Bad Day (Hard Rock Roots) (26 page)

What the hell did I know? I’d been raised by my grandfather and mother—the product of an affair my mother had had with a very wealthy businessman who never acknowledged my existence. I had two half-brothers I never communicated with and my fiancé came from a family that was just as dysfunctional as my own.

It was like the blind leading the blind.

“She’ll come around when she’s ready, Tal.” I grabbed her free hand and squeezed it. “Sometimes, we help the people we love the most by giving them the space they need to come to terms with what they are going through. You can’t imagine your cousin’s heartache but you can be there for her when she needs someone to talk to and that is all you can do.”

“You mean like Jaden?”

Shit. He wasn’t someone I wanted to talk about. It was a sticky subject for me because he and Kaz were best friends while I used to be best friends with Faith.

Although I could blame the tour for the demise of my friendship with a woman I’d known my whole life, that wouldn’t quite be fair. From the time I’d moved to L.A. and started to live with Kaz, I could feel a separation coming between us.

Add the fact that she’d been having threesomes with my soon-to-husband along with her on-again/off-again boyfriend and it was a recipe for disaster.

According to Faith, Kaz and I were never supposed to happen, at least not a long term relationship. He was supposed to bust my cherry, fuck me a few times and leave me while she would be there to nurse his wounds and pick up the pieces. When everything didn’t go according to
her
plan, all hell broke loose. She never really forgave me and she hated we were in a relationship. The closer I became to Talia, the less of a friendship we seemed to have and although it should have bothered me, it didn’t.

I rolled my eyes and swigged from my Evian. “There isn’t much I can say about
him
without addressing
her
and to be honest, the way they are both acting right now is deplorable. They’re so miserable with one another but holding on to him gives her some sick satisfaction. If she has him then she knows he can’t be with you.”

“That’s awful.” Laurel stared from me to Talia and back again. “I can’t believe she would be so petty. She does know about the baby, doesn’t she?”

“Look at me.” Talia pointed at her small but noticeable bump since she was at least twenty-three weeks pregnant. “How can she
not
tell? He says he’s scared she might harm herself, overdose…I’ve heard every sick excuse in the book and I am getting tired of his bullshit. What the hell did I give up Seth for? To be trapped with another man who can’t make up his fucking mind. I am so over men right now, you don’t want to know.”

I squeezed her hand and smiled. “This, too, shall pass, sweetie.”

I wish I could believe myself but my words seemed like horse shit and the worst part about the situation was I wanted Talia to be happy and Jaden should have been there for her but they were oil and water. Two strong personalities who, at this moment in time, seemed completely unsuited for the other.

Lunch couldn’t end fast enough as far as I was concerned.

Books by C.M. Stunich


The Seven Wicked Series


• First
  

• Second
  

• Third
  

• Fourth
  

• Fifth
  

• Sixth
  

• Seventh
  

Houses Novels


• The House of Gray and Graves
  

• The House of Hands and Hearts and Hair
  

• The House of Sticks and Bones
  

The Huntswomen Trilogy


• The Feed
  

• The Hunt
  

• The Throne
  

Indigo Lewis Novels


• Indigo & Iris
  

• Indigo & The Colonel
  

• Indigo & Lynx
  

Never Say Never Trilogy & Never Too Late Series


• Tasting Never
  

• Finding Never
  

• Keeping Never
  

• Never Can Tell
  

  Never Let Go
  

Triple M Series


• Losing Me, Finding You
  

• Loving Me Trusting You
  

• Needing Me, Wanting You
  

A Duet


• Paint Me Beautiful
  

• Color Me Pretty
  

Hard Rock Roots


• Real Ugly
  

  Get Bent
  

  Tough Luck
  

  Bad Day
  

  Born Wrong
  

Stand Alone Novels


• She Lies Twisted
  

• Hell Inc.
  

• A Werewolf Christmas (A Short Story)
  

• Fuck Valentines Day (A Short Story)
  

• Clan of the Griffin Riders: Chryer's Crest
  

• DeadBorn
  

• Broken Pasts
  

  Crushing Summer
  

About the Author

C.M. Stunich was raised under a cover of fog in the area known simply as Eureka, CA. A mysterious place, this strange, arboreal land nursed Caitlin's (yes, that's her name!) desire to write strange fiction novels about wicked monsters, magical trains, and Nemean Lions (Google it!). She currently enjoys drag queens, having too many cats, and tribal bellydance.

She can be reached at [email protected], and loves to hear from her readers. Ms. Stunich also wrote this biography and has no idea why she decided to refer to herself in the third person.

Happy reading and carpe diem!

www.cmstunich.com

Table of Contents

• Table of Contents
  
• Title Page
  
• Copyright
  
• Dedication
  
• Chapter 1
  
• Chapter 2
  
• Chapter 3
  
• Chapter 4
  
• Chapter 5
  
• Chapter 6
  
• Chapter 7
  
• Chapter 8
  
• Chapter 9
  
• Chapter 10
  
• Chapter 11
  
• Chapter 12
  
• You Might Like
  
• More Books By
  
• About the Author