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

“No…” I whisper, but somehow I know he’s telling the truth. “No…”

A rainstorm begins falling down all around us, but somehow, it’s different from last night. Last night, it wasn’t coming down as hard. Now the wind is howling, and the raindrops are drenching us.

He pulls me into his chest, and I let all my tears go, spilling them out onto him. “I’m sorry, Lexi. You have to believe me. I didn’t want to go, but I didn’t want to be the reason your life turned out horrible because I held you back. I couldn’t deal with that. So I did the only thing I could think of and left. Then your parents got divorced and she took you away not long after. And I never saw you again till just recently.”

I bawl uncontrollably into him. The reality of it all is too much, and if my mother were still alive, I’d ask her about all of this because I still can’t believe it.

“Lexi, I’m so sorry… I never meant to hurt you. I only ever wanted the best for you.”

I look up at him, letting my arms fall to the sides. This is too much to take in right now. First seeing him after so long was a complete shock. Then losing my lounge… and now this. I can’t take this. I just need to get back to the hotel and fall asleep. I need time to think.

And then I need to get back home.

He searches my eyes yet again. “I’m so sorry, baby,” he whispers, placing a gentle kiss on my forehead.

I take a deep breath, and as much as it hurts, I pull away from the man I have been in love with for as long as I can remember. “Kalen… please take me back…”

A sad expression forms on his face, and I know those weren’t the words he was hoping for, but nevertheless, I can’t give him anything more. Not now, and probably not ever. Too much hurt is in our past. Too much time has gone by to fix anything. My heart never healed, it just remained shattered, and now it’s too late to fix it and piece it back together.

His gaze drops to the floor as his head droops down before him. “As you wish, sweetheart.”

His words are barely audible. He pulls away from me and heads over to steer the ship back in the direction of Starling Paradise.

I allow myself to plop down onto one of the seats as the wind whips by, and the rain continues to fall all around us. At least it masks my tears, even though he’s already seen me cry.

I’m thankful we missed the tropical storm that was supposed to have hit the area, but instead now, we’re dealing with our own storm, one that is much worse than any other in all the history of tropical storms.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

“You’re back early,” Erin says, lifting her eyes from the laptop she’s working on, and gazes over at me as I walk in, my bag in hand.

I toss it to the side. At least I don’t have to unpack just to repack in a few days. Most of my crap is right in this bag. And I’m ready to call the airlines and see about changing my flight from Friday to tonight if possible. I doubt I can get something sooner, but I damn sure will check. I don’t want to spend a single second longer on this fucking vacation. I plop down on the bed and pull my laptop out of the bag sitting on the floor to its right.

Erin rises from her seat, and I see her from my peripheral walking toward me. “Hey!” she shouts.

“Huh?” I ask, startled, turning to face her.

She places her right hand on her hip. “I’m trying to talk to you here, but you’re completely zoned out. What are you doing right now? I thought you weren’t supposed to get back from your mini getaway with Kalen until later tonight.”

I lower my gaze once more, focusing on my laptop, which is currently booting up. I don’t want to think about him, or talk about him with Erin or anyone else for that matter. “Don’t say his name.”

I look up as she rolls her shoulders back and then raises an eyebrow. “Don’t say his name? That’s all you have to say for yourself and expect me to just be okay with that?”

I shrug, giving her nothing more. There’s a flight for tonight at nine, and I need to call the airlines about changing it to that one. That will be perfect, and I can get away from this nightmare faster than I was set to.

“Hell-o! Earth to Lexi! Earth to Lexi!” She sits down on the bed next to me and pulls my laptop off of my lap.

“Hey!” I shout.

“What the hell are you doing?” She scrutinizes the screen and gasps. Then she gives me that look I hate. The one I can’t stand that lets me know she’s disappointed or upset with me. I’m guessing right now, disappointment is the better choice. Or maybe she’s upset. Yeah, probably she’s upset because I still haven’t spilled the beans. But I don’t want to. I really don’t want to talk about him—I’m still refusing to say his name—he doesn’t deserve me to even think about him.

“Can I please have my laptop back? I need the number for the airlines.”

She continues looking at me like she’s ready to slap me. “Why do you need to call the airlines? Your flight is set for Friday.”

I swallow thickly. Leaving because of Kalen also means leaving Erin and our time together here. Once I go back home, I don’t know when I’ll see her again. And now that I have to figure out what I’m going to do since my lounge is pretty much gone, I have no idea what the future holds. I don’t want to go