Heartbreak Lover (Broken Hearts Academy #2) - C.R. Jane
Jackson
Have you ever sat in the dark and made friends with your sins?
I do it all the time.
There’s only one real sin that I need atonement for though.
And I gave up trying to gain my penitence for her a long time ago.
Everly
I still miss you.
You probably wouldn’t believe that after everything that has happened between us. But when I close my eyes, it’s only your blue gaze that I see.
It’s only your hands that I imagine tracing my skin. It’s only your body that I crave when I wake up in the middle of the night, tangled in my sheets, as my body tries to torture me with memories of what you felt like moving inside of me.
I miss your voice. I miss your laugh.
I even miss your anger.
Am I sick? You would say no, but only someone that was broken could ever want the person who did the breaking as much as I want you.
My mother’s been an addict her whole life. Whether it was my father, popularity, money, or alcohol.
And I used to think she was weak.
But then I got a taste of you, and now I think I understand her a little bit more than before.
I look for you in crowds. Your name is the only prayer on my lips. The only altar I worship on is yours.
I’m sick. But you made me this way.
But even knowing that you’re inside of me, wreaking havoc with my vital organs, I still can’t get enough.
I still miss you.
But I’ll never tell you that.
Then
Jackson
I knew she was gone before I even opened my eyes. The loss of her presence was tangible in the room. It was like she’d taken something with her and now my bedroom felt lacking, despite the magic that we’d created together just a few hours ago.
It wasn’t just her absence that had me feeling off, there was a foreboding sensation settling onto my skin. And it wasn’t going away.
Grabbing my phone, I looked to see if she had sent me a text explaining why she’d fled. A flash of lightning lit up my room just then.
She’d fled in a storm no less.
My heart started skipping in my chest when I saw that I had ten missed calls.
None were from her though. Instead, they were from my father.
Odd that they just didn’t come knocking on the pool house door if whatever they needed was so pressing.
Getting out of bed, I slipped on a pair of basketball shorts as I called my dad back.
“I’ve been trying to call you for a fucking hour. What have you been doing?” my dad barked.
“I’ve been asleep. It’s two in the morning,” I responded snottily as anxiety punched me in the gut.
My dad broke down just then. My whole life, the man had been a pillar of stoicism, hardly ever showing emotion. But he was sobbing into the phone like he’d just found out he was terminal or something.
“Dad—”
“It’s Caiden. He was in an accident. He’s in the hospital.”
His voice cut off as his sobs worsened. My heart clenched in my chest. I ran to my dresser and was throwing a shirt on before my dad continued.
“We’re at Southridge Presbyterian. Just get here quick,” he finally said before hanging up the phone.
Once inside my truck, I tried to dial Everly. Maybe she had gotten freaked out that she’d given me her virginity and needed to get away?
I shook my head as soon as I had that thought. What we’d shared tonight was fucking magic. The stuff that sonnets and songs were written about. I wasn’t going to let her regret me…regret us. We would figure everything out.
Everly’s phone went to voicemail.
“Everly,” I began, my voice breaking. “I’m not sure where you went, but something has happened to Caiden and I’m headed to the hospital right now. If you could come whenever you get this message… It’s really bad.” I took a deep breath. “And just in case we don’t get to talk about it right away, tonight was the best night of my life and I’ll never regret it. I love you more than life itself. Call me.”
I blew out a sigh, my gut clenched with worry, and I drove like a maniac towards the hospital. A storm was raging, and the roads were slick. I had trouble seeing through the sheets of rain, but somehow, I made it without crashing.
I parked and ran through the rain to the hospital entrance.