Broken Bonds (Unbreakable Bonds #1)

Chapter Thirty-Nine

chapter thirty-nine

CELINE

Ace loved me?

What was I supposed to say to that? He’d only just come back into my life, and now he was confessing his love for me?

Ace’s blue eyes stared expectantly into mine, waiting for something—anything—from me.

“I… I, um—Ace.” He leaned forward and brushed his soft, full lips against my own bruised ones—just a whisper of a kiss—before pulling back. I couldn’t help but close my eyes at the small gesture. My heart slammed against my breastbone, and so easily—so fucking easily—warmth pooled in my belly. My body knew him still, even after a year.

His finger gently traced my lips, and my eyes fluttered open. “Don’t say it now—not after everything you’ve been through, baby girl. I wanted you to know I’m here, and I’m not leaving. Because I love you.”

My cheeks flushed, and I turned away from him. But then, wanting him to know I wanted him here, that I needed him here, I turned back to face him, leaned in, and kissed his soft lips like I had wanted to do since I opened my eyes for the first time in the hospital and every moment since. I missed kissing him. I missed being with him.

I missed being his .

I loved how he kissed me gently, his lips always a soft brush, never hurting me, and always eager for more. I wanted to feel his tongue slide against my bottom lip like it used to. I wanted him to erase Julian.

“I just don’t know, Ace,” I said, the words coming from my lips no more than a whisper. Ace’s body tensed, so I rushed to continue. I didn’t want to hurt him. “If you told me a year ago, I would’ve said it back and meant it with every fiber of my being, but you left me when I needed you.” Pausing, I took a deep breath, finally coming to terms with everything I had been thinking and feeling. “I thought I was in love with Julian a few days ago, and now, I’m terrified of the dark. Every squeak and creak, basically any noise I hear, makes me want to scream for help. I need time , Ace.” He relaxed. “I need time to heal from what he did to me, from the bruises covering almost every inch of my body, the fingerprints from where he grabbed me. The broken wrist,” I looked at him and raised my arm a little, his eyes tracking the movement, “and my broken ankle.”

A rush of tears flowed down my warm cheeks as I looked at him through blurry eyes. My chest ached with the reminder of everything Julian did; he broke me . I couldn’t go to school because of the bruises covering my face. The four broken ribs made it impossible to walk without being in absolute blood-curdling agony, and I was back to crutches again because of my foot. I wanted to cry until I couldn’t remember Julian’s face, until I couldn’t remember his fist slamming into my face.

Ace’s fingers brushed over my bruised cheeks, wiping away the tears, and I couldn’t help but fall for him with the sincerity and love shining in his blue eyes.

“Take all the time you need. I’ll be here when you’re ready for me, Celine. I want to be in a relationship with you; I want to see where this can go when you’re ready for us. I’ll show you what it feels like to be loved and cherished. I’ll make the monsters in the dark go away. I’m not leaving you. No one can take me away from you.”

A sob tore itself from my raw throat. He pulled my head to his chest. I cried it out, all my pain seeping into him, and he took it. His arms were like steel bands around my quivering body. His voice was gentle and soothing, always reminding me that he was different from other men.

“Let it out, baby girl. Let it all out.” My tears soaked his shirt, a pain like no other consuming me—my heart, head, and soul all pouring out into him. “I’m here. I’m here.” His fingers brushed through my hair, eventually lulling me to sleep. And he never let go.

When I woke up, the room was dark, and Ace was gone. The spot where he had been sitting was cold. I heard a noise coming from outside my door and tried to shake the cobwebs from my mind. Reaching for my phone, I saw it was almost dinnertime, and my rumbling stomach was a reminder that I hadn’t eaten much in the last few days.

My phone lit up with Ryan’s face, and I answered quickly, not thinking. “Ry?” I heard a sigh of relief on the other end.

“What’s going on back there? My phone has been blowing up for the last few days!” he said, panic and exhaustion clear in his voice.

I didn’t want to tell him the truth. I didn’t want him to worry about me anymore. He was just going to blame himself even though, like every time, it was my fault for trusting the wrong man again.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I mumbled, carefully rubbing the sleep out of my swollen eyes without hurting them.

He scoffed. “First, Amber leaves me this cryptic message, and now, she won’t answer my calls. Some of the guys called from the team telling me to come home because you’re hurt. You haven’t answered a single text or phone call. Mom and Dad said you were okay but wouldn’t let me speak to you. So, you tell me—what is going on, Celine?”

God, the gossip train around here was relentless. “Nothing. I just got into a fight with Julian, and Amber was worried about me. I told her not to worry you. I’m okay. How are you over there?”

Ryan snarled, “That’s not what I heard from Baker, Celine. He said Julian put you in the hospital twice in the last week. Please tell me he’s not telling the truth.” I hesitated with my answer, and that was enough for him to know. “I’m coming home.” He hung up before I could answer, leaving me there to stare at the ceiling in regret.

After an uncomfortable dinner with Ace carrying me down the stairs to eat with the family, he brought me back up, where Amber gave me a sponge bath. She cried for the first ten minutes. Once I was sitting on a chair in the bathroom in my bra and panties, she dropped to her knees in front of me and cried.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry that I didn’t come sooner. I shouldn’t have let him take you. Oh, God, Celine, I’ll never forgive myself.” Her cries quickly became inconsolable, and she wept while helping me bathe. I didn’t know what to say. I was on the verge of crying with her.

“Ryan is coming home,” I muttered once she pulled a big t-shirt over my head. She faltered before looking at me with red-rimmed eyes.

“I didn’t tell him. I promise I didn’t.” Grabbing her hand, I squeezed it with everything I had, trying to convey my love for this girl, who had become the sister I always wanted but never had.

“I know. Baker did,” I told her. “I don’t want him to see me like this, Amber. He’s going to hurt Julian, and he’s going to be angry at Ace when he sees him here. I don’t want him to mess up his future because of me.”

Amber sighed. “He loves you, Cece. He just wants to protect you from every bad thing in this world, but he has to realize that he can’t. I’ll make sure he’s okay; I promise I will.” We talked for a few more minutes, and excitement crept into her tone with every passing minute with the idea of Ryan coming home sooner than expected.

And then, Ace was at the door, water in one hand, pills in the other. “Time to rest, princess.” The term of endearment made Amber smile at me.

“I’m going home tonight, but I’ll be here early in the morning—promise,” she told me, pressing a kiss to my cheek. I nodded at her, and she left the room, leaving the door open a crack.

Ace took her spot on the bed, handing me another dose of pain pills and the water to wash it down with. “Thank you,” I whispered as he helped me lean back on the pillows without jostling my ribs.

“Anything for you,” he said, a small smile tilting his lips.

Once I was comfortable, I looked up, letting my eyes meet Ace’s. “Why me, Ace?”

He shrugged one shoulder. “Because you make me forget about all the bad in my life and make me want to love again.”

I swallowed thickly. There he went with that word again. “Do you really love me?” I whispered groggily, his face going in and out of focus as the pain pills began to kick in.

He nodded solemnly. “With every inch of my heart, Celine.”

Reaching out, I grabbed his hand, my eyelids beginning to close. “Please don’t leave me alone; he comes with the darkness.”

His lips brushed the back of my hand, but I couldn’t bring myself to open my eyes again. I was so sleepy.

“I’m not going anywhere, baby girl.”

“You pathetic girl!” Julian shouted, raising a hand to slap my cheek. Pain emitted from the sharp sting he left behind. I raised my hand to my throbbing cheek.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. He flirted with me, Julian.”

The crack of his hand against my cheek echoed in the room. Then, he whacked my other cheek, sending me to the floor.

“Don’t lie to me, Celine,” he snarled. “I saw you flirting with that punk in my jersey!” he roared, standing above me.

Fear crawled into the pit of my stomach when he leaned down and picked me up by my arms, squeezing them tightly.

“You’re hurting me,” I whimpered.

“You deserve it!” He squeezed tighter, nails biting into my skin, and I screamed, begging for someone to help me.

“Wake up, baby girl. Wake up.” Ace was shaking my shoulders, his face above mine in the dark room. I sobbed, a tear rolling down my cheek. My heart was racing so fast, it hurt. “It’s just a dream. I’m here. I’m here.” He pulled me into his chest when I reached for him.

“It was so real,” I cried, my lips trembling.

Ace held me tighter. “He’s locked up; he can’t touch you anymore. I won’t let anyone hurt you ever again.”

Resting my head on his chest, I let the steady beat of his heart lull me back to sleep. And Ace didn’t let go.

“What the fuck is he doing in her bed?” Someone’s loud voice woke me the next morning. Opening my eyes, I glared at the intruder, only to see Ryan standing over the bed, arms crossed over his broad chest, eyes glaring at Ace.

“Morning,” I sarcastically muttered. Ryan scowled at me just as Ace moved behind me, his arm moving from beneath my face. Ryan’s mouth hung when he saw the bruises covering my face, now starting to fade from the dark blue they were.

“Celine, what happened?” Ryan demanded, his attention momentarily off his ex-best friend.

Tears pooled in my eyes as he continued to stare at me like I was broken. I hated it. This was why I didn’t want him to come home. He couldn’t help but always look at me like I was one word away from breaking. Like I was too fragile to survive in the real world.

“Julian hit me.” It was the first time I’d said it out loud. Ace’s arm tightened around my waist, reminding me he was there. That I wasn’t alone.

Would he stay this time, even if Ryan pushed him away again?

“And him?” Ryan nodded to the sleepy man behind me.

“Amber called him.”

“Why didn’t she call me?” Ryan’s voice cracked, and I could hear the pain from not being told first, from not being there to prevent this.

I shrugged. “She didn’t want you to come home.”

“My baby sister was used as a punching bag by one of my friends,” Ryan growled. “Of course, I’m coming home.”

I flinched at the bluntness of his statement. “I’m going to be okay,” I insisted.

“If you’d been here, none of this would have happened.” Ryan was looking over my shoulder at Ace. I glared at my brother. He had been the one to insist that Ace leave. He had been the one who had pushed and pushed until Ace finally listened. How dare he put this on Ace?

“No,” I snapped, glaring at Ryan. He looked at me in surprise. “Don’t you dare put this on him. You’re the reason he left, remember? You pushed and pushed until he finally walked away. You didn’t think he was good enough for me. You insisted he would hurt me. But you couldn’t even see through Julian’s facade. You just saw someone with some trauma and thought they would turn all that trauma on me. Pinning this on Ace isn’t fair, and I won’t allow you to.”

Ryan was quiet, his brows pulled low over his eyes. Mom came into my room before Ryan could say another word. Ace slipped out of bed and left the room, probably to go get my pain medicine. Ryan followed him, his expression turning stormy. I sighed.

Mom sat on the corner of my bed, holding a tray of food. “How’s the pain today, Honey?” she asked, moving the tray to my lap after I had situated myself against the headboard.

“A little better than yesterday.” The smile of relief from her was worth the white lie. Truthfully, the pain level hadn’t changed. It had remained the same sharp throb since I woke up in the hospital for the first time.

“He means well—Ryan,” she told me after a minute. I grunted. “He’s always protected you, ever since you were a little girl. You have to let him protect you and understand that no matter how old you are, he will always feel responsible for you. That’s his job as your older brother.” Nodding, I slowly sipped the cup of coffee.

“I can’t handle seeing the guilt in his eyes every time he looks at me, Mom. All of you look at me like that.” She guiltily looked away. “It’s hard enough already, and then you all look at me like I’m a broken doll.” Pausing to catch my breath and slow my heart rate, I looked at her through the silent tears falling down my heated cheeks. When had I started crying? “I’m not broken; I’m going to be okay.”

“My sweet child, you are so strong and brave,” she whispered. “You will be okay. I know you will. Don’t cry anymore.” She reached forward and swiped some tears off my cheeks. “Don’t let that monster be the reason for any more pain, my darling.”

Sniffling, I put the coffee cup down and leaned toward my mom, needing the comfort her arms always brought.

“I’m so sorry I never told you. If I knew…” Her hand ran the length of my hair, calming me.

“ Shh , my child, I know. I know. You’re going to be okay. You’re a survivor.”

“I keep falling for the wrong ones.” Crying into her shoulder, my body shuddered.

“Not all of them are bad, Honey.” She stroked my back, kissed the top of my head, and held me tightly as I fell apart in her arms.

Ryan refused to let Ace come near me the rest of the day. Something had happened between them while Mom had brought me breakfast, and the anger between the two had yet to simmer down. Ryan carried me downstairs for the day, and we all lounged around. I dozed off a few times from the pain pills, but the day had been uneventful.

Amber cozied up to Ryan the moment she walked through the front door and saw him in the kitchen. There had been tears of joy and screams of delight when she first arrived. The two had been glued together on the couch, exchanging what they thought were secret kisses. But Ryan still kept an eye on Ace, which annoyed me. Why couldn’t he just leave Ace be?

After a few hours of insulting comments thrown back and forth, Ace decided to go to his apartment to give us some space, mostly because Amber had been the only thing stopping Ryan from beating the crap out of Ace all afternoon. Come to find out, while I’d been recovering, Ace had been working on moving back down here. And if that didn’t say something about his promise to stay, I didn’t know what did.

Ace stood from the opposite side of the lounge, and my eyes were drawn to him as he sauntered over to me, his mouth set in a lazy grin, his eyes lit in mischief. I couldn’t help but smile at him, despite the never-ending glare from Ryan.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Amber’s hand on Ryan’s chest, stopping him from standing.

Ace stopped in front of me and leaned down. His lips brushed against my cheek, and I blushed from the roots of my hair down to my toes. “I’ll see you later, princess,” he whispered, his lips brushing my ear, sending a shiver down my spine.

“Get away from my sister, bastard!” Ryan shouted over Amber. By the time Ace made it to the door to leave, Amber was standing in front of Ryan, preventing him from charging at Ace.

“Ryan, stop!” I begged, trying to stand, but I fell back onto the couch with a yelp.

“Sit down, Celine. You’ve got four broken ribs. Don’t even try to move.” His firm voice had me frozen. He turned back to Ace. “Get out of my house before I throw you out. You promised my sister you wouldn’t leave, and you broke her heart! I don’t trust one word that comes out of your mouth! You probably lied about your brother drowning, too!”

No!

Amber’s jaw dropped as she looked from Ryan to Ace, and then me.

“Ryan!” I screamed when my eyes finally landed on Ace’s pained expression. Oh, no.

“Don’t ever bring up my brother again.” Ace’s voice was low and threatening, and the hair at the nape of my neck stood.

Ryan had crossed a line.

Ace turned and walked out of the house, slamming the front door in the process, leaving Amber and me staring at Ryan.

“How could you?!” I shouted at him when he turned to look at me.

Ryan glared at me. “How could you so gullibly let him back into your life? What is wrong with you?!” he barked, anger radiating off his body in thick waves.

“Ryan Wilson, do not raise your voice in my house!” Our mom screamed from the entryway of the kitchen, hands on her hips, disappointment in her eyes. “How could you speak to Ace like that? Didn’t I raise you better, young man?”

“Ma, come on! After everything he put Celine through, you’re going to take his side over mine?” Ryan pointed at the door and then jabbed his finger into his chest, his face turning red with anger.

“He is a troubled young man, and I thought you, of all people, would understand what that feels like since you had to run away to the army to make up for your own guilt!” My jaw dropped open, and Ryan’s face paled. “Maybe he needed to run when he realized he liked Celine. We were not put on this earth to judge, my boy. We were put here to accept and guide.”

Amber’s hand sneaked into Ryan’s as she stood behind him, a gentle, unrelenting supporter.

“He hurt my baby sister. I’m just trying to protect her!” he huffed in desperation.

“He’s hurting just as much as she is. He hasn’t slept in days, didn’t eat until Celine ate, hasn’t left her side since Amber called him. People make mistakes, my child, and you have to forgive them and yourself.”

“He should’ve been here to protect her!” He pointed at me, his hand shaking.

“You should’ve been here!” Amber finally screamed, her face as red as her hair, fury lighting up her green eyes. Ryan balked at her. “You shouldn’t have left us here because you couldn’t handle your own guilt. You are as much to blame as he is.” Her hand slipped from his, and she walked over to me and sat on the couch, crossing her arms angrily.

Ryan stood with his arms hanging limply, jaw slack. “You, too?” Shaking his head, he glared at both of us. “You’re all wrong. I came home to make sure you were okay.” He pointed at me. “I came home excited to see my girlfriend, who I thought understood, but you don’t.” He turned to my mom, who stood there rigid, her arms crossed, her eyes blazing in fury.

“Get your ass in here right now and shut your foul-spreading mouth! I have heard enough, you ungrateful child!” Ryan slowly walked into the kitchen, leaving Amber and me looking at each other with wide eyes.

Ace

Anger like nothing I had felt before boiled beneath my skin. Swinging my leg over my bike and snapping my helmet on, I pulled out onto the main road, away from that storm back in Celine’s house.

Ryan knew better. I told him everything, and he betrayed me. He just threw the worst moment of my life back in my face like the careless, self-centered asshole I’d come to realize he was.

Jack’s smiling face flashed in my mind as I headed for the highway, needing the miles to calm my emotions. Flying through the streets, I narrowly missed a swerving truck and entered the highway with no destination in mind.

Ryan didn’t understand what losing a sibling felt like. He didn’t know what that kind of pain and loss did to a family. He didn’t know the emotional and mental damage it left behind.

Celine’s bruised face entered my mind, followed by her stomach, then the fingerprints around her neck. Tightening my knuckles around the handles, I accelerated. I wanted to kill Julian for hurting her. I wanted to get my hands on him and beat his face like he did Celine’s. I wanted to break his ribs with my feet. I wanted to make him suffer like he did my princess.

I couldn’t fucking believe Ryan. He’d allowed Julian—the jackass that’d crassly flirted with Celine on more than one occasion without any respect to her as a woman—near her. But not me. I’d once been his best friend, and he’d shoved me away, yet let an abusive, narcissistic asshole be with her.

Lost in thoughts of revenge and Ryan’s fucked-up mind, I didn’t see the truck in time. Swerving away to miss the big semi that was switching lanes without warning, trying to move lanes at ninety miles per hour without checking, I lost traction, and the bike flew from my grip. I was thrown into the truck’s hood and onto the asphalt below. I rolled, my sleeveless arms scraping and burning.

The screech of tires was the last sound I heard as my world went black.