Pieces Of Us

by Pamela Ann

  There’s a time in life where you need to be selfish.

  A time where you need to make a sacrifice.

  A time where you find yourself at a crossroads, knowing that whichever path you choose someone will end up hurting.

  I’m stuck in that predicament.

  Am I selfish enough not to care?

  Or am I selfless enough to sacrifice my own happiness, hurting the only man that has loved me, body and soul?

  Pieces Of Us

  Pieces Duet: Book 2

  Pamela Ann

  Pieces Of Us

  Pieces Duet: Book 2

  Copyright © 2014 by Pamela Ann

  All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without a written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

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  Music List

  Black Lab – Weightless (Main Theme)

  Sia - Breathe Me

  Evanescence - My Immortal

  Miley Cyrus - I Adore You

  Jeff Buckley - Lover Should’ve Come Over

  Counting Crows - Colorblind

  Adele - Hometown Glory

  Adele - Someone Like You

  Snow Patrol - Run

  Adele – Don’t You Remember

  Howie Day - End Of Days

  Third Eye Blind - How’s It Going To Be

  Snow Patrol - Make This Go On Forever

  Sinéad O’ Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U

  Sarah McLachlan - Angel

  John Legend - All Of Me

  Sade - By Your Side

  Norah Jones - Come Away With Me

  For those who went through the most painful of all heartaches—the kind where you were left drowning in your own sorrow with no one to hold you or catch you as you sunk deeper into your hurt, consumed by your wound.

  A curdling experience one would not be able to forget.

  Sometimes the person is worth every tear, each wracking pain and senselessness.

  Live to savor.

  To savor Love, one must embrace it.

  To Embrace it, one must experience hurt.

  Treasure it.

  A heart could only love as much as it could hurt.

  Cherish the haunting memories because that’s all that’s left…

  Along with regrets…

  Learn from it.

  ~ Olivia Taylor

  Chapter 1

  Liv

  I stood there, paralyzed as the images of Grey and what he’d promised to do earlier haunted me.

  Edith… was she really this sick? And if she was, would I be willing to push my needs aside to grant her Greyson, the man she had loved before I did?

  I wasn’t sure where I stood with this—with everything. Amidst all this drama was Greyson. Before I came back here, he’d made a decision, a decision that he should stand back in, but he was willing to throw it away to be with me.

  I love him, I thought as I curled my hand on the charm bracelet, feeling helpless as I thought of the repercussions if we did follow through with our plan.

  Grey and Edith had a very close relationship—I mean, for him to agree, let alone consider her wish, they must’ve been extremely familiar with one another. I knew they’d had a sexual relationship before, but thinking about him doing everything from sex, taking her on dates, laughing with her—little things that bonded two people together—brought a pang of sadness, weighing heavily on my chest.

  Hearing about their impending wedding had immediately made me scuttle to come back home, needing to see it for myself.

  It hurt. Goddamn, it hurt beyond reason.

  I had so many questions, and the only person who could answer them was Greyson, who was waiting for me in the church somewhere. The church where they were supposed to get married in an hour.

  My legs felt heavy as I trudged along towards the little section behind the kitchen to get one of Brett’s car keys, the Porsche. Again, nostalgia took precedence when I remembered that time Grey handed me the keys for the car. He was so sweet, and even then, he had been crazy about me—so crazy, in fact, that he hadn’t pushed me further until I was ready to give him my all.

  Sighing didn’t make the heaviness on my chest go away as I reminded myself to fetch my purse before getting into the car. The last thing I needed on top of everything else was a ticket.

  Once inside the confines of the car, seated and buckled, I took a deep breath and kissed the bracelet before haphazardly tying it loosely on my left arm.

  The church wasn’t far. It took about ten minutes to get there, and with bated breath, I slid out of the car, still not sure what to say.

  I loved him—

  But would I be able to go through with this? I needed reassurance that Edith was still the same woman he’d had sex with whenever he was bored, and not someone who became more than that, someone special—the girl who had taken my place in his life. His heart, as he’d declared earlier, was mine, but what about the rest? Did Edith have those?

  With jittery legs, I joined the throng of people who were walking towards the church, dressed superbly, chatting happily as they talked about how lovely the weather was, and how compatible the pairing of Grey and Edith was. The couple who had a few of their friends around them seemed like they truly believed it, which only made me less sure.

  I was a few feet away from the entrance steps of the sacred dwelling when I stopped short, feeling overwhelmed by it all. Grey had said he’d be somewhere out back, so I took a detour and went through a different pathway that led to the side of the church where the garden was located.

  My palms were sweaty, so I rubbed them against my dress as I paced towards the corridor that led to the garden when voices stopped me short. More specifically, Edith’s irritating voice stopped me short.

  Leaning closer against the cold, stone pillar, I eavesdropped while my head ever so gently shifted to the left, peeking at the scene that played out where anyone walking about could see. However, everyone was gathered inside the church until the ceremony started.

  The first thing I noticed was her wedding gown. It was white and it remarkably looked fantastic on her, complementing a small tiara that sat atop her head, looking pretty as she clutched onto Greyson’s lapels, gazing at him with sadness and tears glistening on her cheeks.

  “Baby, please, we’ve gone through so much. Don’t do this to me,” she sobbed, reaching for Grey’s face. “You made me a promise.”

  “I’m sorry,” he wretchedly whispered just loud enough for me to hear a trace of his voice. “I care for you, Edith, and I always will. I’ll even be there with you for everything that you need, for emotional support and appointments—” he paused, catching his breath. “I’ll be here for you, but I want to be where she is. Olivia’s going to be here soon; I have to go. I’m sorry.”

  He was trying to move away, but Edith was persistent, moving along with him to block his way.

  “She’s what—here for a couple days?” she mocked, targeting where it hurt the most. “She’s going back to Sydney, and what? You’re moving there, too, so you can move in with her and Liam?” she threw the question out there, slightly echoing in the empty garden. “Who’s going to help you pick-up the pieces, Greyson?”

  When I saw Grey’s throat bob, I pulled back and l
eaned against the pillar, fighting the need to interfere, and yet, I wanted to see how they were together. I needed to see, hear and know where she stood in his life. If eavesdropping were the solution to this, then I would painfully stand back, feeling my emotions ripped through me as they conversed.

  “It’s going to be me—Edith. Not Olivia,” she finally managed to finish, letting her words hang heavily in the air.

  For a while, Grey didn’t respond, so her barbed words kept hitting the sore spots.

  When I peeked at them again, Grey had his hands in his pocket, frowning at her as she challenged him.

  “When will you get it through your skull that she’s not in it for the long haul? She’ll never stay… not for you anyway,” she said, circling him until she stopped before him, cupping his face. “You know I’m the only girl that’s been constant in your life. For once, try to believe me. I love you, Grey… but what hurts most is seeing you hurt and knowing I can barely take the pain away. I don’t know if I’ll be strong enough to help you the second time…” she trailed off. “My days are numbered.”

  “It’s different this time—”

  Edith sadly smiled at him. “Isn’t it always? How many times have I heard this line from you? And every time, her promises have failed you. It was me who helped you get out of that rut, Grey. And if this time is so different, where in the world is she? We both know your house isn’t far from here.”

  He shook his head. Unsure. “I’m going.”

  “I thought you said you loved me, Grey?” she shot back when he was about to leave, stopping him again.

  “Edith… it’s different.” He sounded torn. “What I have with Olivia is much more complex than what you and I have.”

  “No—” She shook her head, disbelieving. “You proposed, remember?” She sniffed. “You promised me happiness, Greyson, and I need you to deliver that promise in the next half an hour.”

  “Don’t do this; I beg you.”

  Edith wouldn’t pay heed. “If she wasn’t in the picture, you admitted that it would be me. Stop forcing her to be in the picture because she doesn’t want to be in it!”

  Grey was reddening as he tried to reason with her, but out of nowhere, Edith seemed like she was hyperventilating. Her chest rose and fell quickly, looking frantic.

  “Inside,” she croaked out barely a second before Greyson immediately swooped her off her feet, and without delay, went inside the dark double doors on the apartment entrance where I assumed the bride and her entourage gathered before the ceremony.

  It took me a full five minutes to recover from what I’d heard Edith say about Greyson loving her. Then another five over the fact she’d said he had proposed while doing so.

  I finally got my answer, yet more questions had arisen.

  He loved her.

  Deep down, I somehow knew that he possibly did because only a man who cared deep enough would sacrifice something like that to make a dying woman’s wish come true.

  This whole thing wrecked me. I came here, all the way from Sydney, so that I could truly know for myself the wedding was really happening, but I had gotten more than I bargained for. Learning that Grey let another woman into his heart crushed whatever was left in mine. I felt it; the puny valves in my heart ached each time it pumped blood, contracting with difficulty as it dealt with the hacking pain my body was consumed in.

  My body sagged against the stone pillar, quietly weeping for losing him. I knew with every fiber in me he wasn’t coming out of this church a single man. I was too late. I should’ve come back months before. Better yet, I shouldn’t have left at all, believing that I could easily move on and forget about him. About our love and his sweet, passionate nature.

  For months I’d had him jumping hoops, waiting in vain as I contemplated our relationship. Yet, even from the start, Grey had known he wanted me. He’d never wavered and had kept on going even though it was hurting him.

  He let it all out, screaming his love for me, and I had hidden behind excuses whenever I could, successfully believing that it was merely lust that made us spin out of control when together. That it was temporary when we were consumed with lust. That it was our hate for each other that had ignited us both when our lips met from the first time till the end. All of this I had masked in denial, never fully accepting the simple truth behind us, that we were simply crazy about each other, so exaggeratedly consumed with one another because we were falling deeper in love.

  And I had thrown it all away…

  For what? A future I had mapped out for myself a few years back? What good would it be now when I could barely recall what it was that made me give Greyson up in the first place?

  I was weak when it came to him. I’d never had enough courage to fight for what he so vehemently believed in—us, together.

  So maybe I deserved this cruel agony for being such a weakling. Maybe Edith was right after all; it was her who was constantly present in his life. Not me… never me.

  My body broke into goose bumps when I heard the organ start playing, echoing around me, as if a sign for me to leave before nothing became of me.

  The wedding march song became official as I robotically found my way into another corridor, past the glass, silent prayer rooms that barely had anyone in them, until I finally saw the full side view of everything.

  Grey stood at the altar next to his best friend, Jet, while Edith, looked perfect now without a spec of make-up smeared anywhere as she glided all by her lonesome on the red carpet, smiling towards Grey. And as for Grey, he merely looked somber, complacent, as if he’d accepted his fate.

  As Edith reached the altar, when I saw Grey proceed to make a move to take her hand, just as quietly as I’d strode in, I walked out the door.

  Edith marrying him to complete her happiness and wishes in life before everything got swept away would be her prize for always fighting for him. As for me, I was right when I had said I would become nothing.

  Because that’s what I had become, a fleeting memory of the old Olivia.

  Chapter 2

  Liv

  It was merely an hour ago when I landed from leaving Los Angeles, heading straight to the only place where I could seek solace.

  “Liam,” I said his name through tears the second the door opened. He didn’t even utter a word, he simply pulled me into his arms, comforting me as I cried harder… still hearing the wedding march echoing so vividly in my mind… and still seeing Grey standing at the altar, ready to take Edith as his wife.

  Six months I had been gone, and everything had changed. Greyson was truly gone. My tears were merely a result of pain. It was inside where the havoc remained concealed that the real pain festered.

  Had I revealed myself beforehand, would it have made a difference? Edith would undoubtedly be there, ready to tackle me when needed, but the truth of the matter was that I had been a little hesitant because I wasn’t sure Greyson would choose me. You see, I knew him, and I somehow knew how he worked. For him to choose to marry her, there had to be something more going on. Maybe his feelings were troubled when he saw me again. Maybe he felt that similar loss and sadness, but I was sure Edith meant so much more. In that small amount of a time frame I had been gone, those two had become close, way closer than I had ever imagined.

  I supposed it was a good thing I had hidden myself from them in the garden. Dealing with shame and humiliation on top of rejection would seriously have put me in mental rehab. For now, all I wanted was to get through this severe ache, wallow in my own memories of him and I, and hopefully—someday—I would see this as a lesson, and one I shouldn’t repeat again. Because truly, this had shaken me to the core, and I was far too young to look into the future with gloom and doom.

  It wasn’t until three hours later Liam decided to say something while I was curled on his bed, staring into the wall, only blinking when necessary.

  “Liv, I know food must be the last thing you want to think about, but I made you a light snack.”

  My eyes slightly
moved to the side, eyeing him warily as fresh tears rolled out of them. “I caaaan’t.” My voice came out scratchy and out of breath, as if I was parched and my throat dried out of any moisture.

  I shook my head, slowly moving to sit up. “I’ll take juice, if that’s okay?”

  Liam pitifully eyed me, blue eyes looking sad as he reluctantly nodded to my request. “Very well. At least you’re willing to drink something.”

  He came back with a half-filled glass of orange juice, sitting right next to me, making sure I drank at least half of it. I was thinking of taking small, tiny sips, but he wasn’t having it.

  “Do you want me to run the shower?” he asked softly, reaching out to curl my hair behind my ear. “I heard hot showers could do wonders when you’re down and out.”

  I made an effort to smile. Liam was truly being nice, and I was being such a pain for assuming that I was welcome here after what I had done to him. However, he was the only friend that understood and knew me well in Sydney, and I was almost sure he knew that, too. He was such a great guy—he deserved more than this.

  “Sorry I didn’t give you notice. I came straight from the airport.”

  “It’s okay, Liv. You’re always welcome here, you know that.”

  Nodding, I reached out to hang on to his hand that caressed me cheek. “Thank you—for everything,” I shakily whispered as I stared deeply into his eyes, hoping he’d know that I was sorry for hurting him, too.

  “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere for as long as you need me.”

  I winced at his words, knowing quite well that he meant them. I didn’t deserve any of this, not even his pity.

  “Liam,” I said hesitantly, “I don’t want to hurt you more than I have. It’s not right.”

  “Tell me what is, Olivia?” he asked, a little baffled. “I’m in love with you—nothing’s changed. Seeing you this way, broken and in tears because of another guy, and yet I couldn’t do anything to make you feel better, feels much worse than you rejecting me.”

  “That’s absurd. You don’t mean that.”