This Broken Beautiful Thing

by Summers, Sophie

  “Here, call the idiot now and get it over with.” He says throwing me his phone. My phone was destroyed in the car accident so I’m in the process for getting a new one with the number transferred. I’m not sure having the same number is a good idea though.

  “Jace. It’s not as easy as you think, I’m scared!” I admit, he sits on the bed next to me and puts his muscular arm over my shoulder and pulls me to his chest as he speaks against my hair.

  “Babe it’s as easy as I think. Call him, tell him about the baby and say you will discuss details later. Just get that off your chest, you’ll feel better. I promise.” He says comforting and giving me the courage to take his phone and dial Caleb’s number with my trembling hands.

  I hear the dial tone and I wait a few minutes as I stare at Jace who’s looking cautiously at me as he mouths, “It’s okay, everything will be fine.” I nod and give him a reassuring smile but it quickly vanishes when someone answers the line…and it’s not Caleb.

  “Ashley?” I ask as I hear her answer the phone cheerfully.

  “Harley! Is that you? Oh my gosh! Hun I’m sorry! I didn’t want to you to find out about us that way. I’m so sorry, you’re my sister and I never should have betrayed you like that. How are you? How is the baby?” Ashley says in a caring tone but I’m not fooled at all.

  My heart aches when she mentions that she didn’t want me to find out about them that way. Obviously they’ve done it before. I ignore her questions and ask flatly.

  “Where’s Caleb?”

  I hear her sigh, “He’s not in at the moment. Please tell me you forgive me, I love you Harlz, you’re my best friend. Just come back, you can even stay with us.” It breaks my heart at the mention of them living in the apartment that was supposed to be Caleb’s and mine.

  A tear falls down my face and I look at Jace who is clutching the bedding in his fisted hand, his white knuckles on display.

  He grunts , “Give me the phone, NOW!” in an angry tone but I shake my head and move away from him so I’m sitting in the middle of his bed with the phone against my ear.

  “I need to speak to Caleb now, where is he?” I ask through a muffled voice as I sniff.

  She lets out an irritated breath, “Harley, what do you need to speak to him about? The baby? You don’t have to do that, I already told him about it.” She says cunningly and it pisses me off how she calls the baby growing inside of me an… it.

  I yell at her, “What the fuck Ashley? I don’t care if you’re together now, it wasn’t your place to tell him! I was supposed to!”

  Jace jumps at me trying to take the phone away but I quickly turn around so I’m holding the phone tightly against my head with my side pushed into the bed and my head in between the pillows in the middle of the bed as he hovers over me. I mouth “just hang on!” he gives me an angry look but stays hovering over me.

  “Well too bad because I did and he doesn’t want it.” She says in a harsh tone. I gasp and suck in a deep breath as she breaks what little of a heart I had left completely with her words.

  Jace snatches the phone from me and yells into the phone. “Slut, listen to me very carefully! If you ever come near Harley again or utter one word to her, I will pay you a visit and it won’t be pretty!”

  I turn my face into the pillow and hold it tight against my face as I cry into it. My whole body is shaking and I can’t control the loud sobs and the tears that soak the pillow. I feel Jace back to hovering over me with both his legs on either side of me as his manly built body envelopes me. He leans over and wraps his one arm around me with the other brushing my hair gently.

  He puts his mouth in my hair near my ear and whispers, “Shhh baby….I’m here…talk to me.” He leans over and rests his head on the same pillow I’m hiding my face in and removes his body that was over mine, I instantly feel cold without him there. He pulls me up so I’m snuggling into his chest.

  “He…he doesn’t want…the baby.” I stutter as I cry and put my face into his neck and squeeze him tight. He squeezes me back and pulls me so that I’m now lying on top of him with our legs scissored between each other’s and my head resting just under his chin. He starts rubbing my back softy trying to comfort me. My body is still trembling but my sobbing has stopped. I can hear and feel his beating heart beneath my ear and it strangely calms me.

  There is nothing sexual about the way he holds me, it’s definitely intimate but it’s more of a protective manner than a sexual one and it’s something I don’t expect from an intensely sensual man.

  He rolls me over so that I’m next to him with my head leaning on his arm, I’m still tucked tightly against his chest. I roll over so I’m lying on my back and take a deep breath. I feel his hands playing with the bottom of my dress before he reaches under, I tense under his touch not knowing what he’s about to do.

  “Trust me...” He says and I nod. His large warm hands reach under my dress and land on my stomach as he rubs me softly the same way he did the previous night.

  “You don’t need him. He doesn’t deserve you, either of you.” He says softly as he continues to run his palm against my stomach protectively.

  “Thanks Jace.” I clear my throat, my tears all dried up. “I don’t know why I wasn’t prepared for that, I wasn’t expecting him to be so harsh. I don’t understand how he doesn’t want this baby we made. I was already in love with the little person growing inside me the moment I found out. How can he be so cruel? I…I don’t understand.” I clear my throat again.

  “Babe, you don’t need him. You have us and we will help you through this. You have me sweetness, I will be here for you and the baby. I will never let anyone hurt you, not again.” Jace says as he kisses my forehead.

  I reach up and kiss his cheek leaving him with a big grin.

  I finally catch my breath and get off the bed to look at my face in the mirror. It’s a little red and my eyes are still a bit swollen.

  “How long am I going to be sleeping next to you?” I ask him. He looks up at me from the bed as if I’ve interrupted his thoughts.

  “Forever?” he says cheekily.

  “No seriously, how long? Sooner or later you’re going to get sick of me hovering around you and I’d rather give you your space before you get tired of me.” I say leaning against his door frame.

  “Babe that’s not going to happen but either way, your bed or mine, you’ll be sleeping next to me.” He says matter of factly, I don’t bother to argue with him because it won’t get me anywhere. I shake my head and leave his room in search for Anna.

  CHAPTER 7

  I walk up to the fourth floor towards my father’s bedroom. I knock on the door softly and hear Anna call for me to come in.

  She’s sitting on the bed working on her sketches; she seems shocked to see me in her room as she puts her sketch board down next to her on the bed.

  “What’s wrong, have you been crying?”

  I ignore her questions and head over to where she’s sitting.

  “Can I ask you a question?” I sit down on the corner of the bed and cross my legs, playing with a loose cotton piece on the frill of my summer dress

  “You have been crying! What happened? Was it Raven? Do I need to get the bat out?” she pulls me closer to her and holds me tight.

  “When dad cheated on you with Momma, how did you get over it?” I ask her sadly.

  “Oh no Hun, he didn’t? That’s why you didn’t want to see him at the hospital?” she says in disbelief and I nod.

  “I’m going to kill that boy, you two were so good together. I can’t believe he fucked it up. Are you okay babes?” she says as she holds my hand in hers.

  “No I’m really not but that’s why I’m here, I need to know how to get over it. Jace has been great and most of the time he takes my mind off it but I just can’t stop the hurt that keeps creeping in. I don’t want dad to know about this and after this conversation I never want to speak about him again. I don’t want to mention his name, hear about him or even think abo
ut him. I want to forget! How do I just… forget?” I say as I tremble and the tears fall.

  She pulls me in for a tight hug, trying to comfort me and it works.

  “It’s very hard my love, you believe you won’t be able to trust men again but you will. I knew what I was getting in to when I married your father though. These biker boys are hard to handle but I love your father too much to not work on our relationship and make it work. When he had that drunken one night stand with your mother, your father and I were going through a rough patch especially when I just found out I couldn’t have children, I felt useless and I pushed him away. You see babes, these men don’t like being told what to do and they want a woman that’ll submit to them. That’s why so many of them have whores on the side but I wasn’t willing to do that, it’s not in my nature and your father knew that. He told me the next morning that he cheated and I didn’t speak to him for about two weeks, I knew he felt terrible because he wouldn’t stop apologizing to me and each and every apology was so incredibly sincere. It was hard trying to ignore your father and eventually we talked it out. I made it known that if he ever so much as looks at another woman the wrong way I’ll be gone without a second glance and I knew that scared him. About ten months later I knew something was up when he purchased that big pink Harley for the bar with your name and date of birth on it. I didn’t ask or question him and I would always catch him staring at the handwriting with a fulfilled smile on his face. We both had secrets Harley and his biggest one was you. He was always away at club meetings but one day he came back with you at his side. The first time I saw you I knew you were his, I loved you from the very moment I saw your pretty blue eyes that matched your fathers. I only ever wished that I was your mother and that you were mine…” she says wiping away the tears from her face with her tattooed fingers. I sit on my knees and give her a hug as I tell her in her ear.

  “You are my mom, I am yours ….and Daddy’s.” This makes her cry harder and squeeze me tighter, a few stray tears fall from my eyes, this is very unlike Anna, she doesn’t show emotion easily.

  “Anyways, I knew that even though your father cheated on me during one of his vulnerable moments I still loved him and wanted him, you just have to work it out. I swear it will get better. I know its hard babes but you are a strong girl. If you love each other enough, you will find your way back.” She says wiping away all her tears.

  “I guess you’re right but that could never happen… he’s with her now, she’s living in the apartment that was supposed to be ours. I lost my boyfriend and best friend in one night. Crazy right?” I say sadly looking down at my nails trying to swallow down the tears and the sobs from escaping.

  “Oh no…he’s with her. He cheated on you with Ashley!” she asks sounding angry.

  “Yeah, I mean…they are perfect for each other and I’d like to say that I hope they would be happy together but that’s a lie. I hope they betray each other the way they did me and feel the heartbreak they put me through.” I say feeling hatred surging through me.

  “Yeah you’re right! They don’t deserve you babe. You are too good for them.” she says seriously and I smile.

  “Let’s go see what your dads up to?” She pulls me out the room and we stroll down the stairs toward the club. We head into the club and there’s a couple of people inside, I notice a couple girls I’ve never seen before wearing really skimpy outfits making me feel like a nun with my sun dress that hangs mid-thigh.

  Anna puts her arm over my shoulders as she guides me towards the back of the bar area. We walk passed Jace who is surrounded my half naked woman , one goes to sit on his lap, she’s got pitch black hair and her big boobs are held tightly up in a bikini with a small skirt on and strappy heels on. As soon as she sits down Jace tells her to get off and he makes eye contact with me, I laugh at his rudeness towards the woman and he smiles back at me then winks. A couple of the girls turn around to look at who’s caught his attention.

  Anna pushes me towards a large door and knocks on it. A big man opens it, I only see his chest, I look up to see Ryan smiling down at me looking ever so handsome just like his son.

  “Look who came to visit me, Prez.” Ryan says as he puts his arm over my shoulder.

  “I think she came to visit me actually, Buck.” My dad chuckles waving me over.

  “Come here baby girl, meet the rest of the guys.”

  I walk towards him through all the bulky men, the large room has about thirty people in it. There are men sitting around one long table as well as men standing around the room. I eventually make my way to my father who is sitting at the head of the table in a big leather chair. He gestures for me to sit on his lap so I move to sit on one of his legs.

  “Boys, I want to officially introduce you to my baby girl, Harley.” Dad says excitedly from behind me and all the men cheer, whistle and hoot. Anna and my father start laughing and I blush.

  The noise softens. “She’s off hands to all of you!” he says in a stricter tone. I hear Ryan’s deep laugh on the opposite side of the large room.

  “Besides Raven… of course...” my dad snickers and I raise my eyebrow looking back at him.

  “She’s gorgeous Grimm… but she doesn’t look like she belongs here." A guy standing to my right says and I can hear my father laugh from behind me.

  “I think she will fit in just fine.” someone says through the crowd, I look over to him and do a double take….Raven.

  I smile at him as he winks and I mouth, “Thanks.”

  “Boy’s already whipped!” another guy says and a couple of them snicker. Jace brushes them off not caring.

  “Okay, enough boys. Harley here will be working at the bar from tomorrow night, I expect you to keep an eye on her and not give her any shit.” my father says.

  I look at him and raise my eyebrows, “Really dad? I can look after myself you know, I don’t need any men to “keep an eye on me” ” I say deepening my voice trying to mimic him but it doesn’t have the effect I would have liked. He looks at me and smiles.

  “Definitely Grimm’s girl.” An older man says as the crowd chuckles at my outburst.

  “Harley, even if your father doesn’t tell us to keep an eye on you, we still would. You are part of our family now and an innocent girl like you has obviously never been around this type of life for very long.” The same guy that said I was gorgeous speaks again.

  He comes out from behind the crowd so I’m able to get a good look at him. He is the same height as Jace and he’s also really well built. He has shaven blond hair with brown eyes and dark thick lashes and eyebrows. He looks about Jace’s age too. His face is striking with high cheek bones and slight stubble covering his jawline.

  “Okay okay…” I say as I lift my hands up in defeat. The men chat for a few more minutes before everyone starts to filter out the room leaving Anna, my father and I. I’m not sure where Jace has disappeared to. I need to tell my father and Anna about the baby but I don’t want to do it alone.

  “Uh guys…can I have a quick talk to you while we’re here?” I ask them.

  “Sure Harlz.” My dad says as he sits in his seat again. Anna sits in the seat near him.

  “I just need to get something quick, but wait here…I’ll be right back.” I yell as I quickly run out the room in search for Jace.

  I spot him chatting to the blond guy who now has a baseball cap on. I quickly make my way to him and snake my hand around his arm, my head only just reaching his shoulder. He looks down at me tensing before he relaxes when he sees who it is. He wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me into his chest holding me close to him. The blond guy looks down at me and seems to be confused as to why Jace has his hands on me.

  “Jace, I need you to come with me quick.” I say looking up at him.

  “Why, what’s wrong?” he asks lifting the glass up to his lips. Before he can have a sip I take it from his hands and put it on the table near us.

  “I need to talk to my dad soooo….I need-you-to come-with
me!” I repeat through gritted teeth nodding my head towards the back of the bar.

  “Oh right! I’ll be right back Hunter.” Jace says to his friend and quickly leads me back to the office.

  “Don’t leave my side okay! And don’t get angry if my dad says horrible things to me, just sit there and hold my hand okay?” I say into his chest before we head in as I quickly give him a hug.

  He pulls my face up to look at him, “I told you I’ll be here for you and I am but I won’t let anybody disrespect you…not even your father.” I nod and he opens the door and leads me inside.

  My father and Anna were laughing about something when enter, I walked over to them and sat on the other side of my father and pulled Jace close to my side. I needed contact with him, I needed the reassurance that he was there by my side because I knew I wasn’t strong or brave enough to tell my father my secret on my own. I pull his hand and put it on my lap and held onto it, he squeezed my hand giving me the assurance I needed.

  “What’s wrong babes, why’re you so nervous?” Anna says looking worried. My dad leans onto the table with his hands together looking at me also anxious. I leave Jace’s hand and hold onto my father’s rougher ones. Jace’s hand rests on the bare skin just above my knee, rubbing me softly as I continue to talk.

  “Daddy I have to tell you something and…I just wanted you to know that I don’t ever want to disappoint you but I know after I tell you this you won’t look at me the way you have all my life. And if you don’t want me around after I tell you this, I’ll understand too…fully.” I say softly failing at sounding confident and brave because right now I’m scared shitless of what my father might do.

  “Just talk to us Harley.” My dad says frowning.

  “I….I’m pregnant daddy.” I say looking down at my hands which are now back to holding Jace’s. I can’t bear to look at the disappointment that is most probably covering his face. I look up to Anna and her face is drained of any colour.

  “W…what….How? Who?” my father asks in shock.