Broken (Broken #1) (35 page)

“
Christ,”
Sasha squeaks, her hand going to her mouth. “You’re right, I’m so
sorry Gwenny.” Gwenny… ouch.

She hugs me, I hug her back as
best I can. “It’s okay. Forget it.”

“
So, where’s
my room? I haven’t seen it yet.”

I gasp and my smile returns, my
thoughts now distracted. “I haven’t shown you the nursery yet.”

We manage to finally get to bed
after midnight, I send Nathan a text, asking him if he got to
wherever he was going safe and sound. I don’t expect him to reply,
he usually doesn’t and this time is no exception. I bury my head in
the pillow and sigh before shutting my eyes and letting sleep claim
me.

I awake with the sun streaming
through the windows, gah, who opened them. “Morning!” Of course,
Sasha.

“
Sleeping,” I
grumble and bury my face under the covers. My morning
ritual.

“
Up. I want
to explore.”

“
Fine,” I
relent and slide out of bed. “Get me ready, I’ll just sleep while I
sit.” My eyes won’t open, they refuse to.

“
Your phone
went off about twenty minutes ago, one missed call and a text
message from Nathan.”

To read them would be to move.
To move would be to wake up. To wake up would be to... ugh.

“
Kay,” I yawn
and reach at the table blindly. My phone falls to the floor. Darn.
“I’ll get it.”

Sasha giggles and places it in
my hand, “Maybe you should go and wash your face first. It might
stop your eyes from sticking together.”

“
Good point,”
I say around a yawn and waddle into the bathroom. After splashing
water on my face I pull my hair up into a loose bun and apply a
little mascara. Sasha watches me like a hawk, already dressed and
ready for the day in dark blue skinny jeans and a thick, silver to
the thigh jumper. “Where’s Tommy?”

Sasha nods towards the hall,
“Getting ready.” Which translates to, ‘getting five minutes more
sleep before throwing on whatever he can in two seconds and making
it look like he’s been getting ready.’

“
I’ll start
on breakfast,” I stretch, laughing when the bottom of my belly
peeks out from below my top. “I think I need bigger clothes
again.”

“
That’s what
we’ll do this morning!” Sasha bounces on the spot, looking far too
giddy, far too early.

“
I don’t
think Tommy will appreciate that,” I murmur and slide my thumb over
my phone.

Nathan
:
I
apologize for leaving so suddenly. Have fun with your friends.
There’s some money in the top drawer of your dresser. I placed it
there before leaving. Spend it as you wish. Not including the
obvious things I have a clear distaste for.

Me
:
Thank
you, that’s very kind. Is everything okay? I was
worried.

Nathan
:
Everything is fine, Gwen. I’ll bring you back something
nice.

Me
:
Just
bring yourself back, unless you come back with chocolate too, I
won’t complain. When can I expect you home?

Nathan
:
Tonight, at about six. I wouldn’t say no to those pasta
parcels you make.

Me
:
Duly
noted.

After tucking my phone into my
pocket I head down the stairs, Sasha goes to get Tommy up.

I make a quick and easy
breakfast, omelettes with mushrooms and cheese. I have to keep my
stash of eggs hidden. Nathan has a really weird thing about eggs.
If he can’t see them, like in cake or pastry, then he’s fine. But
any form of eggs: scrambled, fried, poached, etc. He freaks out and
puts them in the bin immediately. I’m going to use his absence to
enjoy a well-deserved omelette with my friends.

“
I’m so glad
you guys are here, I just wish you could stay longer,” I pout
slightly and place their plates in front of them.

Tommy wags his eyebrows, “And
have me miss, Halloween, the one night of the year where women
dress like…”

“
Sexy
creatures of the night,” Sasha finishes his sentence.

I look down at my belly, “I
should just paint a bull’s eye or something on my belly.”

“
Or paint it
so it looks like the skin’s torn and make tentacles look like
they’re coming out of it,” Tommy seems way too excited by this
idea. “You know? Like off Alien vs Predator?”

We both look at him
incredulously. Sasha speaks first, “You are not only weird, but
you’re also disgusting.”

“
I second
that vote,” I raise my hand, wincing when Tommy slaps it down and
throws a piece of cucumber at Sasha. “Violence solves
nothing.”

He shrugs, “I thought it felt
pretty good.”

“
Slapping a
pregnant woman felt good?” Sasha feigns horror.

He only sighs, “I’m leaving you
behind if you don’t stop bullying me.”

“
Like that’ll
ever happen,” Sasha snorts quietly, knowing full well he can hear
her.

“
Me leaving
you behind?” His face takes on a daring expression, willing her to
say yes.

“
Guys,” I
laugh and finish my breakfast. “Come on.”

“
Yeah, we’re
going to buy big belly some new clothing.”

“
You’re such
a bitch, Sasha.” Even if her words are true.

She only smiles in return,
“You’ll be skinny again soon.”

Shudder. “And mature.”

“
And a milf,”
Tommy adds which makes Sasha throw the same piece of cucumber back
at him.

I stand before they involve me
in the food fight, “I’ll just be a minute.”

“
Kay,”
another piece of cucumber goes flying.

“
And clean up
that mess,” I order and strut out of the room, ignoring the small
hard lump of food unknown that hits the back of my head. I don’t
look either, I won’t give their quiet laughter the satisfaction of
seeing me react.

Back in my bedroom I grab my
bag and open the top drawer of the dressing table. Sure enough
there is a small roll of notes. Way more money than I need. Sigh.
He needs to stop doing this.

I unroll the notes and stuff
them in my back pocket. It’s then I notice a folded envelope with
my name on the front.

I take it out and turn it over,
the corner has something heavy weighing it down, making the paper
bend when I hold it at an angle.

First I dig for the source of
the weight and blink in astonishment when I see the ring. A
gorgeous gold back with a cluster of diamonds spiralling around a
larger one in the centre. My hands tremble as I take out the note.
What is this? Why is there a ring in here?

My heart clenches as I unfold
the note, the ring still in my hand.

My eyes scan over the short yet
neat paragraph.

I’ve been doing some thinking
and I believe that at this point it would be in our best interests
to get married. I don’t expect an answer right away. Think about
it. I want my nephew to have a stable home and my last name. I also
don’t want people thinking badly of you because of the
circumstances. There’s a lot I can offer you, there’s also not much
in the ways of my being a husband but I’ll try. I promise to keep
you happy and you have my word that I’ll respect, care for and
protect you and my nephew until the day that I die.

Nathan.

I drop the ring like it’s
burning hot, the note too. My brain forces my body to propel me
backwards, my eyes wide as fear and panic races through me.

Why would he ask me this?

I glance down at the ring
already on my finger and notice how simple it is in comparison to
the ring Nathan has gifted me with. His brother’s ring. The one
Caleb put on my finger.

How can he even… why would he…
what is wrong with him? He can’t honestly think I’d go for
this?

Marriage means a lot of things,
sex being one of them. I could never do that. Never.

He can’t honestly want this…
can he?

I feel sick.

“
Are you
ready?” Sasha shouts.

“
C… coming!”
I call and tuck the note and ring back into the envelope before
thrusting it back into the drawer.

This won’t ruin today, I won’t
let it. Nathan is just being noble, even though he has a weird way
of showing it. It’s not the eighteenth century, or whatever century
that shit like this went down. It’s not even necessary in any way
shape or form. I don’t care what people think of me. Caleb was the
love of my life, they can go fuck themselves if they think I wasn’t
his.

He chose me, he died beside me.
In my stomach is half of him.

Damn it Nathan! What are you
doing?

Why would he ask me this today
of all days? Maybe so I could talk it over with my friends. Screw
that. I’m not looking to see their reactions, that’s something I’d
rather miss.

I head down the stairs, fanning
my face to rid it of the nervous perspiration that seems to be
beading on my skin. “Let’s go,” I push open the door, my bag tucked
close to my side. “There isn’t much to see in the village. But
there is a nice clothing store. The women there are amazing at
making clothes to fit you perfectly.”

“
Wow.” Sasha
remarks dryly. “How lucky for you.”

I shrug, “I like it, I like the
people and the coffee shop and what few restaurants they have,
which yes, are all pub restaurants. They’re cosy. Like something
out of a movie.”

“
I envy your
quiet life,” Sasha again says this dryly.

Tommy opens the car door for
me, forcing Sasha to get into the back. Which I’m grateful for
because once in the back I doubt I’d be able to climb out again.
It’s only a three door car. The front seats slide forward for
access to the back.

Definitely not going to
happen.

Sasha doesn’t seem to mind
though. She leans forward between our seats and messes with the
radio. Good luck getting that out here.

She gives up after ten minutes
and turns on a CD, I direct Tommy to the village.

We stop at the clothing store
first, Sasha cringes at almost everything. It is very… formal I
suppose but it’s warm and comfy.

“
EBay,
Christ. Ever heard of it? Just because you’re pregnant and living
with a bunch of fogies doesn’t mean you have to dress like one,”
Sasha whispers, I stifle my laughter and allow the lady to guide me
in the back for measurements. She takes them in seconds, her memory
clearly better than mine. After pointing at a few different things
I pay at the counter and meet Tommy on the sidewalk
outside.

“
That was
fast,” he comments, ignoring a still grumbling Sasha. “Now
what?”

“
Welcome to
hell,” Sasha looks up at the sky. “How do you not get bored
here?”

“
Nathan takes
me to the city with him sometimes. That’s fun. Jeanine the
housekeeper is there every morning so I get to chat with her for a
while. Nathan also got me a laptop and there are loads of books to
read and places to explore.” Not including the rat infested grass
that I tend to avoid. “He’s suing his parents,” I say this in a
hushed tone, mindful of ears listening in on the empty streets. I’m
probably being paranoid but I don’t want to take any
chances.

“
He’s what?”
Tommy blinks and looks directly at me, his eyes full of
curiosity.

I nod and chew on the inside of
my cheek for a moment, “Yep. Don’t say anything to him though, he
won’t like what I’ve told you. They went crazy when they realised I
was staying with him, cut off his trust fund which wasn’t theirs to
take. Just like they did with Caleb.”

“
Ouch,
bastards.” Sasha blows her fringe from her eyes and looks through a
store window at the trinkets lined up perfectly behind the glass.
“What is their problem?”

“
I have no
idea.” But I really want to find out. “I don’t get it, it makes no
sense. This can’t just be about the fact I’m not from a family of
their choosing. I think this is something a little closer to
home.”

Tommy cocks his head, “What do
you mean?”

“
Maybe it’s
the whole rebellion thing. Or maybe they had women in their minds
for their sons. Who knows how they work?”

“
Hmm,” Sasha
starts walking again, we start following. “It is all a bit strange
but it does happen. Remember that guy I dated.” She looks up in
thought. “What was his name?”

“
Who?”

“
The one with
the strange flick at the front of his hair.”

Tommy chuckles, “Reece?”

“
That’s the
one,” she clicks her fingers and smiles. “His parents were really
strict. They hated it when they found out he was dating me. They
wanted him to marry a girl from his neck of the woods.”

Ah, I remember that. “That guy
was an idiot.”

“
Yep,” Tommy
chips in and places his arm around her shoulders. “Not that it
matters much seeing as you forgot his name after only two
years.”

Her hand whips around to smack
his chest, her smile never falters though, “I was just using him
for his car. When summer was over we dropped each other. He was sad
about it, I pretended to be.”

“
Bitch,” I
laugh in shock and kick a small pebble across the ground. “I
thought me and Caleb would end the summer before I started
University. I was so sure he was lying and saying pretty things to
take my virtue.”

“
Nice.”