Restored
By H.D’Agostino
Restored
H.D’Agostino
Copyright © April 2014 by Heather D’Agostino
All Rights Reserved. This book may not be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission from the author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. All characters and storylines are the property of the author and your support and respect is appreciated. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
The following story contains mature themes, profanity, and sexual situations. It is intended for adult readers.
Cover design by Michelle Warren of IndieBookCovers
ISBN: 978-0-9912075-3-4 (ebook edition)
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Sneak Peek of Shattered
Sneak Peek of Unbreak Me
Sneak Peek of Secret Regrets by Megan C. Smith
Prologue
As I drove aimlessly through town, my dad’s words rang clear in my head, “Everyone can make a mistake.” A mistake. Had I made a mistake? Was it my fault that Nick was gone? Had I pushed him away? As a single tear ran down my cheek, I swiped at it. I had created this situation. This was my fault.
As that thought settled in my muddled brain, I realized that this was it. I’d finally pushed hard enough that he’d left. He’d left, and he wasn’t coming back.
ooooooooo
When I pulled into my driveway, I cut the engine and let my forehead rest on the steering wheel. Avery was home, and Logan was over. Their giddy excitement for one another was more than I could handle at the moment. I was happy for my best friend, but my hurt was ruling my emotions at the moment. After calming myself down, I stood on wobbly legs and made my way inside.
“Logan stop!” Avery shrieked from the couch.
“Oh come on,” Logan groaned. “You know you like it when I touch you there.”
I rounded the corner of the living room to find my best friend and her sort of boyfriend tangled together on the couch. As much as it pained me, I was happy for her. Avery had never been one for commitment, nor Logan, but they seemed to be working it out.
“Don’t mind me,” I grumbled as I shuffled into the kitchen.
I could hear more giggling followed by hushed voices before Avery appeared in the doorway. When I turned around, her face was flushed, and she was biting her lower lip as she twirled a piece of hair around her index finger.
“I’m almost afraid to ask what happened,” she grimaced. “Was he mad?”
“I wouldn’t know,” I sighed as I reached for a glass from the cabinet.
“Wouldn’t know?” Avery scrunched her brow.
“He’s gone,” I turned on the faucet and filled the glass with water. When I lifted it to my lips to take a large sip, a sob rolled out of me. I placed the glass on the counter before turning to collapse into a chair. “He didn’t even say goodbye, he just left.” I looked up her before dropping my head into my hands, “Cam said he’s moving on. I don’t even have a number for him.”
“What?” Avery gasped. “What do you mean? Call his cell.”
“I can’t,” I cried. “He changed the number. I tried on the way home. It said it was no longer in service. He cut me off for good this time. I’m never getting him back.”
“It’s only been four days. How could he do all that so quickly?” she placed her arm around my shoulder to offer some comfort.
“He had help, I’m sure,” I wiped at my eyes as I sniffled. “Cam probably helped, along with others,” I glanced in the direction of the living room where Logan was perched on the couch watching football on TV.
“Logan would never do something like that,” Avery shook her head. “He knows I’d cut his balls off and feed them to him if he did.”
I half giggled half sniffed as I wiped at my eyes again, “Thanks Avery. You’re the best friend a girl could have.”
“We’ll figure this out Leah. He can’t stay mad at you forever,” Avery stood and walked toward the doorway. “Have faith.”
“I do…I just don’t know how I’m going to fix this. How’s he going to know that I forgave him? I spent the last several weeks he was in town pushing him away. I finally pushed hard enough that he gave up.”
“As hard as it is to hear this…maybe he’s not the one you’re supposed to be with,” Avery glanced at Logan over her shoulder. “Maybe the one you’re supposed to be with is someone you least expect.”
“Maybe,” I mumbled as I stared blankly out the kitchen window. “Maybe it’s someone I haven’t even met yet.”
“Get some rest,” Avery called over her shoulder as she made her way back to where Logan was sitting. “We’ll go out so you can have a quiet house.”
“Thanks,” I grumbled as I pulled my tired body to a standing position and made my way back to my room.
Nick
It had been four days since I left. Four days since I’d packed my truck and drove out of town to start a new life. A new life what a joke. Nothing was new except my surroundings. If anyone ever tells you, you can’t run away from your problems? Listen to them, they know what they’re talking about.
The mess that was my life seemed to be creating a sinkhole around me. The more I tried to talk to Leah after our fight, the more she pushed and ran from me. I knew I had screwed up. Sleeping with Becca to punish Leah had only punished me. I was the one losing out on the situation. I managed to make myself look like a complete asshole.
After Leah had driven off that morning, I had to practically throw Becca out of my house. I don’t know what she thought was going to happen. I’d told her over and over again that she was just a lay, not a relationship. I had no desire to do anything outside of the bedroom with her. She didn’t seem to understand that though.
Over the course of the following two days, she managed to call me fifty-six times making sure to leave a message on my voicemail after each one of them. I didn’t even listen. I knew what they all were for. She wanted another night, a night that I wasn’t willing to give her. Finally, after some convincing from my brother, I changed my number. He explained that with having a new number, I could make a fresh start. Only the people I wanted to have it would and Becca wouldn’t be one of them. Leah wouldn’t either.
Leah…the look on her face said it all. There was no fixing this. This was the end of us. A messy explosion that would go down in our history as the worst fight we’d ever had. The fact that I’d single-handedly packed the dynamite and lit the fuse didn’t go unnoticed. I’d screwed this up all on my own. True, I was trying to make a better future for us. I wanted a job that would pay better, and some security. The selfish side of me had wanted to show Leah how it felt to have a monumental decision made without her input. She’d left me in high school without even a second thought. This time around I had made the decision without her. I thought now that we were adults that she would see that this was what was be
st for both of us, but it had blown up in my face. Leah had brushed me off and flat out said no. Me being the prick that I was that night, had crawled into bed drunk with the one person that could hurt Leah the most. What had I been thinking? I was a grade A douche, and had gotten exactly what I deserved.
ooooooooo
As I pulled into the driveway of a beautiful ocean front home, I glanced around at my surroundings. It was light brown with white trim. It had both front and back porches with a beautiful pool. At two, stories, it towered over the homes nearby, and I wondered how I was ever going to afford it. My realtor, Shellie, said it was a must see so here I am.
When I climbed out of my car, the salty ocean breeze whipped around causing my hair to dance in the air. I needed to cut it, but Leah had always liked it on the shaggy side so I’d let it grow the last several months. The bright sunshine made the water sparkle in the distance, and I had to shield my eyes from the glare.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” Shellie rounded the corner.
I scanned the beach front property, “It is, but I think it might be out of my price range.”
“I wouldn’t have brought you here if I didn’t think you could afford this,” she smiled at me as she waved her arm in the direction of the front steps. “Come inside and we’ll talk.”
I made my way up the steps as I let my eyes scan the area. The house had a little wear on it, but was in great shape to be right on the water. There had to be a catch for me to be able to buy it on a coach’s salary. Shellie produced a key and opened the front door, to a beautiful living space. Pale beige carpet covered the living room, tile floors had been placed in the kitchen and entry way. I slider offered views of the ocean, and access to the beach. The kitchen had been updated with stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops. As I wandered down the hall, I could hear Shellie’s voice behind me, “Wait until you see the master.”
When I stepped through the door, my eyes widened. The room was painted in a soft blue, and the entire wall facing the ocean was made of windows. The middle two opened up onto a deck that over looked the pool below. A door off to the side led into a gorgeous bathroom. The two person shower had been fitted with all the latest gadgets. Multiple shower heads, heated tiles on the floor, double vanity. The more I explored this house, the more I began to believe that this was some kind of joke.
“I know I can’t live here,” I turned on her. “Why would you show me this?”
“But you can,” she smiled. “This house is a short sale, and it’s been on the market for over a year. The bank is desperate to unload it, and it falls right in your price range.”
“Seriously?” my mouth dropped open. After doing all the repairs and remodeling to my old house, I knew that the upgrades in this one were something only the rich could afford.
“Yes…seriously,” she grinned. “Should I write up an offer?”
“Definitely,” I nodded as I began to wander out onto the balcony.
As Shellie weaved her way back through the house, I stepped out into the afternoon sun. I closed my eyes, and leaned my head back as the sun beat down on my face. The warm breeze of the NC coast kissed my skin as a sense of peace washed over me. Leah would love this place. I needed to make her see. Make her see that we were meant to be here together. I needed to go back. After I settled myself into this house, I needed to go back to Pittsford and convince my girl that she had to come to Wilmington.
Before my thoughts could formulate a plan, Shellie drifted back into the room. “If you’ll sign here,” she pointed at a stack of papers, “I’ll submit these to the bank and you should have a house in the next few days Mr. Sutter.”
“Thank you,” I scribbled my name across all the documents and handed her the pen back.
“No problem,” she smiled. “I’ll call you as soon as I have a closing date.”
After we made our way back out of the house, Shellie left to file the papers while I made my way down to the beach. As I folded myself into a seated position on the sand, I glanced around. This was home. I was going to get this house, I could feel it.
Chapter 1
6 Months Later…
Leah
When the warm summer breeze blew across my bare back, I remembered that we’d fallen asleep with the windows open the night before. Avery was always teasing me about it, but our home was outside of town. I could open my window, and it would still be quiet in my room. It wasn’t like when I was in Atlanta. Most nights down there, I would sleep with my head buried under a pillow to keep the sounds and light of the city out. Here, in the quiet countryside, it was peaceful. I didn’t have to think about horns, and sirens waking me at all hours.
“Mornin’,” came a raspy voice from behind me before the warm, hard body pressed into my back.
“Mmmmm… good morning,” I murmured as I pressed my hips back, and into him.
“Did you sleep well?” he mumbled before he pressed a kiss to my bare shoulder. As his right hand began to slide from my hip up to my stomach and continue toward my breast, his kisses trailed from my shoulder, up my neck, until finally meeting my mouth. “You taste so good,” he groaned as I ground my hips back once again. “I missed you so much. I don’t know how I let you leave the first time.”
“Me either,” I gasped when he squeezed my right breast. The wilder his hands got, the more I urged him on. “Will?” I panted.
“Hmmmm?” he squeezed again as he used his knee to push my thighs apart.
“Stop teasing me already,” I moaned as he rocked his hips forward, and sunk into me from behind.
“What was that?” he teased as he half groaned half sighed.
“Never mind,” I pushed back against him.
His languid movements began setting a rhythm for us as I joined the effort. I could feel myself building, building to the peak my body was craving. It was right within reach, but each time I started to go over, he’d slow down.
I released a frustrated breath right when Will slowed again for the third time. He chuckled from behind me as he leaned forward and ran his tongue up the back of my neck, and swept around to the side before gently nipping at my lobe.
“Patience,” he whispered before speeding up once again. His hand began moving again, this time heading south. As he reached my hip, he gripped it forcefully before slamming into me a relentless pace. “You feel so damn good!” he growled before his climax over took him.
Before words could fall from my lips, the orgasm he’d been denying me, came at me full force, sending me into a dizzying tailspin. My body trembled as every muscle in it became ridged. When we came back down from our joined high, I collapsed against the soft pillows of my bed. Will rolled to his back and threw an arm up over his head. As his eyes pinched shut, he fought for control of his breathing.
“That was…” I panted as I swallowed trying to get my own breathing under control.
“Yeah,” he gasped as his chest rose and fell to the rhythm of his gasps. “How the hell did I let you leave Atlanta and not come after you?” His head turned to the side, and his deep blue eyes pierced me.
I blinked a few times as I stared back before answering, “I don’t know. We just had different goals, I guess.” I shrugged my shoulders as I thought back to the day Will and I had parted.
“I’m leaving,” I murmured as I stuffed things haphazardly into my suitcase.
“When are you coming back?” Will placed his hands on his hips as he waited for me to answer.
“I’m not,” I stalked over to my dresser, ripped open a drawer, and grabbed an armload of clothes. When I turned toward the bed where my bag was sitting half packed, I glanced up at Will’s face. A hurt expression marred his features as he watched me, not saying a word in the process. “I have to Will. There’s nothing left for me here,” I waved my arm around after tossing the armload of clothes into the bag. “I’m broken. We both know I’m never gonna be what I once was.”
“Don’t say that,” he begged as he stepped further into the
room. “You and I both know that things can change. The doctors said…”
I cut him off before he could continue, “that it was a very slim chance that I’d ever heal right. I’m going home Will.”
“Let me come with you,” he moved closer and tried to wrap me in his arms as I moved back to create more distance between us.
“No!” I shook my head as I turned away from him. I knew I couldn’t look at him when I did this. “I don’t want you to.”
“You don’t mean that,” he choked out. “I love you Leah.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat as I forced the words out, “Well I don’t love you.”
“Yes you do,” he begged. “Let me come with you.”
“No, Will,” I sighed as I moved further away from him. “There’s someone else. There always has been. I don’t love you. Please leave,” I squeezed my eyes shut as the lies fell from my lips. I fought to hold my voice in control. I knew I was hurting him, but I was broken. I didn’t want his pity, and that’s exactly what I was going to get if he came with me.
As we both stood there in silence waiting for the other one to back down, Will finally gave up. With a huff, he turned and stalked out of my room slamming the door behind him.
That night seemed like so long ago. It was hard to believe that it had been only a little over a year. Will and I had met at the training center when I was seventeen. He was my trainer and twenty at the time, and very concerned about the age difference. I didn’t tell him that the boy I’d left behind was only a year younger than him. I’d been with Nick so long that our age didn’t bother me. Will, however, said I was too young.
We became friends first, always hanging out after practices, going to dinner, he even helped me study until I finished my schooling. When I turned nineteen, it was like he finally woke up and saw me as an adult. He asked me out on a date, and things slowly began to change between us.
Being an athlete always meant putting your body’s needs above everything else. I was no stranger to that. Drinking and partying were never in the cards, until that fateful night…
Restored (Shattered #2) Page 1