by Allie Able
Damaged Pieces
A Cape Isle Novel
Allie Able
Damaged Pieces
Copyright © 2015 Allie Able.
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except for brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Editing: Judy Brown, www.writetechniques.strikingly.com
Formatting: Champagne Formats
Cover design: Perfect Pear Creative Covers
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Damaged Pieces
Quote
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Epilogue
Note from the Author
Other Books
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Dedication
To all of the hateful people who didn’t believe in me. You are the reason I am a little damaged.
Kiss my ass.
Damaged Pieces
“Everyone is a little damaged or broken, it’s how you put yourself back together that really counts.”
~Katie
Prologue
Katie
OH MY GOD, I’M PREGNANT. There are six pregnancy tests spread out across the counter in my dorm bathroom. Twelve pink lines. They aren’t slightly pink, oh no, these suckers are bright pink. I’ve been sitting here staring at them for what seems like hours and feel like I’m going to be sick.
I’m 20 years old and I’m still in college. How can I possibly be pregnant? Well, that seems like a stupid question to be asking myself. I obviously know how it happened. I bury my face in my hands and try to think.
I have to tell Greg. We’ve been dating for almost a year now. Not long enough for us to have a kid together, but surely he’ll understand. I mean, it was his super-sperm that somehow impregnated me while I was on the pill. I knew we should’ve used condoms! How fucking stupid can I be?
Oh shit, I’m going to have to tell my parents. I still have four years until I graduate. I don’t know anything about kids, what am I going to do with a baby? This does not fit into my plans. I think I’m about to have my first ever panic attack.
Deep breaths, Katie. It’s going to be okay. You’ll talk to Greg and y’all will figure it out together,” I whisper to myself. He will probably come with me to tell my parents. Everything is going to be fine.
There is a knock on the bathroom door and I startle. “Be right out!” I say.
I get up off of the bathroom floor, where I’d been lying for God knows how long, and stuff the pregnancy tests into my purse.
I open the bathroom door to see my roommate, Elise, looking at me with worried eyes.
“Hey, Katie, you’ve been in there awhile. Are you okay?”
No, I’m not okay. I’m fucking pregnant. My whole life just changed when I peed on that damn stick.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I say, giving her a tight smile, “I’m going over to Greg’s for a bit. I’ll see you later.”
She nods her head, but continues to watch me carefully. She probably heard me crying.
I hurry out of my dorm and down to my car. Greg lives off of campus, with a few of his buddies, but it’s only a five-minute drive. I make it in three. I hurry up the steps leading to his door and knock. He answers the door a second later.
“Hey, baby,” he says, pulling me to him and kissing me. See? He loves you. It’s going to fine.
“Hey,” I say, when he pulls back from my mouth “Can I talk to you?”
His eyebrows scrunch together. “That sounds serious.”
He leads me through the front door and into the living room. I look around at the three other guys sitting watching football.
“Uh, yeah, kind of. Can we talk in your room?”
He looks at me curiously, but doesn’t say anything, as he turns and walks towards his bedroom.
He sits down on the edge of his bed and looks at me expectantly. “What’s up?”
I stand by his closed bedroom door and twist my hands together, trying to think of the best way to tell him this.
Finally, I just blurt, “I’m pregnant.”
His mouth falls open and he shakes his head a couple of times. “What?”
“I’m pregnant,” I repeat.
“How?”
“What do you mean how, Greg? We had sex.”
“Yeah, but you said you were on the pill. Are you sure?”
I open my purse and pull out all six of the pregnancy tests and dump them in his lap. “I’m pretty damn sure.”
“How do I know it’s even mine, Katie?” he asks, angrily.
I’m shocked.
“You are the only person I have ever slept with, Greg, and we have been together for a year now.”
He shrugs his shoulders, “Shit happens.”
Now I’m getting mad. “What is that suppose to mean?”
“Get rid of it,” he demands.
He stands up and all of the tests fall to the floor, in what feels like slow motion. I suddenly fell dizzy. I shake my head slowly. Maybe I heard him wrong.
“What?” I whisper.
“Fucking get rid of it, Katie. I don’t want a kid and especially not with you. I was already thinking it was time for us to part ways.”
“Time for us to part ways?” I ask in a whisper. Why do I keep repeating him, and why does my brain feel like it’s moving in slow motion?
“Jesus!” He rubs his hands over his face and looks frustrated.
I walk towards him and reach out to put my hand on his arm. “Greg, I love you. What are you talking about?”
He pulls his arm away from me and looks down at me like I’m a disgusting bug. “I don’t love you, Katie. You were damn good in bed, I’ll give you that, but there is now way I’m having a kid with you. Get rid of it!”
I step back and put my hands over my belly as his words finally start to sink in. He wants me to have an abortion. The guy I have been dating for over a year and who I thought I was in love with, wants me to kill our baby. Sure, I’m not ready to be a parent, but I won’t do that.
“Greg, I can’t do that. What’s wrong with you? I love you.” I can feel the hot tears starting to roll down my face.
“I gr
aduate in two months, so I really don’t give a shit what you do, but I don’t want anything to do with you or your baby. It’s probably not even mine,” he says coldly.
I have never heard Greg talk like this to anyone, much less me. I shake my head quickly back and forth. The tears start falling faster down my face. “Of course it’s yours, Greg.”
He laughs and shakes his head. “Whatever. You need to leave. I would tell you that we could have a quick fuck before you go, but I’m not interested in pregnant girls. Good luck finding someone who is.”
I stare at him for a second, trying to figure out if this is all just a bad dream. When I don’t move, he grabs my upper arm and pulls me out of his bedroom. I struggle to keep up with his fast pace, but he just tightens his grip. That hurts! What in the hell is happening right now? He drags me to the front door and opens it, forcefully pushing me outside.
He leans down until he is almost nose to nose with me. “Keep your fucking mouth shut and get rid of that thing,” he says through clenched teeth.
I can’t even respond as he slams the door in my face. I stand there in shock with my arms wrapped protectively around my stomach. My body starts to shake and more tears leak out of my eyes. I lower my head and turn to walk towards the stairs.
Once I’m inside my car, I lower my head in my hands and begin to cry harder than I have in my entire life. What the hell am I going to do?
Chapter One
Katie
10 years later
“ABIGAIL FITZGERALD, YOU HAVE TWO minutes to be ready!” I say, as I pass her bedroom door. Good Lord, I thought the toddler years were hard, but this pre-teen phaze she’s going through may kill me.
“Mo-om,” I hear her whine through the door.
“Don’t “mo-om” me, Abbi. I’m putting on my shoes and then we are leaving, whether you are ready or not,” I say, using my best “stern-mom” voice.
I shake my head and walk to my bedroom as I hear her grumble something under her breath. I probably don’t want to know what she’s saying. It’s not like she doesn’t want to go to my parents’ house for the weekend. She loves it there. My guess is that she can’t decide what to wear. Well, at least she comes by that honestly. I was like that at her age. It wasn’t until I became a mom that I stopped caring about how I dressed. Who was I trying to impress anyway?
I grab my tennis shoes out of the closet and slide them on as I eye the new little black dress hanging in my closet. My friend, Summer, called me yesterday and asked me to come out to The Sand Bar tonight. It’s New Years’ Eve and I guess that’s what people our age are suppose to do, but to be honest I would rather sit home with Abbi. I stopped acting “normal” right about the time I saw those two pink lines on the pregnancy tests. I wouldn’t change my life for anything in the world, I love my daughter. But it will be nice to have a conversation with another adult.
I walk past Abbi’s door and give it two hard knocks. “Let’s go, kiddo.”
I walk towards the front door and as I grab my jacket off of the hook I hear Abbi skipping down the hall. Well, I guess her mood changed. I smile when I see her come around the corner. She looks like my twin. Her red hair is wild on top of her head and her green eyes look up at me with delight. The only difference between us is that she got her dad’s nose, but it’s still a cute nose, even it did come from the douchebag.
I have talked to Abbi about her dad. I just never told her all of the details or what he said to me the day I found out I was pregnant with her. She will never know about that. As far as Abbi knows, she is my gift from God.
I hand her the jacket she has hanging on the hook and grab my purse. “You got your bag packed?”
She holds the pink sparkly bag up for me to see. “Yep.”
“Alright, lets get on the road.” I lead us out of the front door and down to my car. I wait for her to buckle her seat-belt, and pull out of the driveway.
* * *
“Hey mom,” I say, leaning in to give her a kiss on the cheek.
She opens the door wider for me and Abbi to walk through. “Hey, sweetheart. How was the drive?”
I walk into my childhood home and smile. Nothing ever changes here. Everything is in the same place it was when I was a kid and it always smells like cinnamon.
“It was good.”
“Guess what, Grandma?” Abbi asks my mom.
“What?”
“Mom says I may be able to get a kitty soon.” Abbi’s whole body is shaking with excitement. She has wanted a pet for so long, but I wanted to wait until she got a little older, before giving her that kind of responsibility. On the way here, she started asking me again and I caved.
“She did?” Mom asks, looking over at me with a smile.
I roll my eyes and look over at Abbi’s smiling face. “Yes, I think she may have finally convinced me. I’ll start keeping my eye out for kittens at the clinic next week. Come give me some love, sweetie. I’ve got to get back on the road.”
Abbi runs over to me and wraps her little arms around my waist. God, I hope she never grows out of that. We’ve always had a really close relationship. It’s basically been just us for the past ten years. I’m close to my mom too, even though I have a wonderful father. Speaking of which…
“Where is dad?” I ask, still hugging Abbi.
My mom waves her hand in the air. “He went to the store for something. I told him y’all would be here any minute. He’s going to hate that he missed you.”
“I’ll see him when you guys bring Abbi home. Maybe I could make dinner?”
“Sounds good.” She smiles.
I give Abbi one last kiss on the head before letting her go. “Bye, Mom!” she shouts, taking off towards the back bedroom to get settled in.
“Bye, Abbi. Be good for Grandma and Grandpa. I’ll see you soon.” I continue to watch where she disappeared for a long second. I hate being away from her.
“She’ll be fine,” Mom says, rubbing my arm.
“I know,” I sigh.
“What are your plans tonight?”
“Summer somehow convinced me to go out.”
“Go have fun. Be young. Lord knows you don’t get out enough.”
“Mom,” I groan.
“What? You don’t.”
I roll my eyes, causing her to laugh.
“Love you, Katie.”
“Love you too, Mom. Tell Dad I will see him on Sunday.”
She nods her head and kisses my cheek again as I walk to the door.
“See you then.”
* * *
This dress is too tight and these heels are too high. I am so damn uncomfortable. All I want to do is go back home and put on my PJ’s. God, I sound like an old woman. I’ve only been here for an hour. I’m a thirty-year-old woman, I need to loosen up and have some damn fun.
I take a big gulp of wine and look around the crowded bar. I spot Grant and Summer cuddled up on the dance floor and I feel a stab of envy. They look so happy and in love. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room when he proposed to her earlier. Once upon a time, I wanted something like what they have, but instead my heart got trampled to pieces. Geez, bitter much Katie?
I sigh and continue looking around, until my eyes land on him. How is it possible for him to get more handsome every time I see him? The first time I met Nicholas Sinclaire he turned his beautiful carefree smile my way, and I knew he was trouble, even before I knew his name. His blonde hair is buzzed close to his head and his light blue always eyes seem to hold a hint of mischief. The Marines must have an excruciating workout regimen because, even under his suit, I can tell that his body looks like it was carved from stone. Men like him can have their pick of any woman in the room and they have the potential to destroy you when they move on. That’s why I placed him firmly in the friend zone. He wasn’t going to get anywhere near my panties, much less my heart. As long as we stayed friends, everything would be fine.
Besides, I work for his dad. Talk about a conflict of interest. It doe
sn’t help that my sex starved body wants to climb him like a tree every time I see him. It doesn’t matter that my daughter loves him or that he can make me laugh like no one else. We are just friends and I am determined to keep it that way.
Shit! I am so screwed.
I turn my head before he can catch me staring at him and go to the bar to get another glass of wine. Maybe I need a shot. I spot Nick’s sister, Lexie Sinclaire, at the bar and I walk up next to her.
“Hey, girl.”
“Hey, Katie,” she responds, giving me a hug.
“What you been up to? I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.”
“Just work. You know me, boring Lexie,” she says with an eye roll and a shrug.
I laugh. “Oh please, my idea of a good time is my couch and HGTV.”
“That sounds like me. We need to hang out and be boring together.” She smiles.
I order my wine and pay the bartender before turning back to Lexie. “I see your brother is in town,” I say nodding to where Nick is standing.
“Yep. He got in late last night.” She turns to me with a mischievous smile. “Have you talked to him yet? I know he’s probably missed you.”
“Missed me? We’re just friends.” I scoff.
Her smile gets wider. “Can you not miss your friends, Katie?”
“Of course you can. I just meant—,” Lexie interrupts me, waving her hand.
“I knew what you meant, I’m just screwing with you. Go talk to him.”
I look back over at Nick and take a moment to study him. He looks lonely. I have to wonder what in hell is wrong with the women in this bar. If I was a different person, I would be all over that. He is always hot, but tonight he is downright lethal. He’s wearing suit pants, but has ditched the jacket. His blue button down shirt is tucked neatly into his pants and he has the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, making his forearms look almost indecent. Jesus! Am I so sex starved that forearms are starting to look sexy?
I hear Lexie giggle beside me and I turn to look at her. “What’s so funny?”
She pressed her lips together and shakes her head.
