Broken Bonds (Unbreakable Bonds #1)

Chapter One

chapter one

CELINE

I almost hit him.

The guy on a red motorcycle, whizzing around the roundabout like he was invincible, had the audacity to stop and flip me the finger when I didn’t brake fast enough for his liking. Even though it wasn’t my fault he was exceeding the speed limit… or that he’d failed to yield.

What an asshole .

Not to mention, the hideous, neon-green mohawk helmet he wore didn’t match his bike at all.

But at least I didn’t hit him.

After slowing my racing heart, I continued home, taking a different route, driving slowly down the familiar roads, triple-checking for more reckless motorcyclists. When I drove past my old high school, I was reminded of why I didn’t take this route home anymore.

Ryan, my older brother, was always the popular one surrounded by friends. I used to be envious until he noticed, and suddenly, he was filled with great ideas that involved me stepping outside of my comfort zone. I instantly regretted every time I complained about my lack of friends at the dinner table.

Saturday morning, I volunteered my time and dignity by standing at the entrance of my high school, wearing a bright smile and sleepy eyes. My best and only friend, Emily, stood beside me. We did everything together, and so, when Ryan proposed starting a new welcoming committee, I had to drag her along. No way was I doing it alone.

He usually stood with us by the entrance of the school, but not today. Instead, he was touring a college with Dad near our house. He would be leaving for college next Fall, and I would be the new president of the welcoming committee. Therefore, Emily and I took charge of the front entrance, where we had to greet everyone who would be starting school the following Monday. We weren’t alone, and a few more students were inside, manning different hallways.

This morning was different because, for once, there was a cute guy walking in my direction instead of Emily’s with a big, goofy grin and messy, brown hair that swayed with every step. He also had big, chocolate-brown eyes. Totally my type. I just wasn’t used to guys bypassing my much prettier best friend to talk to me.

His eyes flickered to my name badge before clearing his throat. “Hi there, Celine. Name’s Aidan, and it appears I’m more lost than I thought I would be. Could you point me to the sophomore lockers?” He ran a hand through his shaggy hair, drawing my attention to the way the veins in his arms stood out.

“Bee!” Emily bumped into my side, pretending to squeal about a bee, but I knew better. She was the only girl I knew that wasn’t scared of bugs—especially bees. She thought they were cute creatures.

“Hey, Aidan,” Emily greeted, beaming at him. “Welcome to Heritage Prep! I would love to show you where the sophomore lockers are; it’s a bit tricky to explain. Celine, on the other hand, is a pro.” I stumbled a little when Emily roughly nudged me toward him.

I turned, walking through the big, green double doors for the school, shooting a glare at Emily for throwing me into this uncomfortable situation, who only winked in response.

“Not very talkative, are you?” Aidan asked after a moment, his shoulder brushing mine as we walked through the empty hallway.

“Not really. Pretty shy actually.” I played with the ring on my right middle finger, turning it around my finger to ease my nerves.

“If it makes you feel any better, I’m shy, too. I had to leave my other school because of bullying. I needed a fresh start.” I stopped in the sophomore hall, turning to look at him in surprise. He was bullied?

“I’m sorry; that’s awful,” I finally managed to say. “I hope you have a better experience here.” I ran a hand through my hair, pushing a fallen lock out of my face.

“It’s already better.” He flashed me a grin that melted my heart. “I’m talking to a pretty girl before school starts, and I’m hoping I’ll convince her to be my friend by the time I leave.” My cheeks flamed red, and heat crept up my neck at the compliment. That was a first.

“I can’t make any promises.” I roughly cleared my throat, hating how strangled my voice sounded. “Here’s the sophomore hall. What number did you get?”

“Not yours, unfortunately.” He laughed awkwardly at his lame attempt at a joke, pulling a crumpled piece of paper out of his back pocket. I was too surprised by his words to laugh. I was not used to be guys flirting with me. “Two-ten,” he said before pushing the wrinkled paper back into his pocket.

“Lucky for you, that’s right next to mine.” He smiled that same goofy grin that had been on his face when he walked over to Em and me. My heart fluttered at the sight of it; I really liked that smile.

“We’re going to be best friends. I can already see it. It’s fate we’re locker neighbors.” I laughed this time, instantly covering my mouth and closing my eyes in embarrassment at the sound that came out. I had an unattractive laugh.

After showing him how to open the locker and pointing out some of the classes he would have on Monday, we walked back to the entrance. He was cracking jokes left and right, and most of them weren’t funny, but I laughed each time because he was trying, and I was enjoying myself .

When I made it back to my post, Emily turned to me with big, excited eyes and ran over to me, disregarding the mom who was walking up to her. The mom scowled at Emily’s back. “Did he kiss you?” she shrieked, catching the attention of the woman who walked by, shaking her head and ushering her young daughter past us quickly. An embarrassed flush stained my cheeks.

“No, definitely not! I don’t even know him, Em!” She shrugged at my reply, handing a welcome pamphlet to a nearby couple with their son.

“You are pretty red,” she teased. “Did you give him your number at least?” I shot her a glare. She shook her head in disappointment and heaved a disappointed sigh. “I would’ve asked for his number and kissed him goodbye.”

Emily and I weren’t the same—she loved boys, and she showed them that love any chance she got. She went out with a different guy every Friday night, then would sleep over at my house, and we’d spend hours whispering into the night about our dream guy.

“I don’t know him, Em. I’m not you. I don’t trust just anyone.”

She rolled her eyes at me. “Well, how are you supposed to get to know him if you don’t try, silly?”

I found myself smiling as I thought about our conversation and his not-so-funny jokes. Nothing could upset me that day. The smile never left my lips, and the giddy feeling of excitement filled my bones until Monday morning.

I should’ve known then, by his strict determination, that we would be friends by the end of the first week, and after a month of spending almost every spare waking moment together, I couldn’t imagine my life without him.

I should’ve known then that Aidan Michaels would claim a piece of my heart and take it with him when he left me.

The loud beep of a horn shook me from the memory, and I stared at the green light, quickly switching my foot from the brake to the accelerator.

When I got home, I plopped on the couch and didn’t move. I stared aimlessly at the television, hoping to drown out thoughts of my ex. Thoughts of him and the tragic way he left me always sent me mentally spiraling.

“Cece, come meet Ace!” Ryan’s voice echoed through the living room, and I groaned. He just got home from college, and already, he was getting on my nerves.

I didn’t bother to look away from the show until his stupid face stood in front of the television, blocking my view. I groaned, and when my gaze roamed to the figure standing beside him, my jaw almost hit the ground.

This couldn’t be happening.

Standing in all his glory was the asshole from earlier—same clothes, same neon-green mohawk helmet in his hand. Why was this my luck ?

Ryan’s friend walked up to me slowly, anger brewing in his eyes. I averted my eyes and looked anywhere except him.

“Is that your Jeep outside?” His voice was deep with a slight, southern twang. I hated that I liked the sound of it when I detested everything else about him.

“Yeah.” My voice shook, all confidence leaving me in the dust.

“You almost ran me over!” he yelled, and my brother’s eyes went big, his brows furrowing. I knew he was about to yell at Asshole—the name I had given the jerk in my head—for swearing at me.

“Listen here, asshole! It was my right of way!” I stood from the couch and took a step closer to him, showing no fear. He couldn’t hurt me—my brother wouldn’t let him. I was practically invincible in this situation.

“Oh, no! It wasn’t your right of way, little girl!” He took another step closer to me, our chests almost touching. I had to look up to see into his eyes, and my breath caught in my throat.

He had the most intriguing blue eyes I had ever seen. But he didn’t deserve them.

“Don’t you talk to me like that! And for the record, Asshole, I’m no little girl!” With every word I yelled, I jabbed my finger into his chest, effectively getting my point across.

“Whoa! Guys, calm down!” my brother yelled, getting in the middle of Mr. Asshole and me. The guy had his finger in my face, and his body was shaking as he tried to control his anger.

And like a hormonal teenager, I was suddenly struck by how his eyes had turned a stormy gray. They were the color of the ocean during a storm, and my heart skipped a beat in my chest at the sight of them. There was a darkness to them that I understood on a soul-deep level, and I hated it.

He took a moment to rein himself in, closing his eyes and controlling his breathing. When he opened them again, the swirling mess of emotions was gone. His eyes had returned to their normal, hypnotizing blue, and I was left speechless by how effortlessly he hid everything inside of him.

“She almost ran me over, dude.” He pointed at me and then looked at my brother. My brother then turned to me, his arms crossing over his chest. He narrowed his eyes.

“Were you on your phone again?” Did he seriously have to bring that up?

“No, I wasn’t,” I snapped. “He was whizzing around the roundabout, and I didn’t see him coming. He clearly failed to yield.”

“For fuck’s sake, you’re supposed to yield to the left. I was left of you!” Mr. Asshole was yelling again. There was a vein popping out just below his jaw, and my eyes focused on it. “What are you looking at?” His eyes were gray again, and his mouth in the lighting was striking—a dark, angry slash through his face. Unfortunately, I was his target.

“Dude, calm down.” Ryan turned to his guest and shoved him back a step. That seemed to clear Asshole’s head again. “Don’t talk to my sister like that again. I don’t care what she did; don’t swear at her.” Ryan was shorter than his friend, but he stood straight and tilted his chin up to give himself more height.

“Yeah, whatever.” Mr. Asshole walked away and took a seat on the couch. He put his mohawk helmet down on the coffee table and sat back, pulled his phone out, and started texting.

I turned back to Ryan and shrugged at him before going to the kitchen for a drink, but he followed me and cornered me against the fridge. “What the hell, Celine?”

I scoffed. “I should be asking you that.”

“Is this still about the accident?” His eyes softened.

“I wouldn’t try to run someone over because of the accident,” I spat at him, bristling at what he had implied. “I didn’t see him. I didn’t look for him, okay? I’ll be in my room if you need me.” I pushed past him, left the kitchen, and headed up the staircase to my safe place.

Later that night, when I was called down for dinner, I saw that Mr. Asshole still had not left. Instead, he was sitting at the dining room table, talking to my dad and Ryan about his Ducati. Ryan’s eyes met mine, as did my father’s, but they both looked away quickly.

“Hey, Dad. How was work?” I asked as I took a seat at the table.

“Uneventful. What time will you be in tomorrow?” Ryan and Mr. Asshole had gone to the kitchen to help my mom bring the food to the table, giving me a moment to connect with my dad.

“I start class tomorrow,” I reminded him. “I can come in the afternoon.” He always had so much to do and remember. I didn’t blame him for not remembering when I started classes. That was always more Mom’s thing. She kept him straight and organized.

“Sounds good. I have a few things I need you to do.” My mom walked in then, talking away to Mr. Asshole like he was her new son. I had to consciously stop myself from rolling my eyes. I hated how well the jerk seemed to be fitting in with my family.

She stopped talking to the boys and smiled at me. I was instantly filled with warmth. There was nothing else in this world like a mother’s love. “Hi, honey. How was the beach? Did Emily meet you?”

“It was fun, but it started to rain this afternoon, so we left early. Her parents are out of town again, so she didn’t want to be home alone.” Mom sat next to me and my father, while Ryan sat next to my dad, and Mr. Asshole took the seat right across from me. I clenched my jaw in annoyance.

“The food looks great, Mrs. Wilson.” His southern drawl made the common words sound better than they should, and my mother flushed.

“Please, Ace, call me Kendall.”

I broke the silence that followed with a more pressing matter. “Any news on the storm?” Florida was preparing for a hurricane—not an unusual occurrence—but hurricanes always made me nervous. They changed their track and power so much before it hit land.

“It’s developed into a category two hurricane. Should be hitting the Bahamas in a few days. We need to start preparing,” my dad announced, looking at me and then Ryan. “Between the two of you, make sure the outdoor furniture is in the garage by tomorrow night.”

We shared a look of annoyance before nodding. We hated hurricane prep.

After dinner, Ryan got Ace to help us move the patio furniture to the garage. When we were finished, it was dark out, and I was covered in mosquito bites. I hated bugs with a passion, and mosquitos were at the top of my bugs-I-really-hate list.

“It looks like you got chicken pox!” Ace laughed, pointing at my welt-covered arms.

I glared at him. “Quite the doctor, aren’t you?” I rolled my eyes, scratching my arms.

“Hey, man, it’s getting late. I’ll see you on campus tomorrow?” Ace asked my brother, who was also scratching at his skin.

“Yeah, for sure. Drive safe, dude.” They fist-bumped, and Ace left after stopping in the house for his God-awful helmet.

“Why couldn’t you be nice?” Ryan lightly shoved me, annoyance in his tone.

“Why didn’t you warn me?” I shoved him back a bit harder.

“It’s my house, too, Celine.” He rolled his eyes, crossing his welt-covered arms over his broad chest.

“That’s the rule, and you know it, dipshit.” He threw his head back in laughter.

“Whatever. Go shower. You reek!” He pushed me toward the backdoor into the house. My jaw hit the ground at what he’d said, and I whirled around to face him.

“I stink?” I scoffed. “You should smell yourself.” I laughed at his face when he sniffed his armpits, walking into the house. Our parents were standing there, sipping coffees, small smiles on their faces.

“Wasn’t he cute?” My mother grinned at me, and my father shook his head, laughing softly.

“Not my type, Mom. Don’t even start.” I had no interest in anyone after the way Aidan had left me. They both laughed this time and shared a knowing look. “Anyway, I’m going to shower and get an early night. Big day tomorrow. First day of class and all.”

“Goodnight, honey,” they both said as I brushed past them.