Broken

by Teigen Harper

  She shakes her head. “I don’t want to get in the way. That and I still need to keep my grades up so I can keep my scholarship.”

  “Fair enough, but so that you know, you could never get in the way.”

  Chapter Eight

  Logan

  My father told me he'd meet me at my agent’s office. Before leaving the house that morning, I pulled Lucas to the side and asked him to keep an eye on Hayley. I know she’ll be Ashleigh’s target. The minute this meeting is over, I’ll head over to the school.

  Not often do I get nervous, but while I sit here in the all-glass office, spying on my agent who’s on his phone behind the desk, I hear my name called, “Logan,” I shift my gaze and see my father coming towards me.

  I rise to my feet, and he takes me in his embrace. “Hey dad, thanks for coming.”

  He lets go of me and takes a step back. “Not a problem. I’m here to make sure they don’t try to fuck you over.” He throws his head in my agent's direction.

  I nod. “Thanks.”

  “How’s Hayley?”

  My eyes close for a moment. “It’s going to be hard. She’s worried I’ll lose interest in her while we’re apart.”

  He moves towards the sofas. “Come, sit.” So I do. “I take it you told her you wouldn’t?”

  Again, I nod. “I did.”

  “Do you know for certain that you won’t stray?”

  My head snaps up, my eyes on his. “Yes, I’m sure,” I say a little louder than intended.

  Holding his hands up in defense, he tells me, “Don’t get pissed, I don’t want you making her promises you can’t keep.” He leans forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “The major leagues will attract a lot of women, a lot of hot women. Can you with all honesty tell me you will always say no to them? That after not seeing Hayley for six weeks because of your schedule, you won’t be tempted?” I see the look he’s giving me, he’s more concerned for Hayley than anything else.

  My head drops again. “I don’t want anyone except her. I want her to come with me, dad. I want her to drop out and be with me, but I can’t do it. I can’t make her give up everything she’s worked so hard for.” My head stays down.

  “Please don’t ever stray on her. Have the decency to break up with her first.” That was his last comment on the subject.

  ONCE THE PAPERWORK was signed, I hopped in my car and made my way over to the school. I’d tried calling Hayley a few times, but she wasn’t answering. I even tried Lucas, and I had the same thing, so I began to worry.

  Hayley

  I’d hitched a ride to school with Lucas because I didn’t want to walk in alone. When he pulled into the lot, I immediately knew the whole school had seen Ashleigh’s secret.

  “Holy hell,” Lucas laughs.

  Everyone’s buzzing, half of them are laughing, and the other half’s mouths are big O’s. “Looks like the word’s out.”

  “Sure is. Come on, let’s do this.” We hop out and fall into step together as we make our way to the lockers.

  “OMG, what a whore,” I heard one girl say.

  “I fucking knew it. She was trying to sleep with my boyfriend,” says another.

  While we’re grabbing our books from our lockers, I hear a shriek. Turning on my heels, I check to see who it is.

  “Fuck yes,” Lucas laughs.

  Ashleigh is now aware of the advertising Lucas had plastered around the school. “Should I stand back and wait for the onslaught? Or just continue with my day,” I ask as I rest my back against the locker bay.

  “I don’t think it matters, but I want you to stick with me all day, okay?”

  “Logan put you on babysitting duty, didn’t he?” I ask, but I already know the answer.

  “Yup, but don’t get mad at him, he was just worried.” He comes into my eye-line.

  “I’m not pissed. I’m going to try my hardest not to be pissed at him between now and June.” I take a breath. “Fuck, I’m going to miss him, Lucas.” My head rests on his shoulder, his arms embracing me.

  “Me, too. I promise to try my hardest to keep you distracted. Whether it works or not? I have no fucking idea.”

  I didn’t even see her coming. She had me out of Lucas’s arms and slammed up against the lockers in an instant. “I know you did this. Has he told you about Callie yet?” she sneers, but I remain still. She’s so mad that even Lucas can’t pull her away. “So he didn’t tell you how he got her pregnant?” My stomach drops and I see the smirk. “Tell him she never got the abortion, that’s why she never came back.” Lucas has stopped fighting. He’s in as much shock as I am.

  I never even saw the knife, but I felt it as it slipped into my stomach. Ashleigh smiled, turned, and walked away. It wasn’t until I’d hit the floor that Lucas saw she’d stabbed me.

  He dropped to his knees

  beside me and started yelling orders. I knew I was as good as dead. I saw how much blood was pouring out of me.

  Moments later, I heard him screaming my name as my eyelids drifted shut. The only thing running through my head was the fact that Logan had kept something so big from me. Again. He promised me that there would be no more secrets.

  Logan

  As I drive into the parking lot, all I can see are people and police.

  “Fuck!”

  I stop the car and leave it running, I need to know what happened. My stomach is nauseous, and Zac is the first person I see, the first person I know.

  His eyes widen, “Why aren’t you at the fucking hospital,” he shouts while his hands run through his hair, out of frustration.

  My feet come to a stop. “Why, why would I need to be at the hospital?”

  “Shit, you don’t know.” His eyes briefly close. “Ashleigh stabbed Hayley.”

  My torso doubles over, and I throw up. I can’t move. The girl that owns my heart and soul was stabbed. “Come on, I’ll take you in your car.” I hear him say, and I agree. Even I know I won’t be able to get myself to her, alive.

  My head is between my legs the whole way. I keep blaming myself for everything that had happened to her. No matter how many times I tried calling, no one answered.

  THE MINUTE WE’D PULLED up to the emergency department, Zac told me he’d park the car and drop the keys in. The second I was in the doors I searched for the front desk, but instead of a desk, I found Lucas sitting in the waiting area with his head down.

  “What the fuck happened?” I yell as I head towards him. His head snaps up.

  “Ashleigh fucking stabbed her, and the cunt told her about Callie.” He stands and gets right in my face. Lucas was supposed to protect Hayley, and he let her get fucking stabbed. “Callie never had the abortion, Logan!”

  His words hit me like a slap in the face, and I begin to falter. Lucas grabs my arm and leads me to the chair where I drop down into it. I can’t focus on this now. I just can't. “Hayley, what have they told you about Hayley?” I breathe.

  “Jack shit. They won’t let me in because I’m not a relative.” I hear him sigh out of frustration.

  “Who do I talk to?”

  “The bitches behind the counter.” He points to where the front desk is.

  “They won’t let you in,” he warns.

  When I stand, my head begins to spin. “You think if I told them I’m her husband they'd let me in?” It worked when we did it the day Hayley overdosed on sleeping pills. Trying again can’t hurt.

  Lucas also stands. “It’s worth a shot.”

  “If it doesn’t, they’ll have to call the cops because I’ll be going in, either way.” I walk over and wait for the chubby, mid-fifties, white-haired, woman to finish with her call.

  When finished, she looks up and gives me a warm smile. “Can I help you?”

  “My wife was brought in with a stab wound, Hayley Crossgrove.” I hate saying the words. 'Stab' caught in my throat.

  Her smile turns to sadness, “She’s still in surgery. I can let you in so you can wait in the surgical waiting room.”
<
br />   I take a breath. “Thank you. Can my brother come?”

  Her sad smile is back. “Of course. It’s just through that door on your right,” she points to a big blue door. “The signs will tell you where to go.”

  “Thanks.” I turn to Lucas, “Come on." He moves towards me.

  We found the waiting room and each time the theater doors opened, I’d jump up, but it was never for us. I became exasperated and stressed.

  “Have you called Toni?” Lucas asks.

  “No. I’ll do it now. She needs to know.” I pull my phone out of my pocket and dial her number.

  “Logan, is that you?” she asks.

  “Yeah.”

  “You sound down, what’s the matter? Is Hayley okay?”

  “No. You need to get home, now.”

  “You’re scaring me.”

  “Hayley was stabbed at school. I have no updates, yet.”

  “Oh, Logan. I’ll get on a plane now. Please, even if I don’t answer because I’m in the air and the plane isn't equipped with WIFI, please text with updates, and I will call you the moment I land.”

  “I will. Hurry.”

  “I will. When she wakes, tell her I’m on my way and that I love her.”

  “Of course.” And I hang up.

  “Can you call dad?” I ask as I toss my phone to Lucas.

  While we’re waiting, two female, uniformed officers enter the room. “Hello, are either of you Lucas Reed?” the tall woman with red hair asks.

  “Yeah, that’s me,” he raises his head and stands.

  “We were told you were with Miss Crossgrove when the incident took place?”

  His eyes burn with fury. “Incident? Are you calling a stabbing an incident?" I rise to my feet and place my hand on Lucas’s shoulder.

  Screaming won’t get us anywhere. “Just tell them what you saw,” I breathe.

  The red-haired cop looks at me, “And you are?”

  “He’s engaged to Hayley,” Lucas is trying to keep his calm.

  “You weren’t there when it took place?” she moves towards me.

  I shake my head. “No, I was in a meeting with my father and agent at the time. When she didn’t answer her phone, I drove straight to the school. When I arrived, a friend told me what happened and offered to drive me here. I knew Ashleigh had issues, but never did I think that this would happen.” Never did I think Hayley’s life would be in danger.

  The officer’s features soften, and her attention moves back to Lucas. “Could you come with us and give a statement?”

  He shakes his head. “I’m not leaving the hospital,” he tells her.

  The officers glance at one another, then turn back to face him. “We can go to the cafeteria if you like?” Lucas faces me.

  “Go, I want that bitch to stay where she is. You need to tell them everything you remember. Do it for Hayley,” I say.

  “That, I can do. I’ve got my cell, call me if the doctor comes out before I’m back.” He’s dead serious.

  “No problem.”

  When they left the room, I sat back down. Each minute that passed, felt like forever.

  WHILE I PACED THE SMALL room, a short, balding man who I assume is a doctor (because of the scrubs he was wearing) came out and asked if I was Hayley’s husband.

  “Yes, how is she? Is she okay?”

  He takes a deep breath - that’s not good. Panic fills my insides. “We lost her, twice.” My breathing stops, but he continues, “The bleeding was uncontrollable.” I’m going to be sick again, I have to sit, so I take a couple of steps back until I feel the chair hit the backs of my knees and drop into it.

  The doctor takes the seat beside me. “We managed to stop the bleeding, but the knife punctured her kidney. Whether we have done enough to save it, we won’t know for some time. We will have to watch her closely. She also had to have five pints of blood. I won’t lie to you, she is in horrible shape, but she is also young and fit, so she may just be okay. She will have to stay in the hospital for some time, though.”

  My body leans forward, my elbows on my knees, my head in my hands. “Can I see her?” It comes out barely a whisper.

  “You can, but she is very pale and still under the anesthetic.” He stands, and I follow suit.

  As I head for the door, Lucas calls from behind, “Is she okay?” I turn to face him.

  “They don’t know, but they’re letting me see her.”

  He swiftly moves towards us. “I’m coming.”

  “Okay, but you must keep it down, we don’t want her becoming upset or agitated,” the doctor explains.

  “Then you shouldn’t go in to see her,” Lucas crosses his arms over his chest.

  I want to hit him. My hands are balled into fists at my side. “Fuck you.”

  “Fuck you, she doesn’t need your shit,” he growls. “I swear, I care for her more than you do at the moment.” His eyes are slits.

  “If you think I don’t care, or love her, then you have no idea.” I want to hit him. I want to throw him to the ground and bash the living fuck out of him.

  “I’m sorry, but if you pair can’t put your emotions aside, I will not let you in to see her,” the doctor is firm, and I know he won’t budge. If I don’t calm the fuck down, he’ll make sure I’m escorted out of here, in cuffs.

  I let my arms relax. “No, we’re okay, doc. Let’s go.” Lucas has also calmed down. We can’t let Hayley down because we can’t push our anger aside.

  We followed him through to where she lay. She was white and had tubes coming and going from her. I took the chair beside her and cupped her hand between mine. I wanted to cry, I wanted to scream.

  IN THE HOURS THAT PASSED, I didn’t leave her side. My father came in, and just the look on his face told me he was scared. Stef flew in and sat with me as I waited for Hayley to wake. My eyes stayed on her, I needed her to wake up. I needed her to tell me she was okay.

  As the clock ticked, so did my heart, but then I felt her hand twitch, and I stood over her.

  “Hayley, baby,” I whisper, and I lean in and kiss her cheek.

  In my peripheral, I see Stef leave the room, closing the door behind her. “Hayley, baby, please open your eyes.” I feel the tears, and I swipe at them with my free hand.

  Her eyes flutter open. “Hmm,” is all she managed.

  “Are you okay?” I kiss her cheek again.

  She seems confused, but then her eyes are sharp. “Baby.”

  “Yeah?”

  Slowly, she shakes her

  head. “No, you had one and didn’t tell me.” She went from confused to mad, but she’s still under the influence of the sedation. She might be hallucinating.

  I want to throw up, again. “I didn’t know.”

  “You did. Don’t lie to me. You lied, again,” she whispers. Tears form in the corners of her eyes and my heart sinks.

  “Fuck. I didn’t know she didn't right the situation, we had a plan.” My mouth is dry.

  “You kept it from me. You kept something so huge, a secret, a secret your ex-fuck had to tell me about before she fucking stabbed me.” I can see she’s in pain. She can barely function.

  I want her to drop it for the moment and yell at me when she’s stronger. When she’ll be able to cope better.

  Hayley

  He keeps lying to me. I'm groggy and in pain, but I need him to know. “You kept something so huge from me. You don’t trust me, Logan. Go and deal with it. Go and find out what the fuck happened,” I whisper over my tears. The pain is more than I can cope with. Between his lying and my stab wound, it’s simply more than I can take.

  He leans over and presses his forehead against mine. “I’m not leaving you.”

  “You already have. Go. I’m done.” And I close my eyes.

  “Are you serious? I can’t leave you like this. That's something that can be dealt with later,” I can hear he’s scared.

  Gently, I shake my head again. “I don’t know why you keep me at arm’s length, I’m not even su
re if you know what love is. I can’t promise to marry you anymore. I’m done. Go off and have a great life filled with women you can fuck, at random, Logan. You have no idea what a relationship is.” My throat hurts, I can’t swallow over the lump. I thought he loved me, but it’s just another situation where I’m made to look a stupid fucking fool.

  “No, no, no, don’t do this, Hayley. You don’t mean it. There is no one else I want to be with.” His voice is filled with pain, but in the end, I know he’ll be better off being with other women. He doesn’t need me tying him down.

  “Please, just go.” My eyes remain closed. “I’ll make sure you get your grandmother’s ring back. Good luck in your life. For what it’s worth, I loved you, and I still love you.” I can’t press on, it hurt’s too fucking much, both physically and mentally.

  “Umm, what’s going on?” I hear Stef ask.

  “Get him out of here, please,” I cry.

  “Let go,” I open my eyes, his face is still in front of mine, his blue eyes are welling with tears.

  “You don’t know what you’re saying, baby. Please don’t do this. Don’t push me out of your life,” he begs, crying.

  My tears blur my vision, “Stef,” I cry.

  “Come on,” she pulls him by the arm, his gaze stays locked with mine until she has him out of the room.

  The second he’s gone, my chest heaves with my sobs. I just pushed the man I love away, but I know it’s best for him.

  My eyes close as the pain heightens. A moment later, Stef returns, she takes the spot Logan was just in. “What happened?” she asks as she takes my hand in hers.

  “Can you call for a nurse?” I ask through my sobs.

  She reaches over, pressing the buzzer and a young nurse comes running in, “Everything okay?” she asks.

  “In pain. Lots of pain.”

  The young brunette nods, “I’ll be right back.” And she leaves the room.

  “What happened? Why did you kick Logan out?” Stef asks while taking my hand in hers again.

  Taking a few breaths, I tell her, “I let him go. He doesn’t love me, he keeps me because he can. Have you heard the latest?” I whisper.

  “Lucas called. I can’t believe he was so stupid. But I do know he does love you, Hayley. He really does.”