Unbreak Me (20 page)

“So what?” Molly spat. “A stupid bump on the head and what? I give up on life? If that’s the case, I may as well hold a gun against it and blow my fucking brains out.”

An awkward silence befell the room. Regina was hurt, and Molly’s anger was beginning to bubble.

Rising from the table, Regina picked up her plate and threw the uneaten food into the sink before walking to the kitchen door. She looked back at Molly, saying, “I can’t talk to you when you’re like this.” Then left the room.

“Fine, then go… Join all the rest who have left me. Go on, see if I care.”

Molly’s eyes filled with tears, regretting everything she’d said. She just couldn’t control it. She couldn’t stop the anger.

You stupid fuck!
she thought as she looked at her half-eaten egg and cried.

It was then she realized that leaving was, in fact, the right thing to do.

Clean break, new start, no memories.

Chapter Thirty-One

The past few months had seen Connor shuffle in and out of corporate meetings, cleaning up the mess that had been made for him. Bruce had yet to share the little information about who was behind the leak. Every time Connor convinced him to tell him, Bruce backed off, afraid that he was getting in way over his head. Connor was not only frustrated but on the verge of walking away from it all. Leaving town and all the pain that reminded him of everything he’d lost.

“You still pining for that young girl?” his father asked as he walked into his office.

Looking up from his computer, Connor pretended otherwise. “Forgotten long ago.”

John closed the door behind him, sat on the small leather couch and looked at his son. He wasn’t a man for reassuring words—hell, he wasn’t a man to give any kind of warm advice. But he must have noticed the change in his son.

“I’ve been watching you these past two months,” he said as he crossed his legs. “I’m thinking a change of scenery would benefit you. Help you clear your mind, maybe replace some of the old rigor for life you once had.”

Connor sat back on his chair, listening to his father, actually contemplating what the man had to say.

“Our headquarters in Hong Kong could use you, and you could be my eyes and ears over there,” his father said, making the proposition sound more inviting by the second. “I have a selection of condos that you can choose from, no expense spared, all will be taken care off. I could have you over there as soon as next Wednesday. What do you say?”

“But what about the Lanscorp cleanup? I mean, what does Mom say about this?”

“Your mother will be fine,” John said as he stood. “I think a break from California and everything that reminds you of the burdens these past few months have caused could do wonders for the mind and soul. The offer’s open, but I’ll let you sleep on it,” he said as he walked to the door. “Join us for brunch on Saturday. We’ll discuss it more then.”

Closing the door behind him, John didn’t give Connor a chance to express his own worries.

“Hong Kong,” Connor muttered as he glanced out of the window, the cold realization dawning that everything had changed and there was now no going back.

* * * *

Thursday night drinks were something he looked forward to with Mark. It was his chance to unwind, complain and just be himself.

“Any day now,” Mark said as he opened another bottle of beer, handing it to Connor. “Two false alarms in the last week. I’m scared shitless.”

Connor listened to his friend. It made a change from him offloading. “This is it, man, you’re gonna be a daddy.”

“Who’d have thought it, eh? All those years ago, on campus, being complete whores,” Mark said as he laughed. “I mean, everything changed when Cassie came along, but we were on good form back then.”

“Speak for yourself.”

Laughing, Mark took a swig of his cola. “Dream on, I remember quite a few ladies who had their hearts broken.”

“Maybe a few, but, we were kids. It was our rite of passage.” Connor finished off his beer, then sat forward. “My father wants me to take office in Hong Kong.”

Mark raised his eyebrows and shook his head. “Since when?”

“This afternoon.” Connor stood and stretched. “He thinks I need the change, and my presence there could serve him well. He has it all worked out—the condo, the car, the office. I could be over there as soon as Wednesday.”

“But that’s insane.”

“I know.”

“If you go, you’ll miss the baby.” Mark sounded hurt.

“I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to let you down. Jesus, this is huge for you guys, I want to be here, but… I can’t stay in this city. I just can’t. There’s too much bad blood. Too many memories. Marissa and my mother—it’s all too much.”

“Then do what’s right for you,” Mark said. “I mean, I’m not gonna lie, I’ll be crushed if you go, but staying just for me and Cassie, that would be selfish of us. Besides, Hong Kong is only a flight away, easy commute for the likes of me,” he said as he smiled.

Connor helped himself to another beer from the bar. “She hasn’t even called once. Not once. I mean, who can be that cold?”

“She’s hurting too. You know that.”

“Fuck,” Connor shouted. “She’s wiped me from her life. I thought she’d have at least replied to my texts or calls, but nothing.”

Connor knew he sounded like a whining pussy. But he had to get it off his chest.

“Then do something about it,” Mark suggested.

“How can I do that?” he sounded more defeated than he had intended.

“If you want something bad enough, you have to fight for it.”

Those were fighting words. Words delivered by a man who was about to become a father and the right kind of kick in the ass Connor needed.

* * * *

Friday afternoon came around and Connor headed to the one person he knew would be up front with him. Even if her words cut him to the bone.

“Can you tell me at least if she’s okay?” Connor asked Jenna.

Sighing, Jenna poured a little milk into her coffee as both she and Connor sat out on the deck. “She’s doing good, just a little angry at the moment.”

“Because of me?”

“She’s angry with the world, her parents, Aggie…you. She’s not the Molly we all know and love.”

Connor sipped his coffee, his eyes gazing at the ground. “I can’t help but blame myself for all of this.”

“Well, I wouldn’t go as far as saying that, but yes, the events that transpired that evening certainly didn’t help.”

“I fucking hate myself.” Connor sat, staring into his cup. The guilt swarmed through him.

“But you didn’t make her drink, you didn’t push her in front of that car,” Barry tried to reason with him.

“Maybe not, but that doesn’t make me feel any less guilty.”

“Can I be honest with you, Connor?” Jenna asked.

“Of course.”

“Molly’s head injury has changed her in a way none of us anticipated.” Jenna tried to explain. “Her personality has shifted. She’s this angry, foul-mouthed and, quite frankly, childish young woman at the moment.”

“Oh!”

“She’s giving Regina a hard time,” Jenna said. “I mean, we’re all doing what we can, but things are slow with the recovery. We are the only family she has.”

“I didn’t know.”

“Regina wouldn’t let me contact you. She didn’t think it right—not where Molly is concerned.”

Connor appreciated how much both Jenna and Regina cared and looked out for her. He felt relieved knowing that if he did, in fact, go to Hong Kong, at least she’d be safe. It was a small blessing to have such good people and support, but that didn’t stop him wanting her.

“I’ve been asked to move to Hong Kong,” Connor said. “My father wants me to head up the financial division in the Chinese headquarters. I am meant to leave on Monday to begin my post on Wednesday.”

“Have you given a firm yes?” Jenna asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Not yet. I’m meeting my parents tomorrow. I’ll have my answer then.”

Jenna sat back, scratching her chin, looking at Connor, who was searching for any kind of answer that told him not to give up on Molly—not yet.

“Do you love her?”

“Yes…with every inch of my soul.”

“Then you fight for her. But just be careful, because she will bite. Molly has no control over what comes out of that mouth of hers, and believe me, she’ll try to hurt you.”

Connor took Jenna’s words of advice seriously. Yet, the challenge of breaking down her walls gave him a new lease of life. Molly wouldn’t see it coming.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Molly stood by the grave, staring down at the inscription on the headstone, looking like a statue. Not moving, not fidgeting, not even talking. She just stared, read the lines over and over, trying to figure out why she had ever bothered with coming to the grave weekly.
What is the point?
It wasn’t going to bring Aggie back. In fact, it pissed her off, knowing that she had promised to visit weekly, bringing the same damn flowers.
This is a job for Regina,
her inner monolog complained.

Taking her time, she bent down, running her fingers over the engraved words, and smiled.

“I’ll never get out of this world alive.”
Aggie’s favorite verse from her favorite song by Hank Williams. Molly could never understand the reasoning behind having a song lyric on the headstone, but she had gone with it.

“You were a fool saving me,” she muttered as she lifted out the wilted flowers and replaced them with fresh carnations. “Why didn’t you just leave me be, huh? Let me die? You made me trust you, then you left me. Who does something like that?”

The tears began falling, but instead of calming, Molly’s anger ignited into an almighty rage. “I wish you had left me well alone, old woman, then I’d have been spared this fucking life. How does any of it make sense? Life doesn’t make sense. Life is bullshit.”

As Molly turned to walk away, she got the fright of her life.

“Hey, baby. We’ve been looking for you. Heard about that little accident of yours.” Her mother stood there, blocking her path, looking sickly and ravaged by her addiction.

Molly tried her best to ignore her mother. But it was hard when she kept moving toward her. “Get out of my way.”

“I know you got money,” she said, her sunken eyes glaring at Molly as if she were a piece of meat. “Just give me a few hundred and I’ll be gone. It’ll be our little secret.”

“Is he with you?” Molly asked as she scanned the cemetery.

“Why? You miss your daddy?”

“Fuck you.” Molly pushed at her mother, only to feel the back of a hand across her face.

“Don’t talk to your mother like that.” Her father appeared from behind a headstone, his hand cracked hard against her, knocking her to the ground. “You have a bit of respect for your elders.”

That was rich coming from him, considering he had robbed his parents blind and beat the shit out of a few older addicts in his time. He truly had no place to talk about respect.

Molly’s face stung, but that was the least of her worries. It was the throbbing pain in her head, the ringing in her ears and the dizziness that began to make the world spin.

“Just…stop,” she pleaded as she held her hands against her head, trying to steady the disorientating sensation swirling in her skull.

“Oh, is little Molly not doing so good?” he mocked her.

“Look at those shoes, I bet they feel nice to walk in,” her mother said as she began unlacing her shoes.

Molly kicked out, but her head began to pound harder by the second. “Just leave me alone.”

“Not until you’ve done your folks a solid,” her father said as he dragged Molly to her feet. “Now, give me your ATM card and pin—kinda simple, isn’t it, kiddo?”

Molly had to think quickly. She had to do something. She didn’t want to give her money to them. She knew that they would shoot up at the next possible chance, robbing her blind in the process.

Standing barefoot as her mother held the shoes, Molly threw caution to the wind. “I’ll drive you.”

Her parents glared at each other trying to gage how serious she was. Her father, Kit, turned to face Molly, spitting on the ground as he walked up to her. Grabbing her by the shirt, he pulled her close to his face. “You fuck with me, I swear I’ll do more than redden your ass.”

Molly, a grown woman, being reduced to feeling like that half-starved, innocent child again, wanted to shrivel up and die. Yet, a spark of that same survival instinct that had been awakened by Eugene remained. If she wanted to get rid of them, she had to take control of the situation.

“Okay, but no funny business,” Kit warned, his stale breath reeking of nicotine and booze.

“Okay,” Molly said.

Sitting in behind her, Molly’s mother, Anna, leaned forward, anxious, ready to pounce at any given moment. As Molly stuck the key into the ignition, she sat forward, sticking her hand into her pocket, desperately scrolling until she pressed the call button. With her phone on silent, her actions were unnoticed by her father who was busy looking out of his window, making sure no one saw them. His paranoia was on overdrive.

Barefoot, Molly pushed on the pedal and slowly drove from the cemetery. Little did her parents know that she shouldn’t have been driving, and she kept that little bit of information to herself.

“You’ve done good, getting yourself all fixed up, steady job—even a boyfriend, huh!” Kit remarked as he reached over, rubbing his hand across the back of her head.

Molly winced from his touch. She hated him.

Saying nothing, she continued driving until they were clear of the cemetery. Everything about the situation was unbelievable. So unrealistic, Molly would have found it hard to believe that things like this happened.

Molly laughed and shook her head.

“What the fuck you laughing at?” her father bellowed.

“Nothing,” Molly replied, trying her best not to lose too much control. “The irony.”

Anna nipped the back of Molly’s arm, leaving a deep red mark. “Don’t try no foolishness or I swear your head won’t be fixable this time.”

Swallowing hard, Molly concentrated on driving. The city was only forty minutes away, she could keep up the pretense. It was what she was good at.