Famished (The Broken Series)

by Ellie Messe

  "Who are you calling trash?" Lacy shrieks, lunging forward. Before she reaches me, Haleys steps forward blocking her way, getting maybe an inch from her face, "Back the fuck up."

  People start shouting, because apparently that’s the way this family tries to calm situations now.

  “Kick her ass, Hales!” I yell over the rush before I’m pushed back.

  “She doesn’t need to get in a fist fight, douchebag!” Parker yells in my face when I right my footing.

  Welp. Shouldn’t have done that. My right, once again, comes forward catching him in the same spot as last night. After that we just start throwing hands, trying to land as many as we can. I’m not sure where I’m hit or where I’m hitting, I’m seeing red and just trying to do more damage.

  I’m yanked back by my collar before Josh’s face fills my vision, “WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU GUYS?!”

  I’m breathing heavy, trying to move Josh while Vinny and Maria separate the girls.

  “She’s already hurt!” Parker roars over Josh’s shoulder.

  “And you treating her like shit isn’t helping!”

  "You fucking whore!" Lacy shouts winning my attention, "You were nothing but an easy fuck, he said so himself."

  Maria’s face turns dark and I watch as she lets go of Haley and steps back.

  “Oh shit.” Slips out of my open mouth. I almost want to laugh.

  “Maria!” Josh shouts as Haley steps in Lacy’s face.

  That bitch didn’t even see it coming; in a move so fast, Hales gets Lacy on the ground, her head literally bouncing off the tile before Haley sits on her, sending hit after hit to the center of Lacy’s face.

  “Fuck yeah, Hales! Beat her ass!”

  Josh steps between Parker and I once again, “Everyone stop!”

  “That’s what you get for waving that cunt in her face! Still think that was a wise move, asshole?”

  “Fuck you, Drew.”

  “Parker!” Josh seethes, red faced.

  Parker moves past him, wrapping his arms around Haley’s waist and lifts her off the blonde mess currently acting like she needs an ambulance.

  "Put me down!" Haley bucks wildly in his arms as he moves towards the front of the house.

  “Her ribs!” I yell, he either ignores me or can’t hear over Haley’s threats as she spills venom.

  “What the fuck?” Josh breathes next to me, moving to help Jules peel Lacy off the floor.

  Blood is splattered on her cheek; her nose is like a faucet, and those perfect locks are matted to the side of her head.

  “Oh, you’re fine. Walk it off.” Josh gives me the death glare over his shoulder as they cart her off to his office. “She fucking deserved it.”

  “Doesn’t mean you need to make it worse.” Vinny also blesses me with the same glare as Josh while he follows them.

  Shrugging, I swipe my lip. Bastard split me open again. Wiping the blood on my jeans I feel Maria’s eyes on me, looking up I’m not wrong, though I wasn’t expecting for her to be pissed too. “What?”

  “What?” She echoes angrily. “Boy, I’m tempted to even out that lip right about now.”

  “Parker and Lacy both deserved it.”

  “I know Lacy did.”

  “And Parker.”

  “Why? Because he had his arm around her?”

  “You were glaring just as hard, so don’t act like that was okay.”

  “I glared, I didn’t punch him!”

  “Did you know he told Haley to stay away from him?” I yell, frustrated.

  She pulls back, staring at me like I just announced I was settling down with a nice girl in the suburbs, “When?”

  “Last night! He found out Hales was back and lost his shit.”

  “So this wasn’t the first time you guys lost your minds?” Her tone is slowly coming down from anger to disappointment.

  “No, I went over to his place last night and we didn’t exactly see eye to eye when it came to Haley.”

  “So, she was the secret?”

  I nod, just before Josh shouts down the hall calling for Maria to bring ice. “Just break off a piece of her heart.” I mumble passing her.

  Peering into the office, I catch Lacy howling with tears, holding kleenex to her face. It’s not even that bad, Parker should have let her do her business, I’ve always been curious to know how much damage Haley would be able to dish out.

  “Where the hell are you going?” Josh growls from his desk with a phone pressed against his ear.

  I nod toward the ceiling, “Go get Hales.”

  “Not a chance. Go park your ass somewhere, we’re getting to the bottom of this.”

  “Best of luck accomplishing that before I take Hales home.”

  “Dammit, Drew!”

  I don’t care. I mean; I do, but I don’t. I care that he’s mad at me, but I don’t care at the same time because I’m not wrong, Haley’s not wrong.

  “Let them clear the air.” Maria says gently, pausing in the door, “Wait for her to come down on her own.”

  “Fuck that, and wait for Parker to break her heart again?”

  “Just,” She sighs heavily, handing Jules the bowl of ice and hand towel, “Let them be. They could be making up and I highly doubt that’s a sight you want to see.”

  Ew. “Fair point. But the second she’s ready to go, we’re leaving.”

  She smiles a sad smile, rubbing my arm as she exits the room.

  Wanting nothing to do with the bleeding bottle of peroxide, I park my ass on the stairs. Halfway point between Hales and the door.

  I should have known Maria would have known my intentions because she follows me moments later, sitting on the seat above me giving a heavy sigh.

  “I won’t say I’m proud of what you did.”

  “I know.”

  “But I will say I’m proud of Haley.”

  Unexpected laughter takes hold of me, “Yeah, me too.”

  “Did Parker really tell her to stay away?”

  “Not from you guys, but he told her to stay away from him.”

  She shakes her head, footsteps sound behind us, like a couple of owls we both look at Hales as she comes down.

  "Everything okay?" I stand up, ready to bolt if she needs to.

  She nods her head, looking at Maria, "I'm so sorry. I should never have disrespected you like th-"

  Maria waves her off unenthusiastically, "What happened?"

  Nosy ass.

  "We yelled."

  She smiles, "And did that get you anywhere?"

  "Got me downstairs." I cock a smile, always the smart ass. "She still here?"

  "In Josh's study." I say, nodding to the hallway.

  "How mad is he?"

  "He's pretending to be mad." Maria says. "He'll be over it once she leaves."

  "You mean he's pretending to be mad at Hales." I know for a fact he’s not even in the same zip code as the term angry when it comes to Parker and me.

  "Right."

  Hales sits down, burying her face in her lap on the step behind Maria so we make this weird, angled line. My eyes shift with movement as Parker appears at the top of the banister.

  "You done being a dick?" He glares at me as he walks down, "You're lucky Hales went after that gash and not you."

  "She took a swing or two." Parker says as he passes me.

  "I hope she knocked your ass out."

  "Pretty sure she tried."

  Sitting next to Hales, I nudge her with my shoulder, "Good for you."

  "Lacy's in the office with Josh." Maria tells Parker, disappointment heavy in her tone. "You should probably take her home now."

  He nods, giving Hales a sad love-struck puppy glance before continuing forward.

  "You knocked him out, didn't you? That's why it took him so long to come back down?"

  "No."

  "Shame. He would have fucking deserved it."

  "Andrew."

  "Maria." I give her the same parental tone and stare.

  "He's
your brother."

  "And he's an asshole."

  "It's my fault." Haley pulls her face from her lap, "None of this would have happened if it weren't for me."

  "It's not your fault." I bite out. I fucking knew she’d blame herself, next step for her is running.

  "You don't know the whole story."

  I don’t have time to respond before a pissed off Josh finds us, "Family meeting. My office. Right now." Maria and I stand immediately, "Haley, that means you, let’s go. Now."

  "I thought you said-" She says behind us as we pass Josh.

  "Office."

  I move to make room for Vinny and Jules, but let Lacy walk into my shoulder as she passes me in the hall, “Asshole.”

  “Watch yourself, Hales is right there.”

  Her head snaps up, looking around right as I start laughing. Said laughter is cut short when a hand makes contact with the back of my head, “Gah!”

  “Knock it off.” Ew, dad voice.

  Entering his office, we all take our predetermined spots; Parker and I both take one of the gray wingback chairs, Maria behind the desk and Josh pulls the red chair from the corner between Parker and I before leaning against the desk, glaring at us while we wait for Hales to enter.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Drew

  "Park it." Josh tells Haley when she enters. She obeys, taking a seat and leaning into my shoulder.

  "What. The. Fuck. You guys?" He starts. "All three of you show up looking like you stepped into the ring and no one's willing to talk about it and then you all lose your minds. You boys start throwing hands at each other while you, my newest child, starts pounding that girl into the ground. So, someone better start talking."

  The three of us remain silent and Josh grows angrier.

  "Parker, care to tell me how you went from being with Haley in Georgia to bringing Lacy tonight? Or Drew, might want to shed some light on why you took a swing at Parker? Or maybe Haley would like to start by telling me literally anything because I have no idea what's going on with you." He looks at each of us in turn.

  "Took a swing at Parker for being a dick."

  Haley limply raises her hand as well, "I also swung at him for the same reason."

  "That's just fantastic. Care to elaborate?"

  His eyes stay on Haley and I hear her take a nervous breath. When his eyes don't waver, she gives in. "After letting that bleached skank grind against him he thought it was wise to make a move on me. I wasn't feeling it so I swung at him."

  Josh's eyes touch Parker, "Didn't connect." Parker tells him. A small amount of petty pride blooms when he waves at his bruised jaw, "That's Drew's right."

  "And that happened before you showed up?" Nods happen, "Why?"

  "I picked Hales up from the airport yesterday.” I decide to spill, “We didn't tell Parker, he found out and told Haley to stay away from him. After seeing her reaction, I went over to have words."

  "Words don't leave marks. What happened that lead to hands being thrown?"

  "I, uh” Fuck this is going to piss him off something fierce, “I sort of opened with that."

  Josh closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. "Drew, from the beginning- go."

  "Apparently Haley told him shit in Georgia that pissed him off, then he came over to her place and saw her face and told her to stay away from him, Hales was a fucking mess and instead of manning the fuck up and taking care of his girl, he left. I went over to tell him to stop being a cock sucker when I lost my mind thinking about what he did, went in swinging. We both took a couple of hits, then I left. Crashed at Hales’ place and came here to find him with that gash on his lap when he knew she was going to be here tonight. Then he fucking smiled when he saw it bothered Hales and again- I lost it. Took a swing." I shrug. "That's all of it." I decide to leave the frustration I feel about the whole silence from Emma thing and how that played a part in my short fuse.

  Josh looks at the three of us, searching for holes in my story before turning his attention to his next target, "Haley, from the beginning- go."

  "She called me a whore so I beat her ass. The end."

  "You're missing the Parker parts of that story."

  "His main source of pussy was currently lying on your kitchen floor so he thought he could borrow me for a round. I took a swing."

  Josh pinches the bridge of his nose, "I'm really hoping that's not the whole truth. Parker, from the beginning- go."

  "Took a swing at Drew cause he failed to tell me not only that she was back, but that it looked like someone took a bat to her face. Have Haley take that makeup off and you'll understand why I was so pissed." He takes a breath and pushes it out, "I brought Lacy to piss Haley off and get her to admit she's in love with me. After she beat the shit out of her I pulled her upstairs and she was all pissed off and hot, I made a move, she took a swing. I pinned her against the wall. She can say she wasn't having any of it but she's got a complex with admitting how she feels."

  "Fuck you. I do not have a complex with admitting how I feel. "

  "No?"

  "Was my right hook too subtle for you?"

  A smile spreads across my face at her wittiness, though it fades under the glare I catch from Maria.

  "I don't know, sweetheart. Does it count after you've already let me put my hand down your pants?"

  Her entire body tightens, fuck Maria’s glare at this point. This shit is too good. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

  "I'm in love with a girl who refuses to let me love her. What's your excuse?" Parker yells.

  "I believed you when you made promises and then watched as you broke every. Single. One. Of them." She rages, her tone enough to make even my balls quiver and she’s not even angry at me.

  "Alright!" Josh steps in. "Jesus."

  "I asked you to come with me!" Parker yells, ignoring him.

  "And I told you I couldn't!" She screams back.

  "Why?!"

  Shaking her head, she leans back into my chair. Josh looks between them and sighs. "Haley, if I ask you to talk about why you left, why you came back and why you're returning to Nevada, are you going to answer?"

  "No, probably not."

  "Okay. Is there any part of it that you are willing to talk about?"

  "Not if you expect the truth." Parker cuts him off, "She'll give you a few lies, I'm sure."

  "Fuck off, Parker."

  "Am I wrong?"

  "I lie because it protects people."

  "Bullshit. You lie to protect yourself."

  "Is that right?" She stands up, "Maybe you didn't get a good enough look at what happens when people ask questions."

  "Let us protect you!" He yells, standing up to meet her.

  Being the wise man I am, I grab the arms of my chair and move it back a few feet to better watch the show while simultaneously being out of elbow distance in case she decides to swing again. Now I’m not responsible for stopping her.

  "You can't protect me!"

  "How would you know? You haven't given us the chance!"

  "Because I already know!"

  Josh steps forward, hands surrendered, "Whoa, you guys are getting too heated."

  "Fuck that. That's the only way you can get anything out of her." Parker tells him without taking his eyes off her.

  "Fuck you, that's not true."

  "No? Would I know what you hide under your sleeves if you weren't pissed?"

  Haley and I both look nervously at Josh and Maria, you can see the curiosity on Josh’s face, but Maria...she knows. I don’t know how she knows, but she does. Her face shows sympathy not confusion.

  "Stop." Haley growls low.

  "No. Answer me. Would you have ever told me?"

  "No. Now, shut up!"

  "You hide and you run and you lie and then you wonder why people leave?"

  Haley steps back like he slapped her. I immediately stand to knock a few manners down his throat when Josh steps forward stopping me. He gently shakes his head and I sit back down.


  "I didn't mean for it to come out like that." He back peddles.

  "Yes, you did, man of few words. You don't let your mouth run off, everything you say is said with purpose. You want to know why I lie? I lie because the truth is painful and the truth is haunting and I'm choosing to spare you of that knowledge. Here, I'll give you an example. Remember when you told Kaylan where to take me? Remember when I said it was dangerous and you needed to stay away from me?” My brow furrows, this isn’t going where I think it is, is it? Parker nods. “Ask me what happened to my face."

  Fuck. I sigh heavily, closing my eyes briefly. "Go ahead, Parker. Ask."

  When he doesn't speak she continues and I really wish she didn’t, "My dad found out you paid me a visit so he sent my brothers in. After he kicked down the bathroom door he dragged me out by my hair and threw me into the living room where he proceeded to slap me around, after kneeing me in the stomach he had them hold me down so he could sit on top of me and I had to watch as his fists came down knowing there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it. There you go, Parker. There's your fucking truth. Now, what would you prefer? Knowing that because you ignored my warning I got my ass kicked or accepting the lie I fed you?"

  Parker staggers back a step, pleading eyes search ours before landing back on Haley. I went from wanting to pound his face into his ribcage to wanting to hug him in a nanosecond.

  "I'm sorry, was that painful to hear?” She cocks her head to the side, “Let me guess, that feeling in your chest isn't anger anymore- it's guilt. The truth hurts, Parker. Anything else you want to know while I'm dishing it out?"

  "I have one," I say, immediately regretting speaking out loud when her eyes land on me. Her glare so powerful I have to readjust in my chair to avoid it. "What's the job in Reno?"

  "He didn’t give me the specifics."

  "Is it-" How can you politely say hooking? Remembering it’s not just me and her in this room, I shake my head, "Nah, never mind. I don't want to know."

  "Were you going to ask if history was going to repeat itself?" She asks calmly, I don’t want to know, but I need to. I give her the smallest of nods. "That would be my guess."

  My chest collapses making every breath feel like thousands of needles penetrating my lungs at the same time.

  "What about you, Parker? Anything you want to ask? You've been full of questions lately. Let's hear them." She spits while I continue staring at my lap.