Broken Bonds (Unbreakable Bonds #1)

Chapter Five

chapter five

CELINE

“What kind of condition is the house in?” Ace let go of my arms to run a hand through his wet locks, pushing them out of his eyes. I hated how effortlessly sexy the move was.

I frowned at him, not understanding his question. “What do you mean?”

“Is there food, water?” he elaborated, and I nodded, watching the rain fall harder outside of the garage. His bike was still outside, getting soaked.

I roughly cleared my throat. “You might want to bring your bike in before it gets taken away with the rain.”

“Crap, I forgot!” His face dropped, and he ran out into the rain. Something in my chest twisted. Aidan would have abandoned me and my feelings for his stupid bike, but Ace had been so intent on calming my nerves and soothing me that he’d forgotten all about his.

Squinting through the heavy rain, I could barely make Ace out until he was right in front of me, pushing his bike into the garage beside my Jeep. He was properly soaked now, water dripping from him everywhere. He must be so cold. Discomfort tightened my insides. He was in this state because of me and my ignorance over basic car stuff.

“I’m sorry.” I looked down at my dirty, wet Converse, unable to look into his eyes.

“Don’t worry; she’s been through worse.” He laughed, shrugging his jacket off to reveal broad shoulders and veiny forearms.

He reminded me so much of Aidan and the way Aidan was with his bike before the accident. And yet, Ace was the complete opposite of him. Ace was kinder than Aidan ever was, and he didn’t pressure me to get on his bike. He wasn’t self-absorbed. Aidan would’ve argued until I caved, but Ace sensed my trepidation and dropped the subject, even staying so I wouldn’t be alone.

“I’m sure we have some towels inside you can use to wipe her down.”

He smiled at me—a genuine smile—and I felt a little lighter. “Thanks. That would be great. When was the last time you guys used this place?” He followed me into the house, closing the garage door on our way in. The sound of the rain was quieter in here, but the house was cool, making me shiver.

“Probably a month ago. We usually leave some water here and some canned food. Worst case, there are some goods in the freezer. I just hope we don’t lose power.” I grimaced. “There isn’t a generator here.”

Ace hummed, looking around to take the open-plan living room and kitchen in. “I’ve been watching the news, and there’s a big possibility that the storm might miss us here, so a generator might not even be necessary. I’m more concerned about flooding, but—God, that view is spectacular .” He was looking out the big windows in the lounge where the view was out of this world. It was the main reason my parents bought this house two years ago, and we came here often for weekend getaways.

The ocean was visible through the windows, and the waves were angrily crashing against the shore. Usually, they were blue, but now they were gray and churning with white-tipped crests. It was both majestically beautiful and horribly terrifying.

“It better not flood. I can’t lose my Jeep. I just finished paying her off.” He looked at me, amusement and shock glimmering in his eyes.

“You paid for the Jeep? No help from your parents?” Of course, he would think that; everyone did. But my parents were firm believers in making their children pay their own way as much as possible. In their opinion, how else were we meant to learn responsibility and the meaning of working for what we have?

“No, I bought her crashed. I paid my dad’s workshop to fix her up and then slowly started adding the upgrades. It’s been a long journey, but every penny was worth it.” I rubbed at my chilled arms. “I can sell her now for a pretty penny and buy something newer, something faster. I’ve been thinking about a BMW.” I lifted one shoulder in a semi-shrug.

“If you weren’t such a pain in the ass, I would say you were perfect for me.” He laughed, using the kitchen dish towel he found in a drawer to dry his hair and face. My cheeks warmed instantly, surprised at his compliment.

“Too bad I’m not interested, Asshole.” He laughed even louder this time.

“Calm down. I’m not looking for a relationship.” I left him in the kitchen to find a towel for his bike. I could hear him rummaging through the kitchen, opening doors and drawers, making loud noises. It was kind of obnoxious, but it also felt weirdly intimate that he was making himself at home in the beach house so easily.

When I came back into the kitchen with a couple of towels, Ace was peering into the freezer, the light casting an eerie glow over his face. “See anything good?” He jumped in surprise, banging his head on the top of the freezer. I snorted a laugh.

“Some pizza, bread, and ice cream. Sounds like the essentials to me.”

Such a man.

“I hope we have peanut butter and jam for the bread. Here are two towels.” I passed them over to him. “One for you and one for your girlfriend.”

He rolled his eyes but muttered a quiet, “Thank you,” before heading back to the garage.

“I’ll be upstairs if you need anything,” I hollered before the garage door slammed behind him.

The house may have appeared big, but in reality, it wasn’t quite as big as it looked. For starters, there were only three bedrooms upstairs—a master for my parents, and a Jack and Jill set-up for Ryan and me. Sharing a bathroom with my messy brother had to be the worst part about this house, but we had done it for almost my entire life.

Finding an old pair of sweats and a shirt from high school, I couldn’t have been happier to have a hot shower. Peeling my wet clothes off was a relief on its own, but I hadn’t realized just how cold I was until I stood under the steaming hot water.

Ten minutes later, I was dressed in my old, worn-out clothes with my wet hair piled on top of my head in a sloppy bun. I muffled a scream when I opened my bedroom door to find Ace standing there, fist in midair. He jerked back at the strangled scream, looking just as alarmed as I was.

“Hey,” he roughly cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck in a way that should not have been adorable, “sorry to scare you, but can I have a shower, too?”

I dumbly nodded my head. “Crap. Yeah, of course. Ryan should have some clothes in his room, and I can wash our clothes from today and start making one of those pizzas.”

He smiled. “Thanks, Celine. I’m starving.” He walked into Ryan’s room when I pointed to it and closed the door behind him.

The rain hadn’t stopped since I had been in the shower. Instead, it had only gotten worse, now pounding down on the roof. Looking through the window, I frowned at the ocean waves crashing angrily against the shore. A chill went up my spine at the thought of those waves crashing through my home.

Shaking the thought away, I headed for the kitchen and set the oven to four-fifty. By the time the oven had warmed up and I’d gotten the pizza on a cooking sheet, Ace was bounding down the stairs.

“While you were showering, I found some Cokes and rum. You up for a drink?” Ace asked as he pointed toward the dining room table, where a bottle of Captain Morgan, a bottle of Coke, and two glasses sat. I hadn’t had a drink since the night of the accident, and tonight seemed like the best night to have one. I needed to stop worrying, and alcohol would loosen me up a bit.

“I’d love one. Don’t forget some ice.” He nodded, a small smile touching his lips.

“Is this your dad’s? Will he mind if we drink it all?” He was handing me a glass now, and I brought it to my lips. I forgot how much I loved the smell of my favorite rum. Taking a sip, the cold liquid ran down my throat, warming me from the inside out.

“No, it’s mine.” I looked into his blue eyes and had to bite back a smile at the shock residing in them. The timer for the pizza went off, and he abruptly looked away.

“Pass me the oven mitts,” he ordered. He placed the pepperoni pizza on the counter, and I handed him the pizza cutter. He transferred the pizza to a wood board, cutting it into eight pieces for us to share.

“I’m not sure how hungry you are, but I only need three slices,” I told him when he began plating the slices.

“Fine by me,” he said. “I’ll have the rest. I wouldn’t want to lose any weight during this storm.” He was smiling, and it touched his eyes, making him look younger and nicer. Nothing like the jerk I’d been coming to know.

“Please,” I scoffed, “losing some weight would do you some good. You are a little on the big side.” His eyes grew big again, amusement flickering in them.

“I’ll have you know I’m pure muscle, sweetheart,” he laughed, digging into his pizza.

“Don’t worry. You can get back to working out in a few days when the hurricane is over.” I didn’t receive an answer, and we sat in silence, eating quietly.

“Another drink, Celine?” He lifted his empty glass, raising an eyebrow in question. I nodded, giving him mine. I put our dishes into the dishwasher, quickly wiped the counters, then went to wait for him in the lounge.

My phone rang as he sat beside me on the leather couch, immediately flicking the TV on.

“Hey, Mom,” I greeted as Ace lowered the volume on the TV. “Did you guys make it out of Florida yet?”

“Hello, my love.” I smiled a little. “No, we still have another three hours until we reach the state line, and then another four until we reach the Airbnb.” I could hear Ryan snoring in the car and my father’s obnoxious music blaring through the speakers. I wished I was with them, and it made my chest ache.

“Dad and Ryan can take turns driving, and you can stop for dinner and a little rest. I miss you guys already.” I heard my dad agree to some food, which woke Ryan who started to moan and groan. I swore, any mention of food in even the tiniest context, and he was alert and ready to grub.

“Have you and Ace eaten? Was there any food and water in the house? I can’t remember what I left when we were last there.”

“Yes, we’ve eaten,” I assured her, “and there’s enough food for two or three days. Hopefully, the storm will be over before we run out of food.”

“That’s good, Honey. I’m worried about you two being there by yourselves. How does the water look? Has it risen?” I heard my dad shouting questions at my mom, and Ryan butted in as well. I grimaced at all the commotion. I had no idea how my mother put up with it.

“The rain hasn’t stopped since we got here, so it’s risen, but the waves haven’t touched the wall yet. Any more questions, Mom?”

“Dad wants to know if you checked about sandbags. There might be a risk of flooding sometime tomorrow. He says he left a stack of them in the garage in case of an emergency. Oh, Hun, can we stop at Outback for dinner?” she asked Dad, quickly growing distracted. “I just saw a sign.”

“I’ll look into those sandbags,” I told her, trying to get her back on topic. “Get something to eat, and call me when you get back on the road. I love you, Mom.”

“I love you, too, my darling.” The line dropped. When I looked back at the TV, I saw that Ace had found a movie for us to watch.

“You must be joking. The Game Plan ?”

“What do you have against The Rock? Are his muscles too big for you, princess?” I rolled my eyes and got up to check the sandbags like I’d been instructed. “I didn’t mean to upset you; please come back,” he pouted. Why did he look so good with every single face he made?

“Please,” I scoffed. “As if you could actually upset me, Asshole. I’m checking the sandbags you have to put out tomorrow morning.”

“Shouldn’t I do them tonight?” He paused the movie and looked at me.

Shaking my head, I sat beside him again, bringing the drink to my lips again, downing half of it. “You have to actually be able to see what you’re doing, Asshole.”

He heaved a sigh. “You do know that’s not my name, right? I know they both start with an A.” He resumed the movie, and I chose to leave his question unanswered. I liked the nickname I had given him. I found it rather suited him.

We watched the movie without conversation. Halfway through, I received another phone call from my mother, who claimed they were going to drive for two more hours, then call it a night at the first hotel they saw. I could hear how tired and worried she was. My mother was overbearing when it came to our safety, and I knew it was bothering her that I wasn’t with them.

Ace fell asleep toward the end of the movie, so it was now my turn to pick something to watch. Settling on an old Friends rerun, I grabbed a blanket from the chest in the corner of the room and curled up on the other side of the couch.

An hour later, Ace stirred, mumbling something about needing the bathroom as he stumbled up the stairs. He came back, grabbed our empty cups, and filled them again before plopping down on the couch, closer to me this time. I tried to ignore the way his body heat emanated from him, but it was nearly impossible. I refused to acknowledge how much I wanted to lean against him and sink into that warmth.

His eyes were red and bloodshot, and his hair was sticking up in the back. For once, he didn’t look like a total asshole… at least until he opened his mouth.

“I’ve never cared for this show. There’s no point to it, really. It’s not like Arrow or Game of Thrones where the order of the episodes actually matters.”

“That’s the whole point, Asshole. It’s a twenty-minute episode filled with humor. No real thinking involved.”

“Whatever,” he grumbled. “How long was I sleeping?” He sipped his drink and choked, laughing at Ross screaming about being on a break—quite possibly the most famous line of all time.

“I think an hour. I wasn’t really paying attention. You did miss the ending of the last movie.”

He shrugged like he didn’t care. “I’ve seen that movie at least a dozen times. It was my favorite growing up.”

I waved him off, not sure how I felt about him sharing more intimate details about himself. I didn’t want to like him.

“Be quiet; you’re ruining my favorite show.” He rolled his eyes and sipped slowly at his drink. Our laughter was interrupted by my phone ringing, and he grabbed it before I had a chance.

“Celine’s phone. She’s currently too busy being a brat to answer.” He snorted loudly, and I couldn’t help the giggle that escaped me. His face suddenly dropped, and he stopped laughing immediately, getting up from the couch to go stand in the kitchen. He finished the rest of his drink in one gulp.

“I’ll keep her safe, Ryan, and I won’t go near her either.” My gut twisted uncomfortably. “You have nothing to worry about. She’s not my type anyway.” I flinched and quickly finished my own drink. I knew I didn’t want to like him, but hearing him so bluntly say I wasn’t his type and he wouldn’t go near me fucking cut . Walking into the kitchen, I held my hand out for my phone. Ace looked at me, guilt flashing in his blue eyes before he passed me the phone without a word.

“Goodnight, Ryan. Tell Mom and Dad I love them.” I hung up the phone before my dick of a brother could say anything else, handing Ace my empty glass before I headed upstairs without another word, trying to ignore the hurt tightening my chest.

“Going to bed, Celine?” he called through the empty house.

“Not that you would care, but yes, I am.”

I heard him sigh. “Goodnight, Celine.” He was at the bottom of the stairs now, his voice carrying up to me.

I gripped my door handle. “Night, Asshole.” Then, I stepped into my room, shutting my door behind me.