Fractured ( Fractured #1)

by Holleigh James

I could only get one word out, and I almost sang it. “Wonderful!” Then I sighed and floated up to my room. I don’t remember getting ready for bed, but I must have, because when I pulled the cover over my body, I was in my pajamas. With my head on the pillow, I fell asleep, thinking about my first date, my first real kiss, and how absolutely perfect it was.

  That was the second night I dreamt about Rob.

  Tight in his shirtless embrace, fueled by passion, my lips devoured his. His strong hands combed through my strawberry locks. His tight jeans pressed against my Daisy Duke shorts. His hand slid the white, lace fabric of my shirt down my shoulder and he kissed my bare skin. Desire engulfed me. The straw from the haystack we lay on poked at various parts of my body. It didn’t matter; I only felt him.The warmth of his kisses fed my fire. The weight of his body pressed against mine.Horses, cows, and goats grazed to the side of us. Chickens clucked about their business. Crows and blue jays watched from high in the rafters.

  “I need you,” he said in between kisses, as I stroked his bare, muscular arms.

  “I need you, too,” I answered.

  The heat intensified. My body was hot. I looked to the barn door and there was fire–real fire. Rob jumped to his feet and searched for an exit. His hands pressed on each wall, but they refused to give. Sweat trickled down the side of my face. Rob pulled me close. His soft lips pushed against my own. His kiss was urgent.

  “I’ll get you out of here. I promise.” But he left me to search for a break in the wall.

  I scanned the barn. The birds in the rafters flapped their wings. I noticed a window high up in the loft. Thick smoke filled the barn as the flames consumed more and more of the space. I groped through the thick blackness. Turning in circles, I couldn’t find Rob. My throat burned, and tears stung my eyes. The air was heavy. I couldn’t breathe. Dizzy, I fought to stay upright.

  I regained consciousness in his arms. His fingers lightly caressed the edge of my face. My eyelids felt like they were made of stone, but I forced them open. A smile stretched across his face as I found myself staring into his crystal blue eyes. “Hi.”

  We weren’t inside the red inferno, but in a beautiful meadow, enveloped with yellow buttercups. I struggled to look around. “What happened?”

  “I carried you out of the fire. I saved you.”

  “You did?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I love you.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  There was a knock. I heard my name, but it wasn’t Rob’s voice. “Man-dy!”

  My eyes opened wide. Light bounced off the powder blue walls that surrounded me. I was in my room, under my blue comforter, in the same pajamas I had gone to bed in the night before, except they stuck to my sweaty body. “Man-dy!”

  “What?” I yelled back, annoyed I had been taken away from Rob, even if it was a dream.

  “Dillon won’t eat breakfast.” The voice registered. It was Bryan.

  I pushed the covers back, shuffled to my door, and flung it open. He stood in the hallway, his hair a mess, frustration apparent on his face. “Tell him to wait five minutes. I’ll get dressed and be right down.” A quick glance at the clock told me it was 7:15. Bryan must have been trying to take care of Dillon so I could sleep. Pulling out the first pair of shorts from the drawer, I searched for a matching t-shirt, and then darted into the bathroom to take care of the necessities. When I was more presentable, I made my way to the kitchen.

  Bryan raised his bushy eyebrows and offered a grin. “Sorry. I didn’t want to wake you, but I’ve made the eggs three times already, and he won’t eat them. He threw them all over the kitchen. I didn’t want to clean the walls again.”

  “It’s okay. I had to get up anyway.” I patted him on the back and started the egg-making ritual. Dillon sat impatiently in his chair, tapping his fingers on the tabletop. Bryan ate the mistakes left from the first three attempts. I served Dillon on his newly-cleaned Spider-Man plate.

  When Dillon was done, he cleared his dishes. “Okay. Go watch cartoons.” Dillon walked into the living room.

  “Thanks, Mand. So, how was your date?” Bryan asked.

  “Very nice, thanks.” I knew he wanted to know more to see if Rob obeyed his warning, but I wasn’t volunteering any information. Why should I? He never told me about his dates, although, I probably didn’t want to know.

  “He’d better have kept his hands to himself.” His tone was serious, in a protective-brother kind of way.

  With a complacent smile, I volunteered very little. “He was a perfect gentleman.” Of course, I didn’t want him to be. He wasn’t one in my dream, but Bryan didn’t have to know that. I pursed my lips together and said nothing more about my date after that.

  Realizing he wasn’t going to get any more information, he ended with, “Good.”

  “What’d you do last night?” I asked to change the subject.

  He scooped the last of the eggs into his mouth. His jaw moved like a cow chewing cud. “Jimmy and I went to the bowling alley.”

  “Of course.” In the winter, it was the mall, but the regular leagues didn’t play during the summer months, so the bowling alley was where most of the town youth could be found on a Saturday night in July and August. “And how’d you do?” He knew I meant with the girls.

  “Jennifer Sutton came over to flirt. Her friend Tanya is stacked. Boy, she’s filled out since junior high.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  Dad walked into the kitchen. “Hey, kids.”

  “Hey, Dad,” we said in unison.

  “Whatcha got planned for today?”

  I wasn’t sure which one of us he was talking to, so I waited for Bryan to answer first. That gave me time to think about whether or not I wanted to tell him I’d be spending the day with Rob again.

  Bryan ran down his plans for tuning the engine on the Mustang. That piqued Dad’s interest, which is what I think Bryan was aiming for. He knew Dad would do all the work while he assisted. It didn’t matter that it was Sunday and Dad’s day off. If it involved cars, Dad was available.

  If Bryan was going to be hanging out at home all day, I knew that Dillon would be okay. Jimmy would probably be with them, too. At least Dad would be in and out of the house. For sure they’d all be inside when the ballgame started mid-afternoon.

  “What about you, Mandy?”

  “I’m going to the creek.” It wasn’t a lie. “In fact, I’m going to get my stuff and go now.”

  When I opened the door, Rob was leaning against his car at the end of my driveway. His dark blue jeans looked much like the ones in my dream. A red tee shirt pulled at his muscular arms. Darn, he wasn’t shirtless. Easily, he could’ve been a calendar model. Hoping to regulate my heart rate, I took a deep breath, and tried to slow my steps as I walked towards him. It didn’t work. Within moments, I was close enough so that my nose almost touched his. He kissed my all-too-willing lips. All sanity escaped me.

  “Hi.” His voice was sultry. My legs felt like rubber. “I hope you had a good night’s sleep.”

  I nodded. I couldn’t tell him about my dream, unless he was prepared for me to attack him right on the street. I thought better of it. After all, we only had one date. And the whole fire thing might cause him to think of his parents.

  His dimple appeared, and he reached out to hold my hand. “Good.” He kissed me again.

  I could have stayed like that all day, but I heard the garage door roll up. Rob backed away from me. His attention changed focus to my father. “Hello, Mr. Stewart.”

  I could almost see the imaginary light bulb turn on above Dad’s head as he gave an involuntary nod. With my hand still in his, Rob pulled my bag of art supplies off my shoulder with the other. Once he flung it over his, he led me toward the creek.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Sunlight streamed through the leaves. The water glistened in the creek, sandwiched between moss-covered rocks.

  “Wow!” Rob said. “It’s more beautiful than
the other day.” He pointed to where we sat the last time. “Sit on the rocks, I want to draw you.”

  “You want to draw me?” I asked, surprised at his request.

  “I had to take art as a requirement in my old school. I never got a grade because I stopped going after the fire. My mother always said I had potential. I’m not as good as you, but I’ll give it my best effort.”

  I climbed onto the largest rock. Once in a position I’d be comfortable holding for a while, I extended my legs out in front of me. With my back slightly arched, I stretched my arms behind me and leaned on them. A slight tilt of my head back allowed my hair to hang, causing the curls to dance below. “How’s this?”

  His eye widened. “Perfect.” Lowering himself to the ground, he sat far enough away that I couldn’t see over the top of the sketchpad. Whenever I tried to speak, he said, “No talking. I’m concentrating.” Then he’d smile, and I’d melt.

  Every now and then, he’d peer up over the pad, study one part of my pose, and move his eyes back down to his drawing.

  Twenty minutes went by. A cramp formed in my arm. “Can I move soon? I’m stiff.”

  Shifting his eyes to me, he asked, “You are?” Leaning the pad against my bag, he stood up from his place in one quick movement. His eyes never looked away. Excitement caused my blood to race through me as he came closer. He climbed onto the rock next to me and cradled the back of my head with his hand. My whole body hummed to life. His other arm reached around to support my back. Easing me back, he lowered me so that I would lie flat on the rock. He leaned close, so close, that I felt the movement of his pulse without him touching me.

  “I’m sorry to make you so uncomfortable.”

  Emotion churned inside me. I knew what was coming and couldn’t wait any longer. I reached up with my mouth and pressed my lips to his. My blood erupted as he accepted and returned my kiss. One wasn’t enough. The more I kissed him, the more I wanted. He was all too happy to oblige. Every part of my body erupted with happiness. I would have continued forever, but he pulled away.

  “What?” I asked. “Did I do something wrong?”

  “No, no. You did everything right. I just need to remember we’re out in the woods. Besides, if you kept kissing me like that, I don’t think I could have controlled myself.” His dimple caused me to blush.

  He moved back, sat up next to me, and then helped me sit up. His fingers ran through my hair. “It sparkles in the sunlight,” he said, holding a lock up between us. I looked from the hair to his face. His gaze penetrated all the way to my core.

  Realizing that if I didn’t change the subject, I might not be able to control myself either, I said, “Let me see your drawing.” I nodded to the sketchpad. After a quick peck on my lips, he jumped off the rock and retrieved the pad.

  “Remember, I’m an amateur,” Rob warned in the same tone I had used at the beach. I noticed how nicely his jeans fit him. Control, Mandy. Control. He stood up with the pad held to his chest. With a fast glance, he looked it over, before closing his eyes and turning his head away, as if in shame. Rob handed it to me, and then resumed his place next to me on the rock.

  It wasn’t perfect, but the drawing made the sun’s rays look as if they rained from the trees, illuminating a beautiful girl lying on the rocks below. Instead of a t-shirt and shorts, she wore a long flowing gown, enhancing her soft curves against the hard contours of the rocks. Although her face was familiar, the wild curls that framed it made her look angelic and otherworldly beautiful. Despite the monochrome limits of the charcoal, the eyes were warm and inviting.

  “Amateur, my foot,” I said. “You’re really good. You’ve even replaced me with a goddess.”

  “No. That’s you. That’s what I see when I look at you.”

  No one had ever made me feel this pretty, this wonderful, and this wanted. I lowered the pad and his lips were on mine.

  I could have kissed him forever, but he took my hand and led me off the rock to where he had been sitting to draw my portrait. He sat on the ground and gave my hand a slight tug for me to join him. I sat with my back to his chest. Rob’s embrace was protective, but gentle. We watched the sun dance in the moving water of the creek. I held on to every second, because I knew that soon I’d wake up and it would be over.

  “I’m glad you shared this place with me. I’ve never been anywhere more beautiful.” He rested his chin on the top of my head.

  “I love to come here. It’s my special place. I’ve never brought anyone here before.”

  “Does that mean I’m special?” he asked.

  Tilting my head to look at him, I said, “You have no idea.” He smiled before he kissed me again.

  For over an hour, we watched the water flow down the creek. We shared more details about ourselves, which included some childhood moments. His face lit up when he spoke about his parents, particularly his father.

  Rob turned to sit across from me, his eyes wide. “He was brilliant. He could build anything, you know?” He stood and tossed pebbles into the stream. “One time, I told him I wanted a rocket ship to go to the moon. When I came home from school, he had built one out of plywood. It was better than any tree house I’d ever seen. He even pretended to be my lieutenant on my imaginary space missions when Eric didn’t come over.” His smile melted. I knew sharing this information had to be painful for him.

  He got up and walked to the edge of the creek. Picking up a handful of pebbles, he skipped them across one-by-one.

  I walked up behind him. I wanted to touch him, but I wasn’t sure if I should. “I’m so sorry.”

  He turned, and I could see that he was trying hard to hold back his tears. I had no words. The only sound was the rushing water next to us. Several moments passed. He composed himself. “I didn’t mean to...”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” I said. “Your parents sound like they were wonderful people. It’s no wonder you miss them.”

  A half-grin appeared on his face. He reached for my hand and I gave it willingly. “I’ll walk you home.”

  The sun hung low in the sky. It looked as if it was waiting for us to leave before it disappeared into the horizon behind us. Again, we walked through the woods towards the dirt walkway. We didn’t speak. I was content just to hold his hand. He had shared some very personal thoughts with me, and I felt special to know them. Even though I had only known him a few days, I think it was that moment that I realized I was in love with Rob.

  Just before we reached the gravel pavement, I heard a twig snap behind us. It caused me pause. My head whipped around to see what had caused it. I hoped it was a curious deer so that I could share that with Rob. Scanning the trees in the distance, I thought I saw a strange blue color streak past my line of sight.

  “What is it?” Rob asked, stopping too.

  “I thought I saw something.” With another glance at the trees, I saw nothing else. I told myself it was nothing and chalked it up to my imagination, but that didn’t comfort me.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Dad, Bryan, and Jimmy had their heads under the hood of Bryan’s Mustang. Dad was instructing the boys on how to make sure the engine was fine-tuned. Dad’s white tee shirt was spotted with grease, while Bryan was trying with great effort not to get dirty. Jimmy’s blue shirt was rolled up on the grass next to the driveway. I guess he knew that a car lesson with my dad could get messy.

  Rob didn’t let go of my hand as we walked up to them.

  Bryan was first to notice us. “Hey, man,” he nodded. “Thanks for not trying anything with my sister last night.” Dad gave Bryan a look that warned him not to say another word about it. My muscles tightened.

  “Bryan, I’d never—“

  “Just kidding, man.” Bryan patted Rob on the back. They shook hands.

  Dad looked up and shook Rob’s hand, too. That surprised me. My muscles relaxed, but just a little. Jimmy was on the far side of the car. He never offered his hand, and he never took his eyes off me.

  Dad and Bryan turned their
attention back to the car. Jimmy did not. He watched as Rob walked me to the door.

  “Thank you for another nice day,” I said.

  “I should be thanking you,” he said. He dropped his gaze. “Mandy, before today, I didn’t think I could be happy again. Not for a while anyway. Not since my parents…” He looked up and his beautiful blue eyes were wide and clear. “Well, you make me see things differently. You are… easy to talk to. Understanding. Gentle.” My cheeks got warm. I think he realized that I wasn’t comfortable with the compliments. “Thank you for showing me your special place.”

  “I’m glad to have someone to share it with. Now it truly is special.”

  “I have to work the late shift tonight, but would it be all right if I called you tomorrow when I wake up?”

  “I’d like that.” My heart beat faster.

  “Okay, I’ll call you tomorrow.” He leaned over and kissed me long enough where I didn’t want to let go, but swift enough not to anger my father, who was trying hard not to stare at us from under the hood of the car.

  It was difficult for either one of us to let go of the other’s hand, but we did. Rob walked back towards his car. He said good-bye to my father, Bryan, and Jimmy as he passed them. I was glad that Rob didn’t ask to come in. My mother was sprawled out on the couch, unconscious. Dillon was sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of her, watching cartoons. I put my things down and went through the usual motions of getting my mother upstairs. This time, I kept my eye on her hands, just in case she formed a fist and tried for another swing.

  Surprisingly, I got her to her bed and lifted her feet without a negative comment. Instead, as I pulled the blanket over her, she opened her eyes and said, “Your cheeks are pink.”

  From where I stood, I glanced at the mirror over her dresser. My cheeks were pink, still flush from when I kissed Rob.

  “What were you doing with that boy?” Her words were slurred. “Were you having sex with him?”