Broken Bonds (Unbreakable Bonds #1)

Chapter Thirty

chapter thirty

RYAN

SIX MONTHS AGO

The frail-looking blonde in the hospital bed was not the strong girl I knew her to be. Celine had become a shell of the girl I grew up with since Ace left. I barely recognized her anymore.

Growing up, she always reminded me of sunshine. She always had a big smile on her face. Even when I got us into trouble with our parents, she’d stand behind me and giggle or hold my hand to let me know that she was there, that we were in this together.

Now, her eyes were dark and downcast, her eyebrows always furrowed in pain, a frown permanently etched onto her face. She didn’t speak unless spoken to, and often, I saw her looking off in a daze, her mind far away from the white hospital room. I only hoped that it was the pain medicine making her feel and look so disoriented.

I didn’t like seeing my sister in so much pain, and I wanted to take it away. I wished more than anything I had gone to the beach house that day instead of her. She was in this position because of me , and the guilt ate away at me every day, only intensifying and choking me when I looked at her small, frail body in the big, white bed.

I knew the real reason behind her forlorn looks and sad eyes. I had seen it before. I watched Aidan break her heart once. This time, I was the reason it had been broken a second time. I let her and Ace grow close, and then, I pushed him away when it was too late. I should’ve just kept my mouth shut.

I thought back to yesterday when Ace finally pitched up to the hospital after being absent for days. He didn’t answer any of my calls and avoided class all because of a phone call from his grandmother about his mother.

That woman was bad news. Why he couldn’t see that, I had no idea.

She had abandoned Ace at his weakest moment, when he needed his mother the most. And even though I had never met the woman, I had no time for useless mothers. Ace needed a mother’s love after his brother died. The loss of his brother messed with his mind and made him the wrong guy for my sister. He wasn’t healed, and Celine wasn’t either. Forming a relationship would only be toxic and unhealthy for them both.

I stopped Ace from entering the room and saw the anger immediately flash through his blue eyes. For as long as I had known him, he hadn’t had a handle on his temper. I didn’t want him near my sister until he learned how to control it.

All I could see was her suffering from another broken heart caused by Ace.

“This isn’t going to work, Ace, and you know it.” Pure rage flickered through his eyes as he narrowed them at me. His fists were balled at his sides, his body tense.

I had to protect Celine. I had to protect her from him.

I was the only one who could keep her safe. I told him that, and he listened and left. Without even saying goodbye. He could have at least given her that much.

And now, I had to look at my little sister, who was falling apart at the seams. I had to look at her, knowing I pushed away the guy who was making her happy just so I could keep her safe, to protect her heart. But had I really protected her from anything? Because now, she was a ghost of the girl I knew.

Shaking those thoughts from my mind, I looked at the beautiful redhead sitting next to my sister with a big smile on her face as she showed Celine some fashion magazine. Amber, the little spitfire with a mouth to match her flaming hair and personality, had been the center of my attention lately. She was always at the house, walking around in those tiny, jean shorts with her long, freckled legs on display. And God, did I love a girl with long legs.

She was covered in freckles—her face, her arms, and I assumed underneath the t-shirt and shorts she always wore, I would find more. I tried to fight the instant attraction, but it was impossible. Her no-care attitude was a major turn-on, and that mouth that continuously spewed random shit was hot, too.

The only person stopping me from pursuing the spitfire was my sister. The two had quickly become inseparable, and for the first time, Celine finally had someone she could share all her secrets with. Emily had never been that great of a friend, but for a while, she was the only one who’d stuck around. And now, she was gone, too.

Often, I heard the two whispering into the night, and it made me like Amber even more for finally being the right person for Celine, for finally being the best friend my sister always wanted.

As much as I liked the spitfire girl, I couldn’t pursue something with her—not now at least, not when Celine needed a friend. My little sister always came first. She had been through so much pain and loss; I couldn’t take another person away from her… Not like she’d lost Aidan, and not like I’d driven away Ace.

Amber sat beside me when the nurse came into the room and fussed around Celine, giving her more pain medication, which put her to sleep within minutes. Mom and Dad were outside talking to the doctor and getting us lunch while we stayed here, trying to be some form of support when, in reality, neither of us knew what the fuck we were doing.

“Does it get easier?” Amber whispered to me, her thin, red lips that matched her hair curving into a frown.

“Does what get easier?” I followed her gaze to my frail-looking sister.

“Seeing her like this.” The pain in her voice surprised me.

“No—not as her brother, anyway.” And then, in the corner of the room, on a hard plastic sofa, Amber’s cold hand slipped into mine and squeezed, her nimble fingers sliding through mine.

“It wasn’t your fault.” Her voice was so soft and caring—like a lullaby. Our gazes remained transfixed on the broken girl in the too-large, white bed.

“It should’ve been me at that house, not her. I should have?—”

Amber interrupted me, her vibrant, green eyes focused on my face. “Everything happens for a reason, Ryan. You can’t beat yourself up about this. From what I’ve heard, this could have happened if she went to a theme park and just walked too much. There was nothing you could have done. She doesn’t blame you, Ryan.”

Shaking my head, I looked at the spitfire beside me, pain reflecting back at me from the depths of her eyes. The threat of tears made them shimmer in the low lighting. “It should’ve been me, Amber.”

Closing my eyes, I leaned my head back against the wall, breathing in the scent of chemicals and listening to the sound of Celine’s deep, even breaths. Amber didn’t let go of my hand, and the feelings I was trying so hard to keep at bay surged.

I wanted this girl. I wanted to understand her. I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to spend time with her.

But she was my little sister’s best friend, and that role in Celine’s life was more important than anything I was feeling.

Amber

THREE MONTHS LATER

I left a lot behind when I chose to go to Billiards University—not only a boyfriend and two best friends but three sisters, too. We shared everything growing up—clothes, brushes, makeup, advice, you name it.

Here in Florida, I lived alone in a one-person dorm, where I shared a bathroom with fifty other girls I didn’t know and who could care less if I didn’t make it to my dorm each night. I always had a cold shower, and I went to sleep without the comforting snores of my twin sister, Alissa.

We had a falling out over going to different colleges, and since then, our relationship had been tense. We didn’t talk every day anymore like we used to. In fact, she hadn’t called me in a week, too busy with her new life, new boyfriend, new job. I missed her. But Celine filled the gaping hole of loneliness just when I thought I wouldn’t be able to go on anymore, just when I thought I would cave and go home.

She’d been the light I’d needed.

Lately, I had been staying overnight with Celine, who had become such a close friend. She was like a sister to me, and I knew the girls at home on the ranch would love her—even Alissa.

She was recovering well—slowly—but every day was better than the last, and we had built such a strong bond in the last three months.

The best part of staying with her every night wasn’t our late-night talks, but when I snuck into her brother’s room, and we sat up well into the early hours of the morning talking about our pasts.

Ryan, Celine’s older and very attractive brother, filled a hole I didn’t even realize was there. His touch was gentle, his voice smooth and sexy, and his eyes were always understanding, never passing judgment.

Tonight was no different than any other night. After Celine fell asleep, I quickly snuck out of the room and padded lightly through the dark house to his room, tapping on the door, waiting for him to open it.

Every time the door swung open, I was struck by how handsome he was in a pair of plaid pajama pants, his shirt missing. Tonight, he pulled me into the room quickly, and we sank down onto the black sofa in his room.

I watched his eyes take in my red hair, all piled up on my head in a messy bun, and then lazily move down my face, lingering on my eyes and lips before sweeping over my baggy shirt and sweatpants. His intense gaze sent a shiver racing down my spine.

“Did she talk about Ace tonight?” The question started our nightly chats about a month ago when he heard her crying about how much she missed him. He cornered me when I went to get her a glass of water and demanded I come to his room later that night and tell him how to fix his sister.

He shared how guilty he felt for sending Ace away and then for not being at the house and saving his sister from ever falling for him. Ryan carried a lot of guilt on his shoulders. The accident and the beach house were not his fault—not in my opinion. But driving Ace away? Yeah, that was on him. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to tell him how wrong he’d been. Not when he already felt so terrible.

I didn’t want to tell him about how Celine called Ace tonight or her reaction to hearing his voicemail. The pain that flickered through her always-determined blue eyes upset me greatly. I wanted to hurt Ace for bringing this pain to my best friend, but he disappeared like a ghost—almost as if he didn’t exist.

“Yeah, she did.”

Ryan sighed and leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees so he could drop his face into his hands. “I’ve broken her. It’s been three months since he left, and still, she talks about him.” His tan hands slid up his face and through his brown hair, pulling and tugging.

Reaching for his hands, I grabbed them, watching as Ryan turned his head to look at me. Devastation colored his features. “You didn’t break her, Ryan. She’s going to survive this.” He dropped his face onto my shoulder, his hands going limp in mine.

I held my breath, shaken by his sudden intimacy. He’s in pain. He doesn’t like you more than a friend. Don’t take advantage of the situation.

Those limp hands attached to steely, bulging arms suddenly wrapped around my still, hardly breathing body and pulled me to his chest. Every butterfly that had once been dormant in my stomach erupted into chaos, and my always-spinning mind stilled.

Ryan Wilson was hugging me.

Ryan Wilson, my best friend’s older brother, was hugging me .

Holy shit!

I didn’t dare move. I didn’t even want to breathe. I didn’t want the moment to be gone before I enjoyed it. The smell of his skin pressed against my nose, the warmth that exuded from his shirtless chest, his ragged breaths in my ear, the low groan that vibrated against my face—I wanted to enjoy all of it.

He clearly wanted me as much as I wanted him.

As suddenly as it happened, his arms were gone, and a blush tinted both of our cheeks. Our skin was no longer touching; there was now a small gap between the two of us on the couch. He was so close. If I just reached out for him, I could hold his hand.

With his blue eyes—almost identical to Celine’s—now downcast, I did what I had wanted to do since the moment I laid my eyes on the sexy man.

Leaning forward, my chest brushed his. I let out a shuddering breath, and his eyes snapped quickly to mine just as I pressed my lips to his before I could chicken out.

And I kissed Ryan Wilson.