Stupid Hearts

by Kristen Hope Mazzola

  He rubbed the back of his neck, taking a step closer. “She left me,” he whispered.

  Shocker.

  “Good for her. Now if you would excuse me.”

  “I’ve missed you.”

  “I’m working.”

  He shoved his hands into his pockets. “Alright.”

  Thankfully, he took his seat—right next to where I was standing, but at least I could move away from him, which I did in a heartbeat.

  The night rolled into the reception. Finn must have been really busy because he hadn’t made his way into the ballroom to check on things like he had planned.

  Out of the corner of my eye I could see Seth standing next to the bartender, staring at me while he sipped on his martini.

  “I’m going to run to the restroom.” I looked over at my partner for the evening. She gave me a quick nod and I bolted to get a little bit of privacy. I heard the door close behind me as I came face to face with a sloshed Seth. He was standing inches from me, his hand wrapped around my wrist.

  “You’re so pretty,” he slurred.

  “You smell like a bar. Leave me the fuck alone.”

  He threw me into the wall, his body weight pinning me in place while I squirmed to get free. He tried to kiss me and I reached up with all my might and slapped him across the face.

  “Oh yeah, baby. I know you like it rough.”

  He shoved me again and I screamed, “Seth, you’re a fucking dirtball and you need to get the hell off of me right now!” Panic started to break into my words.

  The door to the bathroom opened, revealing an enraged Finn flying across the room and connecting his fist to Seth’s jaw. A few seconds later security guards burst through the door and started to restrain Seth.

  “What do you think you’re doing interrupting me and my girl?” Seth grumbled, trying to break loose.

  “She’s never was and never will be yours.” Finn was seething.

  “Who the hell do you think you are?”

  “The man that loves the woman you just tried to rape, you filthy fuck.”

  I slouched to the floor, heaving hysterically, tears flowing down my cheeks. Without a word, Finn scooped me up and carried me down the hall into a vacant room.

  He cradled me in his arms and sat down on the couch, never letting me go. He wiped the tears from my eyes. “You’re safe, Joey. I promise.”

  “Did you mean it?”

  Finn looked at me questioningly. “Mean what?”

  “That you love me.”

  His kissed me tenderly, pulling me closer to him. “Yes. I know it’s fast but there’s just something about you that I know I never want to live without.”

  “I love you too, Finn.”

  “Wait here.” Finn started to get up from the couch, handing me the remote.

  “Where are you going?”

  He kissed my lips quickly. “To let them know why you’re not working the rest of the night and to get excused from the rest of my shift.”

  I started to follow him. “I should really go home to Dozer.”

  Finn spun around and shook his head. “Call Brett, see if he can let your dog out. You’re not leaving this room until I know that dirtball is far gone.”

  I nodded, sent a text to Brett, and slumped down onto the couch.

  Finn returned in less than an hour, Styrofoam containers in hand.

  “Hungry?” Finn’s honey eyes were tired and worried.

  “Famished. What’d you bring me?”

  “A grilled chicken sandwich. Is that alright?”

  My stomach growled. “Anything would be alright at this point.”

  We sat on the king size bed and chowed down on soggy cold French fries and mediocre sandwiches.

  “Everything alright with Dozer?”

  I nodded, swallowing my last fry. “Brett’s staying the night at my place.”

  “Perfect. Then we can stay here.” Finn gathered the empty containers and pulled down the sheets.

  “Are you sure this is ok?”

  He grabbed my hand, helping me under the covers and into his arms.

  “Joey, I promise this is alright. You had a rough night. Get some rest.”

  I shifted to try to get comfortable but my clothes kept bunching up. I sat up and started to undress.

  “What are you doing, love?”

  “I’m not going to be comfy with all this on.”

  He unbuttoned his shirt, pulled his undershirt off and handed it to me. “Here.”

  I yanked it over my head. “Thanks.”

  Once our pants were thrown onto the floor, Finn’s arms secured around me again. “Goodnight, Jolene.”

  I kissed his smooth cheek. “Goodnight, Sir Wallace. My knight in shining armor.”

  He chuckled.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “William Wallace didn’t wear armor.”

  I shoved him gently with my elbow. “Whatever!”

  “I’ll still take it as a compliment even if your knowledge of history is shit.”

  “Night, Finn.”

  “Sleep well, my love.”

  EpIlogue.

  one year later

  “Baby, wake up.” Finn’s brogue broke into my dream-filled sleep.

  “Five more minutes?” I tried to turn away from him, pulling the blanket onto my shoulders.

  “We’re about to land, Joey.”

  “Are you going to tell me what we’re doing going to Nashville anyway?” I rubbed my eyes and returned my seat to its upright position.

  “I told you, it’s a surprise.”

  After Finn’s photo shoot in Boone, his modeling career took off. He had been traveling all over the world doing magazine ads and was even starting to break into television commercials. With his busy schedule and mine, we were lucky to get one or two weekends a month together. When he mentioned that he wanted to take me on a surprise trip, I was thinking something more like Costa Rica or Italy, not Nashville. Don’t get me wrong, I was very happy to have five whole days of quality time with Finn, no matter where in the world it was.

  We grabbed our luggage, rented our car, and started to drive into the middle of nowhere in the mountains.

  “Come on! You know I hate surprises!”

  Finn glanced over at me from the driver’s seat. “It’s just down this road. We’re almost there, beautiful.”

  We made our way down a long winding gravel road until Finn parked the car in front of a house that was clearly under construction.

  “We’re here. Come on, I want you to see something.”

  I climbed out of the car and followed Finn toward the unfinished home. He led me into the wood-framed structure and up the stairs.

  “Are you sure this is safe?” He was leading me out onto a balcony that didn’t have a railing set up yet.

  “Trust me, I called the builder and asked if this was ok.”

  “How do you know the builder of this place?”

  He grabbed my hand and turned me to look out at one of the most breathtaking sights I had ever seen. The rolling hills were covered in lush greenery and ran into a gorgeous mountain range off in the distance. There was a small garden in the backyard with tons of purple, pink, and white flowers of all kinds.

  “So to answer your question, this is our new home.”

  I was shocked. I froze. I didn’t know if I was mad that he had made such a huge decision without me or thrilled because he was finally helping me live out a dream of mine.

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  With that, he got down on one knee.

  “Joey, I love you. I have since the moment I saw you in that bar. There is something about you that I never want to be without for one more second of one more day. Please, spend the rest of your life with me. Marry me, Jolene.”

  I heard grunting and sniffling coming from behind me. I turned to see Brett, Kathy, and Dozer standing on the balcony behind us, videotaping the proposal.

  “Well, I think that handsome man asked yo
u a question, cous.”

  I jumped into Finn’s arms. “Yes! Of course.”

  He slipped the ring around my finger and pulled me into him. “Thank you,” he whispered.

  “For what?”

  “For making all my dreams come true.”

  I kissed his soft lips and muttered, “Thank you for being my dream come true.”

  the end.

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  STAY TUNED: Sneak peeks for The Hysterics and Crashing Back Down are coming up! Don’t miss out on other books by Kristen Hope Mazzola!

  Sneak Peek

  The Hysterics

  PROLOGUE

  FAÇADE

  FALLON

  I was Fallon Dunbar.

  I was a drummer.

  I was confident, strong, and driven.

  I was a junkie.

  I am dead.

  The full boxes scattered around my small one room apartment made it feel more real. The sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach made it feel so wrong. The new title and job made it feel surreal.

  I am Fae Dunham.

  I am the assistant editor of Raging Underground.

  I am unsure, nervous, and scared shitless.

  I am in recovery.

  Staring into the full length mirror I had just hung up on the back of the door in my new room, I saw the shell of what I used to be, the life I could no longer have. The only traces left of my old life were the lip piercings I refused to take out. They were my favorites and they were staying. People like me don’t get second chances, but for some reason, I was standing knee-deep in one.

  There’s no turning back now.

  I will live again.

  CHAPTER ONE

  PRACTICE & mEMORIES

  Dane

  “Hey, man, you all right?” Colt was looking over at me from his seat on his amp.

  I gripped the sticks a little tighter in my hands and shook myself from my zone-out. “Yeah. Sorry.” I still couldn’t get Fae off my damn mind.

  Maverick tossed a bottle of water over my toms before swinging his bass guitar’s strap back over his shoulder. “Let’s take it from the top?”

  My sticks clicked quickly, counting out the beat before sending Maverick and myself into a thumping bassline that shot goose bumps up my arms and legs. It felt like I was falling in love every time we started to play; it was that exciting.

  Finally, the groove settled in nicely and we took off into our newest song, which I was sure would rock our show the next night. It took a while, but an hour and a gallon of sweat later, we were satisfied with how “The Lifespan of a Firefly” sounded.

  “This is some great writing, Dane. Why haven’t you given us lyrics before?” Rodney holstered the mic and took a swig of his seventh beer while his words slurred a little.

  Grabbing a brown bottle out of the fridge, I tried to figure out an answer to his question that didn’t make me sound like a complete pussy. “Never thought anything was good enough before, I guess.”

  Epic fail – that dripped vag all over the place. Way to have a backbone.

  “Well, from now on, grow a pair and dish out more of this shit. It’s gold. I think we should open with it tomorrow night for sure!”

  Colt and Maverick both mumbled and nodded in agreement. My ego felt like it had grown ten times right there on the spot. Being the drummer, I never considered that writing lyrics was something I could be good at. Yeah, I was a journalist. Yeah, I had written angsty teenage poetry when I was younger. But I’d never considered myself an actual writer.

  As I slouched onto the worn out couch in Colt’s basement, memories rushed over me like warm acid rain.

  Beer and sweat were all I could smell as I wiped my dripping forehead with my shirt sleeve. The gentle hum of the Russells’ dryer slowly faded in, a little too soft after the booming of our last song left the air.

  “Great session, guys.” Maverick’s weak smile faded as his words lingered in the space. We all knew and we all felt it, but we left it unsaid. There was too much, and no words could make it better; there was nowhere to begin. It was our first practice after the accident a few weeks before and the tension in the air was suffocating us all.

  I nodded and choked out, “You guys think we’re ready?”

  Rodney laughed from the couch, gripping the mic in his hand. “We better be. Like it or not, we’re opening tomorrow at Mountain Breath.” His faded Zeppelin shirt was starting to wear a hole next to his collar and his lucky Chucks had mud caked on the sides.

  “You gonna dress like a bum for it?” Colt joked, opening another beer we’d stolen from his old man’s stash. Mr. Russell knew we took them but was usually too loaded to care.

  Rodney threw a sweat-soaked towel at Colt right as I stood to stretch out the kink that had been building up in my lower back while I’d sat behind my faded burgundy Ludwin set.

  “I think it’s going to be sick,” I muttered, trying to be enthusiastic and failing miserably.

  Maverick clapped me on my back before starting to put his bass in its case. “You ready?”

  Digging my keys out of my pocket, I stared at my sticks where they rested in their bag attached to my floor tom. I stood up gradually from my stool, starting to make my way to the stairs. “Yeah. Let’s head home.”

  “Get a good night’s sleep, gents! Tomorrow is going to be epic!” Rodney called up to us from the bottom of the stairs, a sly grin fixed firmly on his face. He had no fucking idea what he was asking of Mav and me, and it was better off that way.

  The sound of a beer opening in my ear and the feel of cold suds spraying on my neck and cheek snapped me back to real time. Rodney erupted into a fit of laughter next to me.

  “What the hell, man?” I thrashed, wiping my face off with the bottom of my shirt.

  “Come on. I couldn’t resist. You were zoning out again.”

  Colt sat in a metal folding chair across the faded lime green carpet, laying his guitar down next to him. “You all right, Dane? You’ve been spacey all night.”

  “Yeah, man. I’m fine.”

  I got up and started to make my way up the stairs to take a piss. Right as I opened the basement door, I heard Maverick say in a low voice, “Guys, it’s April thirteenth. You know how he gets around this time.”

  My stomach sank. He was right. The twentieth was coming too fast for me to keep up with, and the memories and dreams were getting worse by the day.

  Deep breaths.

  Easier said than done.

  Time would pass and it would still be hard, but I was still breathing.

  Fuck it.

  As I walked into the living room, trying to make it into the back hallway undetected by Colt’s parents, I heard crying coming from the couch.

  Turning on my heels, I found Sheila Russell sobbing into a pillow. When I cleared my throat, she popped her head up, startled by my presence.

  “Sheils? You all right?” I looked down at Colt’s kid sister, who was definitely not a kid anymore.

  Before, she’d been pimply-faced, chunky, and awkward. Now, her face had cleared, she’d hired a personal trainer, and her degree in Mass Communications was helping her break out of her shell, to say the least. She was stunning in her own way. Not my type, but still pretty.

  “Yeah.” She sniffed. “I just got turned down for an awesome summer internship. It’s the only one I applied for and that’s biting me in the butt now.” She tried
to laugh it off, but her eyes stayed sad.

  “You know the saying, Sheils.”

  She rolled her eyes and mumbled, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”

  I laughed, nodded, and gave her a tight squeeze as I continued on before my bladder busted. While I was trotting over to the half bath down the hall, Sheila called to me, “Thanks, Dane.”

  “Don’t mention it! Call Julie. Schedule a mani-pedi date like the old days and you’ll be good as new!” I yelled back before slamming the door shut behind me, barely able to get my zipper down before I pissed myself.

  Grab your copy now:

  The Hysterics

  Sneak Peek

  Crashing Back Down

  Prologue

  Excitement started to form butterflies in my stomach while Cali and I giggled in her bathroom, getting our makeup just right for our first adventure into the new world of college Greek life. We had met only a few weeks back during sorority rush, and we’d become instant friends. We could not have asked for more, being pledges for the same sorority and starting to dive right into a ‘real’ college experience. It was the first night of fraternity rush, and some of our older sisters had invited us to join in the festivities at one of the fraternity houses on campus. It was a really big deal, and we were bubbling over with giddiness.

  When we were finally walking up the dampened front lawn of the frat house, I grabbed Cali’s arm, completely in awe of the sea of ravishing men we were wading through. She pointed out an especially good-looking guy wearing his letters across his noticeably chiseled chest. He was tan and tall, and he had tattoos poking out from under his sleeves. I bit my bottom lip and salivated with Cali as we followed the hottie into the foyer.

  There were tons of guys and girls, all grouped off, trying to convince potential new members that being Greek was amazing and that this was the fraternity for them. It did not take too long for a handsome brother to stride up to us, and to our surprise, the guy I had been mentally undressing before stood next to him. I found out that the hottie’s name was Walker, but my attention was quickly diverted to his friend, Randy. There was just something about him that stunned me.