Fragile (Shattered Book 2)

by Diana Nixon

  “It will never happen again,” I said, trying to convince myself that the words were not just bullshit.

  “Oh, please, Liam, don’t start this again. I know you well enough to not trust you with after-sex explanations. I thought I was over it, I tried to learn to trust you. But you are not helping, you know? Do you really believe I don’t know the man I’m about to marry?” She came closer and added, “Starting the day you proposed, everything changed, including you and your attitude towards me. You use me when you need me, but other than that, you don’t even look at me, it’s as if I were non-existent.”

  “Kim, it’s not true. I never used you and you know it.”

  “Maybe we shouldn’t rush with the wedding. Everyone will see my growing belly, so a couple of months won’t change anything. I will only need a dress of a different size. But it’s nothing, compared to the absence of feelings between us.”

  “But I do have feelings for you!”

  “Compassion is not exactly what I need, Liam. Sorry, I need a shower and breakfast. I have had a long night.” She turned away from me and left the room.

  “Fuck,” I swore under my breath. The amount of shit in my life had an unhealthy tendency to grow with the speed of sound.

  I took my phone out of my pocket and called the only person I could always be honest with.

  “Hey mate. Are you at work?” I asked into the handset.

  “Nope. Working from home today,” Kameron responded. “Why?”

  “I need advice.”

  “Okay… What kind of advice?”

  I put my shoes back on, grabbed my car keys and left the house. “I’d better tell you when I see you.”

  “Don’t you have any appointments today?”

  “My only appointment just postponed the wedding. So I’m kind of free for the rest of the day, and maybe for the rest of my life as well.”

  “Oh… All right. See you soon then.”

  Unlike my other friends, Kameron was the only one who knew almost everything about me. ‘Almost’ had a name actually, and the mere thought of pronouncing it again, made blood run faster through my veins.

  Leaving the lake house this morning was one of the hardest things I had ever had to do. Crys and I knew it was coming, but when the time to say good-bye came, I panicked. I suddenly realized that I would probably never be able to touch her again, kiss her again, or even look at her without the wild desire to break the ‘just friends’ rule.

  She was close, yet so far away from me. The world that just a few hours ago felt like the strongest thing ever existed, started to shatter, and neither of us could stop it. She said she would never stop loving me, and I knew I would never stop loving her. Then she got a call from someone I wanted to kill with my bare hands, Trevor perhaps, because the male voice I could hear coming from the handset sounded too excited to be just another friend with no benefits. I didn’t ask who was calling, but the idiot just had to ruin our last minute together. She used the call as an excuse to leave, gave me a quick kiss on the lips and then drove away from the house.

  I stood on the terrace, watching the car disappear behind the trees, with the only question in my head – Why can’t we make our relationship work?

  The answer came as soon as I looked at my phone and saw twenty-three missed calls and eight unread messages from Kimberly.

  My life was about to change forever, and there was no place for love in it. Because somehow, I knew I would never be able to love anyone as much as I loved Crystal.

  “What the hell happened to you?” It was the first thing that Kameron asked after he opened the door for me.

  “I slept with Crystal,” I said, going straight down to business.

  “You did what?”

  “You heard me. I slept with Crys.”

  “I thought you hated each other to the bone.”

  “Yeah, well, that was before I fell hopelessly in love with her.”

  “And when exactly did that happen?”

  “A long time ago.” I sighed and sat down on a couch. Kameron watched me in pure shock.

  “Drink?” He asked after what felt like forever of studying me with his thoughtful stare.

  “Make it a double.”

  He went to the bar and returned about a minute later with a glass of scotch in one hand.

  “Thanks,” I said, taking it from him. “I know it’s a little early for drinks, but as you can see, I really need one now.”

  “Yeah…” He took a seat opposite from me and said, “Does Stan know?”

  “Do you really think I would be sitting here, drinking scotch, if he knew about me sleeping with his sister?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  I smirked. “My point exactly.”

  “Was it...you know…like a momentary weakness, or…?

  “Or.”

  “Right. So you and Crystal have been doing this for a long time?”

  “No. Last night was the first time. And the last, I guess.”

  “Were you that bad?”

  I looked at Kameron and laughed, like really laughed. “No. I don’t think I was that bad. But there’s more to it… Crys and I have a history. It started six years ago. Back then, I was so into her, I didn’t think about the consequences. I let things go too far.”

  “I thought you said last night was the first time you slept with her.”

  “Well, not that far.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  “I came to see her when Stan wasn’t around. I asked her out a lot, and everything was fine, perfect even. Then one day, I did something she wouldn’t forgive me for doing. I stopped right before she and I…you know…were about to cross the line.”

  “You? Stopped? Who would have thought…”

  “You are not helping, Kameron.”

  “Sorry. So what happened next?”

  “She got pissed and showed me the door. I left, feeling as shitty as ever. First, I thought to come back to tell her I didn’t mean to offend her or anything. But then I changed my mind and just walked away, hoping she wouldn’t hate me for the rest of her life, which was exactly what happened next.”

  “Is that why she didn’t want you to be Liv’s Godfather?”

  “Yes. She thought I would make the worst Godfather in the world.”

  “Then how did you two end up in bed?”

  “A few days ago, I found out something terrible. Turned out the night I left her bedroom, six years ago, she went out to unwind and ended up in the back street surrounded by three douchebags who wanted to…” I stopped, unable to finish the line.

  “Holy shit… Poor Crys. But they didn’t get what they wanted, did they?”

  I shook my head as a ‘no’. “She scared them away by slicing her chest with a knife one of the idiots had with him. She then called Stanley and he took her to the lake house where she stayed until her wound healed. She didn’t want anyone to know about what happened that night. Not even Stan knows the whole truth.”

  “I can’t believe this. Does Liz know?”

  “She does.”

  “She didn’t tell me a word about it. But I still don’t get it… What happened last night?”

  “After I found out the truth, I wanted to talk to her. Stan told me she would be at the lake house, so there I went. And then, well, we didn’t expect things to go that far. Though she and I both wanted it. We spent a whole night together and now I have no idea how to live my life, knowing that she will never be a part of it.”

  “You still love her, don’t you?”

  “I do.” I leaned against the back of the couch and stared at the ceiling. “I never stopped loving her. As well as she never stopped loving me. But I’m about to marry a different girl and Crystal wants to be just friends with me.”

  “Damn it, guys… How did you get stuck in so much shit?”

  “I keep asking myself the same question.”

  “Did you tell her about the wedding?”

  “No. I tried to tell her, but she wouldn’t
let me.”

  “So what’s next?”

  “As I said – we are going separate ways.”

  “Just like that?”

  “Just like that.”

  “Well, it sounds kind of…”

  “Stupid? I know. But what choice do we have?”

  “Be together?”

  “She will never agree to be with me if she finds out about Kim’s pregnancy.”

  “But you can’t marry a woman you don’t love just because it’s what you think is the right thing to do. I still can’t forgive myself for missing the biggest part of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, but I always wanted to be with her. Tell me something, Liam – can you imagine spending the rest of your life with someone you don’t feel anything for?”

  “I don’t know what to think or do.”

  “Kimmy must be furious. What did you tell her about where you spent the night?”

  “Nothing. And this is exactly why she said we shouldn’t rush with the wedding.”

  “She’s right, man. Being a father is the best thing that could have ever happened to me, apart from falling in love with Liz of course. But I don’t think I could handle living with someone else, knowing that the woman I love has a life of her own, with a different man.”

  “Don’t tell me about a different man. I heard someone calling Crys this morning, and the mere sound of a male voice made me want to break her phone.”

  Kameron laughed. “See? This is exactly what I’m trying to tell you. Think about it, man. A baby will be happy only if their parents are happy. Can you be happy with Kim?”

  “I don’t want the baby to grow up without me.”

  “It’s not like Kim and the baby will move to another planet, right? You can spend as much time with your kid as you want. Or are you afraid she wouldn’t let you?”

  “Anything’s possible.”

  “Listen, Liam, I’ll be honest with you, I never believed you and Kim could make it work. And don’t get me wrong, she’s attractive and funny, and no doubt she likes you, but as for love – I don’t think it ever existed between you two.”

  “I never thought I needed love to be a part of a relationship. Turns out, it was the only thing that I was missing.”

  “Why don’t you talk to Stanley?”

  “No.”

  “You two have known each other since childhood. He can’t kill you for falling in love with his sister.”

  “But he will.”

  “Is that what stopped you six years ago? The fear of Dr. Stanley Burk cutting off your balls?”

  I smirked. “I used to think that it was one of the reasons. But now I know that the real reason was Crystal. She was so young, with big dreams for her future. And I was just a guy who never missed a single skirt.”

  “But you would miss them all if you gave what you two shared a chance. Trust me, I know what I’m talking about. I met Liz when she was eighteen, I was older than her, but it never stopped me from being with her. If it wasn’t for my stupid jealousy, I would never have missed watching my baby growing in her belly. So please, think twice about who you want to see by your side. Don’t make the same mistakes I did. It won’t do anyone any good.”

  “You know how much Crystal loves babies. She’s crazy about Olivia, even though she’s not her daughter. She will never take me away from my baby. Even if for that, she will have to sacrifice what she feels for me.”

  “I still think you need to talk to Stan. He has always been the wisest of us.”

  “I don’t think he will stick to being wise in this particular case.”

  “I’m sure your balls have nothing to be afraid of.”

  “Very funny.”

  “Talk to him, Liam. And don’t let stupid rules and marriage stereotypes ruin your life. You’ve always been damn good at ignoring them, remember?”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Crystal

  The day promised to be hell.

  Starting the moment I realized it was time to leave the lake house, I knew my life would never be the same again. I kissed Liam good-bye, got into my car and pushed the gas pedal, hoping the distance would make me feel better. But no miracle happened.

  When about twenty minutes later I parked at the studio’s entrance, I felt like crap. Good news – Trevor was there, waiting for me with a giant cup of coffee in his hands and the widest smile I had ever seen on his face.

  “Looks like someone had a great night,” I said, getting out of the car.

  “I wish I could say the same about you, Doll, but… What happened to your iron?”

  “What?”

  He pointed at my wrinkled outfit. It looked even worse than I felt at the moment.

  “Oh, that…”

  “Wanna talk about it?”

  “No.”

  “Where did you spend last night?”

  “I thought I said I didn’t want to talk about it.”

  “Yeah, but I want to hear it all.”

  “Trust me, you don’t…”

  Trevor gave me a curious look. I swear he could see right through me. And even if I wanted, I wouldn’t be able to hide anything from him. I bet my desperation was written all over my vinegar face. When the realization hit him, his expression changed from curious to stormy.

  “You two finally did it?”

  “I told you - you didn’t want to hear it.”

  Wordlessly, he gave me the coffee cup and put his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

  “So… You are together now?”

  “No.” I brushed past him and headed for the studio.

  He followed me, saying, “I knew it would happen, sooner or later.”

  I stopped and turned around to look at him. “How did you know that?”

  “I’m a psychic.”

  I smirked. “Right. I forgot.”

  Trevor opened the door for me and said, “Seriously, Crystal, how long exactly is this shit going to last? Aren’t you tired of it?”

  “I am. And it’s over now. So there’s nothing to worry about.”

  He mimicked me. “Right.”

  “It was good-bye sex.”

  I heard Trevor laughing behind me.

  “What’s so funny?” I took the key to my office and unlocked the door.

  “Good-bye sex never ends well.”

  “You sound like an expert in it.”

  “Sorry to disappoint you, Sweetheart, but good-bye sex is like a boomerang: you throw it away, and it comes back sooner than you know, knocking you down and making the story repeat.”

  “My story with Liam is different. So please, let’s stop talking about it. Better tell me, what was so important that you couldn’t wait to tell me?”

  Trevor took a seat in one of the chairs and crossed his arms, watching me.

  I watched him back. There was only one thing he could be so excited to share with me.

  “You saw your dad, didn’t you?”

  He sighed and looked down at his crossed arms. “I thought it was time to clear the air. I went home, mentally preparing myself for the worst conversation of my life, but when I saw him, no words came out of my mouth.” He paused and I waited for him to continue. “The moment he saw me, he started crying. Can you believe that? It was probably the first time ever that I saw the old man demonstrating anything but his usual poker-face attitude. He came to give me a hug, I hugged him back, and we stayed like that for what felt like forever. I had never felt more like home than at that very moment.”

  “Awe, I’m so happy for you two.”

  “We had been talking for hours. Mom made us supper and we ate and joked as if those years of cold war never existed.” Trevor looked at me and I knew more news was coming. “He asked me to move back to the States. I said I would think about it.”

  “Do you want to come back here?”

  Another thoughtful look in my direction followed.

  “I would come back here… If I knew you would be mine again.”

  “Trevor…”

  “I kno
w we have already discussed that. But you asked a question and I answered it. I love you, Crystal. Always have.”

  Oh, hell, no…

  He stood up and came over to me. “I want you to be happy.” He put one finger under my chin and made me look at him. “Let me make you happy. I will do anything for you, Beautiful.”

  For a moment, I felt like saying ‘Yes, please, take me away from here; make me forget my past, make me happy.’ But then, the door to my office opened and Liam walked in, without asking for permission.

  “Hope I’m not interrupting,” he said in a dry voice.

  “You are, actually,” Trevor barked back.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked Liam. Trevor stood next to my chair, as if he wanted to protect me from the love of my life, which we both knew was not necessary.

  “I thought we could have lunch together.”

  “I told you,” Trevor said. “The boomerang, remember?”

  Liam squinted his eyes, probably trying to understand what Trevor was talking about.

  “Anyway, I have things to do, so I’ll talk to you later.” He gave me a quick kiss – on the lips – and left the office, shutting the door behind him.

  Liam’s brows pulled together.

  “I thought we had a deal,” I said. I knew he was still thinking about Trevor’s frivolous ‘good-bye’, but I was not going to focus on it. Knowing Trevor, I had no doubt he did it to protect me and my hurt feelings, that to be honest, still bothered me too much to stop thinking about them. And, well, there could be selfish reasons to show Liam that he was not the only candidate for my heart.

  “It was a shitty deal, and we both know it.”

  “A deal is a deal.”

  “Whatever you say. But I’m starving and I thought you wouldn’t mind sharing lunch with me.”

  “I’m at work, Liam. You can’t just come here and take me out for lunch whenever you want. Besides, Liz knows I was late today and I don’t want her to see us together.”