Picking Up The Pieces: Book 1 of the Broken Series

by Sienna Grant

  “I’m Blake Davids,” I hold out my hand in front of me.

  “Alexia Williams, nice to meet you.” I can see the nervousness again as she looks over my shoulder behind me.

  “I really should be getting back,” I realise I still have a hold of her hand, and I can feel her fingers moving trying to loosen my grip.

  Shit, what a dick! I drop her hand, and I can see her going to turn away.

  “You don’t remember me, do you? I ask her frowning a little.

  “Yes, I remember you,” she’s getting nervous again. I tell her that’s good because I’ve never forgotten her beautiful face, she lifts an eyebrow at me like she doesn’t believe me and she looks down - again. I frown slightly.

  “I don’t know about that.” I frown deeper at that and just gaze at her. I want to see into her soul, but she doesn’t let me because shy won’t look into my eyes.

  I can see her shifting about on one foot to the other, when she says, “I really should be going, Blake. My shift is finishing soon, and I still have tables I need to finish up.”

  The way she says my name, it’s just beautiful I could hear that all day.

  “I’ll see you soon Alexia.” She turns and smiles shyly at me and lifts her hand to say bye, and I just stand there like an idiot watching her walk away - again. I shake my head and go to the bathroom, I finish up, wash my hands and head back out to my dad. “Thought you’d got lost?” he smirks at me.

  “Whatever,” I reply.

  “So what’s her name?” He asks me, I look at him to see if he’s gonna drop it.

  “Her name’s Alexia, happy now. Did you get the bill?”

  “I did. I paid it. Are you going to tell me any more?”

  “Nope! Come on old man!” I start to walk away and decide to turn and look back at her, she’s hasn’t seen me, she’s busy working. I carry on walking towards the exit, say bye to dad and tell him I’ll speak to him tomorrow and get in my car and leave.

  That night lying in bed while I yet again see those gorgeous brown eyes in my mind, I vow to not let her slip away again. I’m going back there over the weekend. The need to see her again is overwhelming.

  I will see her again.

  CHAPTER NINE

  ALEXIA

  I walk in from work, drop my bag on the sofa and collapse on it at the same time. Lisa comes over and sits by my side, smiles at me and says, “Hey you, you okay?”

  “Yeah, it was busy in the restaurant, we were run off our feet. How has Grady been? He was a bit clingy and niggly before I went to work?!”

  “He’s ok,” Lisa says yawning.

  “Go home. I’ll go and check on him now. I’m gonna go and shower. I’ll see you Monday?”

  “Yeah I’ll be here, text me if you need me.”

  “Thanks, Lisa, you’re such a big help.”

  “It’s no bother I love having him, and the money helps me.” I pay Lisa what I owe her for the week, say bye and lock the door behind her.

  Once I’ve checked on Grady, I showered and changed into my vest top and shorts to sleep in then I go and make myself a hot chocolate, I put the telly on so I can wind down a bit. While sipping my hot chocolate, my thoughts go to Blake. I can’t believe he remembered me and said he’d never forgotten me, I mean I never forgot him, but never in my wildest dreams did I think he actually noticed me, I don’t believe the beautiful part, though. His eyes are so intense, when he looks at me I feel like he’s looking straight through me.

  Oh god, what if he comes to the restaurant again? What if it’s during my shift? No, he won’t. I try to console myself. It’ll be a huge coincidence if he does. No one would want me when they realise how broken I am.

  I drink the last dregs of my hot chocolate, rinse out my cup and pop it in the sink. I brush my teeth and go to bed; my aching body finally happy to sink into the soft, comfy bed after such a long day and try to sleep. Grady will be awake in no time. I lie in bed and try to drift off but I can’t, so I get my Kindle and hope that will tire me out. After 15 minutes of trying to get into my new book, I give up, there’s no point all I can think about is what Blake said to me.

  Sort yourself out Lex, no man is worth the hassle, no matter how gorgeous he is!

  After berating myself, I turn on my side, get comfy and drift off.

  I wake up suddenly in a cold sweat, panting.

  Oh, my god. It’s been ages since I had a bad dream. Fucking Paul -what brought that on?

  I shake off the dream, and get up and pop the kettle on to make a cuppa. I walk into the bedroom and find Grady is still asleep. Jumping in the shower helps get rid of the crawling feeling under my skin, I haven’t got time to enjoy it in case Grady wakes. With a towel wrapped around me, I go back to the bedroom to get dressed. Grady shouts me just as I finishing putting up my hair

  Yet another demanding male.

  “Hey, baby boy.” I pick him as he wraps his arms around my neck and I kiss his cheek. He looks at me and then gives me a kiss on my cheek; well, tries to anyway, albeit it’s sloppy and wet, but hey, I’ll take it.

  I put him down, and he crawls straight for his toys and starts playing while I get his breakfast and some juice ready before putting him in his highchair. I sit at the table just watching him while eating toast and sipping on my tea. He’s shouting something and banging his tray making a hell of a lot of noise, at least he’s not as grumpy as yesterday, I think he may be teething, though, or he maybe he’s coming down with a cold, but he’s happy today that’s all that matters.

  It’s Saturday, it’s a lovely day, and we have the whole weekend to ourselves, so I send a text to Becka to see if she wants to do something today.

  Me - Hey! What you up to today?

  I leave my phone on the table while I clean up and get Grady washed and dressed, while I’m in the bedroom I hear ping.

  Becka - Ugh, taking the girls for shoes. Kill me now!

  Me - LOL, enjoy!

  Becka- You can come with us if you want!

  Me - Isn’t Mason going with you?

  Becka- Hell no! I can’t cope with him and the girls shopping. PLeasse come with us?

  Me - Ok, what time?

  Becka- I’ll pick u up in an hour, be ready!

  Me - Ok hun no probs. C u soon xx

  Becka and I walk around the shopping centre at least three times looking for shoes that fit. The girls are five and seven, and I love them to bits. Lauren, the seven-year-old is starting to develop an attitude and Madison, her sister, is the quieter one, a lot more reserved, just like her dad.

  Becka was always loud when we were at school, I met her in the 3rd year of high school when we were put in lessons together, we hit it off straight away; she was loud to my quiet, and we balanced each other out. She soon rubbed off on me though and soon we were getting into all sorts of trouble and antics. We stayed together after school, and we were inseparable if someone upset one of us the other would jump in and protect them. We didn’t have a big group of friends, but we were okay with that. Becka is gorgeous, with flowing blond hair and blue eyes, and has a figure to die for.

  Lauren is just like her; Madison looks more like her dad, dark features but has Becka’s blue eyes, she really is going to break some hearts when she’s older.

  We had literally shopped until we dropped so we decide to stop at the food court to eat. We have an hour grace of resting and we’re back to shopping. I don’t hear a peek from Grady all the time we’re shopping as he has the girls to keep him happy. By the time we’ve finished, we’re exhausted. Grady has new shoes and clothes, I have new jeans and a few tops, and the girls are completely kitted out for new school clothes and shoes and a few extras, and Becka bought new stuff too.

  Becka has even talked me into going out for a few drinks tonight, nothing heavy, just a quiet girl’s night. Mason is going to look after Grady for me as I don’t like to ask Lisa on a Saturday it’s unfair to ask her to give up her whole weekend for me too. Becka drops us off at home and tells me to be
ready by 8.30, she’ll drop Mason off at mine, the girls are having a sleepover at their grandparent’s house. Knowing that Mason has to give up his Saturday night makes me feel guilty too, but he tells me he has work to catch up on anyway.

  By 7.30, Grady has had his bath and is ready for bed, he’s lying on the sofa at the moment drinking a bottle of milk dozing off while I’m having a quick tidy around. By the time I’ve done that Grady is asleep, I put him down in his cot, have a shower and get ready. I spend half an hour getting ready, I straighten my hair and leave it hang to down, put a pair of black skinny jeans on and a silky camisole and do my make-up. I look at myself in my full-length mirror about ten times telling myself I look okay - I think.

  Maybe I should change!

  I scout through my wardrobe to see if I can find something else. There’s a long skirt, I try that on, but that makes me look worse, all I can hear in my head is what Paul used to say to me.

  You’re a fat cow. You’re ugly. Who would want you?

  God, I hate this.

  I put back on my skinny jeans and the top I was wearing originally. I hear the buzzer sound on the intercom and press the button to unlock the security door for Becka and Mason which opens the door for them so they can enter the flat. Once inside Becka starts looking at me strangely.

  “What’s up hun?” she asks me curiously.

  “Nothing.” I look away from her as I say it and she knows I’m feeling insecure.

  “Do you think I look okay?”

  “Stop it! You look fantastic.”

  “You sure?” I answer biting my lip.

  “I’m not even answering that. Mason, please tell her.”

  “You look stunning!” Mason replies.

  “Ugh, you’re just bias, because you’re my friends.”

  “Right…that’s it! We’re going,” Becka says stomping over to Mason to give him a kiss bye, so I follow and give him a kiss on the cheek to say thank you for having Grady and also for the compliment. He looks at me smiles and tells us both to have fun.

  We make our way down the high street, we’ve already been in two pubs, but they were really quiet, so we had one drink and left. We’re in the third pub, a place called The Saracens Head, and it’s busy. They’ve got a DJ on playing music, and it takes us ages to get served, this is obviously the place to be on a Saturday night. We’ve had a great night of chatting, laughing and joking. We’ve had offers of drinks from a group of lads, the one lad couldn’t have been older than twenty, which we politely declined.

  Becka gets us drinks, Vodkas. I have vodka and orange, and she has hers with red bull, I don’t want a bad head in the morning, so I’m taking my time, I’m a lightweight. Becka; not so much, she knows how to party and can handle her drink like a champion. I’m standing in the crowd waiting for her to be served, when I smell the most divine aftershave, ahh, I could smell that all day!

  I hear a voice in my ear “Hello again, Alexia,” I turn around to answer the deep velvety voice and see a familiar face.

  “Blake.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  BLAKE

  After a restless night of tossing and turning, I get up. It’s Saturday morning and I’m awake - for fuck sake. I go into the kitchen, let out Max, feed him and put the coffee maker on. I sit at the island waiting for my coffee to do and I put my chin in my hand and rest my elbow on the table. I think about Alexia. How insecure she was but there’s something pulling me towards her. I want to get to know her better. I don’t how to approach her though, I don’t want to scare her, or to think I’m pushy. I don’t know what she’s been through, although I have a fair idea after seeing those bruises on her pretty face though.

  I get up and pour my coffee black and let Max in. I go and sit in the front room, and put on the telly and see what crap is on today and there is nothing! I throw the remote on the table and Max comes and sits next to me on the sofa.

  “What’s up buddy, come on let’s go for a walk,” I stroke him for a while then I get his lead and take him for a walk through the park.

  The park is busy with families, teenage boys playing football, and girls sitting on the grass watching them. I smile to myself and find a huge patch of grass and let Max off the lead and begin throwing a ball for him to give him some exercise, I get a text from my sister while I’m in the park.

  Liv- Hey, bro. How u doing?

  Me - I’m good little sis, how r u?

  Liv- Oh u know, I’m ok

  Me - What’s up?

  Liv- Nothing really…

  Me - Liv don’t give me your bullshit!

  Liv- What’s wrong? Tell me. Ok, ok, don’t get your boxers in a twist! I may be coming home,

  Me - Why? Not that I don’t want you to come back, I’d love to see ya and I know dad would.

  Liv- I know. I’ve had enough, I think I’m homesick. I miss you both

  Me - Are you ok for money?

  Liv- Yeah, I’m gonna speak to dad first and see if it’s ok if I stay with him until I can get somewhere.

  Me - Ok sis, just let me know when you’re thinking of.

  Liv- Thanks love you bro xx

  Me - Love u too brat xx

  I wonder why she suddenly wants to come home, she’s been in Spain for the last 6 months, maybe she is just homesick. I call out for Max to come back and we start walking back heading toward the exit of the park. When I get home I grab a can of coke from the fridge, sit down and take my t-shirt off to cool off. I make my way out to the back garden. I’ve got a huge deck with patio furniture under a canopy and Max has got a huge patch of grass to run on. I sit on the deck and ring my dad.

  He picks up on the second ring.

  “Hey, son. How are you?”

  “I’m okay, dad. Have you heard from Liv?”

  “No, why?” he asks, worried.

  “She text me today, She’s thinking of coming home, but I don’t know whether there’s more to it than that, she seemed sort of sheepish, if you know what I mean.”

  “Yeah I’ve had years of that off the pair of ya, join the club!”

  “Yeah, well, don’t mention I said anything to ya, let Liv say something first.”

  “Okay, son. No worries. I’ll see if she rings tonight if not I’ll ring her in the morning,” he tells me.

  “Thanks, dad. Let me know what she says.”

  “Will do see you later, son.”

  I hang up and put my phone on the table. I get the lawnmower out of the shed, the grass is getting long so I decide to cut the lawn to pass the time.

  God I’m bored!

  When I’m finished, I grab a towel to wipe my brow. Shit, the heat is a killer today. I make my way back to the table and see a missed call from Jack. I ring his number back and he answers straight away.

  “That was quick, was your phone in your hand – waiting for me to call you back?” I ask.

  “Fuck you, dick.”

  “No, my name’s Blake,” I answer laughing.

  “What’s up, buddy?”

  “Wanna go out later? Only local,” he asks me.

  “Can do. Is Amelia coming too?

  “Yeah if that’s okay?”

  “Of course, it doesn’t bother me. I like her more than you anyway!”

  “Lies…it’s all lies, you’d be lost without me and you know it!” he answers smartly.

  “Pffft, you keep thinking that, pal. What time?”

  “Errm 8ish, Amelia’s driving anyway so we’ll pick you up.”

  “Yeah k laters,” I answer him and hang up the phone.

  Once I’ve put the lawnmower away in the shed and have cleaned up the garden, I go inside the house to grab something to eat. By the time I’ve finished eating, it’s time to have a shower and get ready to go out. I dress in dark denim jeans and a blue long sleeve button down shirt and roll the sleeves back up to my elbows, put some wax in my hair and rough it up a little, splash some aftershave on and I’m ready.

  I walk in the kitchen fill up Max’s Food and change his w
ater and I’m good to go. I hear Amelia sound the horn outside so I make sure I’ve got my keys, wallet and phone and lock up behind me. I jump into the back of Jack’s charcoal grey Range Rover Sport and lean between the seats and give Amelia a kiss on the cheek and say hello.

  “Hey, hands off,” Jack remarks.

  “I think you’ll find I didn’t touch her…just my lips did!” bouncing my eyebrows up and down, Amelia and I both laughing at his reaction,

  “Jack, shut up, this is Blake, your best friend,” she says shaking her head.

  “Don’t I know it,” he looks back at me frowning.

  “Oh, lighten up buddy…do you want a kiss too?”

  “Fuck off!” I sit back laughing at his reactions and Amelia carries on driving shaking her head and telling us that one day we might grow up. That’ll be never.

  We’ve been in town for the last couple of hours, we start making our way towards The Saracen. Amelia goes to find a seat near the door where it’s not so busy, that way she won’t get knocked about by the pissheads in here. It’s not too busy at the moment but it is only nearly 10pm. We buy beers for Jack and me and a lemonade for Amelia. We sit down and talk over the music, mostly ribbing Jack, because it’s funny seeing him react to it, but he gives out as good as he gets. As always.