Shattered: A Salvation Society Novel by Bella Emy (pdf to ebook reader .TXT) 📕

Erin and I decided to take a walk on the beach since the weather is cloudy and a bit cooler today. It’s going to be a nice break from the heat of the past few days. I know some people don’t like to go to the beach when it’s cloudy, but it’s honestly always been one of my favorite things to do. The cool waves lapping at my feet as I walk along the shore is like a breath of fresh air.

She plops down beside me to show me the view on her iPhone. Kennedy waves frantically when she sees me. She’s got her arm wrapped around Max’s neck as they ride on a gondola. Wow. It’s truly breathtaking. I’ve seen pictures of the place in books and stuff, but seeing it like this on a live camera is totally different. I can manage that it’s even more spectacular in person. One day, I’ll be going there myself… maybe I’ll honeymoon there, too, with my future-husband.

Ha! Yeah, right. At this point, I’ll probably never get married. I can’t even keep a boyfriend long enough to go steady.

“Hi, Lexi!” Kennedy screams.

I smile. “Hey, girl. How’s the honeymoon?”

She beams. “Oh, it’s just going wonderful! Max and I are having a great time, and Venice is absolutely beautiful!”

“Looks like it,” I reply.

Erin lets out an audible breath. “Gorgeous. The weather is not as beautiful here today, but Lexi has convinced me to take a walk on the beach. It’s probably going to do me some good after the night I had.” She makes a face, sticking out her tongue.

Kennedy furrows her brows. “What happened last night?”

Erin shakes her head, not wanting to get into it so I decide to answer for her. By the looks of it, the thought alone seems like it makes her want to hurl. “She had a bit too much to drink, so she spent the night hugging the toilet.”

“Ah. I see,” Kennedy answers. “Feeling better now though?”

Erin nods. “Yeah, definitely.”

“Good,” Kennedy says. She quickly snaps her head to the right, nodding. “Hey, guys. I’ll have to call you back later. Looks like we’ve arrived at our destination.”

I nod. “Yeah, no problem. Go ahead. Enjoy it, girl. We’ll talk soon.”

After we hang up with Kennedy, we pick up our stuff off the sand and continue walking down the beach.

“So, what did I miss last night?” Erin asks as we walk along the shore.

The cool water feels so good against my feet. Even though today is not as hot as it has typically been, it’s still nice to feel the refreshing waves against my skin. Something about the cool water and the cloudy skies completely relaxes me.

I shrug. “Not much.”

From my peripheral, I see her eyeing me. Oh, yeah. She’s not buying it. I don’t know why I thought for one second that she would.

I try to ignore her, hoping she’ll just leave it alone and let it be, but of course, that’s not where this ends.

“Not much? Care to elaborate?” she pushes, as I knew she would.

I furrow my brows. “Uh, not really?” I try.

She lets out a laugh, the same laugh that has always told me there’s no way she’s letting this one go. “Nice try. Fill me in. I know you didn’t spend the whole night in the room with me as I nursed myself back to health.”

“How do you know? You were knocked out.”

She smiles. I continue watching her from the corner of my eye. “I woke up and you were gone.”

Fuck, did she need me and I wasn’t there? Why hadn’t she called me? I would have run back to the room, and maybe I wouldn’t have run into Kalen, either.

“Erin, you should have called me. I would have come back immediately.”

She puts out a hand, waving it left and right. “For what?”

I stop walking and turn to face her. “You needed me, and I wasn’t there. I’m sorry.”

She looks confused. “Needed you?”

“Yeah… I’m sorry.”

She starts cracking up.

“What’s so funny?” I ask, lost, trying to figure out what the hell she finds so amusing. Leave it to my best friend to think something serious is funny.

She tilts her head back, catching her breath. “You’re hilarious, Lexi. I woke up because I needed to use the bathroom. I had to pee so badly, and by then, I ended up feeling better anyway. I didn’t wake up because I was purposely looking for you or because I wanted you to get me something. I was perfectly fine. You need to chill the fuck out, girlfriend. We’re still on vacation for another couple of days, you know?”

Dammit, don’t remind me it’s almost over. I don’t want to leave this paradise. I mean, I’m hella excited for my new career venture and all, but this place is beautiful. Who the hell would want to leave the resort… and seeing Kalen?

Fuck, that’s the exact kind of shit that’s going to get me into trouble. Maybe if this vacation comes to an end and I can start my new life at my new business, I’ll be better off and won’t have to worry about running into him anymore.

We pick up walking again and she grabs my arm. “Seriously, you wanna tell me where the hell you went, or what you did… or who?”

I raise an eyebrow and smirk. “Who?” I repeat.

Erin finally lets me go and laughs again. “Aww, come on. I’m just teasing, and since you won’t tell me, I’m guessing the worst… or in your case, the best, because you haven’t gotten laid in so long and doing someone, anyone, would actually do your cranky ass some good.”

“Very funny.”

“I know, I’m hilarious. Now spill.”

I roll my eyes but decide I’d better get on with it. She’s going to know sooner or later, so why let it linger any longer than it needs to. The sooner I let her know, the sooner we can move on.

Right, because she’s not going to hound me once I tell her what I’m going to