Broken Pieces (The Broken Series Book 4)

by Heather D'Agostino

“What? You gotta date or something?” the other voice teased.

  “Yeah, actually I do. I thought you were the pizza guy,” Joey sighed.

  “Pizza. What kinda date is that?” He stepped around Joey, and I turned right at that moment to see who it was.

  Only to come face to face with mystery guy.

  Chapter 7

  Carsen

  When I got home tonight, I tried to relax. I’d been on the road for the last four days, but even in my tired state, I was wired. My brother, Joey, lived three blocks from me, and even though I had no guarantees that he’d be home, I decided to try. When I pulled up to his place, there was a small white car parked out front. It didn’t occur to me that he’d have company. My brother didn’t really date anymore. His last girlfriend had been a real piece of work and pretty much destroyed his heart. When he found out that she was only with him to get to me, he swore off women. I can’t say that I blame him. It’s been happening since we were kids. I still remember the girl he dated in high school and how that ended.

  Ignoring the odd feeling in my gut, I climbed from my truck and bounded up the stairs. Worst-case scenario, we could order takeout, have a few beers, and I could crash on his couch. After all, I paid for it. I stopped at the door and rang the bell. It took a minute, but he opened the door and stood there staring blankly at me.

  “What’s up, fucker?” I laughed as his mouth dropped open.

  “What are you doing here?” He blocked my way so I couldn’t get in the door.

  “Nice to see you too. Just got back from a road game. Went home, but I’m too wired. I figured I’d come hang with my little bro, Bro.” I stepped closer, tossed my jacket to the side, and embraced him in a manly hug.

  “I’m kinda busy,” he growled stiffly.

  “What? You gotta date or something?” I teased. I couldn’t believe he was going there again.

  “Yeah, actually I do. I thought you were the pizza guy.” He sighed and stepped back slightly, finally letting me in.

  “Pizza. What kinda date is that?” I stepped around him and noticed a girl sitting on his couch staring at me blankly. “Hi.” I smiled at her surprised expression. I was used to this. Most women would look at me like I was some unnatural thing. They didn’t see me as a person, especially now that I was pro. It was bad enough in college, but now they would either stare blankly or mob me. There was never an in between. It was all or nothing. “Hi,” I tried again as I watched her rub her palms on her thighs and swallow a few times. “I’m Carsen.” I held my hand out for her to shake, and I watched with amusement as she slowly reached for it before excusing herself.

  “I need…” She pointed to the stairs before scurrying up them and away from us.

  “How long have you been with her?” I pointed in the same direction the girl had run off to before making myself comfortable on the loveseat off to the side.

  “About three months,” he muttered. “You’re really going to crash my date?” Joey rolled his eyes and sighed as he shook his head.

  “She’s not that into you?” I snickered as he scowled. I always enjoyed teasing him when we were kids, and I haven’t lost interest in it yet.

  “She’s completely into me asshole, and I’m into her… at least, I was about twenty minutes ago.” He crossed his arms over his chest and growled.

  “Easy, Bro,” I held my hands up. “I’m just giving you a hard time. If you want me to leave, I’ll leave.” I tossed my hands in the air and watched him for a reaction.

  “You’ve never cared about what I wanted in the past,” he grumbled as the doorbell rang.

  “Go back to your pizza date and wet your dick again. Sounds like you need it. I’ll catch you at the gym tomorrow. Wes asked me to stop by and do a class. I’ve got some time off before I have to leave town again.” I shook my head as I marched over to the door with Joey right on my heels. As soon as I opened it, the pizza guy they’d been waiting on was standing right there. “Here,” I reached into my back pocket, grabbed my wallet, and stuffed a $50 in the pizza guy’s hand. “Keep the change,” I growled before storming away from my brother. Tonight was not going how I wanted it to go. Maybe I should have just braved the crowds and gone to Hype like my teammates had suggested.

  ooooooooo

  Alison

  “Crap, crap, crap,” I growled as I paced back and forth in Joey’s room. I’d escaped here a few minutes ago and had decided that I’d find another way to leave. I couldn’t go down there with both of them in the room, and I sure as hell couldn’t stay now. Carsen didn’t look like he knew who I was, but I knew he’d eventually figure it out, and then what? What was I going to tell Joey? “Oh, hey, I fucked your brother this one time, and guess what? I have a kid because of it. Shit!” I stormed over to the windows in time to see Carsen climbing into what looked like a nice truck. He’d had an SUV back when we met, but that was almost two years ago now.

  “Ally!” I heard Joey call through the closed door. “You can come down now; I made him leave.” His voice was getting louder until it finally sounded like he was standing right outside the closed door. He jiggled the knob and sighed when it wouldn’t open. “Can you open the door?” I heard a light thump like he’d let his head hit the wood.

  “Um,” I chewed my lip before jumping into action. “Just a sec,” I quickly stripped the shirt he’d given me off before grabbing my clothes from the pile on the floor. I jumped around until I got my jeans up, stuffed my feet in my shoes, and then slowly opened the door. Joey’s face went from smiling to blank as his eyes scanned me. “What’s wrong?”

  “I gotta go.” I clutched my purse to my chest as I attempted to step past him.

  “What do you mean you gotta go? The pizza just got here.” He stepped to the side to block my path.

  “I forgot about something that I need to do. I have to go,” I murmured as I brushed past him, knocking into his shoulder.

  “Ally wait!” he called as he spun and began to follow me.

  “I can’t.” I began running down the steps and heading for the front door as fast I could, not even thinking about how this looked. “I’ll call you tomorrow,” I yelled over my shoulder.

  “No wait!” He reached me just as my hand gripped the knob to the front door. “Please. What’s wrong?” His eyes softened as he attempted to hug me. “Did I say something? Did you want Carsen to stay?”

  “No,” I shook my head frantically. How was I going to explain that it wasn’t him, it was me? I was the one doing this to us. He’d been nothing but sweet, and I was ruining our night. “I just can’t right now.” I closed my eyes and sighed. I would not cry. I would not cry. I kept chanting it over and over in my head. “I have something I have to do. Just… please?” I lifted my eyes to meet his, and when I saw the hurt filling them, my heart broke a little. “I promise.” I cupped his cheek. “It’s not you. It’s not him. It’s me. I just can’t.” I swallowed. “I’ll call you tomorrow,” I turned and began moving as fast as I could down the steps and toward my car.

  I watched from the driver’s seat as Joey stared for a moment and then disappeared back inside. Once the coast was clear, I finally let it all go. “Why?” I screamed at the steering wheel. “Why does this always happen to me? What the hell did I do in a past life to be here?” I pounded my hands on the wheel before growling and starting the car.

  I didn’t go home. Caleb was with my mom, so there was no need. I didn’t want to go home to an empty apartment, so I went to one place that I probably should have stayed away from… Hype.

  ooooooooo

  Hype was busy when I arrived. I was underdressed for a Friday night, but I didn’t care. Girls that were scantily clad crowded the bar area sipping on fruity drinks while guys played pool and tried their luck at picking someone up. I waited for a few moments, and as soon as the crowd shifted, I grabbed a stool.

  I sighed as I lowered myself onto the hard wood and waited to be noticed. It didn’t take long, and before I knew it, I was sucking down L
ong Islands as if my life depended on it.

  “So he wasn’t me, huh?” His voice was condescending, and in my slightly inebriated state, I wanted to slap him. “You see that being with him wasn’t going to get to me? Give up already?” His tone was harsh, and the last bit sent me over the edge.

  “Fuck you,” I growled without looking up at him. He’d moved to lean against the bar beside me. His upper arm brushed against mine as he leaned over to signal for a drink, and I couldn’t help the little shiver that ran through me. Damn him.

  “Ooh. Feisty! I like that in a woman,” he chuckled. “So why’d ya leave? If you like him and all?” He turned an amused smile in my direction, and that’s when it clicked. His eyes darted from my drink to my face and back to my drink again. “Shit!” he hissed.

  I swallowed and just stared at a spot over his shoulder. I couldn’t seem to look away, and I watched as our night slowly began to fill his memory. “I like him.” I forced the words out. “And I liked him before I knew about you.” I wanted him to know that his status in the whole being famous thing had no bearing on the way I felt about Joey.

  “Does he know?” He blew out a breath as he let his chin fall and his head hung between his shoulders.

  “No.” I finally looked away. “I didn’t know until you showed up,” I laughed, and once I started, I couldn’t seem to stop. The whole situation was so messed up, and the longer I sat there, the funnier it all got for me.

  “Why are you laughing?” His forehead wrinkled as he reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

  “I looked for you. I looked for you for months.” My laugh slowly began to turn into a cry. “I came here for fucking months. I asked around trying to find you. Where the fuck did you go?” I turned on my stool and glared at him.

  “This—” he wagged his finger at me. “This is what I mean about women stalking me. They usually come after me first, only a few cunning ones have gone after Joey. I find it hard to believe that after looking for me for months,” he did that finger quote thing, “that you’d date my brother.”

  My head snapped back at his accusation, and I could feel my temper roaring to the surface. How dare he think that that was all about me. “How dare you accuse me of something that you know nothing about. You don’t even know me!” I slammed my glass down on the bar, and if it hadn’t been so loud in the place, I’m sure I would have garnered some attention, but as it was, only Carsen paid attention to me. “You are a jackass, and I can’t believe that I ever thought you could be a nice guy,” I reached for my purse and began digging in it.

  “What? Need to call a cab now? Too drunk to get home?” he sneered.

  If I hadn’t been so flustered, I would have hit him, but I was on mission. When my fingers wrapped around my wallet, I snatched it out and growled. I shouldn’t have done it this way, but he made my blood boil.

  “I’m not a fucking stalker, you asshole. I was looking for you to tell you that you have a son!” I snatched the picture out of my wallet and slapped it against his chest. “I hope he grows up to be nothing like you!” I stuffed my wallet back in my purse, slung it over my shoulder, and stood up. After shoving through the crowd, I burst out onto the street.

  “Wait!” His voice was a shout from behind me. “Would you fucking wait?” He gripped my upper arm and spun me to face him. “I have a kid?” He glared at me.

  “Let me go!” I yanked free of his grasp and began running toward my car.

  “Don’t do this again. I need to talk to you about this,” he yelled.

  The closer I got to my car, the quieter his voice became. I opened the door to climb in, but turned to face him one last time first. He looked panicked and lost, a lot like I felt all those months ago. “Good,” I thought as I climbed in and slammed the door shut. Let him stew on it for a while. It didn’t even occur to me that I’d just told him something that I’d been keeping from Joey… his brother. With a few words, Carsen could completely wreck whatever Joey and I had been building. What the fuck had I just done?

  Chapter 8

  Alison

  When I got home that night, I couldn’t sleep. I tossed and turned until the wee hours of the morning before finally giving up. What I needed to do was sort this out, but I knew I couldn’t talk to my mother about it. She would tell me to talk to Carsen and probably tell me that Joey should have known about this a long time ago. Instead of going that route, I called the one person I knew would help, Angie.

  “Hello?” Her voice was quiet, but not sleepy like I thought it would be at four in the morning.

  “I’m sorry to call so early,” I sniffed as I tried not to cry. I felt so helpless and lost and was worried that my child was going to suffer the most here.

  “Hang on,” she whispered into the phone before I heard sheets ruffling in the background. A few seconds passed, a door clicked in the background, and then she was back. “What’s wrong?”

  “Are you mad at me?” I whimpered. “For waking you up?”

  “You didn’t wake me up. Riley just went back to sleep from her last feeding, and Wes has been tossing and turning all night. Big fight coming up, and he would never admit it, but he’s nervous,” she sighed. “What’s wrong?”

  “I won’t bother you. I’m sorry,” I mumbled.

  “Ally, stop,” she groaned. “What’s wrong? Talk to me.”

  “I found Caleb’s dad,” I blew out a breath.

  “That’s good, right?” I could tell she was trying to understand, and it would have been great— if he were anyone else.

  “Not really,” I murmured. “It’s Joey’s brother.” I closed my eyes and flopped back on my bed waiting for her to catch on.

  “Carsen? As in Carsen Malloy?” she squeaked. “Carsen Malloy has a kid?” she giggled.

  “I don’t see how this is funny,” I grumbled as I waited for her to stop.

  “You don’t know him like I do. He’s such a player. I can’t believe that he knocked someone up.” She continued to giggle.

  “I’m not just someone, Ang. I’m supposed to be your best friend. Do you think you could stop laughing now?” I groaned.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “What are you going to do? Does Joey know? Have you told your mom?”

  “I haven’t told anyone, well except you and I might have blown up on Carsen last night and told him,” I groaned, remembering my night at Hype.

  “Wait, what?” she gasped.

  “He’s such an ass, Ang. I can’t believe I slept with him. I mean he’s hot, but he’s an ass,” I moaned. “What if Caleb turns out like him?”

  “Caleb will be great because he has a great mom,” she soothed.

  “Thanks. I needed that,” I mumbled as I rolled to the side to see the sun beginning to appear outside my window. “What am I going to do Ang?”

  “Why don’t you come to the showcase? Wes has this plan to make me stay in our room at the hotel. We don’t have anyone to watch Riley, and he’s insisting that I come. You could hang out here and watch the fight on TV with me like we used to do in school. Cole’s girlfriend, Maddie, is coming too. It’ll be like old times: Ice cream, boys, and late nights. You can bring Caleb if you need to.” She was getting excited. I could tell by the change in her voice. “I bet Wes can offer some advice about the Joey thing too. He is a guy after all,” she giggled.

  “This doesn’t solve my problem,” I whined.

  “But your problem will still be there next week. Take this time to get away. Trust me, it’ll help,” she paused waiting for me to give in. I think she knew deep down that I was going to say yes, but she somehow felt need to pressure me some more. “Please? We never see each other anymore. I miss you. Now that I moved in with Wes, I’m not in the city enough to hangout. I want my best friend back.”

  “Fine,” I sighed as I gave in. Angie always knew what to say to get her way. I pitied Wes. I’m sure she used her ways on him all the time. Between her and Riley, the guy didn’t stand a chance. “When are you guys heading
out?”

  “This afternoon. Can you meet us there, or do you need a ride?” Her tone had turned from begging to excited, and I could practically hear her bouncing on the other end of the line.

  “I have to ask my mom if she’ll keep Caleb. I don’t want to have to worry about bringing him. Can I call you later?” I rolled to the side to look at the clock. I was supposed to work today and then go my mom’s.

  “Sure. You can bring him if you want, but I understand,” she yawned.

  “Sounds like you need to sleep,” I laughed lightly.

  “I’ll sleep in the car. Call me when you know if you can make it, and I’ll let you know what room we’re in,” she yawned again.

  “Will do, and Ang?” I paused.

  “Yeah,” she murmured.

  “Thanks,” I sighed. “For listening and not telling me I’m crazy.”

  “No worries,” she giggled. “That’s what best friends are for.”

  The line went dead after that, and I decided I might as well get up. There was no way I was going to be getting any sleep, and my apartment was a mess. Since Caleb wasn’t here, I didn’t have to worry about waking him, and maybe the cleaning would make me tired enough to get a nap.

  I went to work in the bathroom first, scrubbing everything I could get my hands on. I had the tub sparkling by the time I finished. I was slowly reaching exhaustion as I wiped sweat off my brow and pushed a few hairs that were clinging to my neck away. I took a long glance, happy with my work, before I moved on to the kitchen. I usually hated cleaning, and it was always difficult with a baby under your feet. Now, being here alone, I put music on my iPod and plugged in the earbuds effectively drowning out the outside world.

  After mopping the floors, washing the dishes, and wiping down the counters I looked around. It had been a couple of hours, but I still had this need to be busy. I opened the refrigerator and began placing its contents on the counter. I couldn’t remember the last time I cleaned the inside of it, and when I pulled out a container of something I didn’t recognize, I knew it was long overdue.