Torn Apart

by Kayla Myles

  “Stupid idiots,” I said, shaking my head. We nodded to each other and listened carefully, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

  I held my breath and trained my eyes on the ground, watching as my target took steps towards my hiding spot. Just a little bit closer...

  His foot peeked out from my cover and I stood up, holding my weapon out. I aimed the tip at the surprised look on his face, and fired before quickly switching to another guy, taking him out too. Beside me, Jason had quickly dispatched the last of them, and I watched with smug satisfaction as the light on his vest went out, signaling his defeat.

  The sound of victory played from the speakers, further taunting the losers, and making them groan as they pulled their masks off their heads. Spencer’s blonde and slightly spiky hair stood up as he scowled at me.

  “Why do you have to take this so seriously?” Spencer complained, his half-brother Chase snickering beside him. “I mean, we’re using wands, for crying out loud!”

  I shrugged as Jason patted my shoulder.

  “Rebecca hasn’t changed one bit since I last saw her,” Jason said. “She’s always been a fiery and competitive girl, in and out of the mission. It’s why she’s regarded highly in her platoon,” he complimented.

  “Oh, so you’re some kind of big shot on your team, huh Red?” Spencer drawled. I shook my head in embarrassment.

  “It’s not like that,” I muttered.

  “Well, either way, I’m glad she’s on our side now,” Chase remarked. “She’s going to make a fine addition to our roster.”

  “Why did you quit your old agency, anyway?” Spencer asked, one eyebrow raised in skepticism. I shrugged again.

  “I wanted more, and they didn’t like it, so I quit and looked for another place that agreed I deserved better,” I admitted. That was only half of it, though. The other half was because I liked working with Spencer and the rest of his team a hell of a lot better than the uppity bastards where I used to work. Switching to Chase’s firm was the easiest decision I ever made.

  “Where are the girls?” I asked, wondering why they didn’t come to play with us.

  “My girl got a little over excited about shopping with her cousin, so they opted to meet with us at the restaurant after our game,” Jason said, making Spencer snicker as he slapped him on the back.

  “Man, you’ve got it bad, huh?” Spencer drawled. “‘My girl’? Seriously?” Jason’s cheeks colored into a tinge of pink, but he said nothing, not denying Spencer’s claims.

  “Lay off the man, Spence. The guy can’t help it if he’s whipped already. He is getting married, after all,” Chase said, “Besides, like you’re one to talk. How far al--,”

  Spencer’s eyes widened, and he frantically covered his older brother’s mouth, cutting him off from saying anything else. He looked at me with worry, and my eyes narrowed.

  “What are you hiding?” I growled. I’ve never liked being kept in the dark. And I could tell from the look on Spencer’s face that whatever he was trying to keep from me, was something I wasn’t going to like one bit.

  “Let’s go and meet up with the girls first, Rebecca. I think telling you about it with everybody present would be the wisest course here,” Jason suggested calmly, his arms tensed up, ready to break up a fight if need be.

  “It’ll be really obvious what it’s about once she sees her, anyways,” Chase added, scratching the back of his head. I glared at the both of them.

  “You two knew?” I asked, betrayal evident from my voice. Chase winced, and looked at me apologetically.

  “Later, Rebecca,” Jason said firmly. “We’re disturbing the other players.”

  I looked around and saw a group of teenagers looking at us curiously while giving us a wide berth. I sighed, then flashed a menacing glare at Spencer’s direction before stalking off towards the exit, my hands clenching around my plastic wand so tight I feared it was going to snap.

  I wondered what Spencer had fucked up to piss me off now.

  Chapter 2

  Rebecca

  “H-hello, Rebecca. How have you been?”

  Her greeting had barely registered with me because my focus was on her round belly she kept rubbing with her hand. My eyes were wide, but one of them kept twitching, a physical manifestation of how my brain was fried upon seeing my best friend heavily pregnant.

  Six months. It had only been six months since we last saw each other, and she’s like this.

  I could tell from Georgiana’s hesitant greeting, as well as her inability to look me in the eye, that she had expected this reaction.

  But she didn’t expect me to do this.

  I grabbed Spencer by the collar and buried my fist into his face, digging my knuckles deep into his nose, and feeling it crush underneath them. I heard Georgiana and her cousin, Veronica, gasp and try to pull me from obliterating the man. I saw Chase stop George from getting any closer to me, while Jason inserted both of his arms underneath my armpits and wrenched me away from Spence, grunting as I refused to relent from my assault.

  “Rebecca, stop! Please!” George cried.

  “Gentlemen, please! Restrain the lady or I will be forced to contact the authorities!” the manager of the restaurant shrieked as he walked closer to us, his balding head already glistening with sweat, worried about the scene we were making. I slackened my muscles and allowed Jason to pull me off of Spencer, the latter turning over to the side to spit out blood in his mouth.

  His bottom lip popped, and his nose was broken, he murmured as he touched the bridge with two of his fingers. Still, his expression didn’t seem the least bit mad that I mauled him. On the contrary, he looked a little relieved, and apologetic.

  “I guess I deserved that,” he croaked. “You throw a hell of a punch.”

  To hell with his compliment.

  “You stupid shit!” I hissed, my eyes flaring. Jason had wrapped an arm around my waist to make sure I didn’t make a move on Spencer again. A smart move, considering I didn’t know if I could control myself from strangling the bastard.

  “It was an accident,” he said weakly.

  “An accident?!” I repeated. “What? Was she crossing the road and tripped over your speeding dick?!” I muttered expletives under my breath that would make a sailor blush.

  “My, my, what an uncouth mouth on such a woman,” Chase muttered.

  “Shut up, Chase!” Veronica shushed.

  “Okay, I admit I didn’t phrase that very well,” Spencer said, wincing.

  “Everybody’s staring at us. Let’s go talk somewhere more private,” Jason murmured, looking at the restaurant’s patrons and staff with a surreptitious eye.

  “I got it,” Veronica said, walking over to the host and putting her fame to use.

  She managed to snag us a sweet private table at the VIP area, the place almost deserted except for a couple sitting at the small table by the window. We were seated at the corner overlooking the hall, Jason noting it was the best place to see any customers coming or going. I had to admire the guy for staying true to his job of protecting his girlfriend even while off-duty, but I was still seething.

  The rest of my group decided to sit themselves strategically, making sure to keep Spencer at arm’s length, while George was seated next to him and across from me, in plain view of my anger. She kept her head down because she still couldn’t find the courage to look at me.

  “I’m sure your parents were delighted about this development,” I said, and Veronica’s nose wrinkled.

  “Well, they weren’t exactly ecstatic that their precious daughter is pregnant right after college,” she explained.

  “How far along are you?” I asked.

  “Thirty-one weeks,” George murmured. I mentally counted the days and snorted.

  “So you got knocked up a month before you graduated,” I said. “Good job.”

  “Hey, it’s not her fault,” Spencer snarled, rising a bit from his chair in an effort to protect his girlfriend. I raised an eyebrow at him, d
aring him to do something.

  “Of course it’s not just her fault,” I said. “You’re equally to blame.”

  “Guys, I am begging you. Let’s not ruin the moment here,” Chase stated, his voice uncharacteristically firm. He turned his head to look at me sternly. “Rebecca, I can understand this may be a little upsetting for you, but to be honest, this really is none of our business.”

  I looked at him with alarm, my mouth poised to exchange barbs with him, but his unrelenting gaze shut me down and he continued to speak.

  “Spencer and George are both mature adults who can make a decision about their lives and relationship without our interference. Also, shouldn’t we look at this as it truly is?” He asked. “This is a blessing, and I, for one, think we should celebrate.”

  Chase wrapped his fingers around the stem of his wine glass and lifted it up, raising his eyebrows up too, and looking at all of us with wide eyes, silently imploring us to do the same. Taking his cue, Veronica smiled widely and raised her own glass.

  Feeling appropriately ashamed, I begrudgingly followed suit, murmuring well-wishes as Chase finished his toast. I placed the glass back onto the table, and pushed myself off the chair as they drank. They all turned their eyes up, and looked at me curiously. I shrugged, pointing my thumb at the hall.

  “Going to get some fresh air,” I muttered before walking away. I pushed the double doors out of the restaurant, and leaned against the brick wall, tilting my head up to feel the brisk cold wind on my face.

  Now that the anger had dissipated from my body, the space it left behind was slowly filled with regret and shame. I didn’t mean to go off like that. I adored kids and valued the gift of life, and I am happy for them. But a part of me still thought it was too soon a responsibility for them to bear.

  An image of me lying on the floor by the foot of the stairs, blood pooling underneath my body flashed into my brain, and I hissed, shaking my head to be rid of it.

  “Damn it,” I cursed under my breath, closing my eyes. There was a reason people buried some memories deep into the darkest depths of their minds, and I didn’t need them resurfacing now.

  Memories like that only bred one thing – weakness.

  I felt something pull at my sleeve, and my eyes snapped open to look at George, who gave me a small smile, her eyes sad and puppy-like. I frowned as I saw her skin forming goose bumps from the cold, and I shrugged off my jacket and wrapped it around her shoulder to keep her warm.

  “You shouldn’t be out here,” I scolded. “It’s not good for the baby if you caught a cold.”

  She smiled at this, relief instantly flooding in her eyes.

  “You’re not mad at me anymore?” she asked timidly, and I sighed.

  “I was never mad at you,” I said softly. She raised her eyebrow in disbelief, and I rolled my eyes “Okay, maybe a little. But honestly? I was more…disappointed than anything else,” I admitted.

  “You’re too young for this kind of responsibility, George. You and Spencer both. There are so many things you two could experience without a baby holding you back, but now, all of those would be ten times harder to accomplish. And I’ve met your parents, so I doubt they were very forthcoming about this, were they?” She shook her head sadly.

  “Even Darcy got mad at first, but he came around after a few days, and told me he was going to help and support me as best as he can,” George replied.

  “So you can see where I’m getting at, right?” I asked. She nodded once more, tears starting to pebble from the corner of her eyes. I sighed again, and wrapped my arms around the girl, her belly preventing me from holding her properly.

  “Look, I can understand the situation you’re in now, and as much as I think your boyfriend’s an idiot, I’m glad Spencer has your back,” I comforted her. “Being pregnant and alone is really hard, and I would never want that to happen to you.”

  George frowned and furrowed her eyebrows at my words.

  “What do you mean you can understand?” she asked.

  I blanched at my slipup and scrambled for an excuse when the restaurant’s door opened, and Spencer popped out, a worried expression on his face.

  “Hey, the snow’s starting to fall,” he said. “Let’s go inside and eat.”

  I smiled at Georgiana, and pushed her softly towards Spencer, coaxing her to get inside. She looked at me curiously for a few more seconds before smiling at Spencer and letting him open the door for her. I exchanged nods with Spencer, our fight forgotten and followed George inside.

  “Finally!” Veronica said, rolling her eyes as I entered. “We totally need to finish our food if we’re going to get to the concert on time.” I furrowed my brows at her.

  “Concert?”

  Chapter 3

  Tanner

  “Remember, Tanner. After this concert, you’re to go to Arts & Soul so you can take some commemorative photos with the VIPs,” my agent said, waving my schedule in the air like he was going to swat a fly—or me—with it.

  “I’m not feeling the crowd today,” I said, spreading my arms up at the top of the sofa, and leaning my back against the soft cushions. “Can I skip it?” I asked, even though I already knew he was going to say ‘No.’ I just liked to rile him up sometimes.

  Sure enough, his left eye started to twitch, and his grip around his pen tightened that I almost thought it was going to snap in two.

  “You absolutely can’t do that, Tanner!” he jeered, his eyes bulging like saucers. “Your popularity could plummet! Your reputation to the fans would take a nosedive, so you absolutely must do this!”

  I sighed, rolling my eyes at his overreaction. Seriously, did he still think I was buying this crap? I knew for a fact my fans loved my bad boy image; it was basically what had them all panting after me and ensuring my concert tickets were selling like hotcakes. Rather than ruining my reputation, I was pretty sure it would have the opposite effect and skyrocket. Girls loved it when the guy was unattainable.

  Besides, I met the manager of the record’s store earlier while I went shopping incognito, and I didn’t like the man. He was terrorizing his employees, and leering at all the girls that came in. Fucking disgusting pervert was what I thought.

  My phone started to vibrate, and I got up to answer the call, frowning when I see it’s my neighbor, Adam, calling.

  “Hey, Tanner. Where are you going? You’re on stage in 10 minutes!” my agent cried.

  Ignoring his cries, I walked out of the dressing room, and went into a secluded corner where I could hear Adam from the other end of the line.

  “Hey, buddy? What’s up?” I asked.

  “Tanner! Oh, thank God you picked up,” he said quickly.

  “Is something wrong?”

  “Something really important came up and I need to leave town immediately. I’m dropping Beth off at your concert venue. It’s only a few blocks from here, right?” my eyes widened in alarm.

  “What?” I asked. “No, dude! You can’t! Listen, I’m going onstage in a few minutes! You can’t leave Beth here!”

  “Well, I can’t possibly take her to Wisconsin with me, either!” he said, huffing. “Just order one of your guards to pick her up, and I’ll meet them at the parking lot.”

  “But--,”

  “Tanner, it’s your kid. Deal with it!” he said, hanging up.

  ***

  I quickly explained the situation to my agent, who looked like he was about to have a coronary.

  “This cannot be happening all at once,” he said, putting his hand on his forehead dramatically, his chest rising and falling fast like he was about to hyperventilate.

  “Please, you got to send one of the guards to meet up with him. I can’t go there now,” I said imploringly. He waved me off with a grimace.

  “I’ll handle it, I’ll handle it. You just get up there and wow your fans, you hear me?” he replied and I smirked, nodding.

  “You know it,” I said confidently.

  I let my makeup artist do her final touches
on my face, while my costume designers made sure my outfit was perfect. The stage coordinator rapped on the door and called me over, reminding me all my cues and stops as we walked towards the metal elevators that would lift me up smack dab in the center of the stage, wielding my guitar. I gave the crew a thumbs up as I heard the first blow of the torchlights, and the intro of my music.

  It’s show time…

  Coming in December

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  Books by Kayla:

  Trusting Daniel (Delta Security)

  Collision (Delta Protectors Book 1)

  Torn Apart (Delta Protectors Book 2)

  Broken (Delta Protectors Book 3) – coming in December