Broken Bonds (Unbreakable Bonds #1)

Chapter Sixteen

chapter sixteen

CELINE

“Are you folks alright?” My back was to whoever was speaking. I looked into Ace’s eyes, thankful to find relief residing in their blue depths.

“Do you have room for two more?” Ace protectively wrapped his arm around my shivering body and turned me to the stranger. It was hard to see in the darkness of the hallway, but an older man with dark skin—possibly of Cuban descent—was hunched over a few feet away from us.

“We have plenty of room, son—blankets and food, too.” He took a wobbly step in our direction. Ace tensed at my side. “Looks like you two will need a change of clothes.”

Ace’s hand flexed on my hip as my stomach growled at the sound of food and a chill swept down my spine at the word ‘blankets’. “Are there showers in this school?” Ace asked.

The man shrugged. “Not sure how hot you’ll get them in the locker room. The darn geezer hasn’t been workin’.” At that point, I couldn’t even bring myself to care if the water would be hot or not. I just wanted to be clean. “I’m Oscar. And you are?” He took another step toward us, and I stepped back into Ace, who held me in place, his grip firm and protective.

I was safe with him. Ace wouldn’t let anything happen to me. And God , the way his warm body felt pressed into mine, the way his hand curled around my hip… Inappropriate thoughts—thoughts I should not be having about my older brother’s best friend—flashed through my mind.

“I’m Ace, and this is Celine. We’ve been out battling the storm since yesterday. Do you have a phone we can borrow to check in with our families?” I grimaced. I hadn’t even asked about my phone. No doubt, it’d gotten ruined in the water.

Oscar had drawn closer to us, and in the dim light, I could see a gray beard covering most of his face and a pair of thick glasses shielding his eyes. He looked kind enough, but Ace was obviously weary about trusting anyone.

“Yes, we’ve got a phone. Let’s get you two youngins’ in the showers, and then, we can show you where the landline is along with some hot soup.” Oh, fuck. I could’ve moaned. Hot soup. God, my mouth watered. “My wife just made some for the few of us hunkering down here. The outer bands have passed, and the storm is well on its way to wreaking some havoc on our home.” I winced at his words. I’d seen what a hurricane could do to a home, and I felt for the older man.

It sucked knowing something you loved and valued so much was going to possibly be destroyed.

Oscar turned and hobbled down the hall. Ace’s arm tightened even more around my waist, and he helped me hobble along as we slowly followed. Ace must have noticed the pain on my face because he whispered in my ear, “Do you want me to carry you?” I shook my head, pushing through the pain. I just needed a shower and some dry clothes, and then, I could rest. “I can see you’re in pain, Celine,” he grunted, annoyance in his tone.

He didn’t understand. He didn’t know me. I could do this. I had to do this. If I gave in, I was admitting defeat, and I refused to quit.

“Please, Ace, don’t make a scene.” He stayed silent but he adjusted his arm so he absorbed most of my weight. Instant relief crashed through me for a passing moment before the scorching pain continued. It hurt less when he helped, but I didn’t want him to think I needed him. So, I kept my mouth shut, not saying a word.

“How many people are here, Oscar?” Ace asked, interrupting my train of thought as we passed a big room with light pouring out, and the sound of voices floated toward us.

He rubbed his beard thoughtfully before answering Ace. “Not many—maybe twenty, including you two youngins’.”

Oscar led us down the hall, past a room labeled ‘Cafeteria’, and then stopped in front of a door labeled ‘Men’s Locker Room’. “Where is the girl’s locker room?” Ace questioned as I looked around, squinting my eyes, trying to read the signs on the wall in the dim lighting.

“It’s at the end of the next hallway. Not too far. I’m sure a little space won’t be the end of the world for you two love birds.” I looked at Ace. He was already shaking his head. I wasn’t terribly pleased with the idea, either. Not that I wanted to share a damn shower with Ace, but I didn’t want to be so far from the only person I trusted in a building full of strangers.

Wait , did he say love birds?

“We aren’t—” I started, but Ace interrupted me.

“That’s fine. I’ll take her there. Where are the spare clothes you mentioned earlier?” He had yet to let up on his tight hold, and honestly, I never wanted him to. I could blame it on the pain in my legs, but I’d mostly be lying. It felt good to be connected with Ace like this.

It felt right .

“Should be spare gym uniforms and other donated clothes in the locker rooms. I put them in there before the storm hit in preparation.”

“Thanks. We’ll meet you in the cafeteria later.” Oscar seemed a little stunned to be dismissed so quickly and abruptly, but I wasn’t too surprised. It was Ace we were talking about here—not Mr. Polite. There was a reason I’d nicknamed him Asshole.

Once Oscar disappeared into the dark, heading back toward where everyone was congregated, Ace bent down, nearly causing me to fall since I was leaning on him, and picked me up, cradling my body to his chest. I squeaked in surprise, my nails digging into the back of his neck. “You don’t have to carry me. I can manage.” I hated that my voice sounded so strangled.

“It’s clear you’re in too much pain to walk, and I promised Ryan that I would keep you safe. Plus, I grew up in the south, Princess.” A teasing smile tilted his lips, and it helped to lighten the mood. “We don’t let our women suffer.” Our? And just like that, he was Prince Charming yet again. My heart and my mind didn’t know what to make of this man. This gorgeous, heart-stopping, breathtaking man.

He turned the corner and walked the length of the hallway, coming to a stop in front of the women’s locker room. He put me down carefully, and the whimper that left my lips didn’t go unnoticed like I’d hoped it would.

Ace eyed the door warily. “I’ll wait out here. I don’t want to leave you alone. Scream if you need me. I don’t want you hurting yourself further.” I nodded, taking my hand off his shoulder to grab the door, throwing my weight against it to push it open.

I limped inside the cold, smelly locker room. The stink of sweat permeated the air, lights flashed with each rumble of thunder, and a chill lingered in the big area. I spotted the clothes Oscar mentioned, thankful to see a baggy pair of black, tourist sweatpants with white letters spelling ‘FLORIDA’ on the one pant leg, fresh gray cotton panties still rolled up in the bag, and a big blue shirt with the words ‘Florida Born and Raised’ written in black.

There were no bras, but at that moment, I didn’t care. The need to be warm was more important than my nipples showing. Besides, if Ace noticed… well, I wouldn’t complain. Not too much, anyway. A part of me—a big part of me—really wanted him to notice. But his words about me not being his type continuously ran through my head on a loop, which meant if he did notice, I wouldn’t give in easily.

I used the walls for support and pushed myself along until I got to the showers. I turned the water on, shuddering as the ice-cold stream hit my hand before I yanked it back with a hiss. God, this was going to suck.

Slowly pulling my wet shirt off and then my pants, I stood beneath the lukewarm water, letting it heat my body from the inside out as much as it could. I had to hold onto the wall under the shower jet, but I managed to rinse most of the day’s dirt off before squirting some shampoo in my hand and massaging it into my scalp with one hand, which proved rather difficult, though I managed.

Closing my eyes, I listened to the sound of heavy rain falling against the roof and wondered what Ace was doing outside the locker room. Was he growing impatient? Was he worrying about me? Had he decided he needed to wash up more than he wanted to stand there waiting on me and had left to go do just that?

I quickly rinsed the shampoo out and put a small amount of conditioner on my tips before lathering my hands up with soap and fully washing the grime off my body in a rush, now scared that I was alone.

Flashes of my body struggling in the ocean swam behind my closed eyes as I rinsed my body, haunting me all over again, but I pushed the thought away, reminding myself that I was safe and that Ace had saved me. The hurricane couldn’t touch me here.

I thought about how I was going to explain to him what was going on with my legs while I was getting dressed. How did I explain that though I’d had surgery and had technically been “fixed”, I still couldn’t function normally? How was he supposed to understand that? Why did I want him to understand that?

I limped out of the room and into the dark hallway, where Ace was still standing opposite the door, his arms crossed over his chest. His eyes did a once-over, starting at my dripping hair that I tried to finger comb with no success. His gaze froze at the words on my chest, then continued down to my sock-clad feet. Did he notice I wasn’t wearing a bra?

“You were quick,” he muttered after a moment before stepping forward and sweeping me into his arms again. I squeaked again—just like I had last time—my nipples brushing his chest.

“Didn’t want to make you wait,” I lied, not wanting to tell him that I’d actually rushed because I was afraid he’d ended up leaving me alone.

He stopped in front of the men’s locker room and remained still for a moment, eyeing the door with a frown. It was clear he didn’t want to take me inside, but he also didn’t want to leave me out here by myself.

“Put me down, Ace. I’ll wait out here like you did.” He shook his head before kicking the door open and walking inside. The smell burned my nostrils and made my eyes sting, reminding me of the days Ryan would come home from football practice dirty, sweaty, and exhausted.

“It’s not safe without me. Wait here; I’ll only be five minutes,” Ace told me. “I don’t know who’s here and what their intentions are, so I’m not letting you out of my sight.” He left me on a bench with our backpack, holding our wet belongings. While he bathed, I faced the door to give him privacy, thinking about what I would say to my parents on the phone. They were going to lose their shit when they found I’d almost drowned.

Ace appeared in front of me a few minutes later, shorter than the five minutes he’d promised, but I didn’t have a phone or a watch to know exactly how little time he took. I didn’t even know what the time was.

He was wearing matching sweatpants to mine and a tight, black shirt. He looked sexy, and in the dim light, I could see his accentuated muscles and the tattoos spanning his skin.

Silently, he passed me a big sweater before helping me stand. I grabbed the sweater, grateful for the additional material to cover my chest and for the warmth since I was still shivering.

Glancing at the sweater in my hands, I briefly wondered if Ace wanted me to cover up to avoid temptation so he could keep his friendship with Ryan intact. I didn’t want to think like that. He was not Aidan, who was always trying to hide my body. But still, old habits lingered, filling me with nerves and uncertainty.

Ace carried me back down the hall, his heartbeat steady beneath my shoulder, which was pressed against his chest. “How come you haven’t asked me about earlier?” He looked down at me for a moment, and I thought I saw his eyes linger on my lips before he looked up again. Too quick. Warmth swirling in my gut.

“We all have our secrets, Celine,” Ace said. “When we’re ready, we share them. That’s how humans work.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, but humans are curious, too. It’s natural to question strange things.”

He shrugged the shoulder I wasn’t leaning against. “Nothing strange happened. We’ve been traveling by foot since this morning, and we’re both tired. That’s all.”

Was he just waiting for me to bring it up? To open up to him and tell him the truth? Would he really let me get away with not explaining why I couldn’t walk?

“Nothing strange about a twenty-year-old who can’t swim, right?” I couldn’t contain my scoff. Ace looked down at me again, and I regretted the words as soon as they were out in the air, but I couldn’t take them back.

He sighed, a frown tugging at his lips. “Like I said, when you’re ready, you’ll talk. My job is not to question your life, not to question why you can’t swim…” his gaze flickered down to my chest for a long enough moment that my skin went hot—“or why you decided not to wear a bra.”

I was shocked by his last statement. He had noticed. And fuck, need swept through me at the knowledge. Did Ace want me as badly as I wanted him?

“Why don’t you question all those things?” I bravely asked. He stopped walking, pausing just outside the room where everyone was. I could hear multiple voices, and soft laughter came through the open doors.

“Because that would mean I care, and I can’t care about you, Celine,” he rasped, shattering my heart and throwing ice-cold water on the heat that’d just been thrumming through my veins. “Everyone I care about gets hurt, and I’m not putting you, of all people, through that again with another asshole guy.”

He didn’t give me a chance to respond before he continued into the brightly lit room that was full of people, effectively ending the conversation and leaving my heart weeping for him and whatever he’d gone through.