Glass Heart Broken: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Glass Heart Academy Book 2)

by Lindsey Iler

  “Your mistake happened the minute you didn’t stop them.” I shrug, fighting everything inside of me that wants to break down. Hurt crosses his eyes, but he’s stoic otherwise. He corrects himself in a blink. “Leave me alone, Breaker. Don’t show up here again.”

  “Palmer.” Breaker’s voice is low, quiet as a hunter trying not to spook a deer. “It’s been a week. You have to come out of here.”

  “Just don’t, okay?” I slam the door shut and rest my forehead against it. There’s a small shake to the wood, and I jerk.

  “We do things we aren’t proud of. Hurting you will be our greatest regret,” Breaker whispers. “You’re stronger than this, stronger than us. Don’t let us ruin you.”

  Dammit! Why does this boy have to be so thoughtful?

  I open the door, and my hand reaches out before I can think better of it. It wraps around his shoulder, and I yank him forward. My arms grip tight around him, and we hug each other.

  No other words seem appropriate for this moment. A few seconds pass, and I let him go and shut myself inside my dorm without uttering a single thing.

  My friendship with Breaker has been an effortless, easy one. We’ve fallen into this life where we can’t exist without the other. I mean it when I say it’s easy to trust him. He’s never put his hands on me. What the few days of isolation have done for me is make me second-guess everything.

  Don’t let us ruin you. Those five words play through my head over the next few days. I decide to avoid anything and everyone for the rest of the week.

  While I’ve been out of school, Delaney has been bringing me my paperwork, lying to the teachers, and telling them I’ve come down with the flu. No one else besides her and Breaker have bothered to check on me.

  I haven’t built up the courage to tell her the whole truth yet. She has no idea what really happened on that rooftop. The events that followed won’t make any sense to her, especially my decisions. How do I explain something I don’t even understand myself?

  On the off chance I’m right, telling Delaney will result in my dragging her into this mess. There isn’t a chance I’m willing to risk her falling into the crosshairs of my troubles.

  I dodge Delaney’s calls, ignoring everything that waits for me on the outside of this dorm room. In here, I’m safe and able to pretend as if chaos doesn’t wait for me. Once I open the door, I’ll have to face Marek and ask questions when I’m not ready to know the answers. Out there is where reality lies, and for the time being, I prefer to live as if I’m a normal senior girl counting down the days until graduation.

  So that’s what I do. I order food delivery and binge watch shows I haven’t had time for. Inside this room, I’m safe from facing any of them. Breaker respects my wishes and doesn’t come knocking at my door for the rest of the week. After I email the dean, blaming my absence on the flu I’d lied about last week, I turn off my phone to ensure complete seclusion.

  It’s easy to pretend everything is well when I’m hidden away.

  *****

  The sun shines through my curtains, waking me before my alarm. If I’m being honest, I didn’t get much sleep last night. I woke up several times from a too real nightmare, gripping at my stomach and leg to check for fresh wounds.

  I shower and dress in my uniform as if it’s any other day, but this particular Monday morning brings a whole different meaning to fear. In reality, this day is unlike any I’ve had on the Glass Heart Academy campus. Leaving the safety of this room means something. I will have to make a choice today, and I’m still not sure if I know what that will be.

  It seems being hidden away hasn’t done anything but bide my time. As I wait for the last minute to leave, I fire up my phone for the first time in a week. Messages ding and alert me of my absence in the world. The first five are from Delaney, proving I’m a shitty human being and friend. I owe her better than a disappearing act.

  I make it unscathed through campus. My pea coat keeps the cold air off my skin. Winter reminds me of Reed. She loved everything about the season. Ski trips and hot chocolate. When we were younger, she’d wake me up to make midnight snow angels, like we were the original Elsa and Anna. We’d run out in our pajamas and snow boots and fall into the white powder.

  Lost in my memories, I enter the lecture hall to find it empty. Déjà vu. First period with Byron isn’t the way I want to start my morning. A quick glance has me anxiously settling into my seat. I take out my notebook and start doodling in the corner of the page to distract me from overthinking.

  A coffee cup appears in front of me. I follow the hand attached to the warm nectar and come face-to-face with Byron.

  “It’s just coffee, Palmer. I figured you’d need some this morning,” he says, showboating it in front of me. When I don’t take his peace offering, he sighs and retreats to his desk.

  After a minute, when I trust myself, I lift my stare. Byron’s head hung low, he grips the cup so tight, it’s a wonder it doesn’t burst. He must feel my stare because his head shifts, and our eyes lock. Neither of us look away, even knowing we should.

  There’s an unspoken bond between me and him, something we won’t ever be able to erase from our history. His eyes hold the evil I know in the world, and somehow, the same eyes hold this desperation I can understand and relate to.

  “Here.” Breaker sets a coffee cup in front of me. “There’s a double shot of espresso in there. Figured we err on the side of caution.”

  “I’m still not sure if I’m talking to you,” I whisper. “Any of you, for that matter.”

  “Well then, I’ll just take my coffee elsewhere.” He reaches for the mug, but I snatch it before he can. “Oh, I see. So, my coffee is good enough, but my friendship isn’t?”

  “This is a good start.” I take the first sip, the hot liquid warming my throat. “Thank you. I really needed this.”

  “It’s my pleasure, Palmer.” Breaker bows, making a show of his kindness as he hops over the row of desks to take the spot behind me.

  Our classmates shuffle into the room. Some take an extra second to gawk at me. This is nothing new. Ever since their teacher, unbeknownst to them, decided to make me into a human pin cushion, I’ve been quite the circus attraction. Their attention isn’t anything interesting. It seems my absence has piqued their growing minds.

  Breaker’s fancy ass loafers on my chair remind me he doesn’t travel alone. The Glass House Boys are a package deal. Where one is, the others follow close behind.

  “Take out your notes from last week,” Byron tells the class. Uncomfortable from not knowing what he’s referring to, I discreetly check around the room. “Palmer, go ahead and share with someone for now, and then we can get you copies.”

  As I turn to ask Breaker to let me share his, a shadow emerges over my desk.

  “She can share mine.”

  At the deep roar of the voice, the hair on the back of my neck rises, and my heart beats double time. I lift my head, and there he stands.

  Marek Hawthorne. The boy of my nightmares and my wildest dreams.

  Our eyes lock, unbreakable and accusatory. He remains unmoved as if he’s waiting for me to give him permission. My breaths build until they’re heavy in my chest. Marek runs his hands through his hair, showing off how gorgeous he is. There’s no denying it, even with the knowledge of the person behind the shiny exterior.

  “What was that you were saying about the hand holding not meaning shit?” Breaker whispers in my ear, ripping me away from the spell Marek has me under.

  “Shut up!” I swat his hand away from my shoulder.

  “I’m just saying, the sexual tension could be cut with a dull knife.” He snickers, drawing away from me and settling into his seat.

  Marek sits beside me. His unsure movements give me great pleasure in knowing I’m making him uncomfortable.

  His notes are placed between us. I dare a glance and find them meticulous as if I took them myself. Bullet points and color codes adorn the pages. I flip to the next to find the sam
e care taken on the others. I look over in surprise, and he shrugs, a cocky grin adorning his face.

  “I notice things, Palmer. I figured, when you decided to return, you’d need your notes, so . . .” His eyes soften just enough to not have me afraid.

  “So, you took notes the way I do to make it easier for me, as if I hadn’t missed a beat,” I finish the thought.

  “Monsters do good deeds, too.” He turns to the front of the class, acting as if everything is right in the world.

  For the remainder of the period, we sit harmoniously side by side. Marek doesn’t try to convince me of anything. He jots down more notes and listens as Byron lectures us on the importance of American Literature. As the last word leaves Byron’s mouth, I pack my stuff and race from the room, wanting to put some much-needed distance between Marek and myself.

  That boy is intoxicating. Despite me wanting nothing to do with him, my body has the opposite reaction. Several times during the lecture, I had to remind myself not to reach for the hand he so kindly left dangling next to mine.

  “Wait up, Palmer!” Marek shouts.

  “I have somewhere to be!” I yell a complete lie at him.

  As I breech the exit of the building, a hand wraps around my arm, stopping my escape.

  “You forgot your coat,” Marek says, lifting my arm and helping me into it. “Wouldn’t want you to freeze out here, now, would we?” Over my shoulder, I inspect him. His eyes are a mixture of velvet and steel. Damn, he knows how to use them. “I’ll see you around, Palmer.”

  I watch, completely dumbstruck, as Marek walks away with Dixon and Breaker flanking his sides. Before they’ve gone far, Breaker turns and winks, causing me to laugh. This is going to be harder than I thought.

  Being lost inside my own world doesn’t keep me from noticing the major security presence on campus. Students walk from class to class, ushered by bodyguards. Fear permeates the air, and for the first time, I feel a little less alone. Everyone is afraid, and that somehow brings me sick satisfaction.

  Curiosity gets the best of me, and I walk towards the front gates. Eyes land on me, and I can practically hear their thoughts. This is your fault.

  I round the corner and see the steel bars. The usual attendants stand alert, checking IDs as cars enter campus. The newest addition is two police officers at each station. They walk around every vehicle that enters, running metal detector wands along the undersides of the bumpers.

  Officer Striker stops a few yards away from me.

  “Should make you feel safe, Miss Weston.”

  “Actually, the exact opposite.” I cut my eyes to the front entrance. “Gates and metal detectors may keep evil out, but it doesn’t stop the evil already lurking amongst the student body from harming someone.” I wave as I walk away from his creepy stare. “Have a good day.”

  “Tell your boyfriend to watch his back!” he yells. “They’re coming for him.”

  Who’s coming for him?

  Racing away from Officer Striker, I almost run into Delaney. She’s playing with her golden hair, putting it into a high ponytail. Her shirt is wrinkled, and she missed a button along the way.

  “There you are!” she shrieks. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

  “Why do you look like you just woke up?” I beg the question, reaching forward and fixing the buttons on her shirt as she attempts to force her hair to conform to academy standards.

  “Because I spent the better half of my evening, sitting between my parents, while they debated who I would be living with going forward.” She laughs. “As if I’m not almost eighteen years old and going off to college.”

  “College,” I whisper.

  This one word triggers the weight of a thousand elephants on my chest.

  “Did you forget we’re seniors?” Delaney giggles.

  Only problem is I’m not laughing with her. College. It’s what I should be worried about right now, focusing my attention on school and studying for exams to ensure my GPA stays where it needs to be. Extra-curricular activities should be beefing up my applications. I’ve been accepted to most of my choices for early admission, but that’s under the blanket of me keeping my shit together. I think we can agree I haven’t been doing the best job at that.

  “I’m fucking everything up,” I say, twisting to look at my best friend.

  At the sight of my unshed, desperate tears, she wraps her arm around my shoulders, tugging me close to her.

  “You’ve been a little distracted, but it’s not too late.” Delaney’s always been good at encouraging those around her. She’s a soft spirit, wrapped around a firecracker. “Which brings me to why I’m looking for you. What happened on that rooftop?” she asks.

  I choke on the lump that appears in my throat, coughing through a poor excuse for a breath. Delaney eyes me suspiciously.

  “Breaker said you might need me this week. Something about you not coping with things the way you should.” She shrugs. “I figured it may have something to do with that.”

  “Of course, he did,” I whisper, cursing Breaker Davenport’s name.

  “I’m your best friend, Palmer. I know when something’s going on. This has something to do with the attack that happened after the football game, right? Reed’s mysterious notebook?”

  “Maybe, but the night of The Festival of Beginnings, after I threw my heart into the fire, I raced out of there as fast as I could. Someone attacked me, and my instincts told me it was Marek, but when I got deep into the forest—”

  “You never run into the forest. Rookie mistake,” Delaney cuts in.

  “Well, I did, and once I thought I was safe, Marek approached me.”

  “So, it was him.” Her tone says she’s not surprised.

  “No, it wasn’t.”

  “How do you know?”

  “The man who attacked me said he was after something far more important than my body.”

  “The notebook of uncracked puzzles.”

  “I think so.”

  “So, how did you end up on the rooftop?” Delaney asks the question I’ve been fearing.

  “Delaney, if I tell you something, do you promise to keep it between us?”

  “To the grave.” She draws an X over her heart. I believe her. She’s given me no reason to doubt her trust.

  I give her the CliffsNotes version of what happened. The whole time her face is unmoved. I may as well be reading off a grocery list by how unaffected she appears. Once I finish, the first sign of her hearing me is a slow blink.

  “This stays between us,” I plead.

  I’m taken aback when she pushes past me and stampedes through campus. I run to catch up to her, but her stride is long and determined. Slowing my own, I follow her at a steady pace without losing sight of her. When I see Marek and Breaker sitting outside one of the buildings, I realize what has her in such a hurry.

  I’m one step away when she explodes.

  “How could you?” Her hand winds tight, and with a force I can hear, she smacks Breaker across the face. Marek slips out from beside him, watching her every move. “She’s my best friend.” Delaney points behind her, where I stand. “You son of a bitch!” Another slap echoes off the brick buildings. Every single time her dainty hand hits his tattooed skin, a new tear forms, sliding down my cheek to meet the others on my blouse.

  Breaker stands still, taking everything Delaney has. She’s losing it, as I unknowingly do the same. Marek inches towards me, but I put my hand up. This isn’t about me. This is about her. I’ve been so wrapped up in my own crazy that I haven’t realized what it may be like for Delaney. Outside of Reed, she’s all I have, and I’ve had plenty of time to adjust to my new normal.

  Right now, Delaney is learning how much has changed, and out of protectiveness and loyalty, her emotions are running wild. Breaker happens to be her punching bag of choice.

  As she sobs, Breaker wraps his arms around her, holding her to his body like a vise. He whispers his apologies, running his hand over her hair to
calm her.

  Delaney’s outburst has gained us an audience none of us want. My eyes shoot to Marek, begging him to fix this, to save us from our own secrets.

  “Okay, assholes!” he shouts. “There’s nothing to see here. Keep moving.” A man of his people, he circles Delaney and Breaker, pushing their audience away, like the leader he is. I mouth a thank you, and with a dip of his chin, I yearn to reach out to him.

  Too smart to fall into that trap, I ease away, turning my attention to my best friend and Breaker. He’s holding her like she could save him. He cups her face in his hands and kisses her forehead. Everything about him shows his defeat.

  “I fucked up. We all did. Some more than others, and I’m sorry.” Breaker’s eyes cut to Marek. “I don’t know what else to say.”

  “You’re such an asshole, and to think I thought I saw something worthy inside your eyes.” Delaney spins out of his grasp and storms past us.

  Breaker and Marek stand opposite of me. We are a tripod of disfunction and distrust.

  “Palmer,” Marek whispers my name unlike anything I’ve heard before.

  “No, don’t.” I hold a hand up, warning him not to come closer, then I bolt.

  Hurrying to catch up to Delaney, I find her crouched down in front of a bench. Her head hangs low as she tries to gather her breaths. She looks fragile and broken. The hardest part is, she’s breaking for me.

  Her head tilts to the side, and with sad eyes, she raises her shoulders, slowly lowering them into place.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” she asks, lifting off the ground.

  “Because I didn’t want to involve you. I still don’t,” I explain. “Your knowing what happened makes things more complicated for me.”

  “Because now you can’t handle it on your own.” She shakes her head, knowing me too well. “You do this. You did it after Reed’s disappearance. Isolating yourself, only giving me so much, but when are you going to understand?” Her arm reaches out and brings me flush to her body. “I got you. Always.”

  “So, now what?” I say against her shoulder.

  “We keep your cute ass safe. I’m assuming whoever threatened you that night is still looking for whatever it is they believe you have.”