Shattered Promises 02 - Fractured Souls by Jessica Sorensen (motivational books for students TXT) 📕

a small window that lets in minimal sunlight. The view outside is painted with colorful lights and flamboyant buildings that stretch toward the skyline.

“I know this place…” I gradually sit up, clutching my throbbing head. “Vegas… I’m in Vegas.”

“It was the safest place I could think of.” The sound of Alex’s voice sends a chill down my spine, but then electricity counteracts it and my body erupts with heat, awakening my heart from a very deep slumber.

He ambles through the doorway, taking tentative steps as he inches toward the bed. Emotions of hate mixed with lust amplify and every image of the last time we were in bed together flashes through my mind; the way he’d made me finally feel like I was breathing. Then he stole it all away, betraying me, ripping my heart out of my chest and shredding it to pieces; he probably still has my blood on his hands.

“Are you okay?” He comes to a stop at the foot of the metal-framed bed. He’s wearing a black t-shirt and a pair of loose-fitting, dark blue jeans and his brown hair is disheveled and damp. He also has a black smudge on the center of his forehead, like ash or charcoal. He almost looks like a normal guy, completely harmless, yet his welcoming demeanor is just an illusion. I know this—I’ve learned better.

I throw the blanket off me and swing my legs over the side of the bed. I’m not wearing the same clothes; a pair of boxer shorts and a t-shirt that don’t belong to me have replaced them. I don’t even want to think about how I got changed while I was blacked out. One of my wrists is bandaged up... the one I had slit myself when my emotions had gotten the best of me… I can remember. I can remember? “Stay away from me you asshole.”

“Gemma, I’m not going to hurt you.” His voice is as smooth as silk as he winds around the bed, his radiant, green eyes fixed on me. “I promise I won’t hurt you. Everything’s okay.”

I laugh sharply as I put weight on my weak legs. “That’s the biggest lie I’ve ever heard come out of your mouth, which says a lot since you’re the biggest liar I’ve ever met.”

Alex stops dead in his tracks, his skin tinting red with his anger. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

My knees shake as I square my shoulders and find my stability. “It means your promises are bullshit. At least, the ones you make to me.” I fling my arms out to my sides. “You told me once that you made me a promise that you would never to hurt me, but I’m finding that hard to believe since you keep hurting me over and over again.”

A condescending look appears in his eyes. “My promises got you to Adessa’s, safe and sound.”

“Safe and sound doesn’t exist.” I step back toward the wall, dropping my hands to my sides. “And I’m not stupid enough to believe otherwise.”

“But it does… right now it does.” He matches my step and instantly reduces the space I put between us. “And you’ll understand why, if you just let me explain what happened.”

I dare to move forward, needing to get out of the room and away from him. “I’m leaving. I don’t know why I’m even able to walk around… why I’m alive and normal, but I’m not going to waste my time listening to your lies.”

“You’re walking around normal because of me—because of how I feel about you.” He’s coursing with infuriation as he inches to the side, obstructing my path to the doorway. “Just let me explain.”

I dodge to the right and skitter around him, however I’m like a newborn deer and my knees give out. I collapse to the floor, but before I hit, his arms encircle my waist and he catches me. Then he swiftly picks me up, slipping his arms underneath my knees, and carries me over to the bed, setting me back down before I can even conjure up a protest. I start to sit back up, but he puts his hands down on the mattress, one on each side of me, and lowers his face toward mine.

“I just need five minutes to explain,” he almost begs, and it sounds strange coming from his lips; almost as if he’s never begged for anything before. I bet he’s been begged a lot, though. “Five minutes for me to tell you what happened, and then, if you don’t like it, I’ll leave.”

I search his eyes for the person that lay with me in the bed, but I’m not sure who that is exactly —who he really is. I find myself hoping that I can find out. I hope he doesn’t crush me again. What I really want to do is run away, yet he’s got me trapped and I know how strong he is—how easily he could chase me down and hurt me if he wants to.

“Five minutes.” I push him back a little, his chest searing hot beneath my palm. “That’s all you have, and if one single thing sounds like a lie, then you leave, not just the house, but my life.”

He nods without hesitation and leans back, allowing me to sit up.

“Where are we?” I finally ask when he doesn’t say anything right away.

He sits close to me on the bed, his hands near his lap as he keeps flexing his fingers, channeling his tension there. “We’re at Adessa’s, the Witch we went to see in Vegas to get the crystal. This is her house which is attached to her store.”

“Is it safe here?” I scoot to the edge of the bed and put my feet onto the hardwood floor.

He nods. “For now. Aislin and Adessa covered the house with charms.”

I raise my eyebrows, overwhelmed already. I’m still getting used to the supernatural stuff that’s invaded my life over the last couple of weeks. “How did we get here?”