Beautifully Broken Read online

  “She works Friday nights with Cooper,” Jake interrupts. “I’ll bring the keg this time.”

  Rex looks at me quizzically. “You okay?”

  I take a slow, deep breath. I’m not okay, but I’m trying to be. “Yeah, I’m fine. Um. I work every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.”

  “My bad, Babe.” Rex says with a grin. “I thought you had tomorrow off.”

  Jake sticks his finger in his mouth and pretends to gag. “Ugh. Get a room.”

  Rex chuckles. “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”

  Rex takes my chin beneath his thumb and forefinger and tilts my face upward. He leans down and kisses me. Right in the middle of the hallway. His hands fall to my hips as he backs me into the locker. He lifts me, effortlessly, and I wrap my legs around his waist. Every cheesy high school romance novel I’ve ever read has this scene. I’ve always felt a longing when reading them, but the tingling I’m feeling inside isn’t longing. It’s need.

  “How’s that?” Rex whispers in my ear.

  “Seriously, dude?” Jake asks incredulously. “Do you know where that mouth’s been?”

  Rex sets me back on my feet and turns to Jake, fire in his eyes. I feel like someone’s gutted me. My first hallway kiss was everything I hoped for and more, only to be ruined by this prick. Thanks Life. Way to ruin everything, again.

  “Say one more crude thing about my girlfriend,” Rex growls “and I’ll break your fucking jaw.”

  Jake takes a step back, hands up in surrender. “My bad.” He turns to walk away but doesn’t get far.

  Rex takes a step forward and claps his hand on Jake’s shoulder. “You owe her an apology.”

  Jake groans, barely looking over his shoulder. “Sorry, Piper.”

  “It’s okay,” I squeak out. We amble down the hallway to my locker. “You should have your party tomorrow.”

  Rex waits while I twist the dial and grab my books. I close it then turn and lean against the cold metal. He shrugs. “I’m kind of looking forward to the whole chill, quiet house thing. Besides I can’t pick you up after work if I have to babysit a bunch of drunk idiots.”

  “You don’t have to pick me up. I can—”

  “Sleep with Cooper?” He interrupts. “Not happening.”

  “Possessive much?” I tease.

  “You have no idea,” he says through a chuckle. I stare at him, not sure what to say. Bane’s right, I need to stop this. I’ve never believed in love, still don’t. But Rex makes me feel like I’ve got a shot at something great with him. And maybe I do. I once read that when it’s darkest, magic happens. My life was a black hole before Rex. Now there’s light, making me want to give life a chance and that in itself is magical.

  “It was a joke, Piper.” Rex says pulling me out of my thoughts. He studies me, a worried expression on his face. He’s got that look again, one that says he knows my deepest darkest secrets—he does—but this time it’s different. “I’m worried if I let you go; you won’t come back.”

  I gasp. My eyes burn with unshed tears because that’s exactly what’s going to happen. Not today, and not tomorrow, but soon. “Why are you worrying about that?”

  The warning bell rings. Everyone around us starts hurrying to their first class. My question goes unanswered. “Can I walk you?”

  I shake my head. “No thanks. That’ll open a can of worms I’m not ready to talk about with Ms. Cherrybroom. Besides, you’ll be late.”

  23

  Piper

  I make it by the skin of my teeth to my counseling session. I’ve never been late and don’t know how it would affect my graduation status. Personally, I think it’s crap that I have to meet with Cherrybroom as often as I do. It’s not like we talk about anything important, which sucks because I really want to tell someone about what’s going on sometimes.

  “Cutting it close,” Ms. Cherrybroom says closing the door behind me. I settle into the chair to the left of her desk and set my bag down. “Although, if I was sporting a hunk like Rex I’d probably be late too. Granted my hunk would need to be ten years older.” She flicks her hand. “I don’t care how cute he is, no kid is worth jail time.”

  This is weird. My guidance counselor just called my boyfriend cute. Granted she’s maybe twenty-five, but I still don’t like it. “Um. Yeah, sorry about that.”

  “Anyway…” she settles in behind her desk, stacking papers that can't possibly be from today neatly to one side. She pulls out a handful of new papers from her bottom drawer. “These are for you.”

  I lean forward and take her handouts. There are five different college applications, all with scholarship information stapled to each one. I flip through them, pretending to read each for a second or two then set the stack on my lap. “I was wondering…”

  Ms. Cherrybroom clasps her hands under her chin. “Yes, dear?”

  “Would it be possible to leave a week or two early and still graduate?”

  She sucks in a breath. “Why on earth would you want to do that?”

  “I was thinking of doing some traveling this summer, before starting school.”

  “You mean you’re going?”

  No. “Seems that way.”

  Ms. Cherrybroom jumps up from her seat and rushes around the desk. Her long arms wrap around my shoulders as if we’re friends. It’s not weird at all. I’m kidding. It’s very very weird.

  One Mississippi.

  Ms. Cherrybroom must realize how inappropriate the situation is. She lets go before I can mentally count to two and sits in the chair beside me. “Well, it’s probably frowned upon but if you can finish your final exams, I’m sure I can work with your professors to sign off on it.” She clasps her hands together. “Oh, Piper. I’m so pleased.”

  “Thank you, ma’am.”

  Ms. Cherrybroom stands and walks to her desk. She scribbles something on a pad. “Here.” She rips the page free. “I probably shouldn’t, but I’ve written you a pass for the day. There are only a few weeks left. Go, plan your trip, just promise to make a Facebook profile and add me so I can see what you’re up to.”

  “Thanks, Ms. Cherrybroom. I will.”

  As much as I appreciate the day off, I don’t skip. If I’m going to get in my professors good graces, I need to be present as much as possible. The morning passes in a blur of whispered rumors and too many questions of “what’s going on between you and Rex?” from people who haven’t talked to me since freshman year. I tell them nothing. My life isn’t their business. Besides, whatever I say will only fuel the rumor mill. Five minutes left in class, my phone buzzes. I slip my bag onto my lap and peek inside.

  Rex: Have lunch with me today

  “Miss. Lovelace, are you with us?” Mrs. Hale asks.

  I nod and she continues her lecture. It buzzes again.

  Rex: I’m buying and I hear it’s baked ziti today.

  The bell rings and everyone scurries to leave. I close my books and wait for my classmates to exit before getting up, a habit I developed so I don’t hear the daily gossip. I close my notebook and neatly stack it on my textbook while I wait for the last person to leave then head to my locker.

  The hallway is still alive with whispers. I smile at the sideways glances, letting everyone know that I see them. I hear them. And best of all, I’m not stupid. Reaching my locker, I spin the dial and open it, a folded paper falling at my feet. I set my books on the top shelf and bend down to pick it up. Inside are two words:

  Found you.

  The world around me comes to a screeching halt. I think I’m going to be sick. I force my gaze up and look over both of my shoulders. No one in particular stands out, but it doesn’t help that I’m a hot topic today, attracting more attention than normal. I look down at the note again. The paper’s a bright white, the words handwritten. I run my thumb over the blue ink, the letters smudge. It’s fresh. Someone dropped this in my locker just before I got here.

  “Hey.”

  “Mercy.” I jump, not expecting anyone to be behind me. I crumple
the note and shove it in my pocket. I don’t know what I’m going to do with it but sticking it back in my locker seems like a bad idea.

  Slamming the metal door with more force than intended I look up to see Rex. He’s taking this boyfriend thing seriously, leaning one shoulder against the wall of metal all sexy-like, like Stefan from the Vampire Diaries. I think I may be a Netflix junkie now. “Did you get my texts?”

  Texts? Oh right, lunch. “Yeah, sorry. Mrs. Hale caught me while I was reading them. Couldn’t respond.”

  “It’s cool.” He pushes off the lockers and I look up into his eyes, a mistake because those blues are a vortex of beauty and wonder. I get lost in them, counting the colors that swirl within. The only good part to this vortex is for a moment I forget about the note and appreciate how amazing Rex looks. “Are you ready?”

  I forgot he was waiting for an answer. Out of the trance that is Rex, worry creeps back. Whoever wrote that note will probably be in the cafeteria watching, reporting my every move across the tracks. “I don’t know Rex.”

  “How about compromise. Let me buy you lunch and we can eat at the big tree you like.”

  That’s doable. No one will see us there and maybe I can relax a little. Rex has a way of calming my nerves, maybe eating together would be a good idea. The worst I’ll have to do is brave the lunch line. If we hurry, we can be in and out before it gets too busy. “Okay.”

  The ziti is delicious. Most school’s food sucks but our principal has a top notch chef in the kitchen. Ziti and prime rib are just what’s on the menu for today and tomorrow. Heaven forbid rich kids eat normal school food like the taco mush my elementary school had.

  My mind’s running a mile a minute, bursting with questions I don’t know the answers to. I decide to distract it. It’s evident now more than ever that I have to leave and soon. With our time ticking away, I want to know everything I can about Rex. The more I have the longer I can hold onto the memories. “I have a question.”

  “Shoot,” he says playfully.

  “Why do you think your dad hates you?”

  Rex drops his fork on the empty tray and runs a hand through his hair. “Can’t start with the easy ones, can you?”

  I shake my head and shrug. “The easy stuff is boring. I can probably find out your favorite food and color from a Google search.”

  That annoyingly beautiful grin settles over his face. “Green and chicken cordon bleu, in case you’re taking notes.” He exhales loudly, his smile falling and looks down at his hands. “Well, for starters I don’t have a single memory of him and I.”

  My heart hurts for Rex. I think back to the photos on the wall. His parents looked so happy, but he wasn’t in any of them. Their life carries on and he’s stuck looking at a family that isn’t really his. “What about when he wasn’t on tour? Or holidays? Wasn’t Kip home?”

  Rex pulls at the grass, taking a single green blade between his fingers and ripping it before grabbing another. “Holidays are usually romantic getaways for him and mom. I can’t remember the last birthday my parents spent with me and any time we happened to be in the house at the same time Dad would lock himself in his office.”

  “Shit, that’s terrible. I’m sorry.” My childhood was crap, for obvious reasons but I think Rex’s might have been worse. I knew what to expect from Monica—nothing. But Rex had two parents who should have loved him.

  “Sometimes I wonder if I’m even Kip’s.” Rex stares off into the distance. “I don’t look anything like him, or my mom. If she cheated, my dad’s hatred for me would make sense.” I can’t imagine anyone cheating on Kip Montgomery. He’s made sexiest man alive the last three years, and he’s old as fuck. I can only assume he was just as gorgeous eighteen years ago. “Enough about me. Tell me something most people don’t know about you.”

  There’s plenty that people don’t know about me, but not much of it I can tell. “Um. I am terrified of scary movies.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “Nope. Zombies are the worst. I tried watching The Walking Dead once and had nightmares for weeks.” True story. I was thirteen. I thought my normal nightmares were terrible, but no. Take Monica and turn her into a flesh eating zombie that won’t die no matter how many times I shoot her in the head. Yeah, never again.

  “So Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios is out this year then,” he teases.

  “I’d go for you.” If I were around next year, but I won’t be. I’ll probably be living in the mountains doing God knows what for money. Silence falls between us. I chew on my plastic fork.

  “Piper?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Can we talk about what happened to you?”

  “What’s there to talk about? You heard everything. Bad guy tried to rape me. I ran away from bad guy. End of story.”

  “You said someone’s after you. Have you thought about going to the cops?”

  I toss my fork onto my tray, not necessarily mad at Rex, but our conversation. Gerald is the last person I want to think about, especially with that note burning a hole in my pocket. “I can’t. It’s been almost a year. There’s no evidence anymore and all that will do is piss Gerald off.”

  “You’re well within the statute of limitations. Didn’t you hear about the Me Too movement a few years ago? Those girls were hurt years ago and their charges stuck.”

  They stuck because those girls were accusing high profile people. Lowly wannabe slum lords are swept under the rug thanks to crooked cops. I wouldn’t stand a chance. Besides, all making a report would do is give Gerald a way to find me faster. “Just drop it, Rex.”

  “That man should be locked up for what he did to you, Piper. You didn’t do anything wrong. You shouldn’t be afraid to report him.”

  “I didn’t tell the cops when I assaulted him, Rex. By definition, that’s doing something wrong.”

  “But he—”

  “No!” I yell. “Conversation over.”

  First the note and now this. I should have skipped this morning when Ms. Cherrybroom gave me the pass. I stand and march towards the school but change my mind. I turn and put my hands on my hips. “You can’t just ask me to be your girlfriend and expect me to change everything, Rex.”

  “What are you changing?”

  “Me! My plan. My life.”

  Rex stands and takes a step towards me. “What exactly is your plan?”

  “Forget it. You wouldn’t understand.” I turn and run.

  Away from Rex.

  Away from it all.

  24

  Rex

  I pushed her too far. I knew better. I saw the warning signs that she was going to break but I kept going because I couldn’t let it go. The rest of the day dragged. I waited at Piper’s locker after the last bell for five minutes but she never showed up. She wasn’t at my car either. I pull out my phone.

  Me: Hey, where are you?

  Me: I’m at my car. Want a ride?

  Me: I’m sorry, Piper.

  Three dots appear. My heart skips until they disappear again and then nothing.

  Me: Text me back. I’m getting worried

  I drive to the Red Onion but she’s not there either. I park in my driveway and open the front door. It’s unlocked which is strange because I never go out it.

  “Piper?” I call out running through the house. Searching. Hoping. But she’s not there. Not inside. Not outback on the patio. Not in the pool house. She’s not here.

  My fist hits the wall beside me, leaving a round imprint in the plaster. “Shit!”

  Me: Do you know where Piper is?

  Logan: Who’s this?

  Me: Rex

  Logan: How the fuck did you get my number

  Me: You gave it to me dumbass.

  You and half the school my first week. Everyone wanted to be my best friend back then. Now I’m just the party house. I have no real friends which was fine, until Piper.

  Logan: No. What happened.

  Me: I asked the wrong question and she flipp
ed. Disappeared.

  Logan: Shit.

  Twenty minutes later there’s a knock at my door. I run to it, hoping to God it’s Piper. It’s not.

  “What the hell did you do to her?” Cooper demands pushing his way inside before I finish opening the door. “Piper!?”

  “She’s not here.” I slam the door shut and follow him into my kitchen. “Did Logan not tell you anything?”

  Cooper whirls around. “He told me you set her off.”

  My head falls. “Yeah.

  His expression softens. We may not be friends, but we want the same thing—for Piper to be safe. “What happened?”

  “I tried to talk to her about that night.”

  “What night?”

  “You know...that night.”

  “Oh,” he pauses. “Well, that at least gives us somewhere to start.”

  I could live my whole life without coming back to this shitty apartment. Cooper knocks on the door, still stained red with blood streaks from a night I’d prefer to forget. There's a pause, then some sliding and clicking of locks until finally the door opens.

  “What the hell are you guys doing here?” Bane steps back opening the door wider. “Get in before someone recognizes you two.”

  We walk inside but neither Cooper nor I sit.

  “Do you have any idea how much you stick out dressed like that?” Bane says to both of us.

  I changed into a pair of boardshorts and a grey t-shirt. Cooper’s still in his school uniform—black slacks, white button down, but no tie. Compared to Bane’s tattered jeans and plain black shirt, I can definitely see what he’s talking about. “Next time I’ll be sure to slum it up.”

  Cooper chuckles.

  Bane flips me the bird. “There shouldn’t be a next time. What the fuck are ya’ll doing here?”

  “Piper’s missing,” Cooper says, his voice hard and demanding.

  “And you think she’s here?” He looks at us like we’ve got two heads. I don’t get it; Bane and Piper are friends. Why wouldn’t she come here? Especially if she feels like he can keep her safe. What am I missing?