Unbroken

by Jasmine Carolina

  “Are you okay?” he asks.

  I nod. “I love your mom,” I tell him.

  He smiles. “The letter?” The tears that spill from my eyes all over again at the mere mention of that letter give him the answer he needs. “She would have adored you, Dove. You kind of remind me of her. Sweet, beautiful, taking no one’s shit. I think if she had lived to meet you, you two would have been attached at the hip.”

  I laugh, and he gingerly kisses my tears, smiling at me as he does so. It’s this huge, thousand watt smile that lights up his entire face. I have never seen him smile like this.

  He hugs me again, and then he pulls away.

  “Hey, chin up, baby. I’ve got a surprise for you,” he says.

  He points to somewhere behind me, and I turn around in time to see Henry trotting out from the back of the lake house. I grin up at Brody and he shrugs, like this is no big deal. I let go of my boyfriend and race over to Henry. He wraps me in a hug that lifts me off the ground before spinning me around. Although I’m happy he’s here, I instantly notice Kelsey’s absence, and I know we’re both going to have to hear shit later on about this.

  “What’s up, chica?” Henry asks with a smile.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask.

  He shrugs as well, and then does that manly, nod in acknowledgment but don’t actually say anything, thing. I roll my eyes at them, and I hug Henry again.

  “Brody invited me.”

  I raise an eyebrow as I turn to look at Brody. “How did you invite him?”

  Brody laughs lightly. “I was at your graduation, Dove. I remembered him from Cynthia’s wedding, so I approached him about coming tonight. I gave him directions, and he showed. End of story.”

  I smile warmly. The fact that he even thought to invite my best friend means so much to me. He doesn’t even know how big of a gesture that was, especially considering he looked like he wanted to rip Henry’s head off last time they were in the same vicinity.

  “Well, I’m glad you’ve learned to be nice.”

  Brody dramatically splays a hand over his chest in mock shock. “I’m always nice!”

  “Sure you are.”

  He glances in the direction of the barbecue pit on the balcony—man, do I have the fondest memories of that balcony—and realizes the other guys are still having trouble. He flashes me a look, as though he’s asking for my permission, and I wave him off. I’m in good hands with Henry.

  He trots over to his friends at the same time that Henry takes a seat at my table. I cross my legs.

  “Where’s Kelsey?” I ask.

  His eyebrows raise and he shakes his head. “We broke up.”

  This is a surprise to me. I am number two on Henry’s speed dial. I’m the first person to ever know big news when he has it. So why the Hell am I just finding out that he and Kelsey broke up?

  “What? When?”

  “The day we were at Ana’s Sweeties. The minute we got in my car, she started to go into this huge spiel about how I was secretly in love with you and she didn’t trust me…and shit, I’m not, Sabrina. You’re like my sister. And the fact she doesn’t trust me is her damage not mine, because I never gave her a reason to think I wasn’t trustworthy. She got to a point where she said I had to choose between you and her.”

  I shake my head. I’m not sure I want to hear this.

  “So you chose me,” I whisper, matter-of-factly.

  “Of course I chose you, Sabrina. Kelsey and I were never going to be together forever. We both knew that. She was headed to New York for college, and I’m staying here. We were headed in opposite directions for the longest time; we were only delaying the inevitable. And whether we were going in opposite directions or not, I still would have chosen you. You’re my best friend. You’re my only friend. More girls will come eventually.”

  I nod, wrapping my arm over his shoulder. I don’t really know what to say after all that. I know Kelsey’s going to try to come after me, and I honestly hope she does. It’ll give me a reason to let some of my frustrations. I still have anger over Brody’s sorry ass excuse for a dad and Maddox Bradley festering in me.

  “So you and Brody, huh?” Henry asks, jutting his chin in Brody’s direction.

  “If this is the part where you tell me you don’t like him and try to do the whole macho-big-brother thing, you can save it, Enrique,” I warn. “I know what I’m doing, I promise you.”

  He laughs. “I wasn’t going to say that. I think you two are good for each other. Like, you should see how he looks at you when you don’t realize it. I like him for you, I really do. And after He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, I can’t imagine anyone more perfect for you.”

  At that, I burst out laughing, unable to hold my giggles at bay. “Really? Did you really just compare Maddox to Lord Voldemort?”

  Henry’s hand comes up to cover my mouth as he shushes me. “Don’t speak his name! It’s taboo!”

  That only makes me laugh harder. I swear, he’s an even bigger nerd than Brody, and that’s saying something, considering Brody can quote all the Lord of the Rings movies and the first Hobbit off the top of his head.

  “Which one? Maddox or Voldemort?”

  He throws his hands up in the air, acting all exasperated. “You have a death wish, I swear!”

  I smile, hugging him before dragging him over to the food table so he can get himself something to eat. When we get there, Brody is waiting for me, plate in hand, and he gestures for me to follow him into the house. He hands me my plate, which is piled high with just about everything that was cooked. I laugh, wondering how he thinks I can eat enough for a small army.

  “Is everything okay?” I ask him when he plops down on the couch. “You look…haunted.”

  He shakes his head, and I sigh in relief. Well, at least this time, it’s not like pulling teeth. He takes a bite of Alicia’s homemade macaroni and cheese and gazes at me with a stricken look on his face.

  “I was wondering if I could read the letter?” he asks.

  Oh. That’s what he wants?

  I suddenly feel guilty, wishing I had thought to ask him if he wanted to read it. It’s one of the last pieces of his mom he has left.

  “Of course, babe, but I want to give you your graduation gift first, okay?”

  A few hours later, when we’re walking through the front door, I lead him directly upstairs to my room. I put a great deal of thought into his gift, considering the fact that he agreed to let Cason and Dalis stay here when we leave for college.

  Leaping onto my bed and reaching beneath it, I pull the box out. I watch as he rips the wrapping paper off of it, and he stares down at the box like it’s a foreign object, even though I know he knows what it is.

  “You got me an iPad?” he asks, raising his eyebrows like he’s a kid who got a lump of coal in his stocking.

  I nod, suddenly shy. “Um, yeah. See…my mom just got one for the house, and I figured if you had one, too, you could FaceTime with Case and Dalis while we’re off at school. It can be like they’re still with you.”

  He releases a ragged breath and shakes his head. He reaches his hands behind his neck and pulls his shirt over his head. I stare at him in awe, wondering what the Hell he’s doing. He pulls his wifebeater over his head in the same manner he did with his shirt, and I gawk at the gauze covering his heart.

  “Brody—”

  “Wait,” he says, holding a finger up.

  I watch as he peels the tape back and lifts the gauze off. I step forward, eager to see what’s beneath that gauze and medical tape. It’s a fucking tattoo. He got a tattoo!

  “A dove,” I whisper, staring at the intricate dove sitting right above his heart.

  He nods, his voice thick with emotion as he says, “A dove holding an olive branch. Because…because you forced me to surrender. To call a truce with the demons of my past and lay them to rest. You…you saved me.”

  His words catch me off guard, and I extend one finger to trace the outline of the dove. He put me on
his body. I’m a fucking tattoo!

  “I put you here, because this is where you belong. You’re in my heart, Sabrina. I love you so much.”

  “I love you more.”

  He chuckles, giving me a crooked smile. “If you say so.”

  TWENTY SEVEN

  Two Months Later

  WHEN I HEAR A DOOR OPENING, naturally my head turns. I watch in unadulterated awe as my girl emerges from our bedroom, donning only one of my t-shirts and a pair of lacy underwear that peeks out from beneath the hem of my shirt. She rubs her eyes and takes a deep sigh, wrapping her arms around me from behind. She presses a kiss to my cheek, and I turn around to kiss her deeply on the lips. She smiles in contentment as I take the bacon I’ve been frying out of the skillet.

  In the move from Sabrina’s parents’ house, we got a whole bunch of furniture. Ana was more than happy to donate her living room set, her kitchen table, her mahogany dresser and vanity, and her old entertainment center. When we expressed that we were able to buy our own furniture, she told us she just needed an excuse to redecorate her home. Of course, we’re not going to turn down free shit.

  In the hideous custody battle of Sabrina and Brody vs. Grace, Dalis, and Bianca, we were able to obtain custody of Scout, the Matteo family Yorkie. Of course, the girls forced us to work out visitation with them at least every other weekend, but we are pretty happy with our arrangement. Macbeth, however, is another story. I’ve been told he mopes every day until we bring Scout by for a play date. Dalis and Grace are hoping Mac’s depression will result in Ana and Gabriel buying them another dog.

  I spend a lot of time with the kids when I have the chance, and I try to get the younger girls once a week. I really love having Mila around because I got attached to her. She’s the sweetest kid I’ve ever met. I think a bond was created between us. Ana even says that Mila has a hard time getting to sleep at night since we left.

  Scout’s the best, and having her greet me every time I come home from work is great, but I have to admit that I miss Mila.

  Scout is sitting at my feet, staring up at me as I prepare food. Behind Sabrina’s back, I toss Scout a piece of cooked bacon. She wags her tail gratefully and I smirk. Yeah, she better be happy about that, because that’s the only bacon she’s getting out of me.

  “Morning,” Sabrina murmurs.

  Her just-woke-up voice is so sexy. I’m actually surprised she’s just gotten out of bed. Usually, she’s an early bird and I wake up to an empty bed and breakfast on the table.

  “Good morning, sweet girl,” I reply, smiling.

  I’ve decided to make her breakfast since she’s been working extra hard to make sure I have dinner when I come home from work each day.

  Last night, I came home to find her curled into a ball on the couch, her favorite TV show watching her. She never misses her shows, so I know she must have either been exhausted or not feeling well, so I just ordered some takeout, then carried her to bed.

  My girl is the entire package. She cooks, she cleans, and she likes to take care of me. But she doesn’t object when I take care of her right back. Like, a month ago, I sent her off to the spa—her second graduation gift—with Nickayla. While she was gone, I deep cleaned the entire apartment, rearranged the living room like she’d been dying to, and had dinner ready for when Colin picked the girls up and brought them home.

  She does more than I ever could expect, and she loves doing it.

  This morning, however, I want to show my girl how much I appreciate all she does for me.

  “Sit, Dove,” I tell her, serving plates for both of us.

  Making her way over to the small kitchen table, she sits in one of the chairs and smiles sweetly up at me. I walk over to her, plates in hand, grinning widely as she devours me with her eyes.

  This is something I can never get tired of. Every morning, I wake up to the most beautiful smile on her face—always after swatting me with a pillow for waking her up too early—and a kiss. And every time she looks at me, she has this expression that reminds me I’m the luckiest guy in the world. Every time she looks at me, I see her love, her need, her desire for me reflected in her beautiful brown gaze.

  “This looks great, babe,” she says, pulling her plate in front of her.

  Before I sit down, I walk over to the refrigerator and pull out a bottle of orange juice out. I pour a glass for each of us, then take it over to her and finally take my seat across from her. I dig in immediately, watching as she drowns her hashed browns in salsa and mixes it with her eggs. Grabbing a tortilla from the center of the table, she puts a little of everything inside a piece of tortilla and takes a bite. I dig in the same time she does, and I watch her intently.

  Lately, she hasn’t been eating much. She barely touches her dinner plate anymore, so I figured maybe she was missing her mom’s cooking. On Ana’s advice, I made Sabrina’s second favorite breakfast food in the hopes that I can get her to finally eat something.

  She takes another bite and then her face scrunches into some disgusted expression. She chews slowly, drops her fork onto her plate, and shoves the plate away. She continues to chew slowly, and then suddenly, her hand flies to her mouth and she leaps out of her seat.

  The bathroom door slams quickly and I’m left sitting here, completely flabbergasted.

  It takes me a couple minutes to get out of my chair and rush into action. I open the door to the bathroom. Once inside, I find her on her knees, her head hanging over the toilet. She heaves, and I drop to my knees beside her, grabbing her hair and pulling it back as she empties the contents of her stomach. She groans and then flushes the toilet, slamming the seat down. I take her hands and help her to her feet.

  “This is so embarrassing.” Wiping her mouth, she breathes heavily, and looks up at me with red-rimmed eyes.

  “Don’t worry about it. You’ve seen me much worse. Was it the food?”

  She shakes her head slowly. “I just can’t seem to keep anything down these days.”

  I nod in understanding, and I wrack my brain for anything I can possibly do to make her feel better. She looks completely miserable, and I decide she needs some fluids in her system before she gets dehydrated.

  “Come on,” I say, tucking my arm behind her knees and the other behind her head. I cradle her to my chest and carry her back to our room, shaking my head. I kick the door open and lay her in the center of the bed. Once I’ve laid her down, I press a kiss to her forehead. “Let me go get you some water, okay?”

  She nods weakly, clutching her pillow for dear life, and I head back to the kitchen.

  I shake my head at the food sitting on the table. I don’t even know why I tried doing this with such heavy food. She’s been barely able to keep anything but soup down for the past week. I should have started off slow until I knew her stomach could handle her favorite foods again. She’s been sick since the day she made pozole for the first time last weekend for our get together with Nic and Colin.

  I pour ice cold water into a cup and grab a package of saltine crackers.

  Padding through the apartment, I go back to the bedroom. When I get there, Scout is sitting in her lap, curled into a ball. Man, I love this dog. She knows exactly when we need her.

  I sit down on the bed beside Sabrina, smoothing her hair away from her forehead. She sits up, graciously taking the crackers and water. She hesitantly takes a bite of one of the crackers and closes her eyes.

  “Thank you,” she says. She gives me the saddest look and pouts. “I’m sorry I threw up your food, babe. It was really good. I just…I think whatever bug I’ve had for this past week is taking forever to pass. But it was fantastic, just like Mom’s. Once I’m feeling better, I would really love if you could make it again.”

  I nod. “Of course I will. Why don’t we just take it easy today, yeah? I’ll go get a couple movies from the living room and we can just veg all day.”

  Her face lights up. We haven’t laid in bed all day in…well, ever. We’re always on the move, the two of us
together. So her being sick is the perfect opportunity for us to rest up before her birthday party tomorrow evening at her parents’ place.

  “Sounds great to me,” Sabrina says.

  “I’ll be right back.”

  I hop out of bed and watch with a smile as she settles against the pillow and takes a bite of another cracker.

  Once I’m in the living room, I sit on the floor in front of our extensive DVD and Blu-Ray collection, gathering movies. My cell phone buzzes in my pocket, and I stare down at it.

  Dove: Bring the Lord of the Rings. It’s about time I watched your favorite with you.

  I grin this stupid, wide grin at her text message. I’m not the type of guy to watch chick flicks, but When Harry Met Sally has quickly become one of my favorites thanks to her. However, the fact that she’s requesting my all-time favorite trilogy for our first Veg in Bed day has me smiling like I never have before.

  I really hope she loves it as much as I do because it’s great—and not just because the guys are ‘hot’ like Nickayla and Dalis.

  Me: Will do. Anything else?

  I start stacking movies up and stand up.

  Dove: Hurry back. Scout and I miss you already.

  I laugh, making my way back to my girls, multiple movies in hand.

  …

  WHILE BRODY WAS GATHERING MOVIES, I made an appointment with my doctor.

  I’ve been sick far too long for this to just be some stomach bug. And if the timing—plus my calculations regarding my last period—are correct, I know that’s not the case.

  I think I’m pregnant.

  I don’t want to say anything to Brody until it’s been doctor confirmed. I’m not sure how he’ll react exactly, but for today, I’m going to enjoy my time with my man before our worlds get turned upside down. I have an appointment for two p.m. tomorrow, and I’m thankful for the fact that I was able to get my birthday off of work so I have the time to spare.