Break Me (The Summer Series) (14 page)

By the time Abe caught up with the group, Simon
had Kate off to the side, gesturing in a way that indicated apology. Gemma
smiled up at him shyly and then nodded toward the other two. “I don’t care what
they say; he’s begging forgiveness and she is pissed. There
is
something
going on there.”

“Yeah, I don’t know that I’ve ever seen Simon
chase a girl before.” Abe turned to Gemma and pulled her to his chest. “I’m so
sorry about Megan. I have no idea what her deal is, but I told her we were all
done. She shouldn’t be an issue anymore.”

“Good.” She went on her toes to kiss him, and
he deepened it immediately, pressing into her and backing her away from the
other two a little.

“I want you again, baby. So bad.”

“I know what you mean, and trust me, the
feeling is mutual. When are we allowed to leave my party without appearing
rude?”

“Now?”

“Okay, let me—” She was cut off by her phone
ringing. “Sorry, it’s been going off all night. Let me at least check it.” When
she pulled it out, she inhaled deeply and hurried to accept the call. “Mom?”

Abe watched as she nodded and her eyes filled
with tears. Smiling, she said, “Okay, let me go home and call you back.” She
hung up and smiled at Abe, looking more at peace than he had ever seen her. “That
was my mom.” She clapped. “She said she was calling to apologize and wants to
talk. I’m going to head back to my dad’s and call her. Will you just pick me up
in a couple of hours and take me home?”

“Home.” He smiled down at her before pulling
her into yet another deep kiss. “I like hearing you say that to me.”

“Got to admit that it’s kind of fun to say.”

“You may want to take a short nap when you’re
done talking to her. I have plans for your night and tomorrow morning that will
probably limit your sleep quite a bit.”

“Oooh”—her eyes went wide—“I can’t wait.” She
turned to tell Kate where she was headed, but there was no sign of the other
two. “Guess that got resolved.”

“Yeah.” Abe laughed as he led her up the beach.
“Something tells me they’re gone for the night.”

Seventeen

When Abe dropped her off, Gemma
kissed him goodbye with promises of what was to come when he returned. She hurried
up the stairs, laughing at the fact that her father probably didn’t know what
to do with the fact that she was home so early. Opening her door, she wasn’t
paying attention, so as she threw her purse on her bed, she let out a yelp at
the site of Kate lying on her own bed, reading.

“What are you doing home?” Kate asked, clearly
surprised as well.

“My mom called, so I wanted to be able talk. What
are you doing here?”

“I realized by our reactions tonight that Simon
and I need a little break from one another.”

“What does that mean?”

“I was just so fast with the hurt, and he was
right behind me, ready to apologize tonight. I was seriously ready to kill
Megan when she said she’d been with Simon. He was after me before Abe even came
after you, Gemma. If we’re going to keep this low-key, that can’t be happening.
So”—she shrugged and pulled her book back up—“I had him drop me off here and
told him to do whatever tonight.”

Gemma couldn’t see Kate’s face, but she knew
for a fact she was full of it. “So you told him to go hook up with someone?”

“I guess if that’s what he does then it’s
cool.” Kate emphasized the shrug of her shoulders just a little too much for
Gemma to believe her. “It’s his life; he can do what he wants.”

“Okay”—Gemma frowned, sensing how badly Kate
was freaking out—“well, I’m going to go make this call on the deck.”

“Sure thing.” Kate didn’t even lower the book. Gemma
hoped this wasn’t the beginning of her heartbreak.

Gemma sat in a chair facing the beach, and in
that position, she could see a hint of the fire in the distance. She sent a
quick “I love you” text to Abe before dialing her mother. Almost immediately,
she answered, but this time, unlike the last, her mother sounded happy.

“Oh, Gemma, I’m so sorry.” Gemma could hear the
tears in her voice. “I was so jealous, and then yesterday, when your birthday
went by and my pride kept me from calling you, I just lost it. I realized that
your decisions weren’t about me or your father and it was time to grow up. Please,
please forgive me.”

“Mom.” Gemma fought to hold back her own tears;
she had never heard her mother so vulnerable. “I should have told you; I was a
coward.”

“And I never even let you have that option.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too, sweetie.” Her mother let out a
shaky breath. “May I ask you something?”

Gemma nodded and then felt stupid because
obviously her mother couldn’t see her. “Yes.”

“Why
do
you want to go there?”

“Mom, there are some other things I have to
tell you first. Please don’t be mad at me. It was never about deception; it was
about trying to make you happy, okay?”

“Go on.” She could hear a hint of anxiety still
lacing her mother’s words.

“I don’t like art, at least not painting and
drawing. I love words. I love books. I love getting lost in worlds that I, or
someone else, create. I want to do that forever. I want to write about those
worlds so other people can get lost in them too.” Gemma let out a breath. It
felt like the hardest part was finally over, and her mother hadn’t interrupted
or disputed so far. “I’ve looked into a lot of schools. The one that I like the
most, the one that I honestly believe will help me the most, is UNC. Why else
would Dad have chosen it? If he’s there, you know it must be good.”

“Yes, I believe that.”

“So it wasn’t about leaving you for him. It was
about leaving you both so I could find
me
. And the crazy thing is it’s
already started. It’s as if the minute I decided to let go of the hurt and the
pressure, I found happiness.”

“What do you mean by that? Have you never been
happy?”

“Oh, no, Mom, don’t misunderstand me. This
isn’t about being happy as a daughter. This is about happy in life.” Gemma
closed her eyes, realizing this was, in fact, the hard part. “Mom, I’m in love.
He is amazing and I want him forever. He loves me so much. He knows everything
about my past, and I know he’ll never hurt me. He isn’t like Dad.”

“Gemma, I . . . I’m so happy for you.” Her
mother let out a soft sob.

“Really?” Gemma was a little stunned at her
reaction.

“Yes, honey, I’m so, so happy. I always thought
you would end up alone like me. If he’s won you over, he must be worth it.” Her
mother laughed and then quieted for a moment. “Gemma, I know this is silly
since you’re my daughter and everything, but you’re being smart, right? Taking
the necessary precautions, all that?”

“Oh, God! Mom, seriously, we got it.” Gemma
didn’t know if she wanted to pass out or throw up based on their conversation.

“I had to ask.” She chuckled over the phone. “I
really am so happy for you, honey.”

“Mom, I can’t wait for you to meet him. He’s
amazing.”

“I want to meet him. Maybe when I fly out to
help you move into your dorm room. I sent in the paperwork for you today.”

“You did that?”

“Yes, Gemma.” Gemma could almost see the smile
on her mother’s face. “I also booked a flight for move-in day so I can help you
get everything set up.”

“I love you, you know that?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“I’m going to go, Mom. But I’ll call you
tomorrow.”

“Okay, baby. Night.”

~~~

Gemma crawled back through the window
and found Kate asleep on her bed. She was facing away, and Gemma hated that she
may be hurting. Gemma looked at her phone and was surprised that she hadn’t
heard anything back from Abe but sent off another text letting him know she was
ready whenever he was. She had thought the call would take longer and more
explanation would be necessary, but her mother had clearly had a change of
heart, and Gemma couldn’t be more thankful. She sat back on her bed and smiled
at her waiting suitcases. He would be here soon and then they would start their
forever. Nothing could make this day any better.

About an hour later, Gemma was starting to get
frustrated. She pulled her phone out again and tried calling, but she was sent
to voicemail after two rings. She texted him again, asked if he was okay, and lay
down to wait for his response. The next thing she knew Kate was waking her up
and the sun was shining through their window.

“What are you doing here? I though Abe was
taking you to his place last night?”

“I must have fallen asleep.” She reached for
her phone, expecting something but was surprised it sat blank. “He never called.
Do you think he’s okay?” She started to panic.

“Try Emily; see if she saw him last night.”

“Okay.” Gemma selected Emily’s name and then
put the phone on speaker.

“It’s early. I’m pretty sure I’m still drunk. This
better be important.”

“Have you seen Abe? Did you see him last night?”
Gemma asked, almost before Emily could finish complaining.

That apparently got Emily’s attention because
she suddenly seemed more alert. “Whoa, what are you talking about? You aren’t over
there?”

“No.” Gemma started to get more worried. “He
never showed up last night. I called him and texted him, but he isn’t
answering.”

“The last time we saw him he was hanging out
with Trey near the fire. We left pretty early.”

Just then Gemma’s phone lit up with Abe making
a silly face, and she almost cried in relief. “Hey, Emily, he’s calling me now.
I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay, girl. Bye.”

Gemma hurried to switch over, fumbling the
phone in the process. “Abe?”

“Yeah.” He sounded terrible. “Gem, I’m so sorry
about last night.”

“What happened? You had me worried to death.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” He let out a shaky breath
and continued to whisper. She could have sworn he was crying. “Can you meet me
at our spot on the beach?”

“Now?” she asked, confused.

“Yeah.”

“Abe, I can barely hear you. Why are you
whispering?”

He cleared his throat. “Sorry, yes, I, uh, want
to meet now.”

“Sure,” she said, already throwing the blanket
aside, “let me get changed and I’ll be there.”

“Gem,” he asked hesitantly.

“Huh?”

“I-I love you.”

“I love you too, Abe.”

“Always?”

She looked toward Kate in confusion. “Yes,
always.”

Eighteen

Gemma and Kate made it to the spot on
the beach in record time for two girls just waking up. Kate had insisted on
coming when she saw the look on Gemma’s face after hanging up. It was clear she
was freaking out. Gemma was still terrified that something was wrong. Abe had
acted so strangely, and further than that, he would never forget to show up for
her, not on the day they planned to move in together and not just after telling
her how badly he wanted her all night. She sat and faced the water, knowing he
would calm her as soon as he arrived.

It had been an hour and he was still nowhere to
be found. She looked down at her blank phone for what must have been the
fiftieth time and started to stand. Maybe they got their signals crossed and he
was meeting her at the house? Maybe he wanted to grab her things so that after
they hung out at the beach they could just go back to their place? God, she
loved the thought of their place. That calmed her a little, and she dusted off
her shorts and started to head back toward the house. Kate reached out to hold
her hand for comfort.

Lifting her eyes from the sand, Gemma didn’t
even have to search to see him. He was walking toward her slowly. “See”—Kate
nudged her—“I told you he would be here soon. He was probably off saving some
poor whale or something.”

Gemma laughed. “Are there even whales on
Emerald Isle?” Kate just shrugged.

He looked as sexy as ever, wearing board
shorts, a T-shirt, and some sunglasses. She smiled at him, making herself walk
to him as opposed to running. He looked a little hung over from the night
before, and she didn’t want to make it worse. Just seeing him, she figured she
knew why he hadn’t called. It hurt, that was for sure, but if she had learned
anything from her fight with her mother, it was that people weren’t always
perfect and they didn’t always make the smartest decisions. At least he was
here with her now. They could talk about it, go get her stuff, and then, when
he was feeling better, make up for what they missed last night. When he smiled
at her, it was missing its usual glow. It was the saddest smile she had ever
seen from him, and she instantly wanted to take it away. Kate waved and walked
far enough away so she couldn’t hear, lying back on the sand to get some sun.

“Hey,” he said as they finally reached each
other.

“Hey.” She smiled up at him as she wrapped her
arms around his middle. He was slow about it, but he did eventually lift his
arms around her and rest his cheek on her head.

“Gem.” His voice cracked, and the tears she
heard in his voice had her pulling away to stop him.

“Abe, it’s okay. I know I should make you
grovel, but I can tell you’re upset about it. It’s okay.” She lifted up on her
toes and kissed his lips again and then smiled up at him. “I love you. Now take
me to get my stuff and let’s go home.”

“Gem.” He stepped back and she saw the tears
running down his cheeks. “I have to tell you something.”

“Abe?” She swallowed and inhaled, stepping back.
“What?” She shook her head, trying to clear the thoughts that were inundating
her. “What’s going on?”

“I did something.”

“Damn it, Abe. Stop hedging and tell me what’s
going on.” Her heart was racing and her breathing suddenly became a challenge.

“Last night”—he let out a sob—“I went back to
the party. I was going to have one more beer. That’s it. I was going to have
the beer, wait on your call, and then take us home. I remember Trey asking me
if wanted a shot. I remember Emily and Ryan saying goodbye as I took the beer
he offered next. And then I woke up today.”

“Okay? I don’t see why you’re so upset about
this. Clearly the shots and beers we had before I left took more of a toll than
you realized. I’m not pleased about you driving when it appears you were pretty
wasted, but it’s okay.” She reached up and put her thumb under his eye, wiping
some of the tears.

“Baby, that’s not it.” She jerked her hand
away, not wanting to hear what came next. Something inside of her said to run, to
end things before she heard his next words, but there was no way she could step
back. One, because she couldn’t walk away from him if there was any chance for
a future. Two, because she was a masochist. “I wasn’t alone.”

“No!” Gemma yelled as she stepped just out of
his reach, instinctively putting her hands over her ears and closing her eyes.
He reached out and touched her elbow, and she jerked back violently. She slowly
opened her eyes as she lowered her hands and wrapped her arms around her
middle. Fury radiated off of her. She began to shake with pain and rage. “What
the hell happened last night and tell me the truth this time.”

“Gem.”

“Don’t call me that. Don’t you dare call me
that,” she wailed, her heart sinking in on itself. The ache that radiated from
her center pulled her shoulders inward. She put her hand to her chest to keep
it from coming apart. “Tell me the truth. I know you wouldn’t cheat on me. I
know you’re better than that. Tell me what happened.” By this point, Kate was
standing to the side, holding her hand over her mouth, crying her own tears. “You
just drank too much. You crashed so you wouldn’t make an ass out of yourself in
front of me. I forgive you.” She sobbed. “I forgive you for falling asleep. Let’s
go home.”

Gemma could see the “No” on his face. “You got
carried away having fun and forgot about me, she said. It’s a new relationship.
It hurts, but we’ll get past it.” The “No” was there again. A stream of tears was
running down his cheeks. Gemma stepped another pace back, making sure there was
no way he could reach out to her.

“I don’t even know, don’t remember, but I woke
up and”—he gasped for a breath past the pain and tears—“she was there with me. She
said we slept together. I swear I don’t want Megan. I don’t even know . . .”

A slap rang out, pulling the few people around
them who hadn’t noticed the disturbance into the unwanted drama. “Get away!
Just get away from me!” she screamed.

“Gemma.” He stepped forward to grab her, to hold
her, to make her understand.

“You. Are. Just. Like. HIM!” Kate stepped up
and pushed Abe in the chest, rage making her body shake. “Get away from her!”

Abe stumbled backwards, almost falling. He
tried in vain to plead with Gemma with his eyes. When she looked away from him,
he finally turned to leave. Gemma fell to her hands and knees, gasping for
breath in her suddenly defective lungs. Air eluded her. The shattering sinking
pain in her chest suffocated her. Pain radiated everywhere. Kate fell to her
knees beside her, pulling her into a hug, tears running down her own cheeks.

~*~

Kate

Kate knew what this meant for her
sister. Abe was Gemma’s chance to learn to trust, to forgive men for the
mistakes of her father, and to believe she might deserve a happily ever after.
In the span of a few weeks, he had ruined it and potentially Gemma as well. “Come
on, sweetie.” Kate helped Gemma to her feet and wrapped her arm around her,
leading her through the gawking onlookers and toward their house.

When Kate was able to push Gemma through the
front door, both girls collapsed at the foot of the stairs. Kate had
essentially carried the crumbling Gemma home. Gray came running down the stairs
at the sound of them and stopped short when he saw Gemma. “What happened?” He
asked as he bent to help Kate get Gemma to her feet. The three of them slowly
made their way up the stairs and to the girl’s room.

“Dad,” Kate said. No one said anything else. It
wasn’t just about their dad, but in the end, the extent of this devastation
would always reflect on him.

Gemma crawled into bed and rolled away from
them, sobbing into the comforter she had balled up against her mouth. Kate sent
Gray after some water and some vodka. Once he was out of sight, she ran to the
bathroom for a couple of supplies, and then she crawled in bed behind Gemma and
wrapped her arms around her. “Please calm down, Gem.”

“Don’t.” She let out a wail. “Please, never
call me that again.”

“Okay.” She rubbed her shoulder. “But, Gemma,
you have to calm down. You’re really worrying us, and if you don’t calm down a
little, I’m going to have to get someone.”

“Please,” she begged, her voice growing frantic
and her eyes going wide, “please, don’t leave me.” She rolled over and put her
head on Kate’s chest, heaving out her pain.

“Shhh.” Kate nodded her thanks to Gray, who
placed the two drinks on the bedside table and then sat on Kate’s bed silently.
“We aren’t going anywhere. I need you to drink something.” Kate pulled away and
the two sat up. She first handed Gemma the vodka and instructed her to drink
every drop. Once that was down and Gemma’s eyes were burning for an entirely
different reason, Kate handed her the two Tylenol she had grabbed before
crawling in bed and gave her the glass of water. “Gemma, lie down.”

Gemma did as she was instructed growing tired
from the quick effects of that much alcohol and an hour of crying. “Kate, I’m
nothing anymore.”

“You are so much more than that boy, Gemma. He
screwed up, and I never saw that coming with the way he felt about you, but you
will not fall apart because of this. You are better than that. I promise we’ll
get through this.”

“I gave him everything,” she whispered as her
eyes closed of their own accord.

“You gave him everything for a time, but now
you are taking it back. You will recover. You will be stronger. I promise,
sweetie.” Gemma didn’t respond; she had exhausted herself.

Once she knew Gemma was asleep, Kate walked out
of the room with Gray right behind her. She instructed him to start packing his
bag and, when he was done with that, to start loading anything that he could
into the back of the car. She walked up the stairs and found her mother working
on a photo album in the kitchen. “Follow me,” she told her, not looking back to
make sure she was behind her as she continued toward the next flight of stairs.

They climbed the last set of stairs in the
house to the fourth floor loft and found her father hunched over his computer
as usual. She had to clear her throat twice to get him to look up, and the
annoyed look on his face showed just how he felt about her interruption. “Dad,
we need to talk.”

“Kate, you know I’m working.”

“Now,” she said and sat on the couch across
from his desk. Her mother followed her and sat in the vacant seat beside her. “We
have to go home. Now.”

“Excuse me?” her mother asked, her eyes
narrowing in confusion.

“What?” her father added.

“Look, I know enough by our ages that there is
a lot more to the story of you and Mom than you’re telling us. I also know
about the hatred Gemma and her mother have for you both. I don’t need details
because you are my parents and it wouldn’t do any good, but I’m telling you
right now, that history is repeating itself for your daughter. We need to get
her out of this place. Immediately. Gray is packing and starting to load the
car. Gemma finally cried herself to sleep so you two can start doing the same. I’ll
start on our things and let you know when she’s up. I expect everyone to be
ready as soon as that happens.”

Both of her parents nodded; her mother had
tears in her eyes and looked back and forth between her husband and daughter. “Kate,
what happened between us was—”

“I don’t want to hear about it. You are my
parents, you have always loved me, and I will always love you. But right now,
you can do something good, something that, in a small way, makes up for the
crap you pulled eighteen years ago.”

“Kate”—her father took a shaky breath—“is she .
. . pregnant?”

“No, Dad.” Kate looked to her hands. “She just
thinks she’s broken.”

Her father turned to his laptop and pressed
save before beginning the shutdown process.

“Let’s go, then.”

~*~

Gemma

Gemma woke up to Kate zipping her bag
and handing it to Gray at the door. “What’s going on?” She rubbed her eyes, and
then as if it hit her again, she sucked in a breath and looked to Kate with
desperate eyes.

“We’re going. Now.” Kate walked over to Gemma
and helped her out of bed. “Everything is loaded. Your bags were already packed
so that helped. We need to get going though. Emily has been calling for an hour.
It’s only a matter of time before everyone shows up. I’m assuming you don’t
want to see them.”

Gemma shook her head no and headed for the door.
Kate was on her heels as they climbed into the back seat just before the rest
of the family walked out of the house and started to get in the car as well. Just
as her father was backing the car out of the driveway, Emily and Ryan sped
around the corner. Kate yelled to go on and neither girl looked back as Emily
jumped out of the car, waiving for them to stop.

Soon after, their phones both started ringing
in tandem. Gemma laid her head in Kate’s lap and closed her eyes, shaking with
the effort to hold back her tears. Kate made eye contact with her father and
saw the regret consuming him. This was the first time he had to face what
Gemma’s mother had gone through, no doubt.