Beautifully Broken

by Christa Simpson

  Madam Val visibly shudders, with closed eyes. “I’m very sorry. That explains the physical scars. Thank you for sharing. But Felicia was there with you. She didn’t leave?”

  “No. She was like an angel, heaven sent. She stayed with me, holding my hand, telling me how important my life was to her. She said things to me no one’s ever said to me. She gave me the courage to survive and good reason to.”

  “And then she left.”

  “Yeah. The emergency crews got to work extracting me and they whisked her away for medical attention. She was injured in the crash too.”

  “You underwent a series of surgical procedures. You spent weeks in hospital.”

  “Yes.”

  “Felicia visited you there.”

  “No.”

  “Yes,” Madam Val says.

  “No. You’re mistaken. She never came to visit me.”

  Madam Val closes her eyes again and takes his hand. “This woman most certainly visited the hospital you were resident at.”

  “Maybe it was for her own medical attention, because it definitely wasn’t for me.”

  “No. I see the fear in her eyes. She was there for you. She stands by your door. Listens to your family. She even touched your hand once, for only a moment, while the nursing staff left you in the hallway. You were sedated. She knew that as well. That was the last visit she made to the hospital.”

  He squints, trying to remember, but he can’t. Nor can he disprove her findings. “You said you can’t see things.”

  “Back to the story,” she demands, leaving her eyes closed. “There’s one question that you keep avoiding. Why the turmoil? Why all this inner pain? Has she told you it’s over?

  “No.”

  “Why then, have you not reached out to her?”

  “I’m a coward.”

  Matt fixes his eyes on Madam Val when he comes to that realization on his own. She takes three of the bills from her pocket and crushes them into his trembling hand.

  “Only you, Matthew Knight, can control your future. You have the tools. You know the stakes. What are you going to do about it?”

  She releases his hand and retrieves his cane from the floor. He takes it from her hand, dropping the crinkled bills onto the table.

  “Thank you.” He backs away from the table and moves toward the door with newfound determination.

  “Good luck, young sir,” she purrs, as the door jingles open.

  He nods back at her, struggles with the door and eventually disappears into the street.

  Chapter 9: Like Magic

  Felicia explains to Jensen how the date thing is going to work. “When I first told you I needed a date¸ I thought you’d make a nice decoy.”

  “That’s fine with me.”

  “But I’m not going to magically fall in love with you.” She points at the candles. “Are those really necessary? Quit trying to romance me. It’s not happening.”

  “Fine. I get it.” He quickly blows out the line of candles with one long breath.

  “The rules. I want you to get them into your thick skull. You will not put your lips on me again, unless I ask you to, of course. Your hands will stay where I can see them. If you break any one of these rules, our arrangement is over. Understand?”

  Jensen smiles as her. “Unless you ask?”

  “Don’t be smart with me. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I want to be prepared. If I need you, I will initiate it. There will be no guesswork for you to worry about. Got it?”

  He nods his head. “I’m actually starting to feel a little sorry for this guy. He’s probably in the same position as me—wants a girl who’s just out of reach.”

  “Zip it, Jensen. Not this weekend. Just do what you do, look pretty, and make me look good. Do you think you can manage?”

  “Look at me.” He lifts that sculpted chest.

  Felicia rolls her eyes. He does look good though. “Let’s go.” She takes his hand and pulls him to the door. “Destiny is mad that I skipped out on the rehearsal, but she’ll get over it.”

  “Tell me again why you skipped?”

  “Stuff it. You know exactly why.”

  They enter the dining room just as her reason appears at the other end of the room. She clears her throat awkwardly. Jensen rubs her back, glances down at her and whispers.

  “I take it that’s the guy. He’s in a wheelchair.”

  She smiles up at him, then her eyes deliver a silent message. “Not another word of it.”

  Felicia heads straight for her seat. It’s an easy task, since there are little cards lining the table telling everyone where they’re going to sit. Jensen takes his seat next to her, but the other chair at her side is vacant. She takes a curious glance at the folded card.

  Matthew Knight.

  “You read that right. This is my seat,” Matt explains. “Do you have a problem with that?”

  Felicia shakes her head and glances away, making a point to angle her shoulders toward Jensen for the remainder of the meal. Dinner is awkward, thanks to Destiny’s seating arrangements. Felicia is stuck between her past and her future, which makes her present really uncomfortable.

  Matt doesn’t breathe another word to her. It’s not until dessert arrives that they even make eye contact. When it happens, it’s like a shock to her system. His eyes are just as dark and sinister as she remembers. Those eyes alone can make her feel things that others can’t achieve with all their body parts.

  It’s like Matt knows exactly what she’s thinking. He delivers an enticing smile that could mean he’s happy, but it could also mean he’s evil.

  “I need some water,” she says aloud.

  Feeling a little lame, she reaches for her glass, just as Matt reaches for the same one. Together they knock it over, spilling its entire contents onto Felicia’s lap. The clanging of glasses, the screech of Jensen’s chair and the mess of water soaking the table cloth and dripping on the floor, gets the attention of everyone at the table. Matt uses his napkin to sop up some of the water, focusing on Felicia’s lap, but it makes everyone stare harder so he stops.

  She tries to act like it’s no big deal, because she knows it’s not, but she’s suddenly feeling upset and lets a whimper escape her mouth. “Please excuse me,” she says, with emotion weighing heavily on her words.

  She shrinks into the shadows of the narrow room and disappears almost instantly.

  Matt reaches out to her. “Felicia, wait!” But she leaves the room before he can finish his sentence. “I’m sorry.”

  Jensen backs his chair up farther and stands from the table with a devious smirk on his face. “Could you make this any easier for me?”

  Chapter 10: Picking Names

  Carter Knight shows up fashionably late, after all the plates are cleaned up and everyone is congregating in the common room. He arrives conveniently at the same time as Matt’s old flame.

  Coincidence? I wish.

  Nothing is coincidence when it comes to his brother. They share a last name, but that is it. Where Matt is warm and inviting, Carter is cold and calculated. Carter’s a planner. He knows exactly what he’s doing. He thrives when he’s making others’ lives hell.

  Katie approaches Matt first. She looks like she’s wearing her little black dress from high school. It’s a good four inches too short and two sizes too tight—not appropriate for this event or any other event he can think of that occurs before midnight. In fact, the only place that getup would be expected is on a bartender at a strip club.

  Carter doesn’t seem to mind and it’s not that Katie has any rolls of flab on her body, or anything like that, but Matt’s just not interested in what she has to offer him anymore.

  “Katie,” he says out of respect for her brother.

  “Matthew.” She snakes in close to give him an inappropriate hug and a kiss on the lips that leaves him feeling a little dirty.

  “Thanks,” he says sarcastically.

  “For what?” she asks, believing she is clever.
>
  “For getting that pesky piece of popcorn out of my teeth.”

  She scowls at him. He’s kidding, of course, but her probing tongue is invasive and a bit on the disgusting side. Slithery like a snake and long like a lizard are not qualities a woman should be real proud of. While there might have been a time when he would have swatted her ass, took her to bed and shown her what she could do with that tongue, that time has since passed.

  Matt has turned his life around after his accident. He may have lost his ability to walk, but he still has a brain. This girl is on pussy patrol tonight. At the rate Katie’s been sleeping around, he wouldn’t be surprised if she’s caught a nasty STD. He doesn’t want that thing within fifty feet of his dick. He’s clean and he’d like to keep it that way.

  He’d canceled their date for other reasons too. Rather, another reason. It was a mistake inviting her in the first place. Why the hell is she here?

  “You look good,” she says, trying to get him to make eye contact with her.

  He glances across the room, anywhere but at her. “What are you doing here, Katie? This is invite-only and I told you I didn’t need a date.”

  “Funny thing, but your brother was in town. He was getting gas at my parents’ station and heard me talking about how disappointed I was about missing an event the whole town is talking about. He offered for me to come along with him. Isn’t that great?”

  Just great. So much for sending her home.

  Katie grabs onto Carter’s arm and pulls him over. “One of the Knight brothers is getting married. How could I miss it? Matt, it looks like you’re about to become the next best eligible bachelor on the market.”

  Funny, she recognizes that Matt is next in line because Carter is engaged, and yet she still hangs shamelessly from his arm. Matt takes a seat in his wheelchair to remind everyone of his condition. He may look fine to the naked eye, but he doesn’t feel fine.

  “I’m sure my name’s been removed from the list of bachelors entirely now that I’m handicapped,” Matt admits. “What woman wants a man who can’t even take out the garbage without a struggle?”

  He notices that Felicia is slowly making her way toward them. He successfully wipes the defeat from his eyes. It looks like she’s finally managed to shake her boyfriend, but Carter steps in between them, deciding to make Matt’s life even more depressing.

  “Not to rain on your misery parade, Matty, but I think you should keep your own issues to yourself tonight. No one wants to hear that.”

  Matt snarls at Carter, who is deliberately blocking Felicia from his view. How does he even know their history?

  “Nice of you to finally join us, Carter,” Matt mocks. “Let me guess, your plane was hijacked. Anything short of that isn’t even worth my time.”

  “Harboring such bad feelings, brother. It’s not very good for your health. I made it, didn’t I? You’re welcome.”

  Carter spins away and turns those dark Knight eyes on Felicia, the ones that tell a woman he wants to eat her whole. Matt knows the look well. He uses the same damn one on her every chance he gets.

  “And who might this be?” Carter takes Felicia’s hand and kisses it.

  Her date doesn’t look all that pleased, even from across the room. Matt is even less impressed.

  Destiny slithers in between everyone and steals Felicia’s hand. “Felicia, I need you!”

  Felicia glances back at Carter apologetically. Matt grits his teeth, unintentionally sharing his interest and his anger. It makes Carter smile. The dude is evil. There are times when Matt wonders if Carter is truly his brother, but then he reminds himself what a jackass his father can be.

  “What’s wrong, Matty? Jealous? It’s just like old times.” Carter pats Matt on the back a little too hard.

  Matt smiles, but it looks strained. Yeah, I fucking hurt. And Carter knows that he’s just hit Matt’s bad side.

  “Don’t you have a fiancée waiting at home for you?”

  That seems to shut him right up, just in time for Destiny to call them over.

  “Hey, Carter. I didn’t even recognize you. Have you lost weight?” Destiny asks, as though that’s a good thing.

  He is looking a little skinny, if you ask me.

  Carter seems to ignore the jab and takes it in stride. “Nice to see you too, Destiny. You look as beautiful as always.”

  Matt continues to glare at him. Why has he even come? It’s not like Skylar wants him here.

  Destiny smiles sideways at Carter. “I’m glad you made it. Just in time!”

  “For what exactly?” He doesn’t look as eager as he was only moments earlier.

  “Since we had issues with our wedding party making it to the rehearsal, we didn’t bother practicing the aisle. I’ve decided that we’re picking names tonight to match you into pairs.” She glares at Felicia.

  “Or I can just take this beautiful lady right here,” Carter growls, twirling Felicia into his arms and making her smile again.

  Felicia’s blond boyfriend finally takes a stand and yanks her from Carter’s arms. “Keep your hands off my girl.”

  Carter stands his ground and looms over the guy until their noses touch, making the blond cower and setting the stage for an interesting night. Natalie watches Felicia from a few steps away, envying the attention she always manages to steal from all the men around her.

  “Here, Matt. You go first.” Destiny shakes the hat in front of his face and waits for him to take a slip of paper from it.

  “I’m not playing this stupid game.” His arms remain tightly folded across his chest and his lips are pressed into a determined line.

  “Matt, you can't say no.” Destiny stomps a foot and her face turns menacing. “This is my wedding and if I say you're going to pick a name out of a hat, then you're going to pick out that name!”

  "Is it really necessary to stoop this low, just because some people," he glares right at Felicia as he makes the air quotations with his fingers, "are not cooperating?"

  "Maybe some people don't want to be paired with a total jerk." Felicia argues back, while pulling free from the blond man’s grip.

  He can’t believe she maintains that deadpan expression on her face, while she shrugs her shoulders, as if she has no idea who that total jerk might be.

  "Just pick a damn name already," Skylar shouts, as he crosses the room. "I hope for both your sakes that you're split up."

  "No, I think they deserve each other." Destiny looks like she would just love for them to be crammed in misery for the rest of the weekend as a pair.

  “I’ll go,” Felicia chimes.

  Matt knows exactly what she’s doing. If she goes first, the better her odds of being matched up with Carter as her partner.

  “Not so fast.” Matt slaps her hand and reaches into the hat. He plucks two small scraps of paper from it and drops one back in. He slowly unfolds the paper, reads the name to himself and chuckles coolly.

  Skylar already knows the answer. "Oh great."

  Matt shoots a cold glare toward Felicia. "Looks like you're stuck with me, sweetheart."

  Felicia turns to Destiny. "Best two out of three?" She looks like she’s begging.

  "No. That's not how this game works.” Destiny delivers her best pointed glare. “Each of the groomsmen get to pick their princess. That’s the game." Destiny reaches the hat out to Grant and glances back at Matt.

  "Matty, it's you. You're the one that will be paired with Felicia," she states.

  "Great." His sarcasm is far from secret, even if it is just an act.

  Felicia rolls her eyes, not appearing too impressed by the selection either.

  "Deal with it," Destiny orders, reading both their minds.

  Skylar’s friend, Grant, picks next. “Natalie,” he announces.

  Natalie is happily greeted by her new partner. He makes her blush profusely.

  Kyla, Destiny’s sister, doesn’t have any choice in the matter. “Looks like I’m stuck with the drill sergeant.”

  Ca
rter smirks at her. “Looks like.”

  When Felicia catches the pairings, she spins away from Matt and throws a tantrum. “We’re not walking together. Pick someone else,” she urges. Her frustration is bolting from her body like lightning and everyone can see it.

  Matt discreetly drops Kyla’s name back in the hat with the other shred of paper, while everyone is taken aback from Felicia’s outrageous response. He’d had a good chance that his plan would blow up in his face. Looks like luck was finally on his side.

  Chapter 11: Painful Promises

  Felicia fumes as Matt smirks in her direction. What is he smiling about? She saw him with that girl in the black dress. They’re obviously together. She saw the way the girl’s tongue went down his throat, after she snaked her arm around his neck. Now, Felicia only sees red.

  “Get over yourself,” Kyla chirps at Felicia. “I’m sure you can handle walking down the aisle with Matt for all of two minutes.”

  “Why don’t you pair up with him if you like him so much?”

  Felicia hates that Kyla is here. She’s nothing like Destiny, and she’s been getting on her nerves ever since she arrived.

  Destiny slides in between the two of them like a referee. “What’s the problem here?”

  Matt pipes up. “Ask the wicked witch over there. She can’t even pretend to be nice to me.”

  Anger washes over a heavy heart. Kyla seems to get a kick out of it, especially when Matt flashes her a wink. Felicia fumes even more from that exchange.

  "I’m not walking with Matt,” Felicia announces. “I refuse to walk with him. He can't even walk, for God's sake!”

  She instantly covers her mouth, regretting those words before they’ve even left her lips. Everyone freezes in place, leaving her blow hanging in the air between them, while they silently await Matt’s reaction.

  Yep, she's pulled the disability card. Again. And she already feels like a cruel bitch for doing it. The truth is: she can't walk with him. There are too many memories that are too easily rummaged up. She’s managed to keep them bundled away in the dark recesses of her mind for this long, but they’re all hanging in limbo, on the verge of breaking reality.