Broken Bonds (Unbreakable Bonds #1)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

chapter twenty-eight

CELINE

Ace didn’t come to class for the rest of the week. He didn’t come around the house either. Guilt ate away at me with every day that passed. The only conclusion I could come to was that he was avoiding me. I knew I was the one that’d pushed him away. I had overreacted when he was just trying to protect me. But he had never turned his back on me like this before. Clearly, I’d taken advantage of him always coming back around when I treated him like shit.

I typed out an apology three times on iMessage but erased it each time, my pride getting in the way. I knew he shouldn’t have punched the kid, but it wasn’t like the kid didn’t deserve it with the way his hungry eyes roamed over my body like I was some slab of meat. His lewd comments still rang in my ears five days later. But I still shouldn’t have lashed out at Ace like I had. He hadn’t deserved it.

In just a few hours, I was going into surgery, and I wanted Ace here. Amber slept soundly on the floor, not leaving my side since my fight with Ace, except at night to go home. But last night, she insisted on sleeping over, and we stayed up well into the early hours of the morning talking about Ace and Ryan.

She hadn’t outright admitted it, but I knew she liked my brother. The red that tinged her cheeks at the mention of his name was confirmation enough. I wished I could have blushed like she did as I talked about Ace, but I was so worried what we had was over that I was filled with more anxiety than butterflies.

“My heart and soul are already broken, Amber, and he can’t possibly break it any further,” I told Amber in the darkness of my bedroom, my words soft.

“What do you mean?”

She had remained silent as I told her about Aidan, her arms wrapping around me when I cried. She didn’t ask questions. She just nodded, whispered she was sorry, and held me while I cried.

I was so thankful for her.

A soft snore startled her awake, and she shot up, her bleary, green eyes staring at me. “Mornin’,” she grumbled, closing her eyes and turning onto her side, swiping at her red curls. “Time?”

“Early. Go back to sleep.”

She groaned. “What’s early?”

A small smile tilted my lips. “Six A.M.”

“Why are you awake?” she mumbled, her words mixing together and almost unintelligible. She was clearly still more asleep than she was awake.

“I’m nervous,” I lied, wanting her to go back to bed. Instead, she rolled over and raised her head to look at me. Obviously, that was the wrong thing to say to her if I wanted her to leave me to my thoughts.

“It’s going to be okay. I promise. Don’t worry, Celine.” She reached for my hand and squeezed it. I forced a smile to my lips for her benefit. “And stop thinking about that prick.” A small huff of amusement escaped my lips. “He doesn’t deserve you.”

We fell asleep shortly after, and we were woken up a while later by my mother holding two steaming cups of coffee in the dimly lit room. “Time to wake up, girls.” Mom eased herself onto the corner of my bed, handing us each a cup. “Get any sleep?”

Amber snorted, almost choking on her sip. “Not really,” I mumbled, bringing the cup to my lips and taking a long sip, feeling the instant warmth flood my veins. Why did my coffee always taste better when my mom made it for me?

“I’m sorry, my love.” She patted my foot gently. “Don’t be nervous. It’s going to be better than last time. Look at your support team—me, your dad, Ryan, Amber, and Ace.” She hesitated on Ace’s name. My heart clenched. Could I really count on Ace anymore?

“I think that ship has sailed, Mom.” I hated the sadness in my voice. Why couldn’t I just be indifferent to it all?

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that, honey.” A tentative smile tilted her lips. “He’s downstairs waiting for you now.”

“What?!” Amber and I both stared at my mom in disbelief.

Mom softly laughed. “He’s downstairs with Ryan and your dad.” I frowned at her, my brows furrowing. “Don’t look at me like that, Celine. He’s here now.”

“ Pfft , here now? Kick him to the curb, Mrs. Wilson,” Amber said. “He’s bad news for our girl.” My mother stifled laugher at the obnoxious redhead.

“Come now, girls. Leave the boy alone. He’s been good to you, Celine. I don’t know any boys who would be there for you like he was last week.” I frowned because she was right. He’d risked his life to save me from dying in a hurricane. I guess I shouldn’t have expected him to give up on me so easily. But if he wasn’t giving up on me—on us—then where the hell had he been? “Get ready. We have to leave soon.” She stood, her bones creaking softly, and walked out of the room, the smell of her perfume lingering in the air.

Putting my coffee down on the bedside table, I fell back on the pillows, confused and twisted up inside. Part of me was angry with Ace for breaking his word to me and leaving for the past few days, and the other part of me was ecstatic he was here. That he’d shown up for me.

Amber groaned, and then her loud gulps filled the silence as she downed her hot coffee. She stood over me after she finished, her red hair sticking up, her green eyes soft.

“Let me help you get to the shower. It’s going to be your last for a while, hun.”

Fear gripped me as I remembered my surgery and the weeks of pain and self-loathing I would experience after. But I pushed it down, forcing a smile to my lips once again as Amber helped me from my bed.

Half an hour later, Amber helped me to the edge of the stairs. “Ryan, come here please.” My brother turned around to look up at us from the couch, his eyes darting between Amber and me, then to Ace, who had jumped up at Amber’s voice. Before Ryan could stand, Ace came for the stairs, taking the steps two at a time.

And then, the man I had been thinking about nonstop for the last few days stood in front of me, his messy, jet-black hair covering his beautiful, piercing blue eyes that scanned my whole body before hovering over my lips. Then, our gazes locked, and his eyes searched mine desperately for answers to questions I didn’t know.

I couldn’t pull my gaze from his. I was stuck in a trance until I heard a throat clear behind me and then a cough from Amber as she gained my attention, breaking our eye contact. Ace’s eyes shifted to her and then back to me, uncertainty in their depths. “Let me help you down,” he rasped.

“I called Ryan, not you.” Amber was quick to throw salt into the fresh wound. Anger flashed across his face momentarily, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw his outstretched hand clench. And then, as quickly as his anger came, it disappeared, and his eyes were back on me, all his attention focused on my face.

“Celine, can I please help you down the stairs?” His voice was pained, the ‘please’ a soft whisper only meant for my ears.

Not able to find my voice, I nodded, letting him pick me up, and I handed my crutches to Amber, who scowled at Ace’s side profile. The strong scent of Ace’s cologne invaded my senses, and all my fears of him leaving evaporated when his strong arms wrapped around me.

He didn’t speak when we sat in the back of my mom’s Suburban, but usually, nobody did. The radio filled the silence with random songs and a report about the upcoming rainy week. I kept my hands fisted, my nails biting into my palms the whole way to the hospital.

Because even though he’d come running to touch me, now Ace was putting distance between us again.

Ace

Ryan put his hand out, stopping me from entering the small hospital room while they prepped Celine for surgery. A nurse glanced at us as she walked by but didn’t stop.

“What do you want, Ryan?” I snapped. My nerves were already frayed. Too much was going on, and I didn’t know how to cope. I just wanted to focus on the one thing I could control today, and that was being there for Celine before she went in for surgery.

“This isn’t going to work, Ace, and you know it,” he quietly bit out.

My upper lip curled as I glared at him. “And why isn’t this going to work?” I sneered.

“Because you can’t keep her safe—not like I can.” I was getting real fucking sick of this argument. He could keep her safe, but twice now, he’d allowed something terrible to happen to her. He hadn’t kept an eye on his little sister, and she ended up in an accident that almost cost her the use of her legs. And then again, he’d failed her when he let his parents send her to the beach house instead of insisting he go instead. “You ignored her for days. You can’t do that in a relationship, Ace.” He crossed his arms over his chest, anger furrowing his brow.

His words brought me pause. I had stayed to myself, not reaching out to her. He was right. But she had enough on her plate. She didn’t need all my baggage on top of it.

“I kept her safe, Ryan,” I growled, my words low. “I carried her for fucking miles. I held her while she cried at night. I did everything and more, and along the way, I developed feelings for her. You can’t make me stay away!” I finally shouted in Ryan’s face, rage boiling in my tense muscles.

He jabbed a stiff finger into my chest hard enough to hurt. I knocked his hand away. “She’s my little sister. I’ll protect her from twisted fuckers like you!” he shouted back.

“Language,” a doctor reprimanded us as he walked past while glaring at Ryan, holding a clipboard to his chest.

“I won’t be told what to do by you,” I snarled at the guy who used to be my best friend. But I didn’t recognize him anymore.

Turning away from Ryan, I stormed into the small room to see Celine tucked into the small, white bed, her hands clenched into small fists.

I’m here, princess. I’m here… for now.

Celine

I kept my hands in fists until I was minutes away from surgery. Mom and Dad were outside talking to Dr. Alex as he walked them through what would happen in the next few hours. Amber was sitting on the couch, alternating between watching me and playing on her phone, when Ace and Ryan entered the room, tension radiating off the two men. Ryan took a seat beside Amber, who turned her head in his direction, a hushed whisper leaving her parted lips.

Ace sat beside me, and I felt his tension leave the room all at once—like I was the personal cure to his stress. His eyes bore into my face as I stared at the ceiling, anxiety and nerves filling all my thoughts. He grabbed both of my balled fists, pulling each finger back and bringing my exposed palm to his lips, kissing the red flesh tenderly.

“It’s going to be okay,” he whispered, his blue eyes on my hands, specifically on where my nails had bitten into my skin.

“If it isn’t?” My voice was barely audible to my own ears.

“You’re strong, baby girl.” His words were soft and convincing. I just wished I believed him. I was terrified.

I swallowed thickly. “What if I can’t walk again?”

He shook his head, determination lighting up his eyes. “You will.”

I licked my dry lips. “What if I don’t wake up?” Panic crept into my voice, and my fingers wrapped around his hand.

He shook his head again, pressing the back of my hand to his stubble-covered cheek. “You will, Celine.”

My lips trembled as tears burned in the backs of my eyes. “You don’t know that,” I croaked.

“I know you’re the strongest person I’ve ever met, and you will survive.” Conviction lined every word he spoke. “You’re a survivor, Celine.”

Dr. Alex walked into the room with my parents, ending our conversation, but Ace squeezed my hand, doing his best to ease my nerves.

“It’s time, dear.”

I nodded numbly at Dr. Alex. Ace’s hand slowly pulled away from mine as my mom took one, my dad the other, and they whispered their love for me. Kisses were placed all over my face, and tears dropped from my mother’s cheeks to mine. I had to bite my lip to prevent my own from falling. Couldn’t she hold herself together until I was wheeled from the room?

Looking at Ace over my parents’ heads, I held his gaze. “Will you be here when I wake up?” All the attention in the room went to him as he hesitated.

He hesitated .

Please, please, please don’t leave me , I silently begged him.

“Where else would I be, princess?” Relief flooded my shaking body. He wouldn’t break his word, would he? He would still be here.

Only once I was wheeled out of the room and away from my family, friends, and Ace did I allow my tears to fall, my body trembling as panic seized my body.

Struggling to open my eyes, I only snapped them shut again at the blinding white light, groaning. Why was the room so damn bright?

“She’s awake!” I heard a familiar, excited voice exclaim near my head.

“Call the nurse!”

Trying again, I slowly opened my eyes, letting them adjust to the fluorescent, white lights in the room. It was so bright . Ugh.

A woman’s face blocked my view of everything, and my mind was groggily trying to remember where I was. “Celine, my baby.” My mother’s voice.

“Mom?” I choked on the word, my throat dry, my voice hoarse. A glass of water was brought to my lips, and I took small sips.

“You’re okay, baby. You’re going to be okay.” She wrapped a warm, comforting hand around my cold one as familiar faces flooded into the room.

Amber’s red hair caught my attention first. It was pulled back into a messy ponytail, and her green eyes gleamed in happiness, making me smile. She was still here, just like she’d promised she would be.

Ryan, a step behind her, looked tired but relieved to see me awake. He placed a tentative hand on my blanket-clad foot. “Hey, you.” His voice was thick with sleep. Clearly, he’d been napping while I’d been in surgery.

And then, my eyes fell on my usually collected father who was in a state of disarray—hair standing up just like it did after a stressful day at work from running his fingers through it. His eyes were wide with alarm, and his clothes were rumpled. “She’s okay,” he whispered more to himself than anyone.

My eyes kept searching, not finding the last person. Where was he? Sweeping the room again, I caught Ryan’s infuriated look when he noticed who wasn’t in the room as well.

“Where…” I swallowed thickly, fearing the answer. “Where’s Ace?”

Mom grabbed my hands in hers, pain filling her expression. “He left, baby. He… left.” My mother’s hand tightened around mine as she relayed the news.

He left me.

He left me just like Aidan did.

He broke his promise to me.