Broken (Broken #1)

Broken

A. E.
Murphy

A. E. Murphy

Copyright 2014 by A. E.
Murphy

Smashwords Edition

DEDICATION

To my wonderful children and loving
partner. All beautiful, all amazing and all mine. I love you all so
much.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This journey has been an interesting one
and I seem to have picked up many people on the way. First off
there’s Helen, honestly, you rock. I never thought I’d meet a woman
as strange as myself. Thank you for all of your help, with my books
and with life.

Nora, an amazing woman who has helped me
so much. Sometimes words just aren’t enough. Right now is one of
those times.

Kids, please be quiet, Mummy is working.
I love you very much.

Ali, I don’t know where your socks are,
I haven’t done the laundry yet.

Loryn, you’re crazy, but it’s why we
love you.

Ramya, my friend from across the sea,
thank you for being honest with me.

Shaun and Lynette, my local author
friends, our journey is just beginning and what an exciting one it
is.

David Lane, thanks for having me on
SHCR. You rock.

There are a lot of people I’d like to
thank but not enough space. To me you’re all awesome and I hope you
know that I love you.

Chapter
One

I walk along the shore, my feet
sinking into the soft sand with every step. Looking over my
shoulder I smile at each individual imprint my feet have left
behind. Footprints are an amazing thing, even the ones you can’t
see. They make you wonder who’s walked right where you’re walking.
Who’s travelled this same path? What were their concerns? Who did
they love? Are they still alive?

Life is so beautiful.

Everything is good right now.
No. Everything is great. It’s peaceful. I’m happy.

“
Can I walk
with you?” An unfamiliar voice asks from two steps behind
me.

I glance at the male. My heart
stops.

I stare at him, at his face, at
his eyes that are a light brown I can’t name. A shade away from
milk chocolate. I lose myself in them so easily, so quickly, the
sounds all around dim and my heart seems to be beating in my
head.

He smiles slow and easy, his
entire face lights up with the motion. So handsome, so beautiful.
The way the light hits his long dark hair. Not too long but long
enough to tuck behind his ears.

The sun catches every curve and
contour of his sculpted chest. His lean body like none I’ve ever
seen before.

“
Wow,” I
blurt and my face heats.

Why did I say that?

There’s no denying the fact I’m
probably as red as a tomato.

His smile widens, his eyes
crease at the corners, “I’m Caleb.”

“
Caleb,” I
repeat his name, it tastes good, feels good. I want to say it
again. “I’m Gwen.”

“
It’s great
to meet you Gwen,” his smile doesn’t falter, not until he brings my
knuckles to his mouth and plants the softest kiss upon them. He
can’t be older than twenty, yet he’s already a
gentleman.

I’m never washing this hand
again. Once he releases it I look at the sand beneath my feet and
tuck my hair behind my ear with the same hand. Fighting off the
urge to touch the spot he just sweetly kissed.

“
Can I walk
with you?” He adds, his easy smile now contagious. He looks so
happy and carefree. I’ve never met a person so seemingly happy. It
oozes off him in waves, so much that I can almost see its glow
coming from his body.

“
Are you
going to murder me?” Shut up! You sound like an idiot!

“
If I answer
that question will you believe me? I mean, either way you won’t
know I’m telling the truth until I’ve started the sick and twisted
process a murderer would probably be cooking up in their head right
now,” he takes a step closer, two shallow dimples now appearing in
his cheeks as he grins with his mouth closed.

“
Good point,”
I laugh, giving him a smile of my own.

“
There it
is,” he grins and stops me with his hands on my arms, the contact
of his warm palms and fingers against my cool flesh sends tingles
to places I didn’t know existed until now. He turns me to face him,
blocking the sun with the back of his head. I look up, almost
unable to see him due to the shadow cast between us.

“
There what
is?” I purse my lips, trying not to smile.

“
The moment
you steal my heart,” he announces, his eyes twinkling, his hands
remaining on my shoulders.

I want to gasp but fortunately
I don’t. I’m not totally sure what to say. “Huh?” So I say
something stupid clearly.

“
I knew, the
minute I saw you walking down the sand I had to know you,” he leans
in closer, as if preparing to tell me a secret. “And then you
looked over your shoulder and smiled. You smiled at nothing. I knew
I was yours.”

“
You’re
mine?”

He chuckles and turns me to
face the front so we can walk side by side again, “Yep. I’m all
yours. Be gentle with me, I’m not as strong as I look.”

I know he’s joking, he’s
fooling around. He’s clearly crazy, “So Gwen is short for Guinevere
huh?”

I nod, glancing at him out of
the corner of my eye, “Caleb is just Caleb right?”

The smile remains on his face,
how I wish I could just smile that beautifully all of the time,
“Yep. And how old are you Gwenny?”

“
Gwenny?” I
snort, quirking a brow at him.

“
Well, I’ve
given you my heart I figure the next thing I need is a pet name.
What’s mine going to be?”

Umm… “Umm…”

He waves me off, “That doesn’t
matter. Those are details we can figure out another time. So…
age?”

“
Are you
profiling? Making sure I’m the right target for your list of
victims? What is it I have in common with the others? Is it my
green eyes or my sparkling youth?”

He throws his head back and
laughs, it’s a beautiful sound. “You know Gwenny?” His arm slides
around my shoulder as casually as if we’d known each other years.
“I think I gave my heart to precisely the right person. What a
glorious day this is.” Pulling me tighter to him I smell the scent
of coconuts lingering on his skin. No doubt it’s the scent of his
sunblock, but it’s delicious all the same. “I’m twenty. Just turned
twenty, two weeks ago.”

“
I’m
eighteen, just turned eighteen seven months ago.”

“
You fit the
profile perfectly,” he states, his smile gone. “Is there anywhere
quiet we can go so I can act out my insane plan to dismember you
and throw your remains into the ocean for the sharks to
eat?”

Stop giggling. You sound like a
child.

But I can’t help it.

“
After today,
we’re going to meet at this spot…” he stops us again and stamps his
foot on the sand before throwing his arm out to show me the area.
“At the same time tomorrow and as the sun sets I’m going to kiss
you.” He leans in, dipping his head so his eyes catch mine. “Is
that okay with you Gwenny?”

“
Uh-huh,” I
nod my head a little frantically.

“
Good, come
on. Ice cream. My treat.”

“
You’re not
dressed,” I announce, pointing at his dark blue, flower motif
shorts and lack of shirt.

He seems to contemplate this
for a moment, before his mischievous eyes come back to mine, “You
have the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen.”

Throb. Throb. Throb. Goes my
heart.

“
W… what does
that have to do with you being half naked?” I stammer, trying to
calm my heated self.

“
If me being
half naked means I get to have your eyes on me like they are now,
I’ll never get dressed again.”

A giggle pushes up and out, I
swing my face to the side, letting my hair be a partition between
us. He brushes it behind my ear, his smile is back; his scent is
still strong and the warmth from his body is making my virginal
self, heat in ways that would make a nun blush.

He takes me for ice cream, he
sits across from me and every so often he feeds me some on the end
of a wafer. It’s cute, he’s cute. This situation is so surreal.
Every second I spend with him I lose a piece of my heart and attach
it to his.

My mum would probably freak out
if she knew how easily I’ve wandered off with a man I barely know
and even accepted food from him. It’s not a safe thing to do but
for some reason I trust him. Even though I probably shouldn’t, I
do.

He’s so charming and friendly,
not to mention completely gorgeous. Ridiculously so.

I’ve never been much of a
giggler but he makes me giggle… a lot. Too much. I must look like
an idiot.

Every time he gets this
response from me he smiles wide looking proud of himself.

“
It’s getting
late, I’m going to walk you to your street,” he states and holds
out his hand for me to take. I do. “And then I’ll meet you at the
same place tomorrow. If you don’t show there are no hard
feelings.”

Oh I’ll show. I’ll definitely
show. “Okay. And if you don’t show…”

He puts his finger over my
lips, “Don’t speak such nonsense. I’ll show.”

This warms my heart to
dangerous temperatures.

We walk hand in hand along the
cracked pavement, finally stopping five minutes later on the corner
of my street.

His hand skims up my arm and
cups the back of my neck as he brings our laced fingers up to press
against his chest. “Tomorrow.”

“
Tomorrow,” I
gulp and shudder as his lips touch my cheek. He releases me much to
my disappointment and starts walking back towards the beach. I see
him smile at me over his shoulder before turning on my heel and
running to my house.

“
Mum!” I
shout as I race through the door, up the stairs and throw myself on
my bed.

“
What?” She
snaps and enters my room looking tired and irritated. “What is
it?”

“
I met a
guy,” grinning, I cross my legs beneath me and hold a pillow tight
to my chest. “Mum, he’s absolutely gorgeous.”

She rolls her eyes, “Good for
you. Don’t get pregnant.” And slams my bedroom door behind her.

Note to self. Don’t wake mum up
to tell her about guys after she’s been on a night shift. It may
piss her off.

My mum is a bit of a bitch,
sure I think she loves me but mostly I’m an inconvenience. I know
she’s provided for me all of my life and I know she’s proud of me
for living the life she wanted but never had. She works hard for
it. I want to go to university when I finish college. I finish in
the summer and I’ve been accepted to a few universities nearby. The
problem is money. I’m getting student loans but I don’t want to get
a high amount and put myself in debt.

As it is, my mum and I are
working our butts off to save up for my time in Uni. Not only my
living expenses but my class expenses too.

So like my mum, I get an hour’s
nap, have a shower and get ready for work. Tonight I’m working at
Chicago’s, it’s a club in town. Tomorrow I’m at a café for the
better part of the morning and then I’ll be at the beach with
Caleb.

A busy night and a busy day.
Brilliant.

******

I’m sitting on the sand
enjoying the breeze when I feel him sit beside me. “You came.” Why
do I hear relief in his voice and an undertone of shock?

“
Of course I
did,” I tell him like any other option would be
abhorrent.

We sit in silence for a moment
and watch the waves hit the shore.

His hand slowly closes over
mine, “You look lost in thought.”

“
I’m just
tired,” and I prove this by yawning.

“
Would you
like to go home?”

“
No.”
Honestly I wouldn’t, I want to stay here forever. “What’s your last
name?”

“
Are you
profiling?” He jests, I tap him on the arm playfully. “Oh dear, we
have an abuser! Medic! Medic.”

“
You’re so
weird,” I laugh and climb to my feet. He takes my hand and stands
facing me. “So, what are you doing here of all places? I can tell
by your accent you’re from out of town.”

He shrugs, “My dad’s opening a
store nearby, he brought me and my older brother along with
him.”

“
Are you in
university?”

He grins and nods, “Yep.
Oxford.”

Impressive. “Well done you,” we
start to walk along the shore. “What are you studying?”