Broken Bonds (Unbreakable Bonds #1)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

chapter twenty-seven

ACE

Celine fucking Wilson had me wrapped around her finger. Whether she wanted to accept that or not was another issue entirely. She kept pushing me away, and I should’ve agreed with her, but I couldn’t—not when my eyes landed on hers. Not when I could feel her body heat pressing into me. Not when I could smell her intoxicating, expensive perfume and the sweet scent of her hair.

Those blue eyes hypnotized me and pulled me in, no matter how hard I tried to pull away. Just below those ocean eyes was my next favorite feature on the girl—those soft, pink lips, so pliant and willing, so fucking sweet.

She had been quiet all night after I kissed her, barely speaking during dinner, only speaking when someone actively engaged her in a conversation. Ryan had helped her to bed, frowning at me when I offered to carry her up the stairs. Celine was going to end up coming between us, but it would be worth it. He’d come around eventually. He had to.

And now, Ryan and I were sitting in the same position as his first night home—him glaring at me from the bed while I stared at the dark ceiling.

“I’m not changing my mind.” He fell back onto the pillows with a huff when I didn’t break the silence first.

“Didn’t think you would,” I responded, folding my hands over my flat stomach, not moving my gaze.

He made a low sound of annoyance. “Then stay away from her. Stop kissing her when you think I’m not looking.”

I couldn’t stop the smirk from tilting my lips even if I tried. “No.”

He abruptly sat up, whipping the covers off of his body. I just eyed him out of the corner of my eye, not moving other than that. “I told you, Ace . You don’t deserve her .”

Those damn words again. Fuck him. I knew I didn’t deserve her, but why couldn’t he trust his sister to know what she wanted? To know what was good for her?

“She doesn’t think so,” I retorted, unable to help it. He was pissing me off and pushing my buttons and being a really shitty fucking friend.

“ She doesn’t know you!” he growled.

I scoffed. She probably knew me better than he did at this point. “I promised her I wasn’t leaving. To hell with you, Ryan. I’m not leaving her. Not now. She fucking needs me. The last damn thing she needs is me walking away when her life is being flipped upside down.”

His glare was cold enough to freeze Hell. “You’re going to break her. You’re going to shatter what’s left of her heart.”

I ground my teeth together, so damn tired of being compared to that fucker. “I’m not him.” Rage simmered beneath my skin at the accusation he was making. I was not Celine’s ex.

“You are exactly like him, and you’re going to break her just like he did.” Ryan got out of bed and started pacing.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “I’m not him, and you fucking know it, Ryan. You wouldn’t be friends with me if I was.”

He stopped, his hands pulling at his dark hair as he contemplated my words. Both of us knew it was true. He was just an overprotective big brother, terrified to see her hurt again. But I’d never fucking hurt her.

“I can’t put her together again, Ace. I can’t keep gluing the pieces back.”

“I care about her!” I shouted, and he stopped, his wide eyes looking at me. But then, he shook his head and continued to pace, thinking about his next words.

“ He loved her, Ace. Look where that got them both.” He stopped and looked at me in the darkness, his arms crossed over his chest.

And somehow, all the rage building inside me evaporated. He loved her. I loved Jack, and I couldn’t save him either. Love wasn’t strong enough to save either of them. It was just like the said; I wasn’t enough for her, just like I wasn’t for Jack.

“Okay.” I flopped back onto the air mattress, feeling defeated and exhausted.

“That’s it? That’s all I had to say?” Ryan was standing over me, his features pulled into a frown of disbelief. What the fuck did he want from me? He was finally getting his way, and now he looked like he wanted me to fight harder? I couldn’t keep up.

“Goodnight, Ryan.” Turning away from him, I closed my eyes, seeing a smiling little boy in my mind. My heart tightened, and my throat burned.

“Ace?” Ryan asked, sounding unsure now.

“Just friends—like you said.” I wished he’d fucking drop it. “I don’t deserve her.” I heard the shuffle of his feet going back to the bed and then the loud squeak of the mattress before he settled. Thankfully, he let it go and didn’t say another word.

My dreams were filled with Jack and of that day, leaving me wishing more than anything I had never touched my damn phone.

The next morning, my resolve to just be friends with Celine crumbled when she smiled at me from across the breakfast table, her lips glossy and pink, her blonde hair pulled into a ponytail. And for the first time in days, she had makeup on.

Who was she trying to impress?

She refused to use the wheelchair after having a screaming match with Ryan, who insisted she needed it, but the girl wouldn’t rely on someone to push her around and won the argument, wobbling to the truck on her crutches, a small backpack hanging off her shoulders. I wanted to carry it for her because Ryan would carry her to the car, but I had to pull back. I couldn’t give in to my desire—not with her.

She deserved better.

Celine didn’t speak the entire ride to campus, her arms crossed defiantly over her chest, amplifying her cleavage through the thin, black V-neck shirt she was wearing. Near campus, she started to tap crazily on her phone. Lo and behold, as we parked, Amber appeared, her flaming red hair on top of her head in a big bun with red lips to match tipped up into a giant smile, and an even brighter red coated her cheeks at Ryan’s appreciative look.

Dick . He was such a hypocrite.

“Good morning!” she chirped, helping Celine out of the cab.

“Morning, Amber.” Ryan nodded at the redhead, causing her blush to deepen.

“Hey, bitch, you got here fast!” Celine laughed, swaying on the crutches.

“Mornin’.” Celine’s head snapped in my direction, anger flashing in those blue eyes.

What had I done now?

Ryan and Amber walked off in the direction of their first class, which happened to be in the same building where Celine and I had class together. With Ryan finally out of sight, I grabbed Celine’s small bag and swung it over my shoulder.

“I don’t need your help,” she snapped at me. I could hear the pain in her voice with the small step she took, swinging herself forward on those damned crutches. Why couldn’t she just take the wheelchair?

“Never said you did, baby.” Fuck—friends, Ace. Just friends.

Her gaze swung to mine again. “You can’t do that,” she seethed, anger and hurt glittering in her dark eyes.

“Do what?” I asked, frowning at her.

“Call me ‘baby’ when you didn’t even say good morning to me after you told me you wanted me last night. What the hell is wrong with you?”

Groaning, I dragged a hand down my face. “Ryan doesn’t want us to be together, Celine.” We finally reached the building entrance, and I held the door open, glaring at the kid who bumped into Celine, almost knocking her off the crutches. “Watch it, punk!” Snarling, I helped her into the air-conditioned, three-story building while the kid scampered off.

“You knew that before you kissed me.” The soft blush reddening her cheeks softened me.

“I can’t help myself, baby girl,” I told her honestly. “I just want to kiss those addictive lips all day.”

“Ace!” She laughed, and as we entered the elevator, I saw a bead of sweat run down her face from her temple. She was struggling. Why hadn’t she just taken the wheelchair?

“You wanted the truth.”

She leaned against the wall of the tin square as it shot up to the third floor. “What are we going to do?”

I sighed, hating I didn’t have an answer. “I don’t know.” The elevator dinged loudly before the doors opened. She stood up straight with a sigh.

“This is harder than I thought it would be,” she grimaced, her lips twisted with pain, her brows pulled low over her eyes.

I chuckled, shaking my head. “Refusing a wheelchair on a big campus. That was pretty stupid on your part.”

She laughed, too. “Well, that and us. Nothing is ever easy in my life.”

Her reminder about her past caused unease to settle in my stomach. Ryan’s warning ran through my head.

“I already promised you I won’t leave.” I had no intentions of breaking that promise, no matter what happened between me and her or me and Ryan.

“You say that now, but the next few weeks are going to be hell, Ace.” I held open the door for her, earning a smile. “Thanks.”

“I’m here for the ugly, Celine.” We were the last ones to walk into the hall, and everyone stared at us as we took the two seats closest to the door. Celine slumped into the hard, cold seat with a relieved sigh, putting the crutches by her feet. She didn’t respond though—probably didn’t know how to.

And honestly… I didn’t know how to continue the conversation after my confession.

Class flew by, my thoughts filled with the blonde sitting next to me, who spent most of the time tapping away on that phone, a smile playing at her lips the whole time. She wasn’t even paying attention to the professor.

Helping her to her next class meant I was late, but I didn’t mind. I didn’t care much about punctuality anyway. Just as I was about to walk into the class, my phone started to buzz in my back pocket. Thinking it was Celine, I stopped and pulled it out, my brows furrowing when I saw the unknown number on my screen.

“Hello?” I answered. A shaky breath met my ears.

“Ace, it’s Mema.” Her aging voice cracked, and the emotions I’d kept bottled up since I left her apartment came rushing up to the surface.

She hadn’t called in years—never to even just check up on me. She hadn’t called on my birthday, not on Christmas. Never. It was like I’d ceased to exist the moment I moved out.

“Is she dead?” I saw the person walking past me into class shoot me a strange look. I turned away from my class and left the building, seeking privacy. Fuck my next class.

“Oh, heaven’s no, dear!” Mema gasped, sounding appalled by my question.

“Then why are you calling now?” I couldn’t keep the anger out of my voice.

“I’ve been meaning to for a while now, Acey.” Pain laced her withered voice as she used the familiar nickname. Sadness welled inside of me. Did she really even deserve to call me that after essentially abandoning me? I’d been an adult, but I’d still needed guidance from someone .

And no one had been there.

“Are you dying? Is that it?” I demanded.

She huffed, sounding put out with me. “No, child, I’m not dying. I’ve missed you.”

I scoffed. “You had two years to call,” I bitterly reminded her. “If there’s nothing important you need to tell me, I have to go. I have class.” Sitting on the bench outside, I bounced my leg, anxiety and tension running through my body.

“How’s college going, dear?” she asked. Why was she acting like this phone call was normal? It wasn’t. And now, she’d fucked my entire world up. She should’ve just left me be.

“Fine.”

“Dating anyone?” Her voice sounded hopeful, almost like she cared.

I sighed. “No,” I lied. I would not tell her about Celine. She didn’t deserve to know. “Look, I have to go.”

“Ace, wait—there is a reason for this call.” Because of course, there was. She would never call me just to chat and catch up. I knew it’d been a lie.

“Well, I don’t have all day,” I snapped impatiently.

“When did you become so rude, Ace Danvers?” I winced at her stern tone. I had never been disrespectful toward her before, but my patience had run out with my family who abandoned me when I needed support. None of them had been there.

“When you abandoned me,” I bit. “Now, tell me the reason for this call.”

“I didn’t?—”

Cutting her off, I continued, “I don’t have time for this anymore. I’ve moved on. I’m healing, and I can’t deal with you anymore.”

She sighed. “Your mother is being released next week, and she wants to see you.”

Fuck.

I hadn’t been expecting that.

Old emotions bubbled to the surface as I thought of my mom. All the hope. The pain. The fear. The fucking abandonment.

“I’m not coming back,” I bitterly told Mema. “I have a life here now. I have friends, an apartment, a job.” I was stammering to come up with a good enough excuse to not go back. Because I knew if she pushed enough, I would. I was, after all, still an unhealed man who just wanted his mom to give a damn.

“Her therapist is recommending it to help her with recovery. It will help you both.”

I scoffed. “She let him abuse me, then she left me. I don’t care if she recovers or not.” I winced when I saw Ryan walking in my direction. Why wasn’t he in class?

“She’s changing, Ace,” Mema pleaded. “She wants to fix things.” My grandmother tried to find a good enough reason, but there was never going to be anything good enough. It was not my job to fix things with my mom. I was the child; she was the mother. It was her responsibility. I didn’t want this on my shoulders. Wasn’t I burdened enough?

“Why didn’t she call herself if she wants to see me?”

Mema was quiet for a moment. I tightened my hand around the phone. “She didn’t think you would answer.”

Ryan took a seat beside me, concern furrowing his brow.

“I’m not coming back there. Don’t call me ever again.” Pulling the hot phone from my cheek, I clenched my hand around it, jabbing my thumb onto the screen to end the call. Staring at my bouncing leg, I struggled to come to terms with the conversation.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Ryan finally asked. The harsh sunlight glared down on us as Ryan’s voice reached my ears.

I clenched my jaw, clenching and unclenching my free hand. “My mother is being released and wants to see me,” I finally told him. Mema had put her into the psychiatric hospital not long after we moved there, and Mom had never asked to see me. Every attempt I’d made before moving to Florida to make things right had gone unanswered or she’d downright just said no.

“And you aren’t going?” Ryan asked, bewildered.

I shook my head. “No fucking chance.”

“Why?” I looked at him then, at the confusion glimmering in his eyes. I had never gone into detail about my past with him, only telling him what he needed to know. Celine knew more than anyone.

I looked back at the ground. “She let my stepfather abuse me after Jack drowned.”

Ryan was quiet for a good minute before he mumbled, “Ace, man, I don’t know what to say.” His hands slid through his hair.

I shrugged, brushing it off. “Now you know why I can’t go back.”

We sat outside on the bench for another hour, watching students walk, talk, and laugh as they went about their day. Nobody paid us any attention. Nobody understood the turmoil my mind was in. And that was fine. Perfect, even.

“There’s Amber. I’ll catch up with you later.” Ryan pointed out the redhead clumsily walking down the path to the parking lot, her eyes glued to her phone.

He jogged over to her with a grin on his face, and she smiled back. I sat alone for another hour, sweat forming on my hairline and running down my neck. The humidity had risen significantly since the storm, and everyone was opting for shorts and tanks, though I was wearing jeans and my regular black V-neck.

Looking up from the ground, I saw Celine making her way down the same path, swaying uneasily on her crutches. Standing up, I started to walk over to her just as someone else approached.

The guy she had teased on her first day of class. Crap.

“Where’s your boyfriend, sugar?” I heard his nasally voice instigate.

“I don’t have a boyfriend, creep,” she said, struggling on the crutches under her arms. Clearly, she didn’t remember him. But I did. Hard to forget someone you wanted to rip limb from limb.

“Oh, yes, you do, or maybe he’s just your little guard dog. I saw him hovering all over you this morning. You two looked a little cozy.”

“Let me pass, please.” Pain seeped into her voice, making me walk a little faster.

“I ain’t nobody’s guard dog, dickhead, and I sure as hell ain’t her boyfriend, so leave her alone—now,” I growled as I drew closer.

The kid backed up, his eyes going wide just as Celine looked at me with pain flashing in her eyes. Was it her legs or had I done something wrong again?

“Sorry, man. I was just admiring a beautiful girl—unlike you, it seems.” He grinned, and before I could think about what I was doing, my fist collided with his face, sending him toppling to the ground, blood spurting from his nose.

Today was just too damn much, and he was the final straw.

“Ace!” Celine screamed, almost falling over on her crutches, trying to get my attention. The kid staggered back, his hand on his red jaw, his eyes glowing with rage as he glared at me.

“Stay away from her!” I growled, hardly understanding the protective tone coming from my mouth.

The slimy punk backed up again, and this time, he turned around, walking away, holding his bleeding nose.

“Ace, what the hell were you thinking?!” Celine shouted, causing everyone in the near vicinity to stop and look at us.

“I was protecting you, baby.” I held my hands up in surrender as I turned to face her, my knuckles throbbing. Her big, blue eyes hardened into a glare.

“I don’t need your protection, Asshole!” Turning, her hair whipped across my face, tickling my nose as she tried to hobble away, grimacing in pain with each step.

“Wait—baby, let me help you.” Christ, she was a stubborn one.

“You aren’t my boyfriend, so don’t call me that.” I winced. So, I had done something wrong. Again. Great.

She stopped and gritted through her clenched teeth, “And, Ace, I don’t need your help, either. Stay away from me until you know what you want.”

I stood stock-still. Her words were like a slap to my face. I watched her leave, taking slow, calculated steps until she disappeared from my sight, and I was left trying to make sense of where I went wrong.

You don’t deserve her.

Ryan’s voice echoed in my mind as I pulled out my phone and redialed the last number that’d called me. If I didn’t deserve her… well, I’d do what I could to at least try to be half the man she did deserve.

And that started with healing myself.

“Ace?” My grandmother’s voice cracked in excitement.

I stared at my feet. “When does she get out?” I hated how devoid of emotion my voice was, but I couldn’t help it.

“Next Tuesday. Oh, I knew you would come around, dear.”

I rolled my jaw around. “I’ll see you Tuesday.” Ending the call, I turned to look at the parking lot again. Ryan was right—I didn’t deserve Celine. But she didn’t deserve me either.

She deserved better, and I would give her better, no matter how long it took me.