering me to the wall behind. And crashes his lips against mine again. This time he kisses me softly and slowly, moulding our lips perfectly as our tongues glide over each other.

I move my head to the side as I break our lips apart. It is time. His breath fans across my cheeks. I turn to look at him.

We are staring at each other. The expression on his face mirrors how I feel... pure torment. “Please.” A single tear falls down my cheek. I plead with him to release me. His hands slowly loosen their grip on me and I feel disappointed because I don’t want him to let me go. My mind screams out to tell him to not let me go. But I cannot.

The second his hands leave me and drop to at his sides I feel cold and alone. And his body slowly peels away from mine. I shiver at the loss of his warmth. He stumbles back, giving me the space I need to walk out. To walk out of his life. I don’t think I can do it. I am not strong enough. But I have to do this. Luke and I cannot be together... not after this.

Summoning all the strength I have, I turn away from him and reach for the door handle, willing my shaking fingers to turn the knob. My chin quivers and my tears are coming down harder and faster. Opening the door, I step out and close it behind me without looking back.

As my legs carry me down the stone pathway alone - each step taking me away further away from Luke - I hear the sounds of glass shattering and Luke cursing loudly inside the cottage.

With every step I take, I am filled with utter devastation and soreness that I have never experienced before. The grief of losing everything I had with Luke is torture to my soul and is chipping me apart piece by piece.

The minute I walk into my dorm room, Brit is there waiting - like she knew this was going to happen. “I tried calling you. I was worried.”

I only now realise I left my clutch at the cottage... my mobile is inside. “My mobile is at the cottage. I can’t go back there. He’s there.”

She opens her arms to me. My best friend hugs me close to her, soothing my back and cries with me. “I will get Travis to bring it to you. Okay?”

I really don’t care about my bloody phone right now but I know Brit is only trying to help. “He can get it tomorrow. Luke needs to be by himself.”

She holds me for what seems like an eternity as I sob uncontrollably, unable to stop. I cry for my parents who deserted me. I cry for past friends who left me. I cry for Ethan who cheated on me. I cry for the love I had with Luke. Most of all, I cry for myself for all the pain I have experienced.

Chapter Thirty Three

The music is too loud. It hurts my ears and makes my head ache. I clench the sides of my head willing it to stop. And it stops. Only to start again after a few seconds. Damn it! Rolling over in bed, I clasp the blanket tighter around my head. Maybe if I hide under the covers it will not be so loud. I can still hear it. I want to scream at whoever is responsible for it but my throat is too choked up and I can’t even move my lips. And then the music stops.

There is some shuffling and then I hear whispered voices. Brit is probably on her way banging down on somebody’s door to give them an earful. Good, they deserve every bit of her sharp scathing tongue.

I pull the covers down. Even though my eyes are closed, everything still feels dark. Trying to open my eyes, I wince as a sharp pain shoots through my head. Like a million tiny needles stabbing me at the exact same moment. Hangovers have nothing on this. My eyes finally cave and I’m able to open them slightly. Even though the curtains are still drawn closed, the light reflects through them letting me know it is morning or noon.

I lick my dry lips and release a breath. I feel like I’ve been run over by a hundred trains... my body is sore and I feel like crap. The reason for my pathetic state comes back to me like a bull barrelling into a ring ready to smash up everything in sight.

Luke and I at the club.

Luke and I dancing.

Luke whispering in my ears that he wants me to join him in the office later.

Brit and I giggling as we make our way back to our guys.

Ethan in the corridor.

Ethan and Mason fighting.

Luke and Ethan fighting.

Words spilling out of Luke... ‘You hurt Emma’... ‘You hurt my girl.’

Luke and I leaving the club.

Luke’s confession... ‘Ethan cheated on you when you guys were together.’

My world as I knew crashing down around me.

Me leaving Luke.

A sob escapes my lips.

I hear the room door open and a soft voice speak. “Em, it’s okay. I’m here.” Brit’s warm hands wrap around me and she lifts my head onto her lap, brushing down the sides of my head.

“Brit?” I weakly call out through my tears.

“Em. I’m right here. And I’m not going anywhere. Shh... It’s okay. Rest.”

My head feels close to exploding. “Pain killers,” I manage to say between my sobs. I don’t think an entire bottle will numb this pain that I have.

“Just a sec.” She releases me to grab the bottle on my nightstand along with a bottle of water. She helps me to sit up. I gulp down the two tablets with some water. The water helps moisten my throat.

I wince again when that damn music starts again, penetrating my eardrums. Grasping the sides of my head I rub furiously at my temples. “Who the fuck is playing that damn music?” I groan out loud. It is a Rudimental song.

Brit grabs at my hands willing me to stop. She kneels down on the side of my bed facing me. Grabbing my hands she brings the vigorous rubbing to a halt. “Sweetie, that’s Luke. He’s been calling non-stop since this morning.” She rises and comes to sit on the side of my bed not letting go of my hands.

I blink at her. I remember leaving my bag at the cottage when I left Luke. I did not want to go back there so she was going to ask Trav to get my bag back. “Trav, got my bag back?”

She releases my hands and gently brushes my hair away from my face. “No. Luke brought it back this morning. He also wanted to see you but I told him you were asleep.” She waits for me to say something.

Luke was here.
And he wanted to see me. After I broke his heart. I can’t help the fresh tears that threaten to fall out. I remember seeing the tears fall down his cheeks. And his tortured face when I walked out. The last few hours have been the worst I have experienced in my entire life... nothing can compare to the anguish and suffering Luke and I went through before I walked out on him. He is the love of my life and I can’t imagine him not being a part of it any longer. But he kept the truth hidden about Ethan cheating on me. We were supposed to be honest with each other. He broke that trust.

“Shh. It is going to be alright. You don’t have to see him if you are not ready.”

I look around for my now silent mobile. “Where is my phone?”

“Wait, I’ll get it.” She gets up and walks over to her dresser were my mobile is charging. Unplugging it, she brings it over to me. The moment I touch it, the Rudimental song comes on. And I hear the haunting strains of Never Let You Go as it starts to play. If this was any other time, I would have been amused with Luke’s choice of ringtones. But this makes the pain hurt so much more. I press the reject button and end his call. Glancing at the screen, I see I have twenty miss calls and ten texts. Most are from Luke. The earlier ones are from Brit... she was probably anxious after Luke and I left his club.

I cannot bear to read his texts. I cannot handle this now. Switching my mobile on silent, I place it on my nightstand. I do not want to deal with any of this. What I need is some more sleep.

Brit looks sadly at me, her blue eyes squinting. I see the faint shadows under her eyes. She is just as tired as me seeing that she was up half the night trying to console me.

“Get some rest sweetie. I’m going to get Trav to bring us some food.” She kisses me on my forehead and tucks me into my blanket before she rises to grab her mobile.

I sigh loudly as I blow out a breath. This feels so familiar yet so much more painful. All the times I was rejected by my parents, then Ethan. Then I rejected Luke. I know it took me a while before I was able to get over my parents and Ethan leaving but getting over Luke will take me an eternity. That begins now...

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Luke and Emma’s story is far from over and continues in the powerfully explosive sequel in the From this Moment series

One Moment at a Time.

Coming soon.

About the Author

As a young girl, Eva loved telling stories to keep her friends entertained. After earning her Business degree and having worked for a few years in corporate, she decided to follow her passion and start writing - romantic fiction. Eva firmly believes all stories should have a happy ending. A self proclaimed coffee addict with a passion for good old fashioned Southern food. When she's not locked away writing, you will find her reading, listening to music, shopping and cooking up delicious treats for family. Always keeping her eyes and ears open for inspiration for her books.

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