Broken Bonds (Unbreakable Bonds #1)

Chapter Thirty-Five

chapter thirty-five

CELINE

The next morning, it hurt to open my eyes. With a groan, I sat up and blearily looked down at my heavy hand and the white cast covering it.

Julian… I sighed and reached up, rubbing sleep from my eyes. I really hoped I didn’t see him today at school. I wouldn’t be able to handle it.

Amber was falling off the bed, her hair standing up as she loudly snored. On the table beside her head were two empty crystal glasses. How much had we drank last night? A glance at the Captain Morgan bottle told me we’d emptied it.

“Wake up.”

Nudging her with my leg, she grumbled out a response but didn’t move. “ Shh , sleeping over here,” she mumbled, her words almost unintelligible.

“We have class in an hour. Now, get your butt out of bed. Someone has to drive us.” I held up my cast-covered arm with a scowl.

Getting Amber out of bed took another ten minutes, which then made us late for class with no time to shower or have breakfast. I hadn’t taken the pain pills on the kitchen counter, and the continuous throbbing in my wrist reminded me of my mistake all morning.

I took the long way to my class with Julian, trying to prolong the confrontation I knew was going to happen, but to my surprise, he wasn’t waiting for me outside like usual. I sat in my seat in the back and waited, trying to ignore the curious looks from the rest of the students. The professor was late today, so everyone mingled until he finally walked in twenty minutes later.

Still no Julian .

The class whizzed by, and then everyone filed out of the room with a scowl after the professor announced another quiz would take place tomorrow. As I was gathering my things, a shadow loomed over me. I looked up, expecting Julian, but saw one of his teammates instead.

“Did that happen at the party?” His eyes flickered to my cast and then to my face, a frown tugging at his lips.

“Yeah, I tripped.” The lie fell so easily, and I hated it. Was I becoming one of those girls? “Were you there last night?” Swinging my bag over my shoulder, I walked out of the room with him, holding the conversation.

“Saw the whole thing between you and Scott,” he muttered, making me halt at the exit of the room.

My heart slammed against my breastbone, anxiety swirling in my gut. “What do you mean?”

An uncomfortable look passed over his face as he scratched the back of his neck, his eyes shifting around. “You didn’t trip, that’s for sure. He pushed you.” My defenses rose automatically. Nobody needed to know the truth—only me and Julian. Nobody would understand.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” I looked away from him and continued through the big double doors. He grabbed my good wrist, whirling me around to face him.

“He’s done this before, and he’ll do it again, Wilson. Get away from him while you can still walk.” Fear crawled through the pit of my stomach at the warning. Questions circled my brain, but as I opened my mouth to ask what he meant, I was roughly pulled into someone’s arms.

“Get your fucking hands off my girlfriend, Baker.” Julian’s voice floated past my ear, his threat directed at the football player. My wide eyes remained on Baker as he held his hands up in surrender before walking away with a shrug.

“Not worth my time, Scott,” he said over his shoulder before disappearing into the crowd.

Julian turned me around to face him, his brown eyes looking over my face and then down to my arm. “How’s the wrist, clumsy?”

I bit back a scowl, not wanting to put him in a bad mood. “Sore. Why weren’t you in class? We have a quiz tomorrow.”

He shrugged like missing the quiz today and missing out on the information he needed for tomorrow’s quiz was no big deal. It irked my nerves. “Hangover from last night. That party was wild, huh?”

The party was… wild ? “I guess.”

“I went back after Amber picked you up from the hospital.” I wanted to punch him. “Totally sucked you couldn’t join me.” Red hot fury rippled through me.

“You broke my wrist, Julian, so of course, I couldn’t come back to the party!” His hand covered my mouth when I started screaming at him, his eyes darkening. Alarms rang in my head as he glared down at me.

“Shut up. The entire student body doesn’t need to know about how you tripped and fell after pulling away from me! ” he said loudly so everyone could hear.

Heads turned to look at us, and I hid my flushed face with my hair as I glared at him. “Julian, what the?—”

“Don’t swear at me, Celine.” Anger and malice flashed in his eyes, and I took a step back, shocked. “I’ll see you later.” He turned, leaving me in the spotlight as everyone watched the star quarterback leave his girlfriend in the hall after having a very loud fight.

“He said what?” Amber whispered in our next class together, her head bent next to mine as I told her about our fight. Shooting a glance at our professor, who hadn’t looked away from the board, I continued spilling what happened, needing to get it out of my system.

“He went back to the party after the hospital.”

“What the hell?” she exclaimed, getting the attention of the girls sitting in front of us. “Don’t look at us,” she whispered before turning her wide, green eyes back to me and frowning.

“Everyone was staring at us, Amber. It was so embarrassing.” She frowned, anger and sadness washing over her features.

“Just break up with him already. It’s becoming toxic. He’s no good for you, Celine.”

I sighed. “I really like him. I just don’t know who this version of him is. Maybe he’s just stressed about football and school. You know he has to keep up his grades to keep the scholarship.” Amber nodded, her eyes calculating before she turned her head to the professor, who just called her name.

The week passed by slowly, with no sign of Julian and no more secret warnings from Baker. Baker had arrived in class the next day with a black eye and wouldn’t even look at me. I knew Julian was the reason for the black eye, and I saw the fear in Baker every time I came near him, so I stayed away.

There was a game Friday night, and Julian usually invited me every Thursday by giving me a jersey to wear with his name on it. So, I waited patiently for Thursday, my apology ready. I missed him and our late-night talks.

On Thursday, I woke up a little earlier and spent extra time on my makeup and outfit. I wanted to look pretty for Julian. I wanted to see him smile when he saw me because I knew he would come to class today… class he’d missed all week.

Today, my dad was giving me a ride to class on his way to work. I hadn’t driven yet with my broken wrist since my doctor advised against it for a few weeks. I was already starting to miss the Jeep. My parents had been horrified to find out my wrist had been broken while they were gone and I hadn’t told them.

They came home the night before, immediately becoming upset when they saw my broken wrist. I was careful to tell them it was my fault because I tripped over my own feet and fell. I hated lying to them, but I didn’t want them to hate Julian for an accident.

“Have a good day, squirt!” Dad called as I jumped from his truck with a smile and started walking to my first class with Amber. She was already sitting in the room, sipping on a Starbucks drink, her nose in that damn phone again.

“How’s Ryan?” I asked, plopping down next to her. She looked up and smiled around the straw of her drink.

“Not talking to Ryan, silly. My sister—she’s coming to visit this weekend. I’m so freaking excited for you to meet her.”

My eyes widened, excited for her. “Which one? You have so many!” Amber had really been missing her family lately, and I was so happy she was finally reconnecting with them.

“The oldest—Jaime. She’ll be here tomorrow before the game, and then, I’m going to take her to the after-party, and we’ll just spend the weekend around town, maybe go to the beach. Will you come with us?”

I scoffed and waved her off. “I’m your girl. Of course, I’ll come with you.”

She beamed at me and then made an oooh sound. “Why is your makeup so good today? Did you curl your hair? Who in the world are you trying to impress, girl?!”

Blushing, I snuck a look to the front of the room to see if the professor had walked in yet. “Julian, of course. Today is Thursday, so he’s going to ask me to the game—like always.”

Her smile dropped. “Are you sure? He hasn’t even come to class since you two had that fight.”

I shrugged, refusing to let her get my hopes down. “It’s Thursday. He’s never missed a Thursday.”

But he wasn’t in our next class.

The seat beside me remained empty for another hour as I fought the urge to cry. I kept my head down, my hair covering my face as I walked out of the room once class ended and joined the bustling crowd in the hallway. Suddenly, I was pulled from the throes of people and into the arms of Julian. His lips landed on mine before I had time to blink, and he was kissing me.

He came.

His lips moved against mine—rough and eager, teeth biting at my bottom lip. He pulled away, his eyes gleaming. “Hey, baby,” he whispered, brushing his nose against mine, and I inhaled the scent of his cologne.

“Hey.”

“Will you be my date to the game Friday, babe?” I beamed as he held up his jersey and smiled as if he hadn’t been missing for three days. As if I wasn’t curious about where he’d been and the silence between us.

“Of course, my love.” Taking the jersey with my good hand, I clutched it tightly. His eyes shifted to my cast and then my face.

“How’s the wrist?” he asked.

“Okay.” I forced a smile to my lips. “Thanks for asking.”

“I care about you, baby; you know that.”

Did he ?

“Where were you all week?” I tentatively asked. “You haven’t answered my texts or anything.”

He sighed, looking annoyed that I was questioning him. I wanted to shrink back, but I held my ground. “Been busy with practice and work. Sorry.” I nodded at the answer, knowing it was a lie, but I didn’t want to upset him like last time.

“Wanna go out tonight?” I whispered against his lips when he leaned down to kiss me again.

He pulled away, dropping his arms that were locked around me. “Can’t. I have practice.”

“After?” I asked hopefully.

He shook his head, and my heart dropped to my feet. “I’ll take you to the party after the game. How about that?”

That wasn’t a date. It wasn’t what I wanted, but maybe I just needed to take what he offered.

“Sure,” I mumbled.

“Don’t wear the same dress you wore last time. I don’t need all the guys looking at you again.”

What? I’d worn that dress because he told me to!

“Uh, okay. See you in class tomorrow?”

“Yeah, you know the rules—no class, no play.” He kissed my cheek before walking away, leaving me alone in the hallway yet again.

Standing in the bleachers, I searched for Julian’s jersey on the field. The crowds were screaming, feet stomping against the metal floor as we scored a touchdown. Amber and her sister, Jaime, were jumping up and down as they held hands, two peas in a pod.

I couldn’t find him on the field, but I knew he was here. I could feel it. After scanning the field one more time, my eyes finally landed on him standing near the cheerleaders, talking to the captain.

What the fuck was he doing? Why did he need to talk to her?

Suddenly, the phone in my hand buzzed, and I momentarily looked down, shocked to see a text from Ace.

Ace: I miss you too.

My heart fluttered, even as I grew confused. What the flipping hell? When did I text him? Oh, God! The other night when Amber decided it was a great idea to drink almost an entire bottle of rum.

Shit !

Clicking the lock button, I pushed the phone into my jeans pocket to forget about Ace. I shouldn’t have texted him. I was with Julian now. I needed to focus on that… and somehow ignore how easily Ace still made my heart race and my belly flutter. My body reacted to that man so easily. In a way it never reacted to my boyfriend.

But Ace left me. Julian was here. Regardless of his behavior, he was here; he hadn’t left. Repeating those words, I looked back to Julian on the field talking to the cheerleaders and fought the pang in my chest when I saw him smile at the half-naked girls.

We won the game, and the whole crowd was still buzzed with excitement an hour later at the after-party. Julian’s arm hadn’t moved from my waist since we entered the frat house, his hand clutching my hip, the other holding a full cup of beer.

We did our rounds with the team, all of them laughing, rowdy, and almost drunk as they hugged one another and kissed whatever girl was attached to their hip. Most didn’t have steady girlfriends. Julian was one of the few, and he kept me close while he was sober. But once he started drinking, his hand slowly stopped holding me tightly and his attention wasn’t on me anymore.

Back at the field after they had won, I ran for the field. Julian was searching for me in the crowd as I jumped into his outstretched arms and congratulated his big win with a celebratory kiss that had the whole team cheering. We separated ways after, and he picked me up from my house an hour later. I decided on a black romper that dipped in the back, showing that I wasn’t wearing a bra. I paired it with a pair of black block heels and, of course, my famous red lipstick. He had complimented this outfit before, so I knew tonight, we wouldn’t fight. At least, I hoped not.

He greeted me with a sloppy, wet kiss that had me wiping my mouth after he turned his back. “You look so hot, babe,” he whispered in my ear as he opened the door to his SUV for me. He said this a few more times, making me blush.

At the party, I didn’t hear another compliment as I watched him drool over the scantily dressed cheerleaders all showing off their perfectly toned bodies in revealing dresses.

Amber and Jaime soon arrived at the party, and the three of us drank and danced on the makeshift dance floor while I tried hard not to keep an eye on Julian. I just had to trust him; he was my boyfriend. How could I question him?

After a few hours, the three of us were stumbling to the bar for another drink when I saw Julian kissing the captain of the cheer squad, his hands roaming her tanned body. Instantly sick to my stomach, I stormed over in his direction and yanked the girl away from my boyfriend.

His questioning gaze landed on me before anger flooded his face. “What the hell, Celine?”

“More like what the hell are you doing kissing another girl that isn’t me?!” I shouted. A few people were staring, and Amber silently made her way to me, standing nearby, ready when I needed her.

“She kissed me!” he screamed as the girl looked between me and him, shaking her head.

“You kissed me, jerk!” she shrieked before leaving, pushing onlookers out of the way, humiliation flooding her cheeks.

“I want to go home—now!” I yelled at him, turning around and looking for the front door. He grabbed my hand and whirled me around so that my lips were almost brushing his. The smell of beer wafting off his breath made me cringe away.

“Let’s go talk about this first.” I fought against his hold, but he was too strong. Pulling me down a hall, we stepped into one of the open rooms.

Throwing my things on the bed, I turned to face him, crossing my arms under my chest, trying to keep the anger at the surface and not let the crying little girl out. “Well, I’m waiting, Julian.” I tapped my foot against the brown carpet.

“I think we should take a break,” he said, sitting on the edge of the bed, looking down at his feet, his fingers pulling at his brown hair.

My arms fell. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me, Celine. You can’t handle my lifestyle. If I want to kiss another girl after a big win, I’m entitled to it, and my girlfriend needs to understand that she can’t satisfy all my needs, especially when she won’t have sex with me.”

I glared at him, fury and hurt burning in my chest. “Have you been having sex this whole time?” I shrieked, barely able to comprehend what I was hearing. He looked up from his feet and nodded.

“A man has needs, Celine, and you weren’t prepared to help me.” He had to be fucking kidding me. “Not like you actually thought I was going to wait for you to be ready?” He paused, eyes looking me over, and then, he scoffed. “You’re a stupid, pathetic girl. You honestly thought I would wait for you when I could have any of those girls downstairs?”

His words were like a slap in the face, and I stumbled backward into the door of the room.

“Why didn’t you wait?” I tried to keep my voice steady, but suddenly, insecurity invaded my mind. I wrapped my arms around my body tighter in hopes to stop the shaking.

“I got drunk and wanted to screw someone. Didn’t see the issue when you were the one who wasn’t ready for me.”

My phone on the bed started buzzing obnoxiously, and Julian reached for it when I didn’t move, too shocked to process everything. He held the screen up for me to see a picture of Amber. She must be worried.

Shaking my head, I ignored the call. “How long, Julian?” I demanded, not wanting to know but also needing the answer.

“A few weeks—since Ryan left, I guess.” He looked down at the now silent phone.

Since Ryan was no longer around to keep him in line .

When I thought he had been giving me space to help my friend, he was sleeping with other girls. Lost in thought, I didn’t notice him going through my phone. “What is this?” he said quietly, raising the phone to my face, my missed notifications on the brightly lit screen. Searching, I didn’t see anything until my eyes landed on the text from earlier.

The text from Ace.

“Nothing, baby,” I tried assuring him. Fear filled my veins as Julian stood up. Anger simmered beneath his taut muscles, his empty hand clenched in a tight fist.

“This isn’t nothing. This looks like something, Celine,” he sneered, reading the text again before throwing my phone at the wall near my head. I ducked quickly, fear damn near paralyzing me.

An alarmed cry involuntarily passed through my lips when I looked back at him, his body shaking in rage. “Don’t you call me baby after you’ve been texting your ex!” he roared.

“I don’t see why it matters when you’ve been cheating on me for weeks after you promised to wait!” He laughed, cracking his knuckles as he looked at me with disgust.

“The point, Celine,” he paused, taking a threatening step closer to me, “is that I don’t get cheated on. I do the cheating. I have control of the situation, not pathetic little girls like you,” he growled.

Before I could move, his hand flew toward my face, slapping me across the cheek and knocking me to the ground. A pained cry ripped from my lips.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” The words trembled from my shaking lips as I tried crawling away from him.

His foot connected with my stomach a second later, sending me flying into the wall with a thump. He stepped forward and kicked again, then three more times after that. The pleas leaving my lips were uncontrollable. I sobbed and begged and cried, pleading with him to stop. Screaming for help.

He picked me up, holding me above the ground with his hand around my throat, a sneer twisting his lips. “You’re weak, Celine—so weak and pathetic. It’s no wonder Ace didn’t want you.” He threw me into the wall, and a scream of pain escaped my lips.

Bending down to hover over me on the ground, his fist soared into my already throbbing cheek, and I saw stars before my head dropped to the ground.

He’s going to kill me.

His fist slammed into my stomach, and I almost threw up, gagging. “Stupid little girl. You should’ve listened to the warnings. So desperate to be loved, you followed me around like a little lost puppy.”

He stood, and his foot slammed into my stomach again. “Please,” I whimpered. He leaned down, and I looked at him through blurry eyes. My head was spinning and throbbing, my vision threatening to wink out.

“You want me, baby?” he whispered and started unzipping his pants.

I screamed as loud as I could over the pounding music, hoping someone would hear me. I screamed for help. Screamed for someone to free me. To get me out of this fucking room.

Suddenly, someone was pounding on the door, and I could hear Amber’s hysterical voice. “Let me in! Open the door!” She was kicking and screaming, but Julian only laughed, stepping out of his jeans as he came closer to me.

“Help me!” I screamed, crawling away from him.

His fist connected with the back of my head, and my face slammed into the musky carpet. Vomit spewed from my lips at the pain. “Shut up!” he roared and sent a round of fists to my back. I collapsed with a scream.

“Let me in, fucker!” Amber screamed through the door, her fists banging loudly. “Someone help me!”

The banging grew louder, and then a male voice shouted through the door, “Open the door, Julian! Open it now!”

“You stupid girl,” Julian sneered, pulling my hair back so I could look at him. “I never liked you anyway.” His bloody fist came for my face, and I blacked out just as the door burst open.